Sophie Caldwell mainly had one tactic on Tuesday, and it put her in prime position for the best race of her career: “Push it over the tops, stick on Ingvild on the ups, and have a strong finish," she explained. The American ended up beating Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and another Norwegian, Heidi Weng, to achieve her first World Cup victory.
A collection of photos highlighting the North Americans in Tuesday's classic sprint at the fourth stage of the Tour de Ski. Sophie Caldwell made history as the third U.S. woman to win a World Cup race. Photos by Marcel Hilger.
Toko Glove All Stars: Ida Sargent 1. Who was your skiing role model when you were growing up and why? Chandra Crawford- I watched her win Olympic gold with the biggest smile on her face and it doesn’t get more inspiring than that! 2. What skier inspires you currently and why? Kikkan Randall- she is a leader for our team and an incredible role model. Kikkan isn’t afraid to set big goals and believe...
Sophie Caldwell beat two Norwegians en route to her first career World Cup victory on Tuesday -- winning the women's classic sprint at the Tour de Ski Stage 4 and becoming the only other U.S. woman besides Kikkan Randall to win a World Cup race.
With the longest races of the Tour de Ski out of the way, sprinters Andy Newell, Simi Hamilton, Sophie Caldwell, and Ida Sargent are looking forward to the classic sprint on Tuesday. They may continue the Tour a stage or two, seeking to score World Cup points in a distance event.
Americans Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen skied another pair of consistent races, keeping themselves in the top 10 overall in the Tour de Ski. Liz Stephen moved up to 22nd place, while Sophie Caldwell called her effort "maybe my best-ever distance race" in 27th.
With Sadie Bjornsen and Jessie Diggins going 7-8, the U.S. Ski Team had lots to celebrate despite the disappointment of Simi Hamilton crashing out in the quarterfinals. "It’s ski racing, we all come out on the good end of things, we all come out on the bad end of things," Hamilton said.
Sophie Caldwell had the best World Cup sprint qualifier of her career: "My legs felt better than they have all year." She's joined by five U.S. teammates in the heats, including Simi Hamilton, who talked to us about the pressure felt after winning this Tour de Ski stage two years ago.
Norway's sprint regulars, Maiken Caspersen Falla and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg took the top two spots on the skate-sprint podium at the Toblach World Cup, while two U.S. women landed in the top 10 and four of five made the heats.
Simi Hamilton, 28, notched the second World Cup podium of his career on Saturday, finishing second to Italy's Federico Pellegrino by less than half a second in the freestyle sprint in Toblach, Italy. Two U.S. women finished in the top 10, with Sophie Caldwell in seventh and Sadie Bjornsen in ninth.
Sweden's Stina Nilsson pulled off a last-minute move from third to first in the women's freestyle sprint in Davos to win her first World Cup, and Sophie Caldwell advanced as a two-time lucky loser to ultimately place sixth in the final. Her U.S. teammate, Jessie Diggins placed ninth overall, and two other U.S. women made the heats.
Regardless of when winter officially starts, it's here as far as the ski world is concerned, and there's a lot to be excited about in North American racing. Canadian biathletes Rosanna Crawford and Nathan Smith jumped out to a relay podium in the first IBU World Cup race, and Canadian cross-country skier Alex Harvey took second in the men's 10 k skate in Kuusamo, Finland, for his first early season podium.
Whatever Sadie Bjornsen was doing the first lap of Sunday's 10 k classic pursuit wasn't working for her, so she revamped and tackled the final three laps with a whole new attitude. "I gave myself a little smacking and realized I had to make my opportunity today," she said after placing 14th in the Ruka Triple for her best overall finish in Kuusamo, Finland.
This time last year, Ida Sargent had a career-best fifth in the first Word Cup of the season: the Ruka classic sprint in Kuusamo, Finland. She came close on Friday, finishing seventh and missing the final by 0.37 seconds. Teammate Sadie Bjornsen won her quarterfinal and placed 12th overall.
FS caught up with one of the most experienced elite female coaches club in the U.S., Pepa Miloucheva. Head coach for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, Miloucheva details the path of the program, as well as her own, over the past 20 years.
US Ski Team Athlete Ida Sargent Joins Team Madshus Seattle, WA (Aug. 26, 2014) — Madshus, the world’s leading performance Nordic ski company, is pleased to announce that Olympian and US Nordic Ski Team Member, Ida Sargent has signed an exclusive deal with Madshus skis and boots. The deal is effective October 1st, 2015 and will see Sargent race on Madshus equipment for the upcoming World Cup season. “I tested Madshus skis and boots for the first time this...
For its first on-snow camp of the summer, the U.S. Ski Team traveled to New Zealand to train at the Snow Farm in Wanaka. With a full 15 days of skiing, the team was able to make some mid-summer improvements to technique while logging some serious distance on skis.
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) announced its cross-country team nominations for the 2015/2016 season on Thursday, naming 16 athletes to the team, four more than the previous year.
Out of six U.S. Ski Team members who advanced to the heats in Thursday's World Championships classic sprint, Sophie Caldwell and Simi Hamilton went the farthest, making it to the semifinals before finishing 10th and 12th, respectively. Andy Newell placed 17th and rookie Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess led his quarterfinal at one point before ending up 30th overall. Sadie Bjornsen was 19th and Ida Sargent placed 29th.