Evel Knievel devotee — note Schafer’s race suit. (To subscribe to the Nordic Nation podcast channel, download the iTunes app. If you have iTunes, subscribe to Nordic Nation here.) Have a podcast idea? Please email Is this for real?)
HomeTag
17 Questions for 2017
A little more than four years ago, a group of women clad in all black race suits and bib 3 huddled in an athlete warming room. The muffled voice of an announcer speaking in Swedish could be heard broadcasting outside, an English translation relaying the same message: 10 minutes to start. The quartet departed the building, four blondes — one highlighted pink — headed for the start gate. A pass through a patch of sunlight revealed a second...
Shaking out white, sand-filled training shorts is hardly a thing many skiers find themselves doing prior to an autumn morning interval session. Nor is swimming with sea turtles a typical regular-recovery run substitute. However, this past October, U.S. Nordic Combined A-team member Taylor Fletcher did a little of both. The 26 year old’s ‘spring break’ came six or seven months early, or seven months late, depending how one looks at it, with his final days...
U.S. Ski Team B-team member hasn't made many big changes to his training plan this year.
17 Questions for 2017: Nadia Moser
FasterSkierDecember 9, 2016
Welcome to “17 Questions for 2017”, where we are catching up with American and Canadian national-team members before the beginning of the winter season. *** Last year Canadian biathlete Nadia Moser finished 19th in the sprint and 24th in the pursuit at Youth and Junior World Championships, earning her a nod for Biathlon Canada’s 2022 squad, a team of junior development athletes. But at just 19 years old, the Yukon native has already taken steps this season...
US Biathlon’s Clare Egan: Calm, Cool and on the Rise
Jason AlbertDecember 8, 2016
A quick trajectory. That's a succinct way of describing US Biathlon's Clare Egan ascent onto the World Cup. She first picked up a rifle three years ago, and today you might just see her shoot clean.
17 Questions for 2017: Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt
FasterSkierDecember 8, 2016
Welcome to “17 Questions for 2017”, where we are catching up with American and Canadian national-team members before the beginning of the winter season. *** Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt ended last season on a high note: Canada’s 2015 World Championships team member won the sprint qualifier and placed second in the final at Canadian National Championships. The 24-year-old member of Cross Country Canada’s U25 Team had to take a pause this summer, however, after suffering a stress fracture...
17 Questions for 2017: Dahria Beatty
FasterSkierDecember 1, 2016
Welcome to “17 Questions for 2017”, where we are catching up with American and Canadian national-team members before the beginning of the winter season. *** The day after her 22nd birthday last March, Dahria Beatty made the case that she could be Cross Country Canada’s next star. Not only did she score her first World Cup top 30, but she nabbed a remedying some back troubles and building strength, Beatty says she looks like a...
Canadian biathlete Macx Davies is shooting for the flower ceremony on this season's World Cup circuit, but fame came a little early. "I never really thought that I would be the best known Canadian because of my dance moves or my interviews," he said.
17 Questions for 2017: Rosie Brennan
FasterSkierNovember 24, 2016
Welcome to ’17 Questions for 2017′, where we are catching up with American and Canadian national-team members before the beginning of the winter season. *** First named to the U.S. Ski Team in high school, Rosie Brennan dominated the 2015 SuperTour and earned rights to race in Europe, including at World Championships where she finished 16th in the 30 k classic. After a six-year absence she was renamed to the national team after that winter and...
17 Questions for 2017: Caitlin Patterson
FasterSkierNovember 23, 2016
What does Craftsbury's Caitlin Patterson pack first when she head's to Europe, for example for the first period of World Cup racing this season? "Metaphorically, I pack my camera first. Physically the camera doesn't go into the bottom of my bag, that would be my ski boots."
17 Questions for 2017: Paul Schommer
FasterSkierNovember 22, 2016
The most important thing to pack on a racing trip is your positive attitude, says the U.S. Biathlon Development Team's Paul Schommer. "And when the season concludes, I always look forward to heading back to the Ski Haus for the Bjorn Bakken Ski Championships of America, the greatest backyard ski race on the planet."
Canadian biathlete Scott Gow has been harder on himself than ever in training this year. Will it pay off? Well, in 50 years, the World Championships bronze medalist will be a "rich baller who can ski wherever I want."
U.S. Nordic Combined’s Bryan Fletcher: New Dad, New Jumper, Same Goals: Podiums
Jason AlbertNovember 17, 2016
Thirty-year-old Bryan Fletcher has a full plate. College classes, a new baby, a big training load, and refining his jumping technique were all part of the Park City based athlete's offseason. After perhaps a bit less sleep than usual, the 2013 World Champs bronze medalist is fired up for this season.
Harvey Seeks More World Champs Hardware and a Possible World Cup Overall
Jason AlbertNovember 15, 2016
Canadian World Cup Team member Alex Harvey is no stranger to success. Always lurking near the top end of the World Cup overall, Harvey has his sights set on more World Championships hardware -- specifically a second skiathlon medal -- and the season-culminating Crystal Globe.
17 Questions for 2017: Patrick Caldwell
BrainspiralNovember 14, 2016
Paddy Caldwell of the Stratton Mountain School and Dartmouth College is looking forward to giving U23 racing one last hurrah at Soldier Hollow this winter. "I think my top-end speed has improved since last year," he explains.
After addressing various back issues and logging a solid summer of training, Biathlon Canada's Brendan Green, who turned 30 last week, feels ready to go for the 2016/2017 IBU World Cup season.
U.S. Ski Team A-team member Sophie Caldwell has taken the proverbial next step and topped a World Cup podium. The seventh-ranked sprinter in the world, she feels that nothing's broken with her training, so she hasn't had any significant changes this offseason.
17 Questions for 2017: Kikkan Randall
BrainspiralNovember 1, 2016
Kikkan Randall is back! Logging hours with her APU teammates in Anchorage and with the U.S. Ski Team at camps, the three-time Sprint Cup winner is looking forward to packing her Aeropress and heading back to the World Cup after a season off last year while pregnant with her son, Breck.
Over the dryland season, U.S. Ski Team sprinter Simi Hamilton has been working on improving his double poling and as always -- keeping the soul fed with adventure training. “I have been playing around with a much shorter range of motion on the climbs to keep my tempo much higher,” he explains.