After just missing the medals in the first two competitions at the 2011 World Championships, an American-born athlete was back on top of the nordic combined podium on Wednesday. Billy Demong? Nope. Todd Lodwick? Guess again. Maybe Johnny Spillane? Or the two flying Fletcher brothers, Bryan and Taylor? No, no, and no. Instead, it was Jason Lamy Chappuis, a French citizen born in Montana, who took the win in the individual large hill competition in...
Five years ago, a fourth place finish for the Americans in a nordic combined team event at World Championships would have been tough to swallow, since U.S. medals at major competitions had been few and far between. But in the season following the 2010 Olympics, which saw U.S. athletes take three silvers and a gold, collecting the “wooden medal” in their first of two team events in Oslo was merely a mild letdown. “Considering I’m...
With crew consisting of some real veterans, some seasoned racers and a rookie, the US Nordic Combined Team is ready and excited for the normal hill competition at the 2011 World Championships Saturday. On a good day, it could go all the way to the podium.
CHAUX-NEUVE, France (Jan. 23) – Olympic silver medalist Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) jumped third and hung on in a hotly contested battle to finish eighth in a nordic combined World Cup in Chaux-Neuve in the Jura mountains near Geneva. All four U.S. skiers finished in the top-30 points as France’s Jason Lamy-Chappuis wrapped up the World Cup title with a dominating win. While the podium still eluded the USA, it was another steppingstone event...
CHAUX-NEUVE, France – Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) turned in yet another strong performance, moving up from 25th in the jump to finish 21st in a nordic combined World Cup in France. Austrian David Kreiner spoiled the day for fans of French World Cup leader Jason Lamy-Chappuis as he took the win. Lamy-Chappuis was fourth. The race also marked the return of Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) to action following the birth of his baby boy Liam a week...
The upcoming nordic combined World Cup races in France, represent the last chance to get international points before the World Championships in Oslo in February, and the US Nordic Combined racers are eager to collect.
When Bill Demong surged to historic Olympic gold in Whistler last year, dropping Austria’s Bernhard Gruber like a Porsche passing a Pontiac, he seemed invincible. So how did he manage not to score a single World Cup point in the opening races this season? It’s a question that has left many scratching their ski hats, not least of all Demong. But thinking through it has brought him back to some of the core principles that...
The US Ski Team nordic combined crew delivered a mixed bag of results at the provisional round in Kuusamo, Finland.
For the US nordic combined team, the FIS World Cup opener in Finland leaves room for improvement. Demong was 32nd, Taylor Fletcher was 35th and Bryan Fletcher was 37th. Brett Camerotta was 40th after the jumping, but did not start the cross-country leg.
An American team entering a winter as a favorite in a nordic sport is kind of like the Detroit Lions somehow starting an NFL season with good odds to win the Super Bowl. But here’s the U.S. Nordic Combined Team, its members entering the 2011 season with targets on their backs. After winning four medals at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, the squad’s “Big Three” are back, and will headline the American presence at...
One year ago, Australian nordic combined didn’t even exist as a sport. But over the last few months, the country’s program has been gathering steam not just Down Under, but in both hemispheres. Ben Sim, the cross-country skier attempting to make the crossover to nordic combined, has been making consistent progress on ski jumps in Lake Placid and Park City. And in Australia, officials at two ski resorts responded “favorably” to a visit from an...
www.swenorsports.com and get ready for winter! American star Kris Freeman and Gold Medallist Billy Demong are amongst the growing throng of North American skiers who are making Swenor rollerski their choice. Freeman’s high mileage training days are legendary. Kris states, “These wheels are durable, no more wasted time with wrenches constantly changing wheels. Demong says, “Swenor’s shafts save my feet and lower legs. They make rough pavement feel like perfect corduroy snow.” Visit www.swenorsports.com and...
There aren’t many people who can spend more time in work boots than cycling shoes and still harbor reasonable hopes of keeping up in a bike race with Tour de France veterans. But count American nordic combined skier Billy Demong as one of the few members of that group. Over the past few years, Demong has been an avid bike racer during the off-season. This summer, though, he’s been more focused on remodeling his house...
PARK CITY, UT (Aug. 1) – The 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Nordic Combined Championships concluded Sunday evening at Soldier Hollow with Park City’s own Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) coming across the finish line first, marking his first U.S. Championship title. After the jumping portion, held at the Utah Olympic Park, Brett Camerota was seeded 1:14 ahead of 2011 runner-up Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO). Lodwick went into the cross country portion starting third behind brothers...
PARK CITY, UT – The 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping Championships wrapped up Sunday morning with the large hill competition. Both Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, NY) and Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) won their second U.S. Championships title of the weekend. This marks Van’s 15th U.S. Championship title and Frenette’s second. The men’s competition was eventful, with Frenette crashing on the landing of his first jump of 139 meters. Frenette combined a second jump of...
PARK CITY, UT – The 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships were underway Friday morning with athletes jumping on the K90. Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, NY) and Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) were crowned 2011 Noraml Hill U.S. Champions. The men’s competition was tight with Olympic silver medalist Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) and two-time Olympian Anders Johnson (Park City, UT) landing solid jumps forcing Frenette, who jumped last, to fly high....
PARK CITY, UT – With the 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships just days away, the U.S. Olympic and World Championship medalists are in town training on the Olympic venues, the Utah Olympic Park and Soldier Hollow. The event will be held July 30-August 1, marking the third year the traditionally wintertime event has held its championships in summertime. “The summer’s warmer and it’s more comfortable to jump,” said Eric Camerota (Park...
With their dominating performances at the 2010 Olympics, Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, and Todd Lodwick have welded their names to the sport of nordic combined like Bill Koch did to cross-country skiing. But if Head Coach Dave Jarrett has his way over the next few years, they won’t be the only ones people remember. After taking three silvers and a gold from the Games, the team’s main focus for 2011 is winning more medals—they want...
Performance of the Year This year we expanded the Performance of the Year Award to include three different categories – cross-country, biathlon, and nordic combined. XC Performance of the Year (men): This season featured a number of outstanding performances, and for the first time we breaking out the award into three categories – cross-country, nordic combined, and biathlon. The challenge, like in many of the other awards, is how to weigh Olympic results. The Olympics...
Nordic Combined Skier of the Year In a year in which the US Nordic Combined Team won five Olympic medals, including gold, and when racing a full squad on the World Cup, was a realistic threat to sweep the podium, how do you pick one athlete. Billy Demong won gold and silver at the Olympics, becoming the first US Nordic athlete to bring home a Championship gold. Johnny Spillane left the Games with three silver...