There is certainly an art to traveling and traveling well. There are tricks to traveling in a big group such as the US Ski Team, and there are tricks to traveling by yourself. Both have their advantages as well as their challenges....
The Lahti Corner — the notoriously sketchy 180-degree downhill hairpin that stumps many experienced World Cup skiers every season — lived up to its reputation on Sunday in the third-to-last sprint of the year. If it wasn’t taking out several athletes at once, it was otherwise dictating tactics and forcing skiers into awkward snowplows around its icy arc. For Kikkan Randall, who led the Americans in fifth, the corner’s penchant for carnage necessitated extra attention...
Well, I’m on a plane once again…. Based on my rough estimates, I have flown approximately 25 hours in the past week and 35 hours in the past two weeks (this is airtime alone!) This is a complete experiment and this “travel he...
I’ve started a couple of different blog posts since making the trip home from overseas but haven’t finished any of them. Whenever I would sit down to write or finish my thoughts, I was always tempted to take them in a different direction. However, ...
All American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. HAYWARD, Wis. – Rounding one of last corners in the American Birkebeiner 50-kilometer skate race, Holly Brooks felt a pang of familiarity. Stronger than déjà vu, the 29-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska, knew she had been in a similar position in the same race before. From Brooks’ standpoint, finishing second in the 2009 Birkie by one-tenth of a second to Rebecca Dussault of...
All American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. CABLE, Wis. – Matt Liebsch’s wife had been in a car accident. Lars Flora couldn’t feel his fingers nearly two weeks after a ski mountaineering race in Vail, Colo. Holly Brooks had just returned home to Alaska to recharge. Caitlin Gregg was waiting for an OK from her doctor. Tad Elliott wasn’t sure what to do with a weekend off from the...
You may be wondering why I wasn't on the start lists and/or the results from this weekend's World Cup in Poland...... that's because, as I write this I'm sitting at my kitchen table half way across the world in Alaska. Yep. After m...
Alaskan on relay win best in US women's World Cup historyNORDIC: Alaskan helps u.s. quartet to best-ever finish at world cup.By BETH BRAGGAnchorage Daily NewsPublished: February 12th, 2012 11:39 PM Last Modified: February 12th, 2012 11:40 PMThe Am...
As the sunlight sliced through rows of majestic trees in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, Sunday around noon, a few of the Norwegians could have afforded to soak up the scenery in the women’s 4×5 k relay. They probably didn’t, though. Marit Bjørgen finally lifted her head to look around as she entered the stadium to seal the Norwegian win. With a nearly 40 second lead, Bjørgen as the Norway I anchor threw up...
As the saying goes, you can’t win them all and some races downright hurt. Maybe that’s not the adage, but it’s the truth. Several Americans felt an unfamiliar burn associated with disappointment on Saturday after finishing outside the top 30 in their respective World Cup mass starts in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic. U.S. Ski Team rookie Jessie Diggins led the women’s squad, placing 33rd in the 15 k classic race. Kris Freeman was also...
Jessie Diggins bounced back from a crash at the start of the 15km skiathlon in Rybinsk, Russia, continuing to roll on her first World Cup trip, placing 12th at the head of a strong chase group. Her US Ski Team (USST) teammates Kikkan Randall and Liz Stephen, both on the rebound from illness, placed 25th and 26th respectively. Holly Brooks continued her comeback from a broken wrist, placing 35th, while Ida Sargent was just behind...
I know my blog has been quiet lately and I apologize for that. However, life has been quiet and simple, and dare I say, a bit boring. It's tough to train so hard all year, only to watch races from the "sidelines" although I wasn't even on the sidelines...
For the past few years, the World Cup in Rybinsk, Russia has been the weekend frequently skipped over by national teams and various individuals. With the overall World Cup title a focal point this season and no major championship to save up for, however, the expected fields are nearly double what they’ve recently been, in spite of the handful of athletes who have decided not to race in the extreme cold. The forecast initially looked...
Holly Brooks’ 2012 season was off to a magical start. Building on strong World Cup results at the end of the 2011 season, Brooks took advantage of the start rights provided by her SuperTour title the season before, quickly establishing herself as a consistent points threat in all formats and distances. Heading into the Christmas break, she had placed in the top-30 five times in nine individual starts, putting herself in good position in the...
Well, here I am. Back in Ramsau. This time there are no Christmas trees, no big group meals. It's just me, myself & I! I'm skipping some World Cup action to get some much needed time to heal my wrist. Injuries are just one unavoidable aspect ...
One of my friends sent me an incredibly nice email, commenting on my blog and specifically, this line that I used to express my feelings about the Tour: "The pain of racing is temporary and the pain of quitting lasts forever"He had a great story ...
I MADE IT!I made it to the top of the Alpes Cermis! Yehaw! Ten years from now I can just picture myself laughing, in reflection: "Remember the time when I race the entire Tour de Ski with a broken wrist after falling on Christmas Day?!" I ca...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – By the time most athletes arrived at the top of the Alpe Cermis on Sunday, in the final stage of the Tour de Ski, they were ready for a nap. Or a massage. Or a beer. Or all of the above. Not Kikkan Randall and Liz Stephen, though. No fewer than eight hours after crossing the finish line here, they were already competing in another race: a team sprint on...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – If anyone wanted a preview of how next season’s World Championships here might unfold for American skier Kikkan Randall, they had to look no further than the women’s lead pack in Stage 8 of the Tour de Ski on Saturday. For half of the race, a 9 k mass start classic competition, Randall skied at the front with big names like Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL)—and even led...