Shaking out white, sand-filled training shorts is hardly a thing many skiers find themselves doing prior to an autumn morning interval session. Nor is swimming with sea turtles a typical regular-recovery run substitute. However, this past October, U.S. Nordic Combined A-team member Taylor Fletcher did a little of both. The 26 year old’s ‘spring break’ came six or seven months early, or seven months late, depending how one looks at it, with his final days...
Between a rafting trip on the Snake River and working on his jumps with a new coach from Austria, Ben Berend also got in lots of nordic combined competition this summer: he podiumed at U.S. Nationals and competed in Europe in the Grand Prix. Bernend will start the season on the World Cup for the first time this year.
On the final days of the FIS Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix, Taylor Fletcher raced to 15th overall for the U.S. while teammates Ben Berend and Ben Loomis proved they can fly. "Throughout the two-week Grand Prix Tour I had some of the furthest jumps on the hill," Berend told FS. “By the time we got to Oberstdorf my confidence was through the roof."