The Sochi Organizing Committee showed off, for the first time, the beautiful meals that will be up for grabs at the Olympics in February. Across the nordic sports, North Americans could medal in, we estimate, four events - and if you start talking a little crazy, maybe almost a dozen sets of the handcrafted hardware could come back across the Atlantic.
Kikkan Randall was an easy choice for her fifth Skier of the Year Award, while Andy Newell took his second title.
After reaching the World Cup podium and helping his team land a historic bronze at World Championships, Taylor Fletcher is FasterSkier's Nordic Combined Skier of the Year at the age of 22.
Following the U.S. Ski Team's announcement of its 2013-2014 nominations, cross-country head coach Chris Grover discussed reasoning behind the major changes to the roster, which left off three men and for the first time in two years did not include a development tier. “This is a performance organization and at the end of the day the athletes have to be judged on their performances," Grover said.
Just over a week ago, Tad Elliott heard the news he had an inkling was coming: he was not re-nominated to the U.S. Ski Team. With two seasons of international skiing behind him, he's decided to keep on the nordic path while renewing his other passion, mountain biking.
The U.S. Ski Team formally announced its 2013-2014 nominations on Monday, and seven women in total were named to the squad. In contrast to the men's team there were no cuts, and the addition of Sophie Caldwell reflects an expected expansion of the U.S. women's World Cup quota by one more spot in both distance in sprinting.
Last week, Johnny Spillane announced his retirement after well over a decade on the U.S. Nordic Combined Team. The four-time Olympian explains why he decided to call it a career before the 2014 Winter Games.
At long last, USSA’s preliminary list of nominations for the 2013/2014 U.S. Ski Team, with six A-team members and five individuals on the B-team.
Three of seven men on the U.S. Ski Team were not renamed to the 2013/2014 national squad, including Skyler Davis, Tad Elliott and Kris Freeman. Erik Bjornsen confirmed he's been promoted to the B-team, where he'll join Simi Hamilton and Noah Hoffman.
(UPDATED) Kris Freeman, three-time U.S. Olympian in cross-country skiing and member of the U.S. Ski Team since 2002, was not renominated to the national team roster for the 2013-2014 season. Freeman said USST coaches notified him this week of the news, citing limited medal potential at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. "For whatever reason the USST no longer believes in me," he said.
Liz Stephen didn't want to change skis, and completing the first of three laps first, she didn't have to. The 26-year-old U.S. Ski Team member proceeded to call the shots in a slow-and-slushy 30 k classic mass start at U.S. Distance Nationals, skipping both pit stops to win by more than a minute.
After heaving themselves up Mt. Disney at Sugar Bowl Resort, several of top finishers were pretty animated about the 6 k hill climb on the last day of SuperTour Finals. Here are some of the best quotes outside of the men’s and women’s race reports.
Erik Bjornsen thought he was done for. The 21-year-old U.S. Ski Team and APU skier had gone out too hard, too early in Monday’s 6 k freestyle hill climb before the real ascent up Sugar Bowl Resort even started. Somehow, he found at least three more gears and beat Kris Freeman to the top for his first SuperTour Finals title.
Ida Sargent made herself a favorite in Saturday's classic sprint, her last race of SuperTour Finals, putting it all on the line and giving Kikkan Randall someone to chase. Randall prevailed and extended her lead over Sadie Bjornsen, who was third.
Kikkan Randall dropped the field without even knowing it in Friday's 10 k classic mass start to win the second-straight race of SuperTour Finals. Sadie Bjornsen capitalized on some crashes to seal second, and Liz Stephen hung tough for third.
It's been a week since World Cup Finals wrapped up in Falun, Sweden, and the dust has more than settled on the international season. The American women had their best run yet: World Championships gold, all six athletes in the top ten at some point and another sprint crystal globe in the bag. When asked to recall their personal season highlights, these were among the moments they pointed out.
When Andrew Gardner announced he was leaving his position as Middlebury's head coach, speculation spread about who would fill the void. The answer came Tuesday when the college announced it hired Andrew Johnson, a Vermont native and former assistant at UVM and Utah.
With the conclusion of Period IV of the 2012-2013 season we tally who's in and who's out of the coveted Red Group in the most recent World Ranking Lists, from the American and Canadian perspectives.
We know, we know: it's FAHL-IN. But still. The World Cup wrapped up with spectacular races and plenty of sun in Stockholm and Falun, with Justyna Kowalczyk and Petter Northug winning the season-long titles and Kikkan Randall taking home not only the Sprint Cup but also third place in the overall. Plus, racing on this side of the pond at Whistler and Craftsbury.
Kikkan Randall did just what she needed to on Sunday, finishing 7th in the 10 k skate pursuit with the second-fastest course time to hold onto third place in the overall World Cup standings. Three other Americans finished World Cup Finals in the top 30 to end the season "better than I could have imagined," Randall said.