Juergen Uhl (South Burlington, VT) and Audrey Weber (St. Louis Park, MN) may have graduated from college last spring, but they haven’t left their racing days behind. The UVM and Dartmouth ’09s captured the 54K Birkie Classic titles in February this year and will make their way to Maine to race at Spring Series this week. FasterSkier caught up with Juergen and Audrey on winning the Birkie Classic and life after EISA racing. Juergen Uhl...
I will admit I was a tad “miffed” at once again being left off the U.S. Olympic Team but after some self reflection I can hardly blame the Nordic “powers that be” for asking me to stay home. I am sure there were other recreational skiers similarly situated who didn’t get their ticket punched to Vancouver so I decided to let it be and focus my attention on the American Birkebeiner. With all the “big...
Rebecca Dussault, a member of CXC Team Vertical Limit, won her second American Birkebeiner on Saturday. Her victory was perhaps all the more impressive considering that she came down with an upper respiratory infection 5 days before the race, and she was unsure if she would be able to race until Friday afternoon. Check out
“That was definitely a surprise.” Tadd Elliott, 2nd place 2010 American Birkebeiner 2010 Birkie Top Three This year’s 37th American Birkebeiner was won by Fabio Santus, of Milano Italy. Coming into the Birkie, Santus was ranked 2nd on the FIS Marathon Cup list after taking second at the Italian La Sgambeda and winning the Austrian Dolomitenlauf earlier this season. Santus won the Birkie with a time of 1:56:58.6. Tad Elliott finished second, in 1:57:06.7, and...
Hayward, Wisconsin – Italian skier Fabio Santus broke the 50K Birkie Skate presented by Becker Law course record with a time of 1:56:58.6 in the 37th annual American Birkebeiner held Saturday, February 27th. Rebecca Dussault the returning champion defended her title by winning the Women’s Skate division with a time of 2:18:18.1. Santus of Milano, Italy, skied his first Birkie saying, “I am very, very happy. It was a great track with very good people.”...
The Heat is Feverish for the 37th American Birkebeiner Trail conditions are reportedly “elite field is packed with contenders. The men’s elite wave is highly contestable. Last year saw the absence of Italian favorites who have previously dominated the American Birkie. This year four Italians are back, led by Marco Cattaneo who won the Birkie in 2005 and 2006 and is ranked third on the overall FIS Marathon Cup. Cattaneo has taken 4th at two...
Tea for Two – Or Two Hundred Ski and Tea started, three years ago, as a women’s training and social group that had a non-competitive focus. This year more than two dozen members are signed up for the Birkie races, some of whom never had any intention of completing a ski race in their life – let alone a marathon. Amy Rowley is an example of one of those women. As an alpine skier who...
Three Elite Wave Racers with Hayward and Birkie Experience John Bauer has lived in Hayward five years and has raced the Birkie for six. As a 2002 Olympian in Salt Lake, Bauer placed 12th, 19th, and 33rdin the distance races, and 5th in the relay. He has been a member of the Rossignol team for 20 years, and tough he is still strongly competitive, his family has taken over a large part of his life...
Rebecca Dussault won both the Elite Sprints and the American Birkebeiner Worldloppet last year. She ended last year’s race in a sprint to the finish with Holly Brooks for a fantastic lunge across the line which she won by a toe in a photo finish. Dussault is riding a wave of impressive victories, and is a heavy favorite for the 2010 Birkie title this weekend. Coming off an amazing string of 7 wins in the...
IMPORTANT RACE WAXING CONSIDERATIONS Forecast Friday night cold and partly cloudy. 0% chance of snow. Low 4F / -15C. 1-3mph NE wind. Saturday partly cloudy. High of 32F / 0C. Temps around 14F / -10C by 9:00 a.m., and 25F / -4C by noon. Humidity near 80% overnight, and dropping through the day. 5-7 mph N wind. 0% chance of snow. Course Conditions Track has firm base. Snow is moderately abrasive due to the sharp...
The American Birkebeiner *FIS Marathon Cup and Worldloppet Race *Years in the running: 37th annual *Number of participants in all races: 10,000 (last year: approx. 8,500) *Number of participants in 50k skate and classic: 8,300 *Countries represented: 20 *States represented: 47 *Most represented countries other than U.S.: Canada, Norway and Finland *Top five U.S. states represented: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan and Colorado *Volunteers: 2,000 *Spectators: 15,000 *Last year’s winners: Elite sprint: Kevin Hochtl, Rebecca Dussault...
Matt Liebsch won the 2009 American Birkebeiner by 43 seconds. This season he has been on fire, always a podium contender at the SuperTour and NorAm series, and as a result of his earned points in those events he was sent to the World Cup races in Canmore, where he placed 29th in the 15km skate. Liebsch races for team CXC and will join a number of his teammates this weekend in Hayward to race...
Even though carbohydrates continue to get a bad rap from the mainstream public, to endurance athletes they are still the gold standard of energy. “Carbo Loading” is the known term for eating more carbohydrates – such as pasta, bagels, cereal, and potatoes – in an effort to stock up energy stores before an endurance event. But how much “carbo loading” is really necessary, and how much is just an excuse to eat that extra cinnamon...
www.birkievideo.com “This is just a beginning of the creation of a model for digital event webcasting in Nordic skiing in the U.S. The experience from the 2009 American Birkebeiner was a test of the quality and level of interest, which was engaging and interactive. Over 600 DVDs sold since March with great consumer feedback, with 4500 web promotional video displays and 105 hours of promotional video plays,” commented Yuriy Gusev, CXC Executive and Athletic Director....
FasterSkier is proud to host the free 2009 American Birkebeiner webcast. Once you begin watching a video, you may enter fullscreen mode by clicking the diagonal arrows in the lower right of the player, next to the volume control.
Matt Liebsch enters the 2009-2010 season coming off of a killer season. Last year, he was third place at U.S. Nationals in Anchorage in the 15-kilometer skate, and he dropped the field on his way to nearly a 45-second victory in the American Birkebeiner. Liebsch currently trains with CXC, and he was able to take a few minutes to talk with FasterSkier after his kids had finished their lunch. FasterSkier: Last year was a pretty good...