Following the U.S. Ski Team's announcement of its 2013-2014 nominations, cross-country head coach Chris Grover discussed reasoning behind the major changes to the roster, which left off three men and for the first time in two years did not include a development tier. “This is a performance organization and at the end of the day the athletes have to be judged on their performances," Grover said.
(UPDATED) Kris Freeman, three-time U.S. Olympian in cross-country skiing and member of the U.S. Ski Team since 2002, was not renominated to the national team roster for the 2013-2014 season. Freeman said USST coaches notified him this week of the news, citing limited medal potential at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. "For whatever reason the USST no longer believes in me," he said.
Noah Hoffman executed his race plan perfectly in the 15 k freestyle at World Championships on Wednesday, moving from 40th on the first lap to 15th by the finish line. It cut his previous best from Oslo two years ago nearly in half. Tad Elliott was 34th and Erik Bjornsen was 48th for the American men.
Athletes and staff each have roles to play on race day, and on Sunday at World Championships every one of them was executed perfectly to help Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall to earn an historic gold medal in the team sprint. The wax, the skis — and that replacement pole!
The classic sprint at the 2013 World Championships was preceded by promise and excitement for the Americans, but when only three out of seven starters advanced to the heats on Thursday and none moved past the quarterfinals the team was left feeling frustrated by slippery skis. Kikkan Randall and Sophie Caldwell each finished fourth in their quarterfinals to place 19th and 20th, respectively, and Andy Newell was 21st after placing fifth in his heat.
Where Sophie Caldwell lacks in international experience she made up for in poise, adaptability and sheer speed on Thursday in the World Championships classic sprint. After “squeaking” into 30th by 0.12 seconds in the qualifier she raced as if she belonged in the heats, placing fourth in the quarters to finish 20th overall.
WIth a more experienced team than they've had before the Americans are approaching the next six races at World Championships more calmly than they have in recent years. On the eve of the classic sprint Kikkan Randall said she wants to perform well on Thursday, "but there’s not really big expectations on it. I’m feeling excited to race and see what’s in the tank."
The 2013 World Championships begin on February 20th in Val di Fiemme, Italy, and if you think this has been an exciting season so far, think again. With the U.S. selection period now closed and team naming expected by the end of the week, we consider criteria, rankings and results.
Based on their recent results from Quebec City and Canmore, the USST has offered Sophie Caldwell and Skyler Davis the chance to start another World Cup in Liberec, Czech Republic, in mid January. The races there take place just before U23 Worlds at the same venue and fall just inside the selection period the USST will use to select its team for World Championships.
“Today is as good or better, probably, than I felt or finished in any sprint last year,” said U.S. sprinter Andy Newell after racing to fifth place in Quebec City on Saturday.
Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins made it three weekends in a row with a U.S. podium, winning the team sprint in Quebec City over Germany and Norway. The win was a first in a team event for the American women.
The World Cup's transatlantic swing has upended the typical order on the circuit, and for the first time in years, North Americans will enjoy the perks of racing on their home turf.
After a substantial weekend of racing, we often have interesting tidbits that didn’t make it into the main race report. Here are Notes and Quotes from races in Bruksvallarna, Sweden, and Muonio, Finland. Chandra Crawford (CAN) was plenty excited about her 2nd place finish in the FIS sprint in Brusvallarna, Sweden. She told FasterSkier that she may have let her emotions get the best of her, saying “I just wanted to be Fast & Female...
On a clear, cold morning in Muonio, Finland, time marched one step closer to the World Cup and turned up mounting anticipation for it’s commencement by a few degrees. Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ) claimed his second victory of the weekend in the 10 k classic, though the rest Kazakh team was not quite as dominant as it was in Friday’s sprint. Lukas Bauer (CZE) was less than five seconds back from Poltoranin in second place and...
It may have been a relatively relaxed tune-up race, but there was no lack of depth in the field that showed up for the FIS classic sprints in Muonio, Finland, on Friday. Kazakhstan produced an impressive sweep of the podium; Alexey Poltoranin, a traditionally strong sprinter, led the charge while compatriots Nikolay Chebotko and Denis Volotka (KAZ) followed close behind. American Andy Newell, who led much of the final heat, finished fourth after a slight...
Welcome to the latest installment of FasterSkier’s season previews! Here we break down what to expect from the US Ski Team’s cross-country athletes on the international stage in 2012-2013. With the pre-World Cup races in Muonio, Finland, just around the corner, now is a good time to take stock of what happened last season. When it was time to write this preview a year ago, the Americans were coming off of a very different winter....
For the third time this year, the U.S. Ski Team ran into their counterparts on the biathlon squad earlier this week when both groups were in Utah for their respective training camps. “The biathletes were at Soldier Hollow yesterday as was the entire U.S. Ski Team,” skier Noah Hoffman wrote in an e-mail to FasterSkier on Tuesday. “Cross country was doing a speed (10-15 seconds) session classic. I’m not sure what was involved in the...
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Friday morning’s U.S. Ski Team workout at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg nordic trails wasn’t designed to be too hard. According to men’s coach Jason Cork, the idea was to run with poles and ski bound for 45 minutes at Level 3 – a sort of tempo pace. Once a couple dozen athletes between the U.S. Ski Team (USST) and National Elite Group (NEG) got going around the designated loop, most realized...
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Flinging around a sharp corner about a ski length behind one another, Sophie Caldwell (Stratton Mountain School T2 Team), Ida Sargent (Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) and Jessie Diggins (SMS) each lowered into a tuck and prepared for a long, steep descent. Diggins called out to the others just ahead of her in the classic rollerski sprint at Lake Placid’s Olympic Jumping Complex. “That’s it,” the U.S. Ski Team...
FasterSkier would like to thank the last summer when he nearly bested Canadian National Team Biathlete Marc-Andre Bedard in the grueling Spartan Beast Race in Killington, Vt. — though Bedard got the win when Dorais doubled back on the course to tackle several missed obstacles. However, one should not expect Dorais to round out a World Championship relay team any time soon. While his performance is still impressive impressive, the 34-year-old was aided by quick rolling...