Anyone who has had the pleasure of interacting with Katharine Ogden, also commonly known as KO, can tell you that she is humorous, kind, and thoughtful – both in regard to others as well as in her own self-introspection. She is also a wicked good skier, proving herself both nationally and internationally in competition. Ogden recently shared that she was stepping away from professional skiing, having already experienced a range of career ups and downs...
“So after the World Cup, Olympics, and NCAAs, is that it for you this season?” “Well…I think I’m going to race the Rikert Grand Prix this weekend.” (He won). I couldn’t have stumbled upon a more apt soundbite to describe Ben Ogden, and he offered it up ten seconds into our interview. Skiing for the US Ski Team and University of Vermont (UVM), Ogden is primed to write the next chapter in American men’s skiing...
Each year at the conclusion of the race season, there are always a few athletes who hang up their skis and step away from professional racing. The end of the four year Olympic cycle inevitably means a higher concentration of such announcements. Whether it was a fourth or a first appearance at the Games, or a near miss, the Olympics are always a target and their completion provides a good moment to move on. While...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Eleven years ago to the day, racing the 30-kilometer mass start skate, a 22-year-old Therese Johaug won her first individual World Championship gold medal in a breakout performance at...
By Ian Tovell and Rachel Bachman Perkins Find FasterSkier’s coverage of Friday’s freestyle sprints here. Saturday: 10 k Interval Start Classic After another 4+ inches of snow fell throughout the day on Friday, NENSA described the conditions for today’s 10-kilometer interval start race as a “banner day for classic skiing” on the two-lap course at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. The weekend of racing, titled the Henchey Memorial Carnival, included athletes of all levels, was described...
SuperTour racing continued on Friday in Craftsbury, Vermont, as part of the Henchey Memorial Carnival, which also included Eastern Cup and collegiate racing. The three-day event is presented by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, NENSA, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, and the University of Vermont (UVM), the EISA carnival host school. Racers were faced with snowy conditions for the opening 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint as a winter storm made its way across the Northeast. Friday morning’s grooming report...
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...
Here’s a quick results recap from today’s SuperTour classic sprint in Lake Placid, NY. Stay tuned tomorrow for detailed coverage including comments from athletes. Period III of SuperTour racing kicked off in Lake Placid this morning with a frigid classic sprint. Recent improvements at Mt Hoevenberg included a new 5-kilometer World Cup and 1.5k sprint course, where athletes faced off today. On the men’s race, Zak Ketterson (Team Birkie) skied the fastest time in the...
By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ella Hall The 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational continued Sunday with 10/15-kilometer mass start classic races, featuring SuperTour, RMISA collegiate, and Intermountain junior national qualifier divisions. With overnight temperatures in the low teens which rose to roughly 20 degrees Fahrenheit by start time, tracks looked ideal for kicking and gliding on the meticulously groomed trails at the Lake Creek Ski Center in Ketchum, ID. Today’s races featured four laps each,...
Quick Recap: We’ll have a full race report up tomorrow, including athlete comments and photos, but here is a quick recap of the action in the men’s 15k and women’s 10k mass start classic, which took place this morning in Ketchum, Idaho. The 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational continued this morning with 10/15-kilometer classic races at the Lake Creek Ski Center in Ketchum, Idaho. While temperatures were warmer than at the start of yesterday’s...
By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ben Theyerl Precipitation was no longer a threat for the final day of racing in Soldier Hollow on Friday, a 1.5-kilometer classic sprint offered alongside the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships, yet classified as SuperTour only. However, athletes still faced unseasonably warm weather as blazing sun brought temperatures into the low 50’s on course during the midday heats. Howling wind and rippling bibs could be heard as background noise as...
By Rachel Bachman Perkins, Ella Hall, and Gavin Kentch Thursday marked the final day of racing at the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Soldier Hollow, UT. (Friday’s classic sprint is a SuperTour only, not part of the National Championship series.) After prime conditions in Sunday’s freestyle sprint and Tuesday’s 20/30-kilometer freestyle distance races, warm and wet weather made its way into the forecast just in time for the 10/15k interval-start classic races. Temperatures that...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. After a day of rest, the Tour de Ski kicked off it’s final two stops in the mountains of northern Italy. After a dramatic freestyle sprint in Stage 4,...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. For American ski fans, the Davos 10km on Sunday was one to be anticipated with a mix of expectation and nostalgia. Last season, in a year when the...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. In just two days, the World Cup season will be kicking off in Ruka, Finland. For the American squad, this means they have left behind the final throes of...
Team name and location: SMS T2 Team; Stratton Mountain, Vermont Coach: Patrick O’Brien Current roster: Jessie Diggins, Julia Kern, Katharine Ogden, Alayna Sonnesyn, Lina Sutro (women); Ian Torchia, Bill Harmeyer, Ben Ogden, Will Koch (men) Who’s new: Lina Sutro, coming from the University of Vermont ski team Who’s moved on: Sophie Caldwell Hamilton and Simi Hamilton, who celebrated their second wedding anniversary earlier this year, retired from pro skiing last spring and are beginning a new life...
This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. A blanket of fresh snow lay on the ground while the frozen rocky peaks of the Bavarian Alps peaked through the clouds. Finally, Oberstdorf, Germany looked like a wintery...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. In case you missed it, yesterday’s 10-kilometer skate in Falun, Sweden was a standout day for the Americans, highlighted by a gutsy victory by Jessie Diggins. How deep into...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Though Devon Kershaw might fairly say “It’s not really cross country skiing,” as a viewer, the grueling climb up the Alpe Cermis is the crown jewel of the Tour de...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Onward with the 2021 Tour de Ski! From the western edge of Switzerland, we’ve landed in the tiny and spectacular Italian village of Toblach. Nestled at just over 4,000...