World Cup – Page 24 – FasterSkier.com

Sadie Bjornsen: Finding the Balance

Jason AlbertNovember 13, 2020

The cyclic nature of the U.S. Ski Team can be described as a slow churn. The team, most often, invests considerable time and resources on developing promising skiers. Roster turnover, from year to year, is rare. Among those rarefied athletes we take for granted as nearly always being part of the elite of elite is Sadie Bjornsen. Originally from the Methow Valley and now a resident of Anchorage, Alaska where she trains with APU, the...

News World Cup

News Round-Up: Lillehammer World Cups Postponed (Updated)

FasterSkierNovember 12, 2020

This morning the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced the postponement of the Lillehammer, Norway World Cup events. President of the Norwegian Ski Federation, Erik Røste, told FIS, “Based on the difficult time we are in, the uncertainty and the consequences associated with Covid-19, the Norwegian Ski Association believes that it is not right to arrange the World Cup in Lillehammer now. We would rather work on finding new dates in consultation with FIS and...

Biathlon World Cup

US Biathlon Prepares for a New Look 2020-2021 Season

Peter MindeNovember 2, 2020

As coronavirus cases spike worldwide, biathletes are preparing for a modified start to the 2020-2021 World Cup season. The schedule emphasizes less travel than would be the norm on the IBU World Cup circuit. At the end of September, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) announced that the first four races of the winter would be held at two venues. Kontiolahti, Finland, will host the first two events on consecutive weekends, starting 27 November. Hochfilzen, Austria...

Doping Opinion World Cup

Doping, Bias, and Cleaning up Sport

Jason AlbertOctober 30, 2020

Covering doping in sports like biathlon and cross-country skiing here in North America can make one feel self-rightous. The U.S. and Canada run clean systems if positive doping tests are the benchmark for suspicion. As far as we can tell, there’s been a single case involving a North American nordic sport athlete. In 1987, an American caused a stir after the 1987 Nordic World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. Kerry Lynch, a nordic combined skier, admitted...

Racing US Ski Team World Cup

SuperTour COC Leader and Discretionary Nomination Selection Dates

Chris GroverOctober 13, 2020

Dear Cross Country Community, Now that the autumn FIS Cross Country Committee meetings are over, and we have confirmed the World Cup calendar for 2020-21, you can find all finalized selection criteria for World Cup, the Oberstdorf Nordic World Championships, the World Junior and U23 World Champs, the U18 Nordic Nations Championships, etc. here: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/sport-programs/criteria With the cancellation of the USA SuperTour Continental Cup Series for 2020-21, the FIS Cross Country Committee has granted...

News World Cup

FIS Ousts Sarah Lewis

FasterSkierOctober 12, 2020

The International Ski Federation announced last Friday that Secretary General Sarah Lewis has been relieved of her duties effective immediately. “At its meeting today, the FIS Council, including the members of the Marc Hodler Foundation, has decided by a great majority vote to terminate the employment relationship with Sarah Lewis (in accordance with its contractual terms) and that she is released from her work duties as the Secretary General of FIS, effective 9th October 2020.”...

Racing World Cup

FIS and IBU Pull Back from 2020-2021 Fluoro Ban

FasterSkierOctober 9, 2020

This morning the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the International Ski Federation announced they were postponing their fluoro wax bans until the 2021-2022 season. The stated reason in the IBU press release was the following: “allow more time to test and refine the Fluorine Tracker device that is currently under development.” FIS also claimed the device was not ready for use on the World Cup: “Despite the accuracy of the device measurement technology, testing also...

World Cup

FIS Cross-Country Committee Sets Schedule and Extends Maternity Protection Status

FasterSkierOctober 5, 2020

Last week, the International Ski Federation (FIS) concluded its fall Cross-Country Committee meetings. The most pressing issues are COVID related and concern the calendaring and running of safe events. Many variables remain in play, like how each hosting country experiences a predicted uptick in COVID cases this winter. Within this context, the Cross-Country Committee made several recommendations that have yet to be approved by the FIS Council. The FIS Council is scheduled to meet...

Feature Interviews World Cup

Life After Sport: Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen

FasterSkierOctober 1, 2020

This Interview with former Norwegian National Team member Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen comes from Paolo Romanò, a reporter for Fondoitalia.it. The interview was also published on the FIS website. This version of the interview has been lightly edited. Since 22nd February 2007 – at the young age of twenty – Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen shocked the cross-country skiing world. From that first gold medal in the classic sprint at the World Ski Championships in Sapporo, many have...

News World Cup

IBU Announces Plans for First Trimester of World Cup Season (Press Release)

FasterSkierSeptember 26, 2020

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Biathlon Union today announced that four World Cup events will take place in the first trimester of the 2020/21 season as planned. However, in order to minimise travel and protect athlete and stakeholder safety they will be hosted in just two venues. The competition dates and disciplines remain unchanged. The EB also agreed that the 14th Ordinary IBU Congress will be held virtually and the adjusted IBU Cup...

News Racing World Cup

Kuusamo, Finland World Cup Goes Full Steam Ahead – with no Fans

FasterSkierSeptember 24, 2020

The local organizing club for the first cross-country Word Cup of the season, Kuusamon Erä-Veikot, announced on it’s website According to an official statement, the decision was made after consulting with the Finnish Ski Association and the International Ski Federation (FIS). However, organizers make clear that it still awaits “final confirmation” from FIS.

Biathlon Racing World Cup

IBU adjusts competition schedule for 2020/21 season (Press Release)

FasterSkierSeptember 11, 2020

The International Biathlon Union posted a press release Friday with the following key take aways. We will post the full press release below. “The IBU is planning to hold a full BMW IBU World Cup.” “The IBU Executive Board will meet on 26-27 September to take a decision on whether adjustments need to be made to the planned World Cup programme in the first trimester (November-December 2020).” “The World Championships Biathlon in Pokljuka (09-21 February...

News Racing World Cup

Covid-19 Trends and Early Season World Cups: An Update

Jason AlbertSeptember 9, 2020

With the ever-evolving nature of the pandemic, two months out from our article titled “Covid-19 Trends and Early Season World Cups“, we thought it an appropriate time to review Covid-19 trends in Europe. If the International Ski Federation chooses not to modify Period 1 and Period II on the World Cup, Finland, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy will host already calendared events. In early June, when we first examined Covid-19 in those countries, the overall...

Sponsored: Never Waste An Opportunity To Improve

Racing World Cup

Covid-19 Trends and Early Season World Cups

Jason AlbertJuly 8, 2020

The Covid-19 news in the United States is unequivocally grim: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, July 3rd stands as the current peak of Covid-19 cases diagnosed in the U.S. The curve is spiking as opposed to flattening. Last week, the European Union took the unprecedented step of banning U.S. citizens from traveling to the region. With few exceptions, unless one is a healthcare professional, seasonal agricultural worker, diplomat, or an essential international...

General News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

FIS Points, Part II: What’s a Point Worth

Gavin KentchMay 21, 2020

This article has been updated to clarify the relationship between the junior races now known as FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships and its precursor, the World Junior Nordic Championships and the European Junior Nordic Championships. There are, to briefly traffic in the obvious, 60 seconds in a minute. Sixty seconds in a minute; 60 minutes in an hour; 3,600 seconds in an hour. Skiers measure their lives in these increments; we track total yearly training hours,...

Racing World Cup

A Small Glimpse of the World Cup Season

Jason AlbertMarch 18, 2020

A time of unsettling news. How else to describe the global specter? With all do respect to those involved in the cross-country world, including FasterSkier, we understand our place in the prioritization hierarchy. A line from The New Yorker online, in a piece titled ‘When Tom Brady Said Goodbye’ by Louisa Thomas, resonated: “Among the many functions that sports serve is to give people something silly to argue passionately about during serious times.” True words....

Racing World Cup

Press Release: Québec City World Cup Cancelled

FasterSkierMarch 13, 2020

At 7:50am local time on Friday, the LOC Gestev sent out a message. Cancelling events is always difficult; the reference to ‘force majeure’ is a necessary legal step in the process. Cancellation of 2020 Quebec City COOP FIS Cross-Country World Cup Quebec City, Friday, March 13, 2020 – As the global situation surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, in the last few hours it has come to the attention of Quebec Winter Events...

Canadian National Ski Team Racing World Cup

Press Release: Canada Pulls Out Of Québec City World Cup

FasterSkierMarch 13, 2020

At 1am Eastern time on Friday, Nordiq Canada sent out a press release. The release mentions that the decision to drop out was made in solidarity with a list of countries, including the USA. As FasterSkier shared a flight to Québec City with a number of US and Canadian athletes and officials on Thursday afternoon, this was a late decision. Nordiq Canada Withdraws from FIS Cross Country World Cup in Quebec City QUEBEC CITY—After much...

Newer Posts

Older Posts