This year’s Swedish Vasaloppet saw a record number of racers. There were 15,702 finishers in the 90 kilometer classic race, which saw it’s first running in 1922 with 100 participants. The race’s history comes from the beginning of Sweden’s independence from Denmark, led by nobleman Gustav Vasa. After his first failed attempt at recruiting his countrymen to join in his revolt, Vasa fled toward Norway. Two Swedish skiers were sent to bring Vasa back and...
The stakes were high and the intensity higher at this weekend’s EISA Regional Championships at Middlebury, VT. The snow storm that hit a good portion of the east coast delayed races by a day, as the trail and slope crews busied themselves dealing with an onslaught of heavy, wet, snow. Saturday’s classic races reflected the tail-end of the snow storm, as warm temperatures combined with wet snow squals provided a Vancouver-esque day at the Rikert...
The second day of the Aspen SuperTour saw a reshuffling of the women’s podium from Saturday’s classic race and some new faces in the top three for the men’s race. Tad Elliott (CXC Vertical Limit) and Nicole DeYong (SVSEF) captured the 2010 Owl Creek Chase titles, with Elliott overtaking early leader Glenn Randall mid-race and DeYong outsprinting yesterday’s SuperTour champion Kristina Trygstad-Saari in the final kilometer to capture the title. The Owl Creek Chase, the...
Here are some photos from the last few minutes around the World Cup race venue in Canmore. Coaches are waxing, skiers are testing, spectators are crouding, the press' cameras are shooting...
We start racing tomorrow! Friday, February 5: the women race a 10km Skate starting at 10am Mountain Time. The men start the 15km Skate at Noon. Saturday, February 6: the Classic Sprint qualifiers start at 10am for women, followed immediately by the men. Sprint heats start at noon. This is the final World Cup weekend before [...]
Taking a page from MTV’s Pimp My Ride, I bring you a sneak peak of some of the rides on the World Cup. . . Canada’s National Tourism Bus. Err, train? Monster truck? Who knows, but I’d be willing to bet the mileage isn’t as good as. . . Olympic Gold Medalist Chandra Crawford’s Toyota Prius. Be [...]
That’s right. . .the Hopkins boys upset the number one ranked team in the state to take the Section 6 title this afternoon and earn themselves a spot at the Minnesota State Meet! The two teams tied for points and Hopkins prevailed with a 6 second faster average time than runner-up Eden Prairie. From Coach Rob [...]
Some days are simply dialed. Today has been one of those days. Woke up at 7:30am after a full 10 hours of sleep to sunny skies and temps around -5 C (we are in Canada, eh?). Got out for a light morning jog before a filling pancake breakfast at our hotel. The World Cup bus [...]
Good-bye Park City; Hello Canmore. Getting up at 4am isn’t always easy, but I woke up excited and ready to roll this morning. Although it was a long travel day, each leg of the journey was dialed and on time. I’m back in Canmore for the second time this season, this time for the final [...]
The Telemark SuperTour in Cable, WI was another successful weekend of racing for the CXC Team Vertical Limit. Bryan Cook won the Men’s 10K Classic race on Saturday, followed by Matt Liebsch (CXC Team Vertical Limit), Brian Gregg (CXC Team Vertical Limit), and Chris Cook (Steinbock Racing). Rebecca Dussault (CXC Team Vertical Limit) won the [...]
I’ve gotten a few questions about the weeks ahead. Here’s what’s on tap: The next big event is the Canmore World Cup, held at the 1988 Olympic venue an hour outside of Calgary. The team convenes in Canmore on Monday, where I will be joined by US Ski Team and CXC Teammates alike. That will be the final [...]
Leif Nordgren continues to climb the results list in the World Junior Biathlon races held in Tornsby, Sweden with today’s 6th place result. After placing just outside the top ten in Thursday’s individual race, Nordgren improved his shooting in today’s Junior 10km sprint race by taking just one penalty. Nordgren finished 47.4 seconds behind winner Evgeny Petrov (RUS) who shot cleanly, just 8 seconds off the pace of third place finisher Tom Barth (0,1) of...
Today was the second of three races in the the Puijo, Finland Scandinavian Cup. Annie Liotta, in 15th place, was the first U.S. finisher in the Women’s 5 km classic race. Also in the top-30 was Kinsey Loan, in 25th place. Stina Nilsson, of Sweden, was the race winner and her teammate Settlin Evelina placed second. Norway’s Landheim Hilde Losgaard was third. Other U.S. Results: Katie Gill, 31st; Kate Backstrum, 36th; Isabel Caldwell, 39th; Jessica...
HELSINKI, Finland. ONE WAY Sport OY, the Authentic Nordic Sports company with headquarters in Helsinki, has signed an exclusive 4 year contract with the French Nordic Ski Team becoming the supplier of garments and technical footwear. ONE WAY will supply all technical products like racing suit, under wear, warm up dresses, hats, running and training textiles. From May 2010 the French Nordic Ski teams will use new ONE WAY Nordic Sports footwear products like Trail...
The past couple of days have been a blur. It’s been overwhelming, and thrilling, to receive so much attention from friends, coaches, teachers, professors, fans, and even people I’ve never met. Some highlights include inquiries as to when I’ll be getting an Olympic rings tattoo (never), a poem from Gus Kaeding (not appropriate for mass [...]
Canmore. And after that, Vancouver! Pretty fired up right now. Nice to find out a little earlier than anticipated. Not much to say, except a big “Thanks!” to everyone who’s helped along the way. . .my family, teammates, coaches, friends, sponsors, and fans. Your generous support and positive influence has helped make my Olympic dream [...]
Today, the US earned 2 additional Olympic spots. Garrott Kuzzy of the CXC Team Vertical Limit and Holly Brooks of Alaska Pacific University will deservingly fill these spots and represent our country at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. You can read more about the news HERE. We are so very proud of you Kuzzy!
Located in a nondescript warehouse building in downtown Salt Lake is The Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective. The Collective is a bike recycling program that takes in used bikes and components, then refurbishes them to donate or sell to people in need of transportation in Salt Lake. This year, The Collective is already ahead of it’s [...]
No parents, no rules! I had the opportunity to race my first ever Western Collegiate race at Soldier Hollow this morning. Racing is fun, especially mass start races. Today was a 20km mass start skate that was everything you could expect it to be, with pack tactics, break-aways, and enthusiastic cheering sections on the steep [...]