Luke Jager – FasterSkier.com

Canmore World Cup Reporter’s Notebook: Signed Bib Edition

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 14, 2024

CANMORE, ALBERTA — The World Cup circuit, cross-country skiing’s top level of racing, has officially finished its visit to Canmore, and now heads to Minneapolis for the first events in the U.S. in more than two decades. A number of teams are on a direct, early morning flight Wednesday from Calgary to Minneapolis, while others are taking an extra day in Canmore and waiting to travel until Thursday. The events in Minneapolis are sure to...

Feature Resources Training

How the Heck Do You Actually Get Better?

Luke JagerFebruary 2, 2024

You’ve plateaued? What’s the deal? Is it insufficient rest; is it that you peaked too early; is it that you need to train harder? There is an article, Facebook post, podcast, YouTube video, and probably a thousand other forms of media dedicated to figuring out just about every component of training. So, with all this information available, why do so many athletes face such an uphill battle to reach their goals? From amateur to elite,...

Feature News US Nationals

Warm, Fast, 10 k Classic Opens US Nationals at Soldier Hollow

Ben TheyerlJanuary 2, 2024

Race day at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah offers a microcosm for the role the venue has played in US skiing. The once, and possibly future, Olympic venue is consistent, stark, and starkly consistent in its conditions, its terrain, and in the quality of the events the crew at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center put on. The typical SoHo day starts dark, dry and frigid, before the sun crests the Wasatch Mountains and gives way...

Feature Training

Learning From the World’s Best

Luke JagerDecember 27, 2023

It’s fun to watch athletes who are the best in the world at what they do. Whether it’s Jakob Ingebrigsten floating his way to a sub 3:30 1500m, Jessie Diggins soloing 20km for an Olympic medal, or Jonas Vingegaard riding away from the best cyclists in the world, we can’t help but be captivated by what these superstars are capable of doing. We hear stories about the grueling work that elite athletes put in day...

The Devon Kershaw Show US Ski Team World Cup

The Devon Kershaw Show: Stars are born in Ostersund, with guest Luke Jager

Nathaniel HerzDecember 12, 2023

Multiple U.S. podiums. Near-misses. Coaches barging into the classic track. This past weekend was pretty fun. We get up-and-coming Alaska star Luke Jager to join us for a recap and go through it all. Reach us with your questions, comments and feedback at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back next week after Trondheim.

Feature News Results US Nationals

Swirbul Sweeps Houghton–Karsrud Takes Men’s Sprint

Ken RothJanuary 7, 2023

HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN: Welcome to FasterSkier’s on-location coverage of the United States National Cross-Country Ski Championships from Houghton, Michigan. This week, Houghton hosts the U.S. National Cross-Country Championships on the Michigan Technological University’s trails system. Today’s event was the freestyle sprint. Even though the race was held under the organizing umbrella of the national championships, today’s event was not a national championship race; as it is part of the US. SuperTour. U.S. Ski and Snowboard has...

News US Nationals

Swirbul Three-Peats, Jager Triumphant in U.S. Nationals

Ken RothJanuary 6, 2023

HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN: Welcome to FasterSkier’s on-location coverage of the United States National Cross-Country Ski Championships from Houghton, Michigan. This week, Houghton hosts the U.S. National Cross-Country Championships on the Michigan Technological University’s trails system. Today’s event is the 20-kilometer classic mass start. There were several questions to be answered at the beginning of the day: the women’s side has been dominated by Hailey Swirbul. Swirbul has won the two previous races, the 10-kilometer individual start...

Feature News US Ski Team World Cup

Ogden and Schoonmaker Miss Skate Sprint Final by Narrowest of Margins as Klaebo Wins Again

Ben TheyerlDecember 3, 2022

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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. Lillehammer, Norway—that most timeless of ski venues—provided viewers with a familiar scene on Saturday: Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo exiting the final turn in the lead, gliding away from the field en...

Collegiate Community Interviews Racing

After Three Straight NCAA Championship Victories, What’s Next for the University of Utah?

Ben TheyerlMay 5, 2022

With a cohort of some of the best U23 skiers in the country, the program is setting a trend for young American skiers pursuing international-level and college skiing simultaneously. After the first day of this year’s NCAA Championships, held at Soldier Hollow, Utah, the team scoring was close. The familiar schools were all there, the University of Utah (UU) at the front, with the University of Colorado (CU), Denver University (DU), and the University...

Collegiate Interviews News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Ben Ogden: Balancing Olympic and NCAA Skiing Ambitions Alongside a New Wave of Top US Skiers

Ben TheyerlApril 12, 2022

“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...

Canadian Nationals Continental Cup News Racing

Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Ritchie and Kern Top 45 k Podium in Equal-Distance Event

Ella HallMarch 29, 2022

We’ve arrived at the final act, the culmination of a week of racing in Canada and a season of international racing before that. Piloting a gender-equal distance, both men and women raced a 45 k mass start skate on Sunday, completing six laps of a 7.5 k loop at the Whistler Olympic Park. Continuing a pattern of challenging weather conditions, the day started with temperatures around 37° F with rain, making for soft and wet...

Canadian Nationals Continental Cup News Racing

Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Team sprint yields another win for Kern with Sonnesyn for SMS T2, University of Utah’s Jager and Keefe take men’s race

Ben TheyerlMarch 26, 2022

“You need some Gordie Howe elbows out there today” said the commentator on the live feed at one point during Friday’s Team Sprint in Whistler. You know, just in case you needed a reminder that this is Canadian Nationals. Alongside his legacy as one of hockey’s greatest players of all time, leaving his mark on the sport as an indomitable force with both his goal scoring and dynamism on the ice, Howe was known as...

Canadian Nationals Continental Cup News Racing

Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Julia Kern wins again, while Xavier McKeever takes first Canadian title in Classic Sprint

Ben TheyerlMarch 24, 2022

Racing at the joint Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals resumed on Wednesday, showcasing some of the best racers in North America facing off for a classic sprint. As the Whistler Olympic Park was home for cross country skiing during the 2010 Vancouver Games, the classic sprint course on Wednesday was one that played host to an important stepping stone in North American skiing history. In that competition, both American and Canadian skiers solidified the inroads they...

Canadian Nationals Continental Cup Racing

Martin and Kern Stride to the Top on Day Two in Whistler

Rachel PerkinsMarch 22, 2022

Carrying the momentum from the first day of racing into a second distance event, athletes lined up once more at the Whistler Olympic Park for a 10 / 15-kilometer interval start classic. Over 130 men and 90 women participated in the open categories, representing clubs across Canada and the United States. Adding a springtime layer of complexity to remind us that we are officially past the equinox, temperatures in Whistler hovered above freezing while a...

Canadian Nationals Continental Cup Racing

Diggins and Drolet Top 5/10 k Skate Podium to Kick Off Combined Championships in Whistler

Ella HallMarch 21, 2022

Sunday kicked off a week of racing at the combined Canadian Cross-Country National Championship and U.S. Super Tour Finals event held in Whistler, British Columbia. Hosted by the Black Tusk Nordic Events Society (BTNES) on the Whistler Olympic Park courses, this event also offers junior and U23 skiers a preview of the courses for next year’s Junior and U23 World Championships. With Paranordic, Nordic Combined, and both junior and senior cross-country events, it looks to...

Community Feature Olympics Racing

Alaska physical therapist is one of USST’s secret weapons in Beijing

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 21, 2022

ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA — Just about everyone involved with the U.S. Ski Team has a story about physiotherapist Zuzana Rogers fixing some weird corner of their body. “I had a dislocated cuboid bone, and she diagnosed it over Skype and essentially talked me through repositioning it, and I was better,” said Holly Brooks, the retired Olympic cross-country skier from Alaska. “It was insane.” Eli Brown, one of the team’s ski technicians, thought he had an Achilles...

News Olympics Racing

Klæbo Defends Olympic Gold as Americans Soar to New Heights in the Freestyle Sprint

Ben TheyerlFebruary 8, 2022

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. During the American broadcast of the 30-kilometer Skiathlon on Sunday, NBC Analyst Chad Salmela made the comment that race represented the “old-school” of long-burn, grind-it-out ski racing. That...

Podcasts The Devon Kershaw Show

The Devon Kershaw Show: Diggins Bronze Medal Highlights Historic Day for Americans in Freestyle Sprint

Devon KershawFebruary 8, 2022

Get your cheese doodles ready. Here’s Nat and Devon breaking down (and celebrating) an historic day for the U.S. A bronze medal for Jessie Diggins stands as the highlight – she’s the first American woman to win an individual medal – but there were several other steps taken forward by the men and women wearing stars and stripes. In particular, Rosie Brennan popped the second fast time in qualification. Overcoming a bad pole plant-induced fall...

Community News Olympics Racing Team nominations US Ski Team

(Press Release) U.S. Ski & Snowboard Nominates Cross Country Team Roster For Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022

FasterSkierJanuary 20, 2022

PARK CITY, UTAH (January 20, 2022) — U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced today its nominations for the U.S. Olympic Cross Country Team to represent Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 from February 4-19, 2022. Nominations are to be confirmed by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee when it formally announces the U.S. Olympic Team. Fourteen athletes were nominated to Team USA, including the 2018 Olympic gold medalist and defending World Cup overall and...

Racing Tour de Ski World Cup

Klæbo Runs Away with Third Stage Win in the Classic Sprint; Ogden 22nd, Jager 27th

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 1, 2022

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. As we begin Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski, the first classic sprint since the opening race of the season in Ruka, Finland on November 26th, we...

Older Posts