Rosie Brennan (APU) earned her second national title in a week after striding to a 5.5 second win in the women's 20 k classic mass start in northern Michigan. APU coach Erik Flora said that he believes Brennan is ready for the next level of racing saying, “she is one of our top ladies and she is right at that point to make that next step and jump in with the World Cup crew.”
Rosie Brennan didn't let a hefty amount of fresh snow hold her back, qualifying in second in a blizzard then dominating each of her heats, including the classic-sprint final, at U.S. nationals on Tuesday. With the exception of Becca Rorabaugh and Anne Hart, the rest of the women's A-final achieved career bests by making it to the final.
There was no shortage of excitement in the women's 10 k freestyle at the 2015 U.S. Cross Country Championships on Sunday, as Caitlin Gregg earned her first win of the season after returning from Europe. It wasn't without contest, however, as a strong APU team of Rosie Brennan, Chelsea Holmes, and Jessica Yeaton were also in the hunt.
In the two days leading up to U.S. nationals, we caught up with several podium contenders for the races in Houghton, Mich., which start this Sunday and last through next Saturday.
American Caitlin Gregg had big plans to before heading to the World Cup this winter as the SuperTour leader, with qualification for World Championships at the top of the list. Disappointed in her results the last two weekends, she's got one more World Cup weekend then will try to make a statement at U.S. nationals.
The first individual IBU World Cup race took place a week ago in Östersund and wrapped up this past Sunday. Here, we recap everything from biathlon in Sweden and at home in Canmore, to the Lillehammer mini tour and nordic-combined competitions, and second U.S. SuperTour stop in Bozeman, Mont.
APU teammates Rosie Brennan and Chelsea Holmes put more than a minute into the rest of the women's field in the Bozeman SuperTour 10 k classic mass start, giving Brennan her third-straight SuperTour win. Katharine Ogden placed third to earn her second-straight SuperTour distance podium.
Rosie Brennan dominated the women's 1.5 k classic-sprint qualifier through the final on Saturday to pick up her second SuperTour win in since owning last weekend's distance race in West Yellowstone. In the Bozeman classic sprint, Brennan outlasted Jennie Bender and Caitlin Patterson for the win.
Before the first stop on the IBU World Cup circuit continues in Östersund on Wednesday, we bring you a synopsis of last weekend's racing action and links to full reports.
It wasn't easy, but Rosie Brennan of Alaska Pacific University maintained an impressive pace to win the season's second SuperTour race, a 10 k individual start freestyle in windy West Yellowstone, Mont.
SuperTour racing began Friday with a 1.5 k freestyle sprint in West Yellowstone, Mont. With warm temperatures and strong winds, two Canadians, Heidi Widmer and Alysson Marshall, were able to top the American women's field led by Jennie Bender.
How will domestic skiers qualify for World Championships? Who's racing this year? What an we expect from the 2015 SuperTour? To answer these questions and more here is FasterSkier's SuperTour preview, which gives you and in-depth look at how competition will shape up on the domestic front.
With the help of U.S. Ski Team head coach Chris Grover and Canadian National Team Head Coach Justin Wadsworth, Tor-Arne Hetland and the Canadian World Cup Team ended up in Vermont last month. "Andy Newell can train here for many years … That’s the reason we are here," Hetland explained.
The 4 x 5 k relay made its way back into U.S. nationals for the first time in about 16 years, but with a new twist of two men and two women per team. APU showed its strength and depth early on, and its winning anchor, Kikkan Randall said she's hoping the format makes it into the World Cup. She's not alone.
Domestic racing continued with the SuperTour this past weekend in Craftsbury, Vt, where Caitlin Gregg podiumed in all three races, twice at the top, and second in the classic race to Rosie Brennan. On the men's side, Scott Patterson captured two wins in a row, and Sam Naney took a victory in Sunday's sprint.
It was a spectacular weekend for sprinting as the World Cup continued in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic with both a individual and team sprint. FasterSkier was also on site at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Midway, Ut., which concluded with a classic sprint on Friday.
In her third race of the season with CXC after studying, training and racing in Russia, Natalja Naryshkina won the women's classic sprint at U.S. nationals on Friday with a flawless run through the qualifier and heats. Rosie Brennan (APU) was second for her second national title in two years.
Natalja Naryshkina (CXC) put down the fastest women's qualifying time by 0.02 seconds in the 1.5 k classic sprint at U.S. nationals on Friday, winning the qualifier in 3:58.20 to advance to the heats, which start with the men at 12:15 p.m. MST.
Caitlin Gregg didn't waste any time getting out front and out of range on Wednesday, opening up an 11.5-second lead by the first of four laps in the women's 20-kilometer freestyle mass start. As the race went on, she only got faster, ultimately winning by an unheard of 3:36 minutes at U.S. nationals.
At the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships, winning by any margin is enough to make most competitors’ day. Not so for Caitlin Gregg of Team Gregg and Madshus, who won Wednesday’s 20 k freestyle mass start by over three and a half minutes, a gap that has not been seen at the national level in recent memory.