FasterSkier caught up with Simi Hamilton during the USST Lake Placid Training Camp to talk with him about his summer training and the winter season ahead. While Hamilton doesn't plan to change much in his routine, several "gear changes" might allow him to achieve even higher results in the coming months.
Gus Kaeding literally had one foot out the door and his vehicle running Tuesday morning, but he couldn’t draw himself away from what was unfolding some 3,700 miles away in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Two of his skiers were in their first sprint finals of their career, one of which was on his way to making U.S. history.
Simi Hamilton had to look behind him inches before the finish to make sure it was actually happening. Yet the 26-year-old U.S. Ski Team (USST) member hadn’t fully realized what he’d accomplished two hours after his freestyle sprint victory on Tuesday in the third stage of the Tour de Ski.
Another American landed in the top 10 for the first time this season, this time with 30-year-old Andy Newell as the lone U.S. Ski Team member in the heats Sunday at the second stage of the Tour de Ski in Oberhof, Germany. "I know my fitness and speed is at a world cup top 10 level I jut need to make smart decisions out there," he says.
Four Canadians made the heats on Saturday in the second stage of the Tour de Ski, with Alex Harvey placing 11th to hang onto the overall Tour lead and Devon Kershaw finishing 18th to rank third in the overall standings. Dasha Gaiazova and Perianne Jones made it to the quarterfinals, where they placed sixth for 27th and 28th on the day.
FIS Athlete Representative Kikkan Randall weighs in on the format changes to this week's Tour de Ski, which she opted to sit out a while back. Now with the first three stages being short-distance skate events, some racers were not happy and four-time champ Justyna Kowalczyk decided to sit out the Tour altogether. "Sometimes it will be balanced and sometimes it won't," Randall says.
Jessie Diggins doesn't remember much from Saturday's 3 k prologue, but some familiar faces and loud cheers carried her to fifth. Both she and U.S. teammate Sophie Caldwell, whose family was among the supportive spectators, tied their respective World Cup career bests in the first stage of the Tour de Ski.
Justyna Kowalczyk's out and Marit Bjørgen's on top. That was the biggest news of the day coming out of the Tour de Ski's prologue opener in Oberhof, Germany, on a rainy afternoon that was slow for everybody. The Americans weren't complaining, with fast skis that helped Jessie Diggins and Sophie Caldwell tie career bests in fifth and ninth, respectively.
With the eighth-annual Tour de Ski starting 24 hours from 8 a.m. EST, we thought we’d give you a rundown of what’s happening when and who’s racing.