Dear Cross Country Community, We are pleased to announce the USA Cross Country Team for World Cup Period 2 of the 2020-21 season: Tour de Ski 2021 Men Gus Schumacher Objective Overall 19-20 SuperTour Leader Simi Hamilton Objective 8th WC Sprint...
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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.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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 warming temperatures and through clearing skies the men battled their way three times around the challenging 5-kilometer course in Davos. With the noted absences of Norway, Sweden,...
Brennan Secures Victory Number Two in Davos, Swirbul Finds First World Cup Podium in 3rd
Ella HallDecember 13, 2020
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. New snow and cloudy skies did nothing to hinder the fire of Rosie Brennan as she sped around the 10-kilometer course in a time of 24:49.8, securing her second-ever...
Davos Skate Away: Pellegrino Wins with Logan Hanneman Leading the U.S. in 9th
Jason AlbertDecember 12, 2020
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino (30) loves the skate sprint. Before his win in the Davos, Switzerland, freestyle sprint on Saturday, Pellegrino had won 13 World Cup sprints. All of those...
Brennan Nails First World Cup Podium and Win in Davos; Caldwell Hamilton 5th (updated)
Rachel PerkinsDecember 12, 2020
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. With a thick, fresh coat of fluffy white snow that fell over the last week, Davos, Switzerland looked regal as ever despite the smaller field and lack of spectators...
The Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet published a story Monday claiming the Norwegian Ski Federation would not send cross-country skiers to any remaining World Cups before the World Championships starting on February 23, in Oberstdorf, Germany. No official statement has been published by the Norwegian Ski Federation regarding a long-term Norwegian World Cup hiatus. Although, Dagbladet claims that is imminent. It appears the rationale for a total withdrawal from World Cup races through February appears premised on...
Lillehammer cancels World Cup events. Norway, Sweden, and Finland pull from the World Cup after the opening weekend in Ruka citing COVID safety concerns. To an outsider, these headlines paint a seemingly bleak picture of the start of the race season. However, an international time trial featuring a skate sprint day Friday and distance event Saturday sparked hope for the American team as they remain in Europe focused on the upcoming weekend of racing in...
In her words: Anchorage skier Rosie Brennan Grapples with what’s Safe and what isn’t on the World Cup Circuit (Republished with Permission from the ADN)
Rosie BrennanDecember 4, 2020
This article originally appeared in the Anchorage Daily News and is republished with permission. Anchorage resident Rosie Brennan is a World Cup cross-country skier who trains with the Alaska Pacific University nordic team and is a member of the U.S. Ski Team. She’s an athlete representative for US Ski and Snowboard and is currently racing in Europe. She was one of the top racers at last week’s season-opening competitions in Finland. We asked her...
Sweden and Finland Follow Norway and Withdraw from December World Cups (Updated)
FasterSkierDecember 2, 2020
Yesterday Norway announced it would cease sending skiers to the World Cups in Davos, Switzerland and Dresden, Germany due to Covid-19 concerns. Rumors swirled that Sweden would make a similar decision. Twenty-four hours later the Swedish Ski Federation announced they too would withdraw from December’s competitions. “We learned some lessons about the implementation of a World Cup competition in Ruka. We have found that it went well. But we may also have been lucky. As it stands,...
Norway Withdraws from December World Cups
FasterSkierDecember 1, 2020
Norway is pulling athletes from World Cup competitions through at least the holiday break. This was widely reported Tuesday in the Norwegian press. The Norwegian race hiatus includes stops in Davos, Switzerland, and Dresden, Germany. “We do not know the consequences of infection in a fitness practitioner, who is dependent on good lung capacity, yet. Therefore, it has been the number one priority not to get an athlete infected, because it can ruin the season...
Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Emil Iversen Temporarily Step Away from World Cup
FasterSkierNovember 30, 2020
This morning news came out of Norway that star skiers Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (24) and Emil Iversen (29) are temporarily stepping away from World Cup competitions due to the ongoing pandemic. Aftenposten, a leading Norwegian news outlet, reported Klæbo had decided to withdraw from competition until at least the start of the Tour de Ski. According to the translated Aftenposten article, Klæbo stated the following in a press release: “I’ve been feeling this for a...
With a Razzle Dazzle Hop-Skate Klæbo Wins Ruka 15 k Pursuit: Gus Schumacher 32nd for U.S.
Jason AlbertNovember 29, 2020
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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 human condition, let’s face it, is rife with fragility. Some days it’s up, others it’s down. Last Friday, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway had a surprised look of...
Johaug in Command for Ruka Triple Win: Rosie Brennan Spots Up for a Career Best Fifth Overall
Jason AlbertNovember 29, 2020
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. For those new to the pursuit format, racers begin a set “time back” from the first starter, who in this case is the overall leader after two races. A...
Setting Up Tension for Sunday’s Final – Johannes Høsflot Klæbo Wins Ruka’s 15 k Classic
Jason AlbertNovember 28, 2020
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. A spicy rivalry in sports just heightens the tension. Although Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has achieved wunderkind status, last season his prowess was usurped by a stronger Alexander Bolshunov...
10 K Classic in Ruka Serves Up a Win for Therese Johaug: Rosie Brennan 8th
Jason AlbertNovember 28, 2020
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. Just a few more rotations of the earth and we’ll be in December – trending towards solid wintertime. The World Cup, as it has for 19 years, swung up...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. At roughly two minutes into the men’s final of the 1.4-kilometer classic sprint in Ruka, Finland, the race broke apart. On a notoriously steep and taxing hill, Norway’s...
Sweden Locks Up the Ruka Sprint Podium: Brennan Leads the U.S. in 17th
Jason AlbertNovember 27, 2020
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. It’s a win to open the World Cup season in Ruka, Finland for twenty-year-old Linn Svahn of Sweden. Svahn’s victory in the 1.4-kilometer classic sprint on Friday capped a...
IBU Communicates Biathletes from Numerous Countries Test Positive for COVID (Updated)
FasterSkierNovember 25, 2020
The International Biathlon Union announced on Wednesday that as part of their Covid-19 testing protocols, several teams had athletes test positive for the virus. Those positive tests were from Russian, Latvian, and Moldovan biathletes. The IBU stated it was the first of a series of PCR tests to be administered in Kontiolahti, Finland, the first stop of the IBU World Cup. In an email received Thursday morning, the IBU relayed news that athletes from France...
A brave new world awaits World Cup skiers for Period I on the cross-country World Cup. The scheduling is the easy part, three race weekends reduced from four for Period I. The racing in Lillehammer, Norway, has been postponed due to Covid-19 precautions. In an email to FasterSkier, Cross-Country Program Director Chris Grover wrote the following when asked about the team’s protocols if an athlete tests positive for Covid-19. If someone in our group tests...
We’ll keep this as simple as we can. This piece includes information about streaming the FIS Cross-Country World Cup on your computer or watching on cable TV through a U.S. based content provider. This is not a primer on acquiring a VPN and tapping into a European based broadcast network. We know of a single reliable option at this point for viewing the World Cup – that would be the subscription model offered by NBC...