You may have heard that the World Cup is returning not only to North America, but also to American soil, within the next few weeks. The world’s best skiers will be contesting sprint races in Québec City on March 14 and 15; a sprint in Minneapolis on March 17; and distance races plus a mixed relay in Canmore on March 20-22.
For all six races, including the five across the border, the U.S. has an expanded nation’s group start quota (thanks, Canada, for letting us count as Canadian for a week), meaning that a remarkable thirty skiers total will toe the line in that distinctive candy-cane uniform. Here is a brief overview of the fourteen men currently announced with start rights in the three sprints (some of the sprinters will not be racing in Canmore, where some distance-oriented athletes will have starts instead).
In alphabetical order, with pictures where available (an asterisk by a name denotes an athlete making his first World Cup start in Québec City):
Kevin Bolger
Team and club: SVSEF Gold Team; United States Ski Team (USST) B-Team
Currently lives in: Idaho
Selected career highlights: 11th in his first-ever World Cup sprint, March 2018; 18th, skate sprint, 2019 World Championships; 1st, 2017 U.S. nationals classic sprint; 2nd, 2018 U.S. nationals skate sprint
Instagram page: @kevinbolger
Age: 26
Logan Diekmann*
Team and club: University of Utah
Currently lives in: Montana
Selected career highlights: 38th, 15km classic, 2020 U23 World Championships; 10th, classic sprint, 2020 U.S. nationals; 11 top-five finishes in RMISA races, member of 2017 and 2019 NCAA championship teams
Instagram page: @logandiekmann
Age: 22
Simi Hamilton
Team and club: Stratton Mountain School, or SMS; USST A Team
Currently lives in: Vermont
Selected career highlights: Three-time Olympian; four individual World Cup podiums, including one win; 6th, team sprint, both 2014 and 2018 Olympics; 9th, individual skate sprint, 2019 World Championships
Instagram page: @simihamilton
Age: 32
Logan Hanneman
Team and club: Alaska Pacific University, or APU
Currently lives in: Alaska
Selected career highlights: 2018 Olympian; 26th, 2019 World Championships; six individual top-30 World Cup results; two national championship podiums
Instagram page: @logan.hanneman
Age: 26
Peter Holmes
Team and club: SVSEF Gold Team
Currently lives in: Idaho
Selected career highlights: 27th, classic sprint, 2019 U23 World Championships; multiple top-1o finishes, national championship and SuperTour sprints
Instagram page: @vacationholmes
Age: 24
Luke Jager*
Team and club: University of Utah/APU; USST D Team
Currently lives in: Alaska
Selected career highlights: Gold medal, relay, 2019 and 2020 World Juniors; silver medal, relay, 2018 World Juniors; 10th, 10km classic, 2020 World Juniors; 2nd American, classic sprint, 2020 U.S. Nationals; three podiums in RMISA races this season
Instagram page: @lukejageryo (also: @lukememesdank)
Age: 20
Noel Keeffe
Team and club: University of Utah/Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; USST D Team
Currently lives in: Colorado
Selected career highlights: 12th, classic sprint, 2019 World Juniors; 3rd, skate sprint, 2019 U.S. Nationals; three top-10 finishes in RMISA races; made World Cup debut in Oberstdorf earlier this season
Instagram page: @noel.keeffe
Age: 20
Tyler Kornfield
Team and club: APU
Currently lives in: Alaska
Selected career highlights: 2018 Olympian; seven national championship podiums, including three national championships; 19th, skate sprint, 2014 U23 World Championships
Instagram page: @tkornfield
Age: 29
Forrest Mahlen*
Team and club: APU
Currently lives in: Alaska
Selected career highlights: 10th, classic sprint, 2019 U.S. Nationals; dozens of SuperTour top-10 finishes, including one victory; 3rd, 2018 Tour of Anchorage
Instagram page: @forrest_mahlen
Age: 26
Andy Newell
Team and club: Bridger Ski Foundation
Currently lives in: Montana
Selected career highlights: Four-time Olympian; three individual World Cup podiums; 5th, classic sprint, 2007 World Championships; 7th, team sprint, 2015 World Championships; top-10 in Sprint Cup standings six times from 2006–2013; made the heats in every World Cup sprint he started for nearly a decade straight
Instagram page: @andynewellskier
Age: 36
Thomas O’Harra*
Team and club: APU
Currently lives in: Alaska
Selected career highlights: 6th, skate sprint, 2020 U.S. Nationals; 5th, 2019 American Birkebeiner; first, 2017 Tour of Anchorage; ten top-10 SuperTour finishes since 2016/2017 season
Instagram page: @thomasoharra
Age: 23
Ben Saxton
Team and club: SMS
Currently lives in: Vermont
Selected career highlights: six national championship podiums, including two national championships; dozens of SuperTour podiums; 54th, classic sprint, 2015 World Championships; 44th, Otepää classic sprint, 2018/2019 World Cup season
Instagram page: @saxtonskier
Age: 26
Gus Schumacher
Team and club: Alaska Winter Stars; USST D Team
Currently lives in: Alaska
Selected career highlights: Gold medal, relay, 2019 and 2020 World Juniors; silver medal, relay, 2018 World Juniors (anchor leg for all three races); gold medal, 10km classic, 2020 World Juniors; two podiums at 2020 U.S. Nationals, including one national championship; 41st time of day, 15km pursuit, 2019 Québec City World Cup
Instagram page: @gus.schumacher
Age: 19
Hunter Wonders*
Team and club: APU
Currently lives in: Alaska
Selected career highlights: National champion, classic sprint, 2020 U.S. Nationals; 8th place, 15km classic, 2020 U23 World Championships; fifth place, mixed relay, 2020 U23 World Championships; six top-10 SuperTour or NorAm finishes, including two podiums
Instagram page: @wonderboy_hup77
Age: 21
* The athlete is making his World Cup debut in Québec City.
Gavin Kentch
Gavin Kentch wrote for FasterSkier from 2016–2022. He has a cat named Marit.
