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As many of you know, we lost a vital ambassador and supporter of North American cross-country skiing earlier this week. For those of you who might not be aware, Marty Hall was a lot more than the person, along with his wife Kathy, who supported our World Cup coverage. Marty was a friend. As a younger man, Marty had been a football player, nordic skier, and track star at the University of New Hampshire before...
We’re off and running in Trondheim and launch into this episode with some local flavor, literally. Devon and Nat are back at the hotel to recap a glorious first day of World Championships racing. We promise, we really still are hoping to schedule a live show around our packed schedules here. Send us your notes, feedback and hate mail to devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
The eagles have landed in Trondheim: Devon and Nat are both on the ground (emphasis on ground, not snow) for World Championships. Here’s a quick dispatch from the scene before racing kicks off here. We’ll be back after the sprint tomorrow. We are definitely aiming to do a live show at some point during the championships though, semi-seriously, we need an event planner to help us pull it off, not to mention still a venue....
This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers. If you would like to see more articles like this one, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription. TRONDHEIM — It’s back. It’s been 14 years since Norway hosted a cross-country skiing World Championships, with the 2011 event going off along Oslo trails mobbed with Scandinavian fans. The championships return to the skiing-mad nation again Thursday, with the first of six medal races,...
We’re sorry. Life intervened, and this podcast is nearly two weeks late. But it’s here, and we had a fun session breaking down a weekend of World Cup racing in Italy where Devon was present in the flesh. We’ll be back after Falun and on scene, both of us, in Trondheim. Reach us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
We’re back to recap a long weekend in glorious Switzerland, with some familiar names topping the podium but still doing it in exciting fashion. Plus, hear from Canada’s Sonjaa Schmidt about her star-is-born moment in the sprint and her, shall we say, unconventional summer training. Fan mail to devon@fasterskier.com; hate mail to nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back soon.
Dear Cross Country Community, We are pleased to announce the Team for Period 3 of the 2024-25 World Cup season: Les Rousses 10 km F Men John Hagenbuch Objective 24-25 Overall SuperTour Leader Gus Schumacher Objective 12th World Cup Distance Standings Zanden McMullen Objective 21st World Cup Distance Standings Ben Ogden Objective 30th World Cup Distance Standings Walker Hall Discretion 2nd American US Nationals 10 km F Luke Jager Discretion 3rd American US Nationals...
We’ve reached the summit of the Alpe Cermis. The Tour de Ski has concluded. Nat needed a break after covering U.S. Nationals, so Jess Cockney jumps on to guest co-host with Devon. Send us your feedback at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back soon.
ANCHORAGE — The winner of two of three U.S. National Championships races in Alaska this week is just 24 years old, and poised for what could be a long career in cross-country skiing. But instead, Andreas Kirkeng is considering retirement. The explanation is simple: The star University of Denver athlete is not American. He’s Norwegian. And in Norway, aspiring to be a top cross-country skier is like trying to become an astronaut: Many, many try,...
ANCHORAGE — Alaskans like to think of their home state as the center of American cross-country skiing. Minnesotans might quibble. But consider the more than 200 volunteers who turned out to help host the U.S. National Championships in Anchorage this week, and the dozens of local athletes who signed up to race. There was just one problem: Through five of six of the championship events, athletes from Norway, Sweden, Colorado and Idaho had denied the...
ANCHORAGE — Luke Jager spent most of his cross-country ski career training and racing with a tight group of talented, up-and-coming American men — the first ever to win a gold medal in the relay at the World Junior Ski Championships. Two of Jager’s teammates on that relay squad, Gus Schumacher and Ben Ogden, have made the leap to the top-level, international World Cup, where both have collected podiums in the past two seasons —...
It’s the most wonderful time of the year — or is it? The Tour de Ski has returned, but Devon has some beef with this year’s watered down format. Plus, recaps of the four races we’ve been through so far, including Jessie Diggins sprint win from heat five. Send feedback, hate mail and love letters to devon@fasterskier.com. You can send love letters to nat@fasterskier.com. See you in a couple of days. `
The STIFEL U.S. Cross Country Ski Team announced their coaching and support staff for the World Junior & U23 Championships to be held in Bergamo-Schilpario, Italy (February 3-9, 2025). Cross Country Coaches: Trip Leader & Head Coach: Greta Anderson, US Ski Team Coach: Bryan Fish, US Ski Team Coach: Matt Boobar, Stratton Mountain School Coach: Julia Hayes Cross Country Service Staff: Head of Service: August Teague, Aspen Valley Ski Club Service: Peter...
Dear Cross Country Community, We are pleased to announce the Team for Period 2 of the 2024-25 World Cup season – the Tour de Ski: 2024-25 Tour de Ski Men John Hagenbuch Objective 24-25 Overall SuperTour Leader Gus Schumacher Objective 9th 24-25 Distance World Cup Ben Ogden Objective 10th 24-24 Sprint World Cup Zanden McMullen Objective 19th 24-25 Distance World Cup Jack Young Objective 24th 24-24 Sprint World Cup JC Schoonmaker Objective 31st 24-24 Sprint...
It’s vacation time. We hear from some of the U.S. Ski Team men holed up in their Christmas cottage in Davos, Switzerland — featuring a new lightning round quiz segment — and Devon and Nat take us through the weekend’s results. Happy holidays: We’ll be back during the Tour de Ski. Questions, comments, want us to use less (or more) profanity? Reach us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
Norwegians are born with skis on their feet, blah blah blah, we know. They’re good at skiing and they won pretty much all the races on home snow this weekend…but they were still fun events to watch. Devon reports from Norway while Nat tunes in from melting Alaska; they don’t need any stinkin’ guests this week. Got questions for us? New cross-country skiing meme accounts we should follow? nat@fasterskier.com and devon@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back soon....
Devon has a cold, but don’t let that deter you — he perseveres, and we welcome special guess Zanden McMullen after his breakout weekend in Ruka. We’ve got recaps of the astonishingly entertaining racing in Finland, plus bonus discussion of sponsorship feuds and other news. Send us your questions, comments, fan mail and hate mail: nat@fasterskier.com and devon@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back after Lillehammer.
This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers. If you would like to see more articles like this one, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription. Despite a challenging start to the 2023-2024 season, Zak Ketterson (entering his third year on the U.S. B-Team), narrowly qualified for the Minneapolis World Cup—fulfilling his goal of racing, not merely in the United States, but in his own hometown. The Minnesota native has...
It’s race season, baby. It’s also Thanksgiving week, at least in America. Tune in to learn how to avoid turkey legs while you’re racing and for a full recap of last weekend’s competitions in Sweden and Norway. Didn’t know the name Andreas Ree before Sunday? We’ll catch you up. Julia Ystgaard, Canada’s World Cup coach, joins us to break down her team’s solid performances, as well. It’s also the time of year when we remind...