This Monday the USST announced 16 cross country athletes will represent the U.S. at the 2015 FIS Nordic World Championships in Falun, Sweden. Headlined by defending World Champions Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins, a mix of veterans and newcomers will take on the world's best.
USST athlete Jessie Diggins earned her second fifth-place of the weekend in the 7.5 k + 7.5 k skiathlon in Rybinsk, Russia. Diggins led the USST women to place four skiers in the top-20 with Liz Stephen in seventh, Sadie Bjornsen in 13th, and Rosie Brennan in 20th.
After making it through the qualifier, three Americans and Canadian Alex Harvey were not able to race their way into the semifinals of Saturday's World Cup 1.3 k freestyle sprint in Rybinsk, Russia. However, American Erik Bjornsen had his best sprint result on the World Cup and reached the heats for the first time.
Canadian Alex Harvey took 10th in the World Cup 15 k freestyle individual start in Rybinsk, Russia, taking 10th, while Ivan Babikov placed 22nd and Devon Kershaw finished 36th for Canada. The American men finished 40th and 50th with Erik Bjornsen and Matt Gelso, respectively.
In her second-ever team sprint (and first one since 2009), Rosie Brennan teamed up with Ida Sargent to advance to the final, where they placed sixth of 10 teams. The U.S. women's first team, Sadie Bjornsen and Sophie Caldwell placed 11th, as did the U.S. men's second team (Erik Bjornsen/Matt Gelso), and Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton ended up 19th after a late semifinal crash.
Three Americans made the quarterfinals on Saturday in the second World Cup classic sprint of the season: Sadie Bjornsen, Simi Hamilton and Andy Newell. None of them advanced to the semifinals, and while it wasn't a bad day, most were left wanting more.
The USST men finished their last race of the 2015 Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy without much fanfare. Erik Bjornsen led the squad in 58th to conclude what Andy Newell called a frustrating week. With the Tour behind them, the men are headed to Ramsau, Austria to recover and prepare for the remaining World Cup racing before World Champs.
Sunday's 15 k classic pursuit proved to be rough for the American men on the Tour de Ski. Erik Bjornsen led the Americans in 60th, while Simi Hamilton, following a successful prologue, finished just behind in 61st. Andy Newell suffered a crash and finished in 88th.
Since Scott Patterson (APU) was impaled by Erik Bjornsen's ski in October he has dealt with a surgery, pulmonary embolism, and a long recovery. Despite facing what looked to be a season-ending string of health issues, Patterson is racing at U.S. Nationals in Houghton and looking to see what he can do.
Last year, Canada's Alex Harvey won the Tour de Ski prologue. That wasn't going to happen today: "I haven’t quite found my groove in skating this year," he said, but he's still in a great position for tomorrow's 15 k pursuit. Meanwhile, Simi Hamilton of the U.S. Ski Team scored his first World Cup distance points in 26th.
The second weekend of racing in Davos, Switzerland, wrapped up the first period of the World Cup, and there's still a lot left to be said. Check out our Notes and Quotes to see what didn't make it into our race reports this weekend.
Liz Stephen entered Saturday’s 10 k freestyle in Davos, Switzerland with a goal of placing in the top-10. While she missed her target by 4.9 seconds and earned a 12th place on the day, the result was a promising step for the 27-year-old as she continues to improve with every race.
It's tough to swallow getting destroyed by Norwegians week after week. Reese Hanneman is still absorbing a huge jump in training hours from the summer and fall, but also: "I think people really underestimate how hard it is to go from racing well in the U.S. to racing well here on the World Cup.”
DAVOS, Switzerland— “I’ve been feeling pretty good this season,” U.S. Ski Team veteran Andy Newell says after the finish of today’s skate sprint. “I think I was carrying a little bit of fatigue just from the fall training, but still I think I’m a top 15 World Cup sprinter right now, I just haven’t had a chance to show it.” He was one of the 15 best sprinters in the world today, qualifying in 15th...
Liz Stephen wants to ski like skiing really matters: "I was focused on that aggression, and wanting to win more than I’ve ever wanted to win." That took her to 20th place in the 10 k classic, leading teammates Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen who all finished within a few seconds. Erik Bjornsen led the U.S. men in 48th place in the 15 k classic.
A tough mini-tour in Lillehammer came to a close today with siblings Erik and Sadie Bjornsen leading the U.S. Ski Team.
The USST came up short in Friday's freestyle sprint in the first stage of the Lillehammer World Cup mini tour, with only one skier qualifying for the heats. Despite lack of results from the team as a whole, Sadie Bjornsen demonstrated that her training is paying off after placing 16th in qualification and 21st overall.
Sadie Bjornsen was, in a way, trying to avoid the kind of seventh-place showing she broke out with last year in Kuusamo, Finland. Instead, she placed 17th on Sunday for a result she was pleased with, especially considering how much it hurt. Jessie Diggins was 39th and four more Americans were in the top 60.
Noah Hoffman is headed back home before his season really started. With 1 kilometer to go in his first official race the season, the 25-year-old U.S. Ski Team member suffered a lower-leg injury after crashing hard on a troublesome downhill corner. He is due in Denver on Monday afternoon, and plans to see a specialist for an official diagnosis shortly after.
The first race of the season was no problem for U.S. Ski Team member Ida Sargent, who said she had a lot to think about during Saturday's classic sprint -- the first World Cup race of the season in Kuusamo, Finland -- but she used it to fuel her best-ever result on the international circuit.