How will domestic skiers qualify for World Championships? Who's racing this year? What an we expect from the 2015 SuperTour? To answer these questions and more here is FasterSkier's SuperTour preview, which gives you and in-depth look at how competition will shape up on the domestic front.
As excitement grows for the first World Cup races in Kuusamo, Finland, the U.S. Ski Team stands as one of the most talented and experienced teams America has ever fielded. While only time will tell if the team can live up to their own high expectations, our World Cup preview aims to give you an update and some insight into this U.S. team.
The U.S. Men's Ski Team and APU recently wrapped up their summer training camp in Alaska. They spent their final week on Eagle Glacier where they trained hard, cemented technique, and had a few laughs.
The U.S. Ski Team recently returned from their first training camp of the season in Bend, Ore. The camp served as fresh start for the team as they work to become the most technically improved team on the World Cup circuit this season.
USSA has announced its nominations to the 2014/2015 U.S. Ski Team, with A-team returners Kikkan Randall, Jessie Diggins, Andy Newell, and Liz Stephen, plus the additions of Sadie Bjornsen, Sophie Caldwell, and Simi Hamilton to the A-team.
The 4 x 5 k relay made its way back into U.S. nationals for the first time in about 16 years, but with a new twist of two men and two women per team. APU showed its strength and depth early on, and its winning anchor, Kikkan Randall said she's hoping the format makes it into the World Cup. She's not alone.
It's sure to be an exciting day at Kincaid Park on Tuesday for the first team event at U.S. nationals in at least a decade, and unlike most relays, this one's coed. Stay tuned for a showdown between APU, Stratton, Craftsbury, Sun Valley and several college teams.
Noah Hoffman knew he had to shake UVM senior Scott Patterson with every ounce of energy he had in Saturday's three-lap 15 k skate at SuperTour Finals. By the end of the second lap, Hoffman had built a nearly 5-second lead and extended it to 11 seconds through the finish.
On a sunny afternoon in Kincaid Park, several World Cup skiers, including three Olympians and three Alaska Pacific University members, took the time to chat on camera between training and testing on Friday.
FasterSkier is on-site at the SuperTour Finals and U.S. Distance Nationals in Anchorage, Alaska, and teaming up with the Anchorage Daily News to bring you images and reports from the events, which start Saturday with the freestyle individual starts at Kincaid Park. Here's the ADN preview.
Kikkan Randall was the top American in today's World Cup freestyle in Lahti, Finland skating her way to 21st place. Noah Hoffman was the top American man, finishing 24th on the icy course.
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.
Japan's Akira Lenting, 23, got one start at the Olympics, in the men's relay. But a bad day for the rest of his team meant that things didn't go as planned.
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!?
Photos of the U.S. and Canadian men on the first day of the men's cross-country races at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Two Canadians finished in the top 30, and Noah Hoffman led the U.S. in 35th.
Erik Bjornsen and Brian Gregg are looking to use today's 30 k skiathlon to boost their performances later in the Olympics, where Bjornsen is focusing on the 15 k classic and Gregg on the 50 k skate. Graeme Killick of Canada, meanwhile, adjusted to not being in the front with a huge gap. Kris Freeman struggled in the skiathlon, and he and coach Zach Caldwell are doing some soul-searching to figure out why.