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World Cup

The cream of the crop. The best in the world compete all winter long on the World Cup. We follow them at every stop with article and results. We also post occasional reports from North America’s best as they travel the globe.
Making the Grade: A, B, and D Teams. What’s the Difference?

Every fall the U.S. cross-country ski team announces its new roster. But there are teams within the team which makes it a little complicated to figure out exactly who belongs where. With designations of A, B, and D teams. The method for how members are selected to these teams is well documented, and it’s all contained in a public document on the U.S. team’s website. But as you’ll see, that process is going to change...

2025 World Championships in Trondheim, Norway

  This February and March, the attention of Nordic ski world will be on the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim, Norway! The World Championships only happen every two years and, besides the Olympics, it’s the most prestigious event for World Cup skiers. And did I mention it’s in Norway? Lumi Experiences has lodging and grandstand tickets reserved for this unique Nordic event. The trip deadline is approaching fast: receive a $300 / person booking discount...

Laukli’s Summer of Ups and Downs Ends With a Surprise. Part II

In Part I of our interview with Sophia Laukli, FasterSkier caught up with her before she had returned to the Golden Trail Series Tour, and discussed the ups and downs of the difficult summer she had. We’ll continue our discussion with Laukli about the upcoming race season but first, we need to bring readers up to date with how she fared in the Golden Trail Series finals, and how she is feeling after her summer...

Laukli’s Summer of Ups and Downs Ends With a Surprise. Part I

Last year was a breakout season for Sophia Laukli. She reached the top of the podium in a World Cup race and had a solid skiing season. In her non-skiing job, she also won the Golden Trail Series championship, being crowned the best international trail runner, all while making it look fairly easy. She dominated the race circuit and gave the best professional trail runners fits as she casually strolled to the race starts fresh...

Are You Ready to Watch Racing This Winter?

It’s hard to believe, but the first World Cup cross-country race is just around the corner. November 29th marks the cross-country racing season kickoff, in Ruka, Finland. For fans who want to watch the races, there are a couple of easy options. Once again, Ski and Snowboard Live will be the United States’ streaming service for viewing cross-country events held outside of the country, and this season, that means every race. Their coverage will include...

Rosie Brennan, Grinding On, But Not Forever. Part II

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In Part I of FasterSkier’s interview with Rosie Brennan, she discussed her illness during the second half of the season, her pride in being an all around skier, and the challenges and emotions...

Rosie Brennan: Grinding On, But Not Forever. Part I

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Rosie Brennan has been a mainstay of the U.S. ski team for years and is routinely one of its top performers. The APU (Alaska Pacific University) skier has earned the status and acclaim...

NNF Announces Trail to Gold Application is Now Open

  The National Nordic Foundation (NNF) is excited to announce that the application period for Trail to Gold Coaching Grants is now open. The Trail to Gold Coaching Grant program provides American women coaches and technicians the opportunity to gain international-level experience through an immersive internship with the US Ski Team. The third class of T2G Coaches will further build on the success of the past two years by continuing to add a dynamic, impactful presence to...

A Story of Resilience and Hard Work: Coming Back from a Season-Ending Injury with Graham Ritchie

Speaking with FasterSkier from Torsby, Sweden, Graham Ritchie is together with three teammates from the Canadian National Development Team completing a three-week long training camp in the Torsby Ski Tunnels – an experience he describes as “unique.” Working with his coach, this camp will provide Ritchie with some valuable hours on snow after an injury that caused him to sit out last season entirely. A 25-year-old Canadian nordic skier, Ritchie made a late debut into...

The SMST2 Team Announces Gap Grants to Fully Fund World Cup Experience for Athletes

The SMST2 Team is proud to announce this year’s Gap Grant program to support elite World Cup skiers in their pursuit of excellence on the international stage.  This initiative provides financial assistance to unfunded (D Team and non-USST) athletes that qualify to race on the FIS World Cup for any period of time. Gap Grants were made possible by the generous contribution of an anonymous donor and will be available to SMST2 skiers for the...

US Ski and Snowboard Announces World Cup Team for Period 1

Dear Cross Country Community,   We are pleased to announce the XC Team for Period 1 of the 2024-25 World Cup season:   Ruka, FIN Sprint C Men Michael Earnhart                      Objective          23-24 Overall SuperTour Leader JC Schoonmaker                        Objective          10th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Ben Ogden                                Objective          15th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Gus Schumacher                       Objective          27th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Kevin Bolger                             Objective          30th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Zak Ketterson                           Objective          35th 23-24 Sprint World Cup...

Jessie Diggins agrees. Yes, that was stupid

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. All of us need to take a break from our jobs every now and then and do something a little bit—out there— which challenges us. For many, that’s going for a long ski,...

Sprinting Away With Julia Kern. Part II

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In part I of our interview with Julia Kern we talked about her summer training changes, and what was a very challenging winter of racing. Please continue reading for Part II of our...

Sprinting Away With Julia Kern. Part I

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Julia Kern is firmly established as a veteran member of the U.S. Ski team. She is uniquely sandwiched between the venerable veterans Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan, and the up and coming squad of...

No Miracles, Lots of Hard Work—Lake Placid’s World Cup Bid:  Part II

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In Part I of FasterSkier’s article about the Lake Placid organizing committee’s work to be chosen as a venue for a World Cup, we spoke with Kris Seymour, Nordic Program Coordinator for the...

No Miracles, Lots of Hard Work—Lake Placid’s World Cup Bid:  Part I

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. The Minneapolis World Cup was a sensational success. Now, the announcement of the upcoming vote on Lake Placid as a host venue for a cross-country World Cup weekend has kindled hopes of another...

2025 Trondheim Nordic World Championships and the 2024-25 World Cup Criteria Announced

Dear Cross Country Community, The finalized selection criteria for the 2025 Trondheim Nordic World Championships and the 2024-25 World Cup have been approved by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Cross Country Sport Committee and can be found here: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/sport-programs/criteria You’ll notice the selection methods are the same as in recent past seasons.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns about the criteria, please reach out.  My contact info is below.  I wish everyone...

Bend Camp—Building the Team Dynamic:  Part II

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In part one of our interview with U.S. coach, Matt Whitcomb, about Bend spring training camp he told us about training regimens and the team building approach. In part II, Whitcomb talks more...

Lake Placid’s Bid: What It Took to Get Another American World Cup

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. After the smash success of the Minneapolis World Cup, a question being asked by American cross-country fans was whether Minneapolis was a one trick pony, or would we see other World Cup events...

USSS Congress Highlights: Lake Placid to Host 2026 World Cup Final

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Skiing is an activity divided into seasons of the year: summer is when fast skiers are made; winter leaves us feeling like it went by all too fast; spring is for politics....