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FIS is taking over governance of Para Nordic skiing, what does it mean for the sport’s development in the United States?

Ben TheyerlSeptember 4, 2022

The International Ski Federation’s (FIS) annual Congress held at the end of May this year was an unusually dramatic affair. Fights over media rights – whether to look at serializing the sport of Nordic skiing into something like Formula 1’s Drive to Survive – sent skiing’s international governing body into a metaphorically different part of the Netflix catalog, less Dive to Survive and more House of Cards, West Wing, or Newsroom. If only Aaron Sorkin...

News Results US Nationals

2022 Junior Nationals Recap: After Long Wait, Minneapolis Hosts Top US Juniors for Full Slate of Racing

Ben TheyerlMarch 16, 2022

To trace the thread of the past, present, and future of American cross-country skiing, all you have to do is look at a golf course in Minneapolis that touches 3 of those 10,000 lakes in Minnesota; Theodore Wirth Park. Over the past week, America’s most-skied loop played host to the US Ski and Snowboard Junior Championships (formerly Junior Nationals, or “JNs”), bringing the top under-20 year old skiers from across the nation together for the...

Community News Regional / Local

Elite Team Preview: Team Birkie

Gavin KentchNovember 19, 2021

Team name and location: Team Birkie; Minneapolis, Minnesota (also Hayward, Wisconsin) Coach: Caitlin Gregg (co-coach), Leo Hipp (co-coach), Jeremy Hecker (technique coach and wax tech) Current roster: For the men: Zak Ketterson, Christian Gostout, Andrew Millan, Tony Mathie, Brian Gregg; Women: Ingrid Thyr, Julie Ensrud, Jordan Schuster, Abbie Drach, Amanda Kautzer (focusing on biathlon) What’s new: “Everything,” Gregg writes. While elite teams have existed in the Midwest in the past, Team Birkie is new this year....

Multimedia Nordic Nation Podcasts

Nordic Nation: Caitlin Gregg — Athlete, Mother, and Team Birkie Head Coach

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 1, 2021

In early July, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation announced the launch of the Team Birkie professional racing team. The elite post-graduate training group would pull from the three primary midwestern clubs, the Loppet Foundation, Central Cross Country Skiing (or CXC), and the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. While the midwest has a strong culture of cross country skiing with a breadth of strong youth and masters racing teams, it has been nearly a decade since the...

Community Feature Opinion

Why is the US Nordic Skiing Community so White?

FasterSkierAugust 27, 2020

Reflections From a White Skier On The Spaces and Places We Ski, And How To Build Inclusivity By: Ben Theyerl The typical life story of a competitive nordic skier in the U.S. tends to resemble a character out of a Robert Frost poem. It’s an appropriate metaphor; the Rikert Nordic Center at Middlebury, VT doubles as the quarters of the renowned Bread Loaf School of English during its summer months, where the Bard of New...

Community

True Value with the Greggs

Jason AlbertJune 25, 2020

Since 2011, Brian and Caitlin Gregg have been residents of north Minneapolis. They added daughter Heidi to the mix a year and a half ago. They are close to Theodore Wirth Park, an urban magnet for cross-country skiing with amenities like snowmaking, homologated trails, and mountain biking in the non-snow months. The Loppet Foundation, a local non-profit, was poised to host the first World Cup in the U.S. since 2001 until concerns and regulations...

World Cup

Here Come the Americans: Your Guide to the U.S. Women Racing in Québec City and Minneapolis

Gavin KentchMarch 10, 2020

You may have heard that the World Cup is returning not only to North America, but also to American soil, within the next few weeks. The world’s best skiers will be contesting sprint races in Québec City on March 14 and 15; a sprint in Minneapolis on March 17; and distance races plus a mixed relay in Canmore on March 20-22. For all six races, including the five across the border, the U.S. has an...

Continental Cup News Regional / Local

Soon-To-Be Parents, Caitlin and Brian Gregg on the Winter Ahead

Alex KochonOctober 9, 2018

The questions started rolling in this spring. How’s training going? Are you going for 2019 World Championships? What’s the plan for next winter? When you’re Caitlin and Brian Gregg, Olympians and local superstars in the Midwest, it’s hard to keep your athletic profile on the DL. Since buying a house on Theodore Wirth Park seven years ago, the couple has immersed themselves in the greater Minneapolis community — both in and out of skiing. They’ve...

Other News

Loppet Winter Festival Gets a New Home at The Trailhead in 2019

FasterSkierSeptember 13, 2018

(Press release) Minneapolis, MN — Big changes are coming to the annual City of Lakes Loppet Festival! Now in its 17th installment, the multi-day winter festival has become a Minneapolis staple for celebrating the wonder, adventure, and fun of the winter season in Minnesota. Now with the completion of The Trailhead, the Loppet Foundation’s long-awaited headquarters, most of this year’s City of Lakes Loppet Winter Festival events will be centered in Theodore Wirth Regional Park...

News

Masters World Cup: Day 5 Train Roadblock

FasterSkierJanuary 25, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Masters World Cup organizers had to make a fast change on Thursday partway through its classic distance races when a train parked itself on the course. “We had a lot of plans going into this race,” 2018 Masters World Cup Chief of Competition Nels Dyste explained. “We had plans for road crossings, we had plans for snow, we had plans for low year snow, plans for high snow. Unfortunately, the railroad did not...

Resources Training Workouts

Wednesday Workout: Masters Training Trips with Pioneer Midwest’s Brad Johnson

FasterSkierJanuary 17, 2018

This Saturday, Jan. 20, the

Last Call to Register for Masters World Cup 2018

Masters' World CupJanuary 3, 2018

Registration for Masters World Cup 2018 in Minneapolis Now Open

FasterSkierOctober 9, 2017

www.mwc2018.com. The Loppet Foundation is thrilled to host the 2018 Masters World Cup, taking place January 19 – 26, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The World Cup event is open to men and women skiers of all abilities who are 30 years of age and older (as of December 31, 2017). More than 1,000 racers from over two dozen countries will come to compete in up to three individual events, choosing between skate or classic. There...

News Regional / Local

Wirth’s Big Facelift: Loppet Foundation Breaks Ground on Trailhead

Peter MindeAugust 2, 2017

After six years, the end is in sight: construction is underway for The Loppet Foundation’s Masters World Cup Jan. 19-26 at Wirth Park. Winning the World Masters bid added urgency to the project, and it’s given The Loppet Foundation an eye for future major nordic competitions. “We would like to bring in events like Junior Nationals, senior nationals and maybe even a World Cup,” Munger said. Brian Gregg, a 2014 Olympian and one of the highest-profile athletes associated...

News Training Workouts

Wednesday Workout: Making the Most of a Small Hill with Caitlin Gregg

Chelsea LittleOctober 26, 2016

Need to train hills, but you don't live in the mountains? Caitlin Gregg and Loppet Nordic Racing are here to show you how to get a killer interval workout off just 175 feet of vertical.

News US Nationals

Eyes on Lahti 30 k and Feet Firmly in Midwest, Caitlin Gregg Ramps Up

Chelsea LittleSeptember 30, 2016

After partially relocating to Park City and "getting excited" with her training last year, Caitlin Gregg suffering World Cup disappointment. Based 100 percent in the Midwest again, Gregg is focusing on leading the SuperTour and showing up strong at U.S. nationals -- a.k.a, doing what might get her to Lahti, Finland, for World Championships.

News

Oregon’s Downing Elected World Masters President

Inge ScheveOctober 19, 2015

XC Oregon founder J.D. Downing was recently elected president of the World Masters Cross-Country Ski Association. While he'll continue to hold his post as a U.S. national director, Downing has big goals for the international organization, including an increase in participation and keeping skiers under 55 "in the game."

Fischer University Kicks Off Two Days of Racing Dealer Outreach

FischerOctober 15, 2014

Press release) MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Thirty-five nordic racing dealers arrived in downtown Minneapolis to connect, share and learn from Fischer Sports and friends of the nordic industry. “This has never been done before and it’s a really special thing,” explained Vice President for Nordic at Fischer Sports, Peter Ashley in opening remarks to the dealers, “this gathering represents the people that make racing happen in this country. We’re thrilled that you’re here.” Following Peter’s welcome,...

News

Two Clubs to Superclub: Despite Wild Success, Loppet Nordic Racing at ‘The Tip of the Iceberg’

Chelsea LittleSeptember 3, 20142

Almost three years ago now, Reid Lutter and Piotr Bednarski decided that rather than watching their two Twin Cities training programs compete for skiers and resources, they should join forces. The results are a lesson in what city-based ski clubs can accomplish: in 2014 Loppet Nordic Racing was the most successful junior team in the country.

Continental Cup

Bender, Koos Stay Out of Trouble to Lock up Tour de Twin Cities Mass Start Titles

Alex KochonJanuary 21, 2013

Jennie Bender and Torin Koos skied away from their respective fields in Sunday's classic mass starts at Wirth Park to win the second stage of the Tour de Twin Cities, part of the SuperTour series.

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