julien locke – FasterSkier

SuperTour Kicks Off in Anchorage

FasterSkierDecember 14, 2023

The North American cross country scene offers numerous race opportunities throughout the winter season, but it’s the SuperTour that involves the very most competitive skiers from the United States and Canada. On December 12-17, Anchorage’s Kincaid Park plays host to the Anchorage WinterStart SuperTour, the first SuperTour event of the 2023-2024 season (presented with the support of Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage and Cross Country Alaska). Men’s and Women’s Sprint Tuesday saw SuperTour action in...

Community Lifestyle News Product News Resources Tech

Nordic Pulse Uses GPS Tracking to Improve and Accelerate Communication Between Groomers and Skiers

Rachel PerkinsMarch 23, 2022

If there’s a generalization that can be made about cross country skiers, it might be that we like to “know before [we] go.” As the ski season waxes and wanes, or mid-season storms roll through, we relentlessly check the weather forecast and our local grooming report as we fantasize hungrily about the fresh corduroy or classic tracks we hope to enjoy that day. But we can’t always know before we go. Timely grooming reporting asks...

News Racing Regional / Local

Ketterson and Ogden Take Classic Sprint Win on New Tracks at Mt Van Hoevenberg

FasterSkierJanuary 30, 2022

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ben Theyerl After a brief break, the SuperTour picked up in Lake Placid this weekend, with a fluoro-free Period III kicking off with a 1.5-kilometer classic sprint. The frigid forecast called for overnight lows of -5 Fahrenheit, with a wind chill as low as -23F. Highs during the day were only predicted to climb into the low single digits. Qualifiers were scheduled for 10/10:45 am, with quarterfinals for the open...

Continental Cup News Racing

Western Canada Cup #1: Back to the Bibs

Gerry FursethDecember 6, 2021

Racing returned to Canada after a lost season, and there are plenty of storylines to follow. This weekend, The Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre in Vernon, BC hosted a freestyle sprint and a classic 10/15-kilometer individual start. It sounds so familiar, a re-run of the annual NorAm kickoff with a new Western Canada Cup name. Travel to the venue became more challenging when a November 13th ‘atmospheric river’ destroyed the two main highways between Vancouver and...

Racing US Nationals

U.S. Senior National Classic Sprint Rundown (Updated with Images & Audio)

FasterSkierJanuary 7, 2020

Racing at the 2020 U.S. Senior Nationals wrapped on Tuesday with a 1.5-kilometer classic sprint. Although the day came down to six skiers in both the men’s and women’s finals — as is the norm — what flummoxed a few skiers of note were the dicey conditions, which left the tracks covered with slow-me-down lake effect snow. Post-race interview with Hunter Wonders Canada’s Julien Locke (CNST) won the men’s final in 4:03.83 — a time...

Canadian Nationals Racing

Canadian Nationals: Skate Sprint and WCF qualification

Gerry FursethMarch 17, 2019

This article has been updated with final WCF selections and a video of the sprint A finals. Nationals rolled on at Nakkertok trails with free technique sprints on Saturday. The women raced a 1.3km course while the men added one more hill for 1.4km. The jury described the conditions as ‘soft icy’, which seems to mean ‘fast spring skiing’ with a soft layer over a firm base. Maya MacIsaac-Jones (CNST) took her second consecutive national...

Continental Cup Racing

Canadian Western Championship: Weekend Wrap-up

Gerry FursethFebruary 12, 2019

KELOWNA, B.C — One week after Easterns, it was time for Westerns, and the Polar Vortex made the trip for both weekends. At Easterns, the air was cold enough to keep the organizing committee on edge at the start of the weekend, and freezing rain complicated driving plans. At Westerns, the cold weather held off to Sunday, but falling snow on dry, salted roads created a sheet ice for Friday’s commute. Both championships had less athletes...

Biathlon General News Racing World Cup

Sunday Rundown from Lahti and Canada (Canmore Biathlon Sprints Cancelled)

FasterSkierFebruary 10, 2019

FIS World Cup Lahti, Finland Classic Team Sprint Sunday in Lahti, Finland the women raced a 6 x 1.4-kilometer classic team sprint. U.S. fans saw their hopes for a podium snuffed out in the two semi-finals that determined the 10 teams advancing to the finals. In the first team sprint semi, the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell placed sixth overall and did not advance. Sargent and Caldwell, constituting team USA I,...

News Racing World Cup

Saturday Race Rundown; Caldwell Second in Lahti; Canadian Westerns

FasterSkierFebruary 9, 2019

FIS World Cup Lahti, Finland 1.4 k/ 1.6 k Freestyle Sprint In the women’s skate sprint qualifier in Lahti, Finland Slovenia’s Eva Urevc laid down the fastest time in 2:40.67 minutes. Swiss skier Nadine Faehndrich was the second fastest qualifier, 4.21 seconds back, with the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Sophie Caldwell third (+4.36). Canada’s Dahria Beatty qualified 25th (+10.21). Also making the heats for the U.S. were Ida Sargent (USST) in 26th (+10.36), and Kelsey Phinney...

Continental Cup Racing

Canadians Westerns Rundown: Skate Sprints

Gerry FursethFebruary 8, 2019

Canadian Western Championships started off Friday with free technique sprints on the Telemark trails near Kelowna, B.C. The sun was out for the qualification round, followed by cloud, and light snow as the day progressed with the temperature hovering at -10C. A major road closure combined with icy morning highways and a large number of accidents blocking roads caused some athletes and volunteers to miss the qualification round, resulting in only 312 athletes on the start...

Continental Cup Racing

Canadian Eastern Championships: Weekend Wrap-up

Gerry FursethFebruary 5, 2019

The NorAm series went to Duntroon, Ontario, for the Canadian Eastern Championships: three days of varied weather, new race formats, and new faces on the podium, all hosted by Highlands Trailblazers. Easterns is possibly the most storied ski race in Canada. Most years, it is the largest FIS event in North America. This year, the Polar Vortex froze out the travel ambitions for many families and lower budgets in the post-Olympic season persuaded many western...

Continental Cup Racing

Friday Rundown: Canadian Eastern Championships

FasterSkierFebruary 1, 2019

The NorAm series rolled on with Easterns, hosted by Highlands Nordic in Duntroon, Ontario, with 1.5km classic sprints. The weather cooperated, despite a massive cold front sweeping through much of North America, allowing for comfortable racing after a delayed start. There were over 340 racers registered for Friday’s races, with more racers and younger categories waiting for Saturday. On the women’s side, Zoë Williams (Nakkertok) continued her strong start to 2019 with her first NorAm...

Canadian National Ski Team Racing

Bishop’s University NorAm and World Selection: Weekend Summary from Canada

Gerry FursethJanuary 21, 2019

The third NorAm weekend of the season was also Canadian selection trials for 2019 World Nordic Ski Championships and a Quebec Cup event on the Bishop’s University trails in Lennoxville, which is a neighborhood in Sherbrooke, Québec. With variable weather the Mont Orford club rallied and held races all three days of the competition schedule. On the line were NorAm series points, COC leaders’ bibs, and six automatic selections for the World Championships in Seefeld....

News Racing Results

Friday Race Rundown (Updated)

FasterSkierJanuary 18, 2019

IBU World Cup Ruhpolding, Germany 4 x 7.5 k / 4 x 6 k Relay In relatively calm weather on Friday in Ruhpolding, Germany the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup sent the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay on its way. Under overcast skies, a slight 5 mph wind and temps trying to break freezing saw Norway’s team of Lars Helge Birkeland, Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen,Tarjei Bø, and Johannes Thingnes Bø win in 1:09:54.3 hours. The...

News Racing US Nationals

Ben Saxton Claims First Career U.S. National’s Sprint Title

Jason AlbertJanuary 4, 2019

Link to Cross-Country Nationals Classic Sprint Gallery. With the thirty men who qualified for the men’s classic sprint heats on Friday in Craftsbury, VT. winnowed down to six in the final, Ben Saxton had already made made his mark in the quarterfinal. The SMS T2 skier laid down the fastest qualifier in 3:18.58 minutes. He won his qualifier ahead of second place skier Zak Ketterson (who eventually made the finals as a lucky loser)...

Continental Cup News Racing

Canmore NorAm: Notes, Quotes, and Selections

Gerry FursethDecember 17, 2018

Canmore hosted the second NorAm of the 2018/2019 season on December 13th, 15th, and 16th. The event also served as U23 and Junior World trials. By the end of the weekend, starts at the U23/Junior World Championships and the World Cup’s Tour de Ski would be earned. This event was originally scheduled for Whistler Olympic Park but had to be moved as a result of heavy rain and inclement weather forecasted into the immediate future. The...

Thursday Rundown: Hochfilzen, Canmore and U23/JW Trials

FasterSkierDecember 13, 2018

Today in Hochfilzen, Austria, Dorothea Wierer of Italy won the sprint in a time of 21:04.9 minutes. Wierer missed one shot standing for a single penalty during the race. Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland was close behind in second, 0.6 seconds back. Mäkäräinen also had one missed target standing. Third place went to Russia’s Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht, finishing 24.4 seconds behind. Yurlova-Percht short clean in the race. Susan Dunklee was the best placed American in 34th (+1:33.0,...

Pellegrino Skates Away with Lillehammer Sprint Win; Canada’s Harvey in Third

Jason AlbertNovember 30, 2018

At two minutes into the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint in Lillehammer, Norway on Friday, the six skiers in the final were strung in line — each milking a draft into the banked left turn before the final climb. Norway’s Emil Iversen was in the lead — the workhorse pushing the pace for much of the race. Behind him were Italy’s Federico Pellegrino and Canada’s Alex Harvey zooming around the corner and stepping into the climb....

General News Racing World Cup

Friday Rundown: World Cup Cross-Country Sprint in Lillehammer, Norway

FasterSkierNovember 30, 2018

FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lillehammer Norway: Freestyle Sprint Women’s Report | Men’s Report In Friday’s women’s 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint in Lillehammer, Norway, the first day of three successive days of World Cup racing, the women’s sprint final was stacked with Swedes, with four of six athletes sporting the yellow, blue, and white. In the final, Jonna Sundling of Sweden passed teammate Stina Nilsson meters before the finish line to take the win in 2:52.74 minutes....

Results US Ski Team World Cup

Bolshunov atop the Podium Again in Ruka; North Americans Feel Encouraged About the Season Ahead

Rachel PerkinsNovember 25, 2018

“I have no secrets,” Alexander Bolshunov told FIS in regard to his back-to-back wins in Kuusamo, Finland. On Saturday, the Russian had won a drag race with Norway’s superstar Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo during Saturday’s classic sprint. Bolshunov had a commanding victory in Sunday’s 15-kilometer classic race. He stopped the clock with a winning time of 36:17.8 minutes. Early in the race, Bolshunov’s splits mirrored those of Norway’s Emil Iversen during which the two skiers’ times never deviated...

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