This is the second installment of a seven part series in which the US Ski Team’s Noah Hoffman recounts his 2010-2011 season. 8/16/2010 My training so far this year has progressed really well! I feel fit, my energy has been really good, I’ve really enjoyed all of the travel, and my technique work is slowly but surely heading in the right direction. Since my last update I’ve been to two US Ski Team Camps in...
The US Ski Team’s Noah Hoffman spent most of the winter racing in Europe, with stints back in the United States for National Championships and the SuperTour Finals. With two top-30’s at World Championships in Oslo, Norway leading the way, Noah had his best season to date, adding strong performances on the World Cup and U23 World Championships. Along the way, Noah sent periodic updates back to friends and family – a digital diary documenting...
“Hellner had a couple of beers and we all know how that went,” Northug said to the audience at a presentation in Oslo last week. Northug is already focusing on Sotchi 2014.
At Polish three time overall World Cup champion Justyna Kowalczyk has never been one to keep her mouth shut. Take, for example, her accusation that Marit Bjoergen’s asthma medicine is performance-enhancing. “Without the medicine Marit would not have won gold medals,” Kowalczyk said at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. If Bjoergen has asthma, then it may very well be true. But Kowalczyk’s implication was that either Bjoergen did not have asthma and was taking the...
The 2nd annual National J2 Talent Camp will be conducted August 1- August 8, 2011 in Sun Valley, ID. The camp will provide a great opportunity for many of the top young cross country skiers in the U.S. to train together, and learn from USST staff and top club coaches. The camp is the first step along the U.S. development pipeline for promising young skiers. Each year the location of the camp will rotate around the U.S. to other great training venues,...
Registration is open to the general public for the 2011 Oregon Spring Camp taking place May 26-30, 2011 (Memorial Day weekend) at Bend/Mt Bachelor, Oregon. Designed primarily as a master/citizen XC ski camp, junior skiers with a chaperone adult camper are also welcome. Due to carefully limited enrollment numbers, this camp is recommended only for skiers at intermediate and above skill levels. Featuring on-snow morning sessions and a variety of optional events including...
When Therese Johaug crossed the finish line as a World Champion in the 30K skate, Mom and Dad were among the first ones there to greet her in the paddock.
Daniel Rickardsson, the Swede who taught everyone a lesson on how to race a 15K classic interval start when he won the 15K by almost a full 30 seconds during the World Cup in Drammen eight days ago, is ready to get even with the Norwegians from Sunday’s pursuit.
Health problems related to smoke and pollution in the ski waxing rooms have attracted increased attention in recent years. Leading researchers in this field come from Sweden and Norway. Invited by Inggard Lereim, head of medical and anti-doping for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Oslo 2011, these researchers presented their latest results for doctors, head coaches and leaders of the team service teams in a special research seminar on the topic held in Holmenkollen...
Pete Phillips has a coaching resume that is one of the best in North America. He is currently the Head Nordic Coach at
Newton North High School in Newtonville, Massachuessetts. He WOJB. The official race station is 88.9 WOJB. It’s a community station broadcasting off the local reservation. It has eclectic and quirky programming. Starting on Friday, they broadcast wax tips and Birkie-themed music (it’s very corny). It will either get you in the mood for the race or drive you batty. • Bib pick-up. Get your materials before the race, if possible. If you’re in the tenth wave, you’ll...
Those who have been around North American racing for a while will recall Glenn Bond, who raced full-time with the Canadian team from 1992 to 2002. Well, Bond is back. This serves as your warning.
Adam St.Pierre, M.S. is the head coach of the Boulder Nordic Junior Racing Team and an exercise physiologist with the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. As we approach the heart of the XC ski racing season, it is important that athletes adjust their training to get into peak form for the year’s big races, whether they be World Championships, SuperTours, or local events. Peaking is what endurance athletes try to do just before their most...
His coach announces Petter Northug, 25, the world champion of peaking for a major event. Just over 40 days left until the Oslo world championships.
After a difficult 2010 season, Morgan Smyth, 24, seems to be back in business and chasing medals. Wednesday, the former US Ski Team racer won the silver medal in the women’s 10K classic at US Senior Nationals in Rumford, Maine. But nothing has come for free.
What happens when a famous Norwegian couch potato embarks on Petter Northug’s training program and basically follows Northug’s daily routine for eight weeks?
What might a cross-country ski racer learn from a 1,400 pound chunk of high-tech composite, space-age metals? As it turns out, there are more similarities than you might think, and the answer is: a lot. Formula One (F1) cars are some of the most advanced pieces of machinery man has ever created. Their engines are nothing short of engineering marvels, and define the limits of combustion-engine performance. Although the engine itself is relatively small, they...
On race morning, with all its accompanying nerves, it’s hard enough for cross-country skiers to choke down a single meal. But for sprinters, that’s a scenario that sometimes must be repeated three more times before the day is over. With races sometimes stretching over several hours, from a qualifying round through three heats, sprinters know that a steady intake of food and drink is crucial to maintaining high energy levels—though that’s easier said than done,...
In the past, our “Pro Workout” series has featured a single training session from an elite North American skier, but this week CXC’s Caitlin Compton gives us a slightly different take. Instead of detailing a favorite workout, Compton addresses an oft-ignored aspect of race preparation – the ability to respond to challenging and unexpected circumstances. Over the past several years, major North American events have been disrupted by everything from volcanic eruptions to frigid temperatures...
It may sound trite, but in cross-country ski racing, you can never have too much speed. If you want proof, ask any of Emil Joensson’s opponents in recent World Cup sprints. The ability to accelerate quickly and reach high maximum speeds, be it in a sprint or during a surge in a mass start race, is critical to racing success. For Brian Gregg, a member of CXC’s elite team, his favorite workout focuses on just...