Eleven Craftsbury Green Racing Project skiers and three coaches took their training to Slovenia and Austria this month to check out Planica's new ski tunnel (in a three-level parking garage) then more snow time 9,000 feet above sea level at the Dachstein glacier.
With plenty of shovels and smiles, the Sun Valley crew is working hard to make both SuperTour races happen at the Lake Creek trails. "Putting the work in here gives the athletes an opportunity to test themselves appropriately on the kinds of courses that they need to be prepared to ski on," SVSEF Nordic Director Rick Kapala explains.
Logan Hanneman, 22, pulled off an upset at West Yellowstone for his first SuperTour victory in the first race of the season, beating his older brother Reese Hanneman and defending sprint national champion Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess in Friday's skate sprint.
When CXC coach Igor Badamshin died of a heart attack out on the ski trails, the whole American ski community mourned - from the midwest to New England, his first home in America, and then all the way to the U.S. Ski Team in Europe and back to his homeland of Russia. Here are some remembrances of a man who dedicated so much to developing American skiing.
In an effort to ring in 2013/2014, we’re kicking off our second-annual elite team preview – now called “The 12.” Starting with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project and proceeding in no particular order, we’ll profile 12 of the biggest powerhouses in U.S. cross-country skiing throughout the next several weeks. Don't worry, we'll get to Canada, too.
Liz Guiney, Andrew Dougherty and Pete Hegman join the 2013-2014 Craftsbury Green Racing Project roster.
The final day of the 2013 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championship proved to be one of the most exciting as racing continued with the skate sprints. After the day of racing it was Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess who was strongest down the finish stretch to earn the top step on the podium and the national crown.
And just like that, it's all over. U.S. Nationals drew to a close on Tuesday at Soldier Hollow with the completion of the freestyle sprint. As usual, there were a lot of leftover bits and pieces from the post-race interviews.
With unmatched tactical intelligence, raw speed and a little inspiration, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess won the title he's wanted for so long on Tuesday in the freestyle sprint at U.S. Nationals. Erik Bjornsen was second and Alex Howe finished third.
A year after initially winning the classic sprint at U.S. nationals, then being disqualified from it, Torin Koos proved he was back and in good health Wednesday as he secured his fourth national sprint title.
When it was all said and done — the qualifying, the heats, the nervous skiing around between races — Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Reid Pletcher emerged on top of the freestyle sprint field in Bozeman, Mont., scraping by Erik Bjornsen (APU/USST) and Ryan Scott (SSCV Team HomeGrown) in the final meters.
Noah Hoffman hadn’t won a major domestic race in…well even he wasn’t sure…maybe the Owl Creek Chase two or three years ago, Junior Nationals…? But the youngest member of the US Ski Team, who has had considerable success racing in Europe, left no doubt about who would stand on the top of the podium on a cold snowy day in Lake Placid. This was in fact his first significant US victory since the Owl Creek...