Erik Bjornsen got the call to race the Olympic team sprint after veteran Andy Newell got sick. After a huge move up the final hill in the semifinals which announced the Americans' presence in the event, Bjornsen and Simi Hamilton skied a smart race to make it around the Sochi hills and earn sixth place, a best-ever finish for the U.S. in the event.
After qualifying in third out of a stacked semifinal, the U.S. women's team-sprint duo of Sophie Caldwell and Kikkan Randall went on to place eighth in the final of Wednesday's Olympic classic team sprint, two places back from their previous best of sixth at the 2010 Olympics.
Feeling under the weather, Andy Newell is no longer part of the American duo for Wednesday's team sprint. Instead, Erik Bjornsen will join Simi Hamilton. For the women, Kikkan Randall will keep her spot despite difficult races so far this Olympics, and Sophie Caldwell, who turned in the best U.S. women's performance ever in the individual sprint, will be her partner.
When Andy Newell collapsed during the first leg of today's Olympic relay, the U.S. team had to switch their perspective. No problem, said Noah Hoffman: "you have to be ready to roll with anything and take what’s given to you." The Americans ultimately finished 11th, one spot ahead of a Canadian team that had benched Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey.
Reactions from the U.S. men's team after a hot and slushy 15 k classic race at the Olympics. Noah Hoffman: "I mean, I love hanging out in this weather, it feels like springtime." But for racing!?
Days after the U.S. Nordic Ski Team officially announced its Olympic squad, several of the skiers that narrowly missed the cut have been dealing with ranging emotions -- mostly disappointment -- while U.S. Head Coach Chris Grover explains the decision to keep the team size to 14.
The U.S. Cross-Country and Nordic Combined teams officially announced their athlete selections for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which start in just over two weeks in Sochi, Russia.
Twenty-five days before the Olympics open in Sochi, Russia, Nikita Kriukov couldn’t have timed Sunday’s 6 x 1.6-kilometer team-classic sprint victory much better. The 28-year-old Russian’s execution was right up there as well. Meanwhile, Simi Hamilton and Andy Newell teamed up for one of the best U.S. men's team-sprint finishes in recent memory.
Gus Kaeding literally had one foot out the door and his vehicle running Tuesday morning, but he couldn’t draw himself away from what was unfolding some 3,700 miles away in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Two of his skiers were in their first sprint finals of their career, one of which was on his way to making U.S. history.
A new World Cup season dawns for the United States, and the future looks bright with expectations understandably high. In an Olympic year, the U.S. features one of the best collections of cross-country talent the nation has seen.
Noah Hoffman (USA) was the fastest World Cup skier today, posting the best time on the final day of the Kuusamo mini-tour, an effort that moved him up to 9th overall. The result paid off, both in valuable World Cup points, and Swiss Francs.
The United States women capped a highly successful start to the 2014 World Campaign, leaving Finland after three days of racing as the fourth ranked squad in the world. Kikkan Randall led the way, placing 5th in the Ruka Triple mini-tour.
Sadie Bjornsen (USA) continued a strong start to the season, placing a career-best 7th in the 5km classic in Finland.
The North American men made a solid showing at the second stage of this year’s Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland. The men’s individual 10k classic was what each team described as a productive start to the season - headlined by Ivan Babikov of Canada, who tied for 21st and American Noah Hoffman who placed 28th.
Kikkan Randall (USA) earned the first classic sprint podium of the year, placing second to Justyna Kowalczyk in the World Cup opener in Kuusamo, Finland.
With week one of the U.S. Ski Team's two-week training camp in Park City, Utah, in the bag, head coach Chris Grover shares what his athletes have been up to and how they've trained with dozens of other U.S. skiers.
The U.S. men and Canadian World Cup skiers are right at home way down under at the Snow Farm near Wanaka, Zealand, and they haven't wasted any time with getting down to business while rehabbing some injuries.
There are many stakeholders involved in creating the World Cup each year — athletes, race organizers, national governing bodies and, ever increasingly, television. U.S. Ski Team head coach Chris Grover shares his thoughts on media influence on cross-country’s evolution and provides some insight into the reasoning behind decisions made at last month’s FIS Calendar Conference.
The first World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland, isn’t until the end of November, but when you start to break down the North American training schedules by camp and month, the off-season suddenly looks much shorter. The Canadian and U.S. national teams will be training in New Zealand, Canmore, Alaska, Truckee, Bend, Lake Placid and Park City at various points between now and when the season begins.
The qualification criteria for the U.S. Ski Team's National Training Group now includes a top-three finish from NCAA Championships, signaling a change in the way the national team involves collegiate skiing in its development pipeline.