Distance or Sprint, Ben Lustgarten has shown his mastery of speedy classic skiing and 30 k striding prowess. We asked Lustgarten for a key to his classic skiing success in the Wednesday Workout.
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Craftsbury Green Racing Project
Wasting No Time, Holmes Works Hills Hard for 20 k Title
Gabby NaranjaJanuary 11, 2017
MIDWAY, Utah. — As she headed up Soldier Hollow’s infamous Hermod’s Hill for her fifth and final time, there wasn’t another skier in sight. At least none of the ones she started with. Chelsea Holmes, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), was fine with that. She never liked sprints to the finish, and on Tuesday, Holmes would have it her way. Of course, there was still the possibility that she would slip and skid to a...
Tuesday Rundown: Classic Mass Starts in SoHo
FasterSkierJanuary 10, 2017
U.S. Cross Country Championships (Soldier Hollow): 20/30 k classic mass starts After a day of rest, racers returned to the Soldier Hollow (SoHo) trails on Tuesday for the men’s 30-kilometer and women’s 20 k classic mass start competitions. Two laps into the the men’s eight-lap event, a front group began to form, with Kris Freeman of Team Freebird, Ben Lustgarten of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP), Scott Patterson of Alaska Pacific University (APU) and his...
Bender Bags Another Classic Sprint Title, ‘What I Really Wanted to Do Here’
Gabby NaranjaJanuary 9, 2017
MIDWAY, Utah — There was a dampness in the room, and an odor that clung to the walls like plastic. Yet athletes continued to enter, with one after another pulling open the doors to the Soldier Hollow venue (SoHo) volunteer building. Once inside, many made a beeline for the race committee’s makeshift front desk. Race bibs and start lists, however, were not what they sought. Close to an hour had passed since the final female...
MIDWAY, Utah — With four grueling uphills per lap, the new U.S. Cross Country Championships women’s 10-kilometer nine years. Maybe flats are easier to find on Gregg’s Twin City turf than the hills that abound in SoHo. But the 36 year old still considers herself a climber. Gregg proved a point after she won by 2.2 seconds in the women’s 10 k freestyle on Saturday, the first day of nationals: put a hill, any hill, in front of her and...
After Hot World Cup Start, Patterson Needs Nationals to Make Lahti Team
Chelsea LittleDecember 14, 2016
Caitlin Patterson of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project had a red-hot start to her World Cup season, finishing 28th in the 10-kilometer classic in Kuusamo, Finland, and thus scoring World Cup points in the very first weekend of racing. But since then, not everything has gone perfectly for last season’s SuperTour leader. In the Lillehammer mini tour, she failed to crack the top 30 in any individual races and finished the tour 42nd overall. “A lot of...
US Biathlon’s Clare Egan: Calm, Cool and on the Rise
Jason AlbertDecember 8, 2016
A quick trajectory. That's a succinct way of describing US Biathlon's Clare Egan ascent onto the World Cup. She first picked up a rifle three years ago, and today you might just see her shoot clean.
BiathlonBiathlon CanadaCanadian National Ski TeamContinental CupGeneralNordic CombinedRacingUS BiathlonUS Ski TeamWorld Cup
Lillehammer, Östersund & West Notes & Quotes
FasterSkierDecember 6, 2016
Three days of racing, more than a dozen North American skiers, and one FasterSkier on-site reporter was there to witness it all — including Women | Women | Women | Diggins’s 5 k victory “Jessica can be either in the front or in the back when it comes to classic. I thought that if she has a good day, then we and Marit can try to chase Heidi, and that would be a really nice group....
Bjørgen: New Mom? Check. Atop the Ruka Podium? Check.
Jason AlbertNovember 27, 2016
Marit Bjorgen, hear me roar. A wake up call at Sunday's 10 k individual classic in Ruka, Finland. Bjorgen is the show, and three Americans in the points.
17 Questions for 2017: Caitlin Patterson
FasterSkierNovember 23, 2016
What does Craftsbury's Caitlin Patterson pack first when she head's to Europe, for example for the first period of World Cup racing this season? "Metaphorically, I pack my camera first. Physically the camera doesn't go into the bottom of my bag, that would be my ski boots."
Most of us can imagine stumbling across a finish line, lungs burning. It’s a whole other realm of precision like suffering to pound out the kilometers while intermittently trying to hit a small target. In this episode of Nordic Nation, 28-year-old Clare Egan describes what it’s like coming to the sport as a novice shooter with Olympic aspirations.
In Finland to get in some race time before the World Cup begins, Ida Sargent of the U.S. Ski Team and Craftsbury finished ninth in the classic sprint in Muonio. Teammate Caitlin Patterson placed 16th and Sargent 19th in the 5k classic the next day.
All About the Books, Sargent Pursues a Master’s While Revving Up for World Cup
Jason AlbertOctober 20, 2016
It's back to school and the World Cup for U.S. Ski Team A-teamer Ida Sargent. Based out of Craftsbury, the Vermont native has been mindful to keep her training quality high. As she readies for the first World Cup in late November, she'll also keep her mind sharp while taking online classes in public health.
Amidst a summer of projects on her new house in Vermont, U.S. Biathlon's Susan Dunklee has tried a periodized approach to her shooting training and is looking for big dividends this winter.
Craftsbury Splits Camp Between Slovenian Ski Tunnel and Dachstein Glacier
Gabby NaranjaSeptember 29, 2016
Eleven Craftsbury Green Racing Project skiers and three coaches took their training to Slovenia and Austria this month to check out Planica's new ski tunnel (in a three-level parking garage) then more snow time 9,000 feet above sea level at the Dachstein glacier.
After coming back from a devastating combination of injuries from a 2015 crash, former U.S. national team member Casey Smith realized that he was treating biathlon like a job, not like fun. He'll re-enroll at Montana State University this fall and say goodbye to elite skiing.
After Demolishing 30 k Classic, Diggins ‘Pretty Crushed’ at Season’s End
Kaitlyn PattersonMarch 26, 2016
Jessie Diggins maintained her streak through the final race of the season, winning the women's 30 k classic mass start -- what used to be her weakest race format -- on Saturday at U.S. Distance Nationals. She broke away on the first of nine laps, making it a race for second among Ida Sargent, Caitlin Patterson and Liz Stephen.
Faces Painted, APU Mixed Relay Gets Down to Business with Third-Straight Win
Kaitlyn PattersonMarch 25, 2016
Alaska Pacific University led from start to finish, with Erik Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan, Scott Patterson, and Chelsea Holmes, to win its third-consecutive mixed relay title at SuperTour Finals on Thursday in Craftsbury, Vt. A hybrid team called Vailbury Green placed second, and Jessie Diggins brought SMST2 from sixth to third at the finish.
Diggins Outlunges Sargent in Classic Sprint for 2nd Win of SuperTour Finals
Gabby NaranjaMarch 23, 2016
Jessie Diggins was once again unstoppable on the second day of the SuperTour Finals in Craftsbury, Vt., winning the classic sprint ahead of fellow U.S. Ski Team members Ida Sargent and Rosie Brennan. Three SMST2 skiers reached the final, with Annie Hart placing fourth and Sophie Caldwell finishing fifth on her birthday.
Kaitlynn Miller proved she's more than just a podium contender -- she can also be a race favorite -- after winning her first-ever World Cup title in the classic sprint at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.