Alex Harvey, the Canadian medal hopeful, placed 18th in the Olympic pursuit, hindered by a pair of classic skis that he said were both slick and slow. Noah Hoffman led Americans in 35th.
With the Olympics starting Thursday and jam-packed week behind us, it’s almost futile to try and recap it all. But here’s the lowdown of what happened: The Junior/U23 World Champion began in Val di Fiemme, Italy, the final World Cup weekend before the Olympics took place in Toblach, Italy and NorAm racing continued at the Eastern Canadian Championships in Cantly, Quebec.
Erik Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team broke through in Saturday's 15 k classic individual start at the Toblach World Cup in Italy, two days after placing 17th the same event at U23 World Championships. Aside from Alex Harvey in fifth, the rest of the North American men placed outside the top 38 on a wet day marked by tricky conditions.
Satisfied, yet unfulfilled was the sentiment of the North Americans who competed in the 2014 U23 World Championship 10 k and 15 k classic at Val di Fiemme, Italy. With fresh snow falling on the challenging course of Lago di Tesero, the best U23 skiers from North America put their best efforts forward in an attempt to make their mark on the international stage.
Jessie Diggins once again demonstrated that she’s a skier with a lot of heart at the 2014 U23 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. On the same course where she earned a historic world championship gold in the team sprint with Kikkan Randall in 2013, the 22-year-old left the 1.2 k freestyle sprint knowing she gave it her all.
Erik Bjornsen enjoys the finer things in life: hot chocolate, Sequence and 1994 Ford Rangers. More about the younger of the Bjornsen siblings and first-time Olympian, who's racing at U23 World Championships starting Wednesday in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
The U.S. Cross-Country and Nordic Combined teams officially announced their athlete selections for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which start in just over two weeks in Sochi, Russia.
The US men's team faced fatigue and fickle conditions on Sunday's 15 k classic mass start race in Szklarska Poreba, Poland. Noah Hoffman led the US men's results in 19th, with Andy Newell 27th, and Erik Bjornsen 40th.
With the stakes high this Olympic season, US Fischer and Swix athletes took to Soldier Hollow, Utah to make a case for their inclusion to the US Olympic team for the upcoming Sochi games. This week, Fischer and Swix outpaced all equipment suppliers with four wins and twelve podium finishes, including two podium sweeps. USST and APU, athlete, Erik Bjornsen took home the opening win of the US National Championships with a strong final lap...
Bronze, silver, and now gold. Reese Hanneman of Alaska Pacific University has captured them all after his win in the 1.6 k classic sprint on the final day of the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships. En route to his first national championship, Hanneman made winning look easy despite competing against the best sprinters in the country.
It's all about fitness on the demanding trails of Soldier Hollow, and Reese Hanneman, of Alaska Pacific University proved to be fastest on the men's 1.6-kilometer classic sprint course on Friday morning at U.S. Cross Country Championships with the fastest qualifying time of 3:40.94.
A crowd favorite, Sylvan Ellefson (SSCV/Team HomeGrown) put down a bold move and broke away with 7.5 k to go in the men's 30 k freestyle mass start at U.S. nationals. “Whether they pick me for the Olympics this year or not, I’m just happy to have a national championship under my belt," he says.
In what was a flawless day at Soldier Hollow, Erik Bjornsen of Alaska Pacific University and the U.S. Ski Team achieved his second national championship in the 15 k interval start in the first day of racing at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships. He finished 0:14 ahead of Reese Hanneman (APU) who placed second. Kris Freeman of the Maine Winter Sports Club finished third, 0:22.8 back from Bjornsen.
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.
Emily Nishikawa and Erik Bjornsen picked up their first victories of the season in the Black Jack NorAm freestyle sprints on Saturday in Rossland, B.C., coming out on top of heats that were jam-packed with tactics, crashes and tight finishes.
A new World Cup season dawns for the United States, and the future looks bright with expectations understandably high. In an Olympic year, the U.S. features one of the best collections of cross-country talent the nation has seen.
A look at the top 10 and some other men in Saturday's 15-kilometer freestyle individual start -- the second and last race of the West Yellowstone SuperTour.
Some of the most competitive skiers in the U.S. SuperTour circuit give thanks and express appreciation for friends and family before, during and after their Thanksgiving ski sessions in West Yellowstone, Mont., one day before the SuperTour opens there on Friday.
Before the start of the 2013/2014 season, 22-year-old Erik Bjornsen recently sat down with Reese Hanneman for a frank discussion about last winter and the one just ahead.
Fresh off a trip from France, where he trained with national team skiers and biathletes, Erik Bjornsen talks how he wants to build off last season's breakthroughs and the major lessons he takes away from training with foreign athletes. "In order to reach the top, you really have to live cross-country skiing at every hour of the day," he says.