Switzerland – FasterSkier.com

The Engadin La Diagonela: A Preview of Switzerland’s Premier Skiing Competition

Press ReleaseSeptember 10, 2024

The Engadin La Diagonela, taking place on January 18-19, 2025, is one of the most prestigious events in the world of cross-country skiing. Set in the stunning Engadin Valley in Switzerland, this event is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, challenging course, and high-altitude conditions. It is part of the esteemed Ski Classics Pro Tour, attracting elite athletes and amateur skiers alike from across the globe. The 2025 edition of the event promises yet another spectacular...

Canadian National Ski Team General Juniors News Racing US Ski Team

Halvorsen Eighth to Lead U.S. in World Juniors Sprint, Canada’s Ritchie 12th

Chelsea LittleJanuary 28, 2018

(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from American Hannah Halvorsen.) 2018 World Junior Championships is off and running and two brand-new champions have been crowned. Moa Lundgren of Sweden took the women’s skate sprint title while the men’s final went to Tom Mancini of France. On a perfect blue-sky day nestled deep in the Swiss Alps, the world’s best skiers under the age of 20 raced around a hilly sprint course with...

Biathlon General Juniors News Nordic Combined Racing World Cup

Sunday Rundown: Seefeld, Goms, Ridnaun, Craftsbury

FasterSkierJanuary 28, 2018

IBU Open European Championships (Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy): Single mixed & mixed relays Susan Dunklee and Lowell Bailey teamed up for the final day of the 2018 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Open European Championships in Ridnaun, Italy, and raced to a bronze medal in the single mixed relay. The American duo, both of which earned individual medals at last year’s IBU World Championships, finished just 9.1 seconds out of first, which went to Norway’s Thelka Brun-Lie...

General Interviews Juniors Other Racing

Under 23 Questions with Julia Kern

FasterSkierJanuary 25, 2018

It’s back! In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at next week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2018 Nordic Junior/U23 World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 20-year-old Julia Kern, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team and U.S. Ski Team Development Team, who’s representing the U.S. at her first U23 Worlds (she’s been to Junior...

Canadian National Ski Team General Juniors News Racing Team nominations US Ski Team World Cup

U.S. and Canada Annouce Squads for FIS World Junior & U23 Championships

FasterSkierJanuary 12, 2018

The U.S. and Canada have named their squads for FIS Cross Country World Junior and U23 Championships, set to begin later this month in Goms, Switzerland. Both countries’ selections include athletes who excelled against the senior fields at recent domestic races (U.S. National Championships and NorAms) which served as selection races for Olympic teams. In fact, Canada’s U23 women did so well against their senior compatriots that it’s unclear who will represent Canada at the...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Manificat Thrives in Davos 15 k Skate; Harvey Steady in 10th

Jason AlbertDecember 10, 2017

There’s always a bit of pomp and circumstance in Davos, Switzerland, where you’re as likely to spot a world banker, posh fur coat or World Cup skiers taking center stage. With a brisk wind, clouds descending from the Alps, and light snowfall on Sunday, it was 15-kilometer freestyle time in Davos. With an interval-start format and the traditional three laps of the course that essentially climbs to 3.3 k then descends through forest to the...

Multimedia Nordic Nation Podcasts

Nordic Nation: Wax-Truck Road Trip with Tim Baucom (While Andrew Morehouse Pilots)

Jason AlbertDecember 7, 2017

$600,000 dollars of precious wax truck (that amount includes the taxes on the truck), as well as something like 600 pairs of skis. That’s a lot of XC schwag. And a lot of eventual ski cleaning. (See below.) And just to be safe, we also dialed up Baucom on Day 2 of their three-day journey to Davos. It’s always a good idea to check back in — new pricey truck, irreplaceable skis and two of...

News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Østberg Takes Tour Lead with 5 k Classic Win; Diggins 8th, 6th Overall

Gabby NaranjaJanuary 1, 2017

Maybe it was because she wanted redress. Maybe it was because there was less pressure to perform. Or maybe it was because the yellow Tour de Ski (TDS) leader’s bib was with Sweden, calling her Norwegian name. Whatever it was, when Ingvild Flugstad Østberg lined up for the women’s 5-kilometer classic mass start on Sunday in Val Müstair, Switzerland, she was ready to race for the win. After being eliminated in the semifinal of Saturday’s...

General Interviews News Racing World Cup

Widmer Waits for World Cup Window, Shines With Swiss Status

Gavin KentchDecember 15, 2016

What’s the significance of 0.39 seconds? For most of us, it’s the blink of an eye. For a midpack World Cup racer, it’s the difference between Tour de Ski start rights and staying home over the holidays. Swiss–Canadian skier Heidi Widmer and the meaning of margins.

News Racing World Cup

First Sprint Win of the Season for Ustiugov; Canada’s Valjas 14th Overall in Davos

Gabby NaranjaDecember 11, 2016

After qualifying 29th in the men's 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Sunday, Russia's Sergey Ustiugov made his way to the top of the results, winning his first sprint of the FIS season and besting two Norwegians--Finn Hågen Krogh and Sindre Bjørnestad Skar--in the process. “I knew I had power to win. It is great to win here in Davos,” Ustiugov said.

General Travel

From Skinny Skis to Ski-Mo: Josh Smullin Goes Big on Verbier Haute Route

Jason AlbertMay 16, 2016

Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club coach Josh Smullin mixed it up at the end of the race season this March and ventured to Chamonix, France, where he took himself out of his comfort zone and into a ski mountaineer's dream trip along the Verbier Haute Route.

General Juniors Racing

From Oberhof to Campra: Photos from Canada’s Junior B-Tour

Eric ByramFebruary 28, 2016

FasterSkier intern Eric Byram, of Canmore, Alberta, was one of 10 juniors selected to Canada's Junior B-Tour, which included two weekends of racing in Germany and Switzerland.

General News Olympics Racing

Human Rights Watch Urges IOC to Use Its Teeth in 2022 Bid Process

Chelsea LittleJuly 24, 2015

With a week to go until the IOC members vote on whether to award the 2022 Olympic Games to Beijing or Almaty, a leading human rights nonprofit asserts that the IOC has no tools with which to enforce their vague mandate of “human dignity”.

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing World Cup

Widmer Punches Her Ticket to Swiss National Team

Chelsea LittleMay 19, 2015

After a disappointing 2015 season that was unable to bring back the high points of her first Olympics and national title in 2014, Heidi Widmer regrouped - and decided to take advantage of her dual citizenship and race for Switzerland next year, not Canada. She's moving to Davos in June.

General News Racing

Gregg Skates to Third, Brooks Fifth in Switzerland’s Engadin (with Videos)

Inge ScheveMarch 9, 2015

Caitlin Gregg finished third in her first Engadin Skimarathon in Switzerland on Sunday for another bronze to add to her collection following World Championships. Holly Brooks was the second American woman in the top five and reclaimed the FIS Marathon Cup lead in fifth.

News Nordic Combined Racing

Fletcher Soars to First National Title in Lake Placid

Lander KarathOctober 15, 2014

Bryan Fletcher earned his first national title Oct. 12 at the U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined National Championships in Lake Placid. Now Fletcher and the rest of the U.S. Nordic Combined team will head to Switzerland for a European training block before the World Cup begins Nov. 29.

Camps Training

Three Swiss Biathletes, Sochi Olympians, Train with Canadians in Canmore

Alex KochonJuly 29, 20141

Three biathletes from Switzerland ventured to Canmore earlier this month for three weeks of training with the Canadian biathlon team. Before heading home, they headed to the Yukon for a little R & R.

General Interviews Juniors News Racing World Cup

Breakthrough Season Nets New Sponsors, Army Service for Young Swiss Phenom

Chelsea LittleJune 27, 2014

What happens when you live in a ski-crazy country and have a breakout race on home soil? We talked to Roman Schaad, a 20-year-old Swiss sprinter who shot into the top 10 in his very first World Cup in Davos last December. That day, it took him 2 hours to finish interviews before he could go home - to his apartment literally next to the finish line. Sponsors and an Olympic appearance followed.

General Interviews News

Guri Hetland Weighs Options After Leaving Swiss National Team: ‘I Have No Hurry’

Alex KochonMay 20, 2014

Guri Hetland spoke with FasterSkier on Monday about how she and Swiss-Ski were at odds when it came to the direction of the team, a stumbling point that ultimately ended in the non-renewal of her contract. "I had planned to work longer in Switzerland and I hoped and I thought that we could agree on the proposal ... but my bosses in the ski federation wanted some changes," she says.

General News World Cup

Swiss Head Coach Since 2010, Guri Hetland at Odds with Swiss-Ski, Contract Not Renewed

BrainspiralMay 13, 2014

While Tor Arne Hetland is just starting as Canada's World Cup coach, his wife, Guri Hetland, is no longer head coach of the Swiss National Team. Swiss-Ski Sports Director Mark Wolf referred to negotiations that "ended in disaster" after Hetland and the association could not agree on team decisions. Dario Cologna had already committed to a new personal coach, Ivan Hudáč.

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