It is saying nothing new to point out that Kikkan Randall becoming the World Cup Sprint Champion last season was a breakthrough for U.S. skiing. The enormity of the moment in March when an American woman was handed the crystal globe has been well documented since the conclusion of the 2012 season. Each photo that has surfaced online this summer of Randall, her trophy and a new group of wide-eyed fans is a reminder...
It’s here: the first skiable snow of the season fell over the weekend in Anchorage, Alaska, much to the delight of area skiers and envy of everyone in the continental U.S. Rock skis were still necessary, but the close access, crisp air and fresh powder ushered in that first-snow excitement even for athletes used to skiing throughout the summer on Eagle Glacier. “I was a little blown away by the snow,” said Alaska Pacific University’s...
Last week in Anchorage, a freak windstorm rolled through that would have devastated most mainland Americans. Gusts estimated at 130 miles per hour spewed trees across Alaska’s largest city, leaving at least a thousand residents without power through Saturday – almost four days after the storm hit Tuesday night. In a phone interview, U.S. Ski Team member Kikkan Randall said the electricity and all the lights at her home came on at 2:15 a.m. Saturday....
Kris Freeman and Kikkan Randall have been basically the top US skiers for quite some time now. (I’m sort of brushing Andrew Newell under the rug here, mostly just due to time contraints. I’ll do a follow up on him next week.) Freeman has been more or less unquestionably the best US male distance skier [...] Related posts:Victims & Nemeses: Kris Freeman Is Qualifying In The Top Ten A Good Sign For Kikkan? Top 10 Qualification vs. Making The Final
This is the last of several previews in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. Teams were presented in no particular order. Team name: Alaska Pacific University (APU) Nordic Ski Center Coach: Erik Flora (head coach/director) Roster: Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team A-team), Holly Brooks (USST B-team), Sadie Bjornsen (USST B-team), Becca Rorabaugh, Rosie Brennan, Kate Fitzgerald, Erika...
BEND, OREGON – How would a veteran describe Bend’s five-sport Pole, Pedal, Paddle to someone who has never seen it? “It’s a circus,” XC Oregon racer Stephanie Howe told FasterSkier at the race’s conclusion. “It’s the biggest logistic nightmare in the world… I just never have stuff lined up ahead of time. It’s always scrambling at the last minute.” First there’s the equipment: alpine skis, poles, boots, and a helmet; nordic skis, poles, and boots;...
At the highest level of nordic ski racing in the U.S., athletes know making the national team isn’t so much of a black-and-white decision; coaches mostly see red. Based on U.S. Ski Team criteria, any skier that ends the season in the red group by finishing in the top 30 of the World Cup or FIS distance or sprint lists is essentially guaranteed a spot on the A-team. Those who finish outside those standards can...
JAY, Vt. – Every uphill has to end at some point. But what if it’s a mountain, and what if you can’t see the top? Nearly 70 women and 90 men probably thought something along those lines as they ascended a 1.8-kilometer freestyle hill climb at the Jay Peak alpine resort on Wednesday. As part of the SuperTour Finals, the event was a pursuit with the mini-tour leader starting first and the rest of the...
CRAFTSBURY, Vermont — Even though she now has a World Cup podium to her name, a win at SuperTour Finals had eluded Sadie Bjornsen (APU/USST) until Sunday morning, when she claimed the 10 k mass start classic on the second day of racing at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Rain isn’t usually at the top of the list of desirable ski conditions, but as the snow soaked through prior to start, Bjornsen couldn’t wait to start...
CRAFTSBURY, Vermont — She was busy posting top-20s on the World Cup just last week in Falun, Sweden, but Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST) clearly has plenty of gas left in the tank. For the SuperTour Finals 3.2 k freestyle prologue, she won by 7.2 seconds against a competitive women’s field. Holly Brooks (APU) took second and Sadie Bjornsen (APU/USST) finished third (+8.6), with another 7.5 seconds between third and Becca Rorabaugh (APU) in fourth (+16.1)....
With enthusiastic cheers of “USA all the way!” to push them onward, the American women battled through an energetic 30 k classic at the famous Holmenkollen venue in Oslo, Norway on Sunday. The throngs of happy fans stood in contrast to what the athletes experienced out on the course — the combination of a sprint-like early pace and slow snow later on made for a challenging 90-plus minutes of racing. The U.S. women were the...
On a soggy, yet historic day on the streets of Drammen, Norway, Kikkan Randall claimed the first crystal globe for an overall World Cup title when she placed 11th in the classic sprint. And while Randall may have claimed the biggest hardware, she wasn’t the only bright spot for the US amidst the rain and wet snow. All told four Americans qualified for the heats in one of the World Cup circuit’s most competitive events....
Whatever condition they were in a week ago, most of the members of the U.S. Ski Team would rather forget it. The ride to Davos, Switzerland, had been rough enough with Kikkan Randall and Andy Newell suffering the worst of a stomach bug that affected the team for most of February. Newell wrote in a Feb. 23 blog post that he and Randall vomited right before leaving Poland for a nine-hour road trip. With two...
ERZURUM, Turkey — Before Saturday’s 15 k skiathlon began, gold had eluded Norway at the Junior/U23 World Championships. The team repeatedly stressed that the week that the learning experience was more valuable than the hardware, but athletes and team staff alike nonetheless seemed hungry for the wins they are used to. Martine Ek Hagen (NOR) finally delivered in the skiathlon, skiing a strong skate leg in the second half to win by 13.9 seconds over...
ERZURUM, Turkey — Thursday’s U23 World Championship classic distance races started out well for team USA with Sadie Bjornsen’s (APU/USST) fifth-place finish in a closely-packed group at the top of the 10 k classic results. We caught her after the finish to talk about her race. Results
ERZURUM, Turkey — In her first race at these U23 World Championships, Mariya Guschina (RUS) had no trouble sticking with the standard set by her Russian teammates this week, claiming the gold medal by 26.7 seconds over Polina Medvedeva (RUS). Second through fifth place were tightly packed—Martine Ek Hagen (NOR) took third, only 1.3 seconds out of silver, Emma Wiken (SWE) was 0.4 behind Hagen in fourth, and APU’s Sadie Bjornsen (USA) crossed the line...
ERZURUM, Turkey — After scoring points on the World Cup, a victory at U23 World Championships is still a big deal. Just ask Hanna Kolb (GER)—despite having placed 17th this weekend in Szklarska Poreba, Poland sprint, she still thought of her inaugural U23 title as an significant accomplishment. “It is one of the greatest achievements for me,” she said to FIS marketing coordinator Michal Lamplot. “Even though I have won already some World Cup points…this...
Just when it didn’t seem possible for Jessie Diggins (USA) to perform any better than she already has on the World Cup this winter, she went ahead and set another career best in Moscow. After qualifying first in the prelims 2.47 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, the U.S. Ski Team (USST) rookie ended up sixth on Thursday in the freestyle sprint at Russia’s Luzhniki Olympic Stadium, leading the U.S. women to three...
It was one heck of a weekend on the World Cup in Otepää, Estonia. Dario Cologna (SUI) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) each swept both the sprint and distance classic races. Devon Kershaw (CAN) came back from an unlucky equipment malfunction in the sprint to a gutsy third-place effort in the 15 k the next day. With the conclusion of Period 2 on the World Cup, Kikkan Randall (USA) still holds onto the sprint leader bib. The...
Much has been said about the string of breakthrough performances by the U.S. women on the World Cup this season, but on Sunday, the entire team deserved the credit for putting together an historic day for the U.S. Led by Kikkan Randall in 15th, the U.S. placed a total of five athletes in the points in the 10 and 15 k classic races in Otepää, Estonia. Jessie Diggins, in her first distance race on the...