Double poling is an increasingly important part of cross-country skiing and it pays to be good at it. If watching World Cup stars double pole short races on television doesn’t have you convinced, take a look at the races you might enter. Most loppets, marathons and citizen races feature flatter courses with a lot of double-poling time. Even in skating, the three main techniques all include slight variations on double poling. When five Canmore skiers...
After several years on Canada's Senior Development Team, Alysson Marshall, 27, has decided to put down her skis and pursue her next dream: a career in family medicine.
In her first World Cup of the season and best result since the 2012 World Cup freestyle sprint at home in Canmore, Alberta, Alysson Marshall launched back into international-racing action on Saturday and placed 44th in the women’s 1.2-kilometer classic sprint in Otepää, Estonia.
"Cancel" is a word no race organizer wants to entertain, and the local committees behind the first two NorAms in Rossland and Whistler, British Columbia, did everything they could to make sure their races happened -- even if they had to be moved a six-hour drive inland to Sovereign Lake.
With the second weekend of NorAm racing taking place Friday and Saturday at Sovereign Lake, here's a look at who could be some of the top contenders on a regular basis throughout the season, and who could potentially earn race starts in Europe.
Rosie Brennan dominated the women's 1.5 k classic-sprint qualifier through the final on Saturday to pick up her second SuperTour win in since owning last weekend's distance race in West Yellowstone. In the Bozeman classic sprint, Brennan outlasted Jennie Bender and Caitlin Patterson for the win.
Before the first stop on the IBU World Cup circuit continues in Östersund on Wednesday, we bring you a synopsis of last weekend's racing action and links to full reports.
SuperTour racing began Friday with a 1.5 k freestyle sprint in West Yellowstone, Mont. With warm temperatures and strong winds, two Canadians, Heidi Widmer and Alysson Marshall, were able to top the American women's field led by Jennie Bender.
The NorAm circuit resumed last weekend with the three-day Eastern Canadian Championships in Cantley, Quebec, where Graham Nishikawa and Alysson Marshall of the Canadian Senior Development Team both picked up two wins. Before the Western Championships Feb. 13-16, some are considering racing over in Europe.
Cold temperatures couldn't keep the Sovereign Lake NorAm classic sprint from going off on Sunday. Andrea Dupont and Patrick Stewart-Jones overcame windy and cold conditions to take victories in the classic sprints.
Photos from the season-opening NorAm at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, with 10/15 k freestyle and classic-sprint races in temperatures near -18 degrees Celsius on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
With almost the same number of athletes as last year, the AWCA in Canmore, Alberta, has fewer women this season, but coach Chris Jeffries is pleased with the team's training quality despite some injuries. "The group is very focused this year and more mature," he says.
Katerina Smutna of Austria topped U.S. Ski Team members Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell in Thursday's on-snow sprint at Frozen Thunder, and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess led an American sweep of the hypothetical podium in what was essentially the first race of the season.
Canadian World Cup Team members Dasha Gaiazova and Lenny Valjas demonstrated how classic sprinting is done at Canadian Nationals on Thursday, winning their respective qualifiers and later commanding the finals to achieve national titles.
Heidi Widmer, 22, rolled to her first individual gold and second title in as many days of racing at Canadian Nationals, while the 33-year-old IPC World Cup extraordinaire Brian McKeever won his first Canadian championship just days after flying from Sochi, Russia. Caitlin Gregg and Eliska Hajkova of the U.S. took first and second overall in the 5 k freestyle, and Canadians swept the men's 10 k podium.
Canada's domestic series, the NorAms, wrapped up in Grand Prairie, Alberta, this weekend, where Graeme Killick of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Nakkertokk racer Alana Thomas won grueling but exciting three-day minitours. We caught up with podium finishers for their comments on the race.
Jess Cockney and Emily Nishikawa, both of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Senior Development Team, wrapped up Eastern Canadian Championships with the overall titles Sunday, winning their respective 30- and 15-kilometer pursuits in Cantley, Quebec.
Alysson Marshall overcame the gut-wrenching and familiar feeling of being sick for her first NorAm win of the season, and Phil Widmer continued his classic-sprint winning ways on Day 1 of the Eastern Canadian Championships in Cantley, Quebec.
While the U.S. SuperTour season has already started, the Canadians are just about to get warmed up -- and without much time to do so -- when the NorAm opener doubles as Canadian World Cup trials this weekend.
With so much happening in Gällivare, Sweden, this weekend, we didn’t have the chance to put quite everything into our main feature stories. Here are some leftovers from the races, as well as some small pieces about the U.S. men’s and Canadian women’s relays. Women’s Relay When asked about the U.S. women’s relay podium, Development Coach Bryan Fish initially didn’t get too specific… he was just impressed. “That was exciting to watch,” he told FasterSkier...