When Andrew Young qualified for his first World Cup sprint heats on Sunday, he knocked his better-known teammate Andrew Musgrave out of the top 30. Britain now has four athletes who meet the Olympic "A" standard, and perhaps more on the way - now they just have to find a way to get them all to the start line in Sochi.
Mikey Sinnott is the first to admit that his fitness isn't great so far this season. But although his overall goal is to make the Olympics - and his results so far on the World Cup, where he earned starts after winning last year's SuperTour, haven't done that for him - he's staying on the circuit one more week to soak up the competition before prepping for U.S. Nationals.
Extraordinary performances are becoming ordinary for the North American contingent this year as new stars emerge, historic results accumulate, and expectations continue to grow. FasterSkier was on site in Davos, Switzerland, where five USST members raced to the top 30 in Saturday's distance races and six made the heats in Sunday's sprints.
Incoming U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association CEO Tiger Shaw promised this fall that he'd spend some time getting to know each of the many sports he'll soon oversee. He made good on that promise when he visited the cross country ski team in Davos, Switzerland, this weekend, witnessing their best day ever of World Cup sprinting.
The Canadian team was locked out of the quarterfinals in Sunday's World Cup sprint, leading team members and coaches to call it a "bad day". But two team members who are recovering from health issues - Lenny Valjas and Chandra Crawford, who made her season debut at this level - looked at the sprint qualifier as a way to gain fitness on their upward trajectories, regardless of results.
A podium for Kikkan Randall, a career-best ninth-place finish by Sophie Caldwell, a semifinals appearance by Jessie Diggins - it was a good day for the U.S. Ski Team, before you even consider strong quarterfinal efforts by Sadie Bjornsen, Andy Newell, and Simi Hamilton. "We're really excited about the day," Matt Whitcomb said.
Marit Bjørgen might be the best skier in the world (although Justyna Kowalczyk would have something to say about that). Kikkan Randall might be the best sprinter. But after a tight photo finish in the Davos freestyle sprint today, both realized they will need to get even better if they want go into the upcoming Olympics feeling confident about gold.
After making a risky lane choice - albeit one that had worked in the past - Kikkan Randall ended up touching skis with Stina Nilsson of Sweden in the final of today's World Cup sprint. While she didn't fall, it may have cost Randall something - she only lost the race by 2 centimeters. U.S. coach Matt Whitcomb reviewed the video and called the incident a valuable learning experience.
With Kikkan Randall, Liz Stephen, Holly Brooks, and Jessie Diggins all scoring World Cup points, the American women's team was happy with their day in Saturday's 15 k skate. Were there any personal bests? No, but a few of them cracked a tough Davos course that has given them trouble in the past.
"So I tried to do my own race and not think about the other ones being in front of me," said Norway's Marit Bjørgen after her win in Davos today. She wasn't kidding around - not only was she the last starter in the 15 k freestyle, but she also wasn't winning at the early checkpoints. But if anyone can turn the tables, it's Bjørgen.
Noah Hoffman, the lone American entrant in the individual-start 30 k, planned to start conservatively and attack the downhills, a place where he has lost time before on the Davos courses. Although his pacing didn't go quite according to plan, Hoffman said he was happy with his 25th-place finish, 1:54 behind race winner Maurice Manificat of France.
Get to know Davos, and its trails, before you watch the World Cup races this weekend. A hint: it's at elevation and the courses feature loooooong uphills. Saturday's 15/30 k skate competitions are going to be tough! Luckily, there's a forecast of sun and some great scenery.
The Canadian men showed signs of recovery and an upswing in their second weekend of racing, with Alex Harvey leading the team in 16th in Saturday's 15 k classic individual start at the World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway.
Seraina Boner, a former Swiss national team skier, has transformed herself into the best long-distance skier in the world. Whether training with Team Coop in Norway or jumping in with Dario Cologna in Davos, she’s working towards a Vasaloppet victory - the one big thing that's missing from her resume.
Dario Cologna finally won World Championships gold in February. But his craving for medals has hardly been satisfied, and he has one goal on his mind: the Olympics in Sochi. Even his beloved Tour de Ski is falling by the wayside. We dropped in on a training session in Davos and chatted with Cologna about the upcoming winter.
Switzerland has a population just a bit smaller than the state of Virginia, and despite the Alps and Jura mountains faces some of the same challenges in developing World Cup skiers that you might find in North America. We chatted with Swiss U24 coach Christian Flury, formerly of Alberta World Cup Academy, about how his squad represents his country's future, and how he manages it.
Heidi Widmer, 22, isn't one for hanging around. Recently promoted to the Canadian Senior Team, Widmer ended the season with a backcountry trip then flew to El Salvador and New Orleans before training in Switzerland, where she'll spend a month with World Cup and national team skiers.
Though Marit Bjørgen made the last-second decision to skip Sunday's race, the Norwegian women were just fine in her absence. Therese Johaug claimed her first individual-start win in the 10 k in Davos, Switzerland, for a confidence-boosting tune-up before World Championships. She bested Justyna Kowalczyk and teammate Kristin Størmer Steira on the challenging course.
Canada's Lenny Valjas gave it his all and drained the tank for sixth, a season-best, non-stage result, and Devon Kershaw continued to his ascent into fighting form in eighth at Saturday's World Cup classic sprint in Davos, Switzerland.
Kikkan Randall was eighth to pace three American women to the top 30 in classic sprint in Davos, Switzerland, on Saturday. "It’s the kind of day we wanted to have before going to world championships," said USST women's coach Matt Whitcomb.