“Driven,” “opinionated,” and “uncompromising” are probably three of the best words to describe U.S. Ski Team (USST) coach Pete Vordenberg, but you can’t forget “thoughtful,” too. Vordenberg, the team’s head coach from 2006 until this spring, is one of the few ski coaches out there who can claim to have authored a book. With his blend of pragmatism and passion, he sat at the helm of USST for four years, during which the program went...
The new prologue distance that’s growing in popularity is about twice as long as a sprint. And by most accounts, it’s twice as hard. The event puts a premium on pacing, and for athletes who go out too hard, a whole lot of suffering is in store. The event, and the hurt, was on display Thursday morning at the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid, where the U.S. Ski Team (USST) is conducting its final...
If Vegard Ulvang gets run out of Europe, it appears that he still could safely make his home in North America. Ulvang is the chair of the International Ski Federation’s cross-country committee, which is considering the introduction of a new race format that includes five kilometers of climbing followed by five kilometers of technical downhill. Scandinavians have reacted to the idea with derision: Norwegian Eldar Roenning told the newspaper Nettavisen that the idea was “the...
It took him four tries, but the U.S. Ski Team’s Kris Freeman can add a victory at the Whiteface Climb to the Castle to his list of accomplishments. “I finally won the Climb to the Castle!” Freeman said. Stymied in three previous attempts by inferior competition with superior rollerskis, Freeman left his teammate Noah Hoffman behind at halfway mark of this year’s edition of the five-mile race, skiing unchallenged to a 39-second victory. Ben Sim, the...
Chalk one up for the biathletes. Just over halfway through Friday’s Climb to the Castle race on Whiteface Mountain, U.S. National Biathlon Team member Laura Spector went to the front of a five-strong women’s pack and left behind four of the country’s best cross-country skiers. Churning her way through fierce gusts of wind—which staff at the summit estimated at 60 miles per hour—the diminutive Spector crossed the line with a big gap on U.S. Ski...
SARANAC LAKE, NY (Oct. 5) – There are two significant road signs along the winding highway leading from Lake Champlain to the Adirondack Mountains. The first is stark green and marks Fletcher Farm road in Vermontville, population 853. It reads “Home of Billy Demong, Olympic gold and silver champion.” Roughly 10 miles later is another welcoming travelers to Saranac Lake. This one plainly states “Home of the 1996 State Champion Cross Country Team.” Demong referenced the...
Every region in the U.S. seems to have its own iconic dryland hill climb. In Alaska, there’s Mount Marathon. Out west, it’s Agony. In the Midwest—well, uh… forget about the Midwest. But in the northeast, there’s one of the most brutal: the Whiteface Climb to the Castle. Okay, okay, we know. Mount Marathon’s got more history. Agony’s steeper. This year’s Climb to the Castle is only the fourth-ever edition of the event. But there’s no...
It’s official: Kikkan Randall, Andy Newell, and Kris Freeman will all compete in the 2011 Tour de Ski. U.S. Ski Team (USST) coaches have confirmed that the Americans will send three athletes to this winter’s race, which features eight stages at four different European venues. That triples the American presence over last year, when Newell completed four stages before dropping out. In an interview, Randall said that she was excited to get a start in...
The Canadian National Ski Team’s tour of North American continues this weekend, as the squad arrives in Utah for a three-week altitude camp. The Canadians are invading Park City, home base of the U.S. Ski Team, and they’ll have ample opportunity for cross-pollination. Kikkan Randall will be living and training with the Canadians for the entirety of their stateside stint, and Morgan Smyth, Katie Ronsse, Liz Stephen, Morgan Arritola, James Southam and Noah Hoffman will...
SUN VALLEY, ID (Sept. 14) – World Championship medalistAndy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) and top distance athlete Liz Stephen (E. Montpelier, VT) and Noah Hoffman (Aspen, CO) and 2010 Olympian Morgan Arritola, Fairfield, ID (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; Fischer, Salomon, Kris Freeman, Andover, NH (Andover Outing Club; Fischer, Alpina, Alpina, Swix ) 10/14/1980* Kikkan Randall, Anchorage (Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center; Fischer, Salomon, Salomon, Swix) 12/31/1982* Noah Hoffman, Aspen, CO (Aspen Valley Ski Club;...
Evidence of autumn abounds at the U.S. Ski Team’s camp in Sun Valley. Temperatures on Thursday struggled to break 50 degrees, there’s snow in the mountains outside town, and with three time trials over the next week and a half, the team’s training focus has shifted from volume to intensity. But despite the signs of the inexorable creep towards winter, nobody’s getting ahead of themselves. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, still,” said...
PARK CITY, UT – A new medical partnership with Salt Lake MRI will bring added benefits to U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding athletes. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) announced a partnership with Salt Lake MRI to provide support to injured athletes providing priority bookings and scan support. “The efficiency of quickly getting our athletes assessed and undergoing the right treatment modalities takes our sports medicine program to another level,” said USSA High...
Top regional junior skiers participate each year in one of four Regional Elite Group (REG) summer camps. The camps include general and ski-specific assessments, ski technique support as well as athlete and coaches education. Each camp includes U.S. Ski Team coaching staff which observe, interact and coach. With the help of regional coaches attending the camps, the U.S. Ski Team coaching staff selects the top athletes from all four REG camps (East, Central, West and...
There aren’t many people who can spend more time in work boots than cycling shoes and still harbor reasonable hopes of keeping up in a bike race with Tour de France veterans. But count American nordic combined skier Billy Demong as one of the few members of that group. Over the past few years, Demong has been an avid bike racer during the off-season. This summer, though, he’s been more focused on remodeling his house...
OBERTSDORF, Germany (Aug. 8) – A pair of brothers represented the U.S. Nordic Combined Team on Sunday in the final Grand Prix staged in Obertsdorf. Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) slid inside the top-10 for the first time, finishing first for the U.S., while Germany’s Johannes Rydzek won the competition. The nordic combined competition was tight, with the top nine men separated by 20 seconds as they pushed across the finish line in the cross...
Sure, it’s only August. Sure, it’s the Southern hemisphere. And yeah, okay, the Americans and Canadians have been training over 20 hours a week during their camps in New Zealand. But all this notwithstanding, most people would still agree that winning a skate sprint over Andy Newell is a great way to start your rookie season on the U.S. Ski Team. And that’s what Simi Hamilton did on Saturday, nipping Newell by inches at the...
One day into their three-race series in New Zealand, it’s U.S. 1, Canada 1. In Friday’s 10/15 k classic mass start at the Waiorau Snow Farm, the North American teams stamped their authority on the trails of the southern hemisphere. In the women’s race, Liz Stephen (USA) bested teammate Morgan Arritola in a lunge at the line, while Canada’s Devon Kershaw took the victory over American Kris Freeman in the men’s edition. Kikkan Randall (USA),...
The World Cup opener is still 100 days away, but for the U.S. and Canadian national teams, the 2010-2011 cross-country season kicks off today with a 10/15 k classic mass start event. The race is part of the ANC series – the Australian and New Zealand Continental Cup. It is being held at the Snow Farm in New Zealand, and will feature an elite, if small, field. The U.S. Ski Team (USST) will start their...
PARK CITY, UT (Aug. 1) – The 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Nordic Combined Championships concluded Sunday evening at Soldier Hollow with Park City’s own Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) coming across the finish line first, marking his first U.S. Championship title. After the jumping portion, held at the Utah Olympic Park, Brett Camerota was seeded 1:14 ahead of 2011 runner-up Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO). Lodwick went into the cross country portion starting third behind brothers...
If one of his athletes was forced to endure a serious injury, U.S. Nordic Combined Head Coach Dave Jarrett would probably prefer that it happen to Johnny Spillane. Earlier this week, Spillane—the 29-year-old triple Olympic silver medalist—was diagnosed with a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, which will likely require at least four months of recovery. But according to Jarrett, after several injuries over the past few years, Spillane is “a pro at...