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“It’s a Good Time to be an American Ski Racer”: A Look Inside the OPA Cup Finals Trip to Sappada, ITA

Rachel PerkinsApril 6, 2022

While World Cup Finals were underway in mid-March in Falun, Sweden, a second contingent of top American skiers was lining up roughly 2,000 kilometers south to race in the OPA Cup Finals in Sappada, Italy. Located along the northern edge of Italy near the Austrian border, the small town is nestled among the spectacular, jagged massifs of the Italian Dolomites, roughly an hour’s drive east of Toblach, which typically hosts the final stages of the...

Collegiate Continental Cup Racing Regional / Local

Fresh Snow and World Class Grooming Set the Stage for a Weekend SuperTour Distance Pursuit in Craftsbury

FasterSkierFebruary 7, 2022

By Ian Tovell and Rachel Bachman Perkins Find FasterSkier’s coverage of Friday’s freestyle sprints here. Saturday: 10 k Interval Start Classic After another 4+ inches of snow fell throughout the day on Friday, NENSA described the conditions for today’s 10-kilometer interval start race as a “banner day for classic skiing” on the two-lap course at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. The weekend of racing, titled the Henchey Memorial Carnival, included athletes of all levels, was described...

News Racing Regional / Local

Race Rundown: Lake Placid SuperTour Continues with 10k Mass Start Free

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 30, 2022

Here’s a quick results recap from today’s SuperTour 10-kilometer mass start freestyle race in Lake Placid, NY. Stay tuned tomorrow for detailed coverage including comments from athletes. Racing continued at Mt. Van Hoevenberg this morning in what Weather.com called “bitterly cold” conditions. Near-zero temperatures and skate skiing can be a challenging combination for a distance race on a World Cup–level course, but racers nonetheless put together strong performances on the three-lap 10-kilometer course. In the...

News Racing Regional / Local

Ketterson and Ogden Take Classic Sprint Win on New Tracks at Mt Van Hoevenberg

FasterSkierJanuary 30, 2022

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ben Theyerl After a brief break, the SuperTour picked up in Lake Placid this weekend, with a fluoro-free Period III kicking off with a 1.5-kilometer classic sprint. The frigid forecast called for overnight lows of -5 Fahrenheit, with a wind chill as low as -23F. Highs during the day were only predicted to climb into the low single digits. Qualifiers were scheduled for 10/10:45 am, with quarterfinals for the open...

News Racing Regional / Local

Race Rundown: Ketterson and Ogden Win SuperTour Classic Sprint in Lake Placid

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 29, 2022

Here’s a quick results recap from today’s SuperTour classic sprint in Lake Placid, NY. Stay tuned tomorrow for detailed coverage including comments from athletes. Period III of SuperTour racing kicked off in Lake Placid this morning with a frigid classic sprint. Recent improvements at Mt Hoevenberg included a new 5-kilometer World Cup and 1.5k sprint course, where athletes faced off today. On the men’s race, Zak Ketterson (Team Birkie) skied the fastest time in the...

News Racing US Nationals

JC Schoonmaker and Caitlin Patterson Take Skate Sprint National Championships

Gavin KentchJanuary 2, 2022

By Gavin Kentch and Rachel Bachman Perkins The 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships began in Soldier Hollow, outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sunday with skate sprints. JC Schoonmaker, recently returned from Europe, took his first national championship with relative ease for the men, while Caitlin Patterson, who was the first American in all four races at 2018 U.S. Nationals, returned to her Olympic-year winning ways by taking the victory for the women. Will...

Continental Cup News Racing

SuperTour Racing Kicks Off in Duluth

Gavin KentchDecember 6, 2021

By Gavin Kentch and Rachel Bachman Perkins The SuperTour returned this weekend with races in Duluth, Minnesota, held on the new snowmaking courses at Grand Avenue Nordic Center. The weekend included all levels of racing, with green juniors lining up to race alongside the veterans racing on the SuperTour, and a strong sense of community and cross-country ski energy across the board. Skiers like to ski; athletes were glad to be back. Alaska Pacific University...

Community News Regional / Local

Elite Team Preview: APU

Gavin KentchNovember 25, 2021

Team name and location: Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center (APU, or APUNSC); Anchorage, Alaska Coaches: Erik Flora (head coach/director), Jack Novak (assistant coach) Current roster: Penny Smyth, APUNSC Marketing & Communications, writes: “Women’s Team: Rosie Brennan (USSS A Team), Hailey Swirbul (USSS A Team), Hannah Halvorsen (USSS D Team), Rosie Frankowski (World Cup Alternate), Becca Rorabaugh, Anna Darnell, Annie Gonzales, Marit Flora, Lily Pannkuk, Zoe Noble “Men’s Team: Logan Hanneman (USSS B Team), Scott Patterson (USSS B Team), David Norris...

Racing Regional / Local

Maubet Bjornsen, Jager Take Wins in Snowy Classic Sprint in Anchorage FIS Races

Gavin KentchDecember 22, 2020

ANCHORAGE — Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Luke Jager, and Hunter Wonders won FIS races at Kincaid Park over the weekend against strong fields, in what would typically be statewide races used for Junior Nationals qualification but were this year held as a mostly Anchorage-based weekend after a state sponsoring body declined to host. This race writeup covers Saturday’s classic sprint qualifier, which along with Sunday’s freestyle distance races were the first FIS races held on this...

Feature Training

A Summer Without Snow: Athletes and Coaches on a Year with No Summer Skiing

Gavin KentchOctober 12, 2020

The koan that skiers are made in the summer has been around for longer than this website. The related truism, that summer snow time is necessary to effectively compete as a high-level skier come winter, also has a venerable history. For example, here’s Luke Bodensteiner, writing in Endless Winter about why he had journeyed to a place where “the weather sucks all year long” to ski on the Sognefjellet snowfields in August 1993: “We all...

Community News

Art, Speed, and Becca Rorabaugh

Jason AlbertAugust 26, 2020

It goes without saying or writing, but I’m writing it anyway with a nod to a certain beloved Bay Area band: What a long strange trip it’s been — (at only six months).

Community News US Ski Team

A PT in Norway: By Ned Dowling

FasterSkierApril 13, 2020

“Get whatever you want. I’m buying.” “It’s ok. I’ve got a card with me.” “No. You’re over here working for us. The least I could do is buy you a coffee and a bun.” Conversation over. Jessie Diggins bought my cinnamon bun and cappuccino. The same Jessie Diggins who won Gold at the last winter Olympics and is a regular on World Cup podiums just refused to let me buy my own snack at the...

Community

Silver Linings to an Abbreviated World Cup Season

Rachel PerkinsMarch 24, 2020

On March 13th, the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19 caused the World Cup to come to an abrupt halt. Quebec, Minneapolis, and Canmore: all cancelled. SuperTour finals: also cancelled. For some U.S. athletes including Gus Schumacher and Katie Feldman, this meant missing their first ever World Cup starts. For others, like Andy Newell, it meant missing his last. Jessie Diggins was in sixth place in the

Community Masters

One For Your Bucket List: Crested Butte’s Alley Loop Marathon

Rachel PerkinsMarch 17, 2020

Rounding the final turn off Butte Avenue toward the Slate River Valley at the start of the second and final lap, I had my eyes peeled for a ride. There: the man dressed in a Birkebeiner-esque sweater with suspenders fastened to his Swix pants just beyond the — is that the Jamaican bobsled team? This is Crested Butte’s Alley Loop, titled a “Birkie qualifier with a twist”, a moniker that falls far short of capturing...

Racing World Cup

Here Come the Americans: Your Guide to the U.S. Women Racing in Québec City and Minneapolis

Gavin KentchMarch 10, 2020

You may have heard that the World Cup is returning not only to North America, but also to American soil, within the next few weeks. The world’s best skiers will be contesting sprint races in Québec City on March 14 and 15; a sprint in Minneapolis on March 17; and distance races plus a mixed relay in Canmore on March 20-22. For all six races, including the five across the border, the U.S. has an...

World Cup

Sans Fans, Sweden’s Karlsson Takes Johaug at the Holmenkollen Line

Rachel PerkinsMarch 7, 2020

Racing the Holmenkollen without spectators is a bit like not getting a white Christmas. It does not change the end result, here racing a 30-kilometer mass start classic race on the famed tracks above Oslo, Norway. But the experience loses some of the magic. Race organizers announced Thursday that spectators would not be allowed to attend the race due to the increased risk of spreading COVID-19. On a typical year, crowds in numbers up to...

News Racing World Cup

Relocated to Konnerud: Drammen will wait 365 Days while Klæbo and Sundling Celebrate Now

FasterSkierMarch 4, 2020

Men’s Sprint Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Norwegian men showed up on form for today’s freestyle sprints in Konnerud, just outside the city of Drammen. As the venue was used for the Norwegian National championship at the end of January, most of the team has already had a dress rehearsal racing on the windy course. It seems that Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who sat out the national championships, did not need a dress rehearsal. He won the qualifier...

Racing World Cup

Johaug Keeps Andersson at Bay for the Win in Lahti; Brennan 19th

Rachel PerkinsFebruary 29, 2020

In a typical season, you might expect late February in Lahti, Finland to look wintery. 61 degrees North latitude, ample snow on the ground and clinging to the trees, maybe even a reindeer? In fact, in a plug for the venue showed a woman skiing through a snow-laden town and arriving at the base of the towering ski jumps. But it was not so today. Women time-trialed through the woods for two laps on a...

News Racing

First Time American Birkebeiner Winners: Alayna Sonnesyn and Akeo Maifeld-Carucci

Jason AlbertFebruary 23, 2019

FasterSkier’s American Birkebeiner coverage is made possible through the generous support of New Moon Ski & Bike in Hayward, Wisconsin. While you are at the Birkie be sure to visit New Moon Ski & Bike for all your local expertise. Falling snow. Not too frigid temps. And a layer of fresh snow overlaying the 50 kilometers of undulating terrain for the 2019 American Birkebeiner. Perhaps no matter the conditions, it is cross-country ski racing paradise....

News Racing World Cup

Sunday Rundown: Beitostølen, Pokljuka (Biathlon), and Sovereign Lake (Update 4x)

FasterSkierDecember 9, 2018

FIS World Cup Beitostølen, Norway 4 x 5 k / 4 x 7.5 k Relay Sunday in Beitostølen, Norway the women raced a 4 x 5-kilometer relay on firm tracks and under partly cloudy skies — Saturday’s races featured fresh snowfall. Norway I took the win in a total time of 57:23.6 minutes. In order of relay legs, Heidi Weng, Therese Johaug, Ragnhild Haga, and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg comprised the team that raced at the...

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