U.S. Nordic Combined coach Dave Jarrett talks about the cause and effect of a string of World Cup cancellations this season. "Every race that we have had the ability to start five guys on the World Cup has been canceled so far, and we are not going to get those chances back," he explains.
Jump, ski, repeat. That was the mantra in Park City and Midway, Utah, last weekend as some of the world’s best nordic combined skiers converged for a series of three Continental Cup races. Taylor Fletcher placed third, second and finally first to secure a fifth quota spot for the U.S. team at the World Cup.
Reigning two-time U.S. national nordic-combined champion Bryan Fletcher shares a cycling workout (which can also be done skiing or running) that he recommends doing once a month. “It works on both your VO2 max zone and Threshold zone," he explains. "Or Level 3/4 zone depending on what system you use."
The youngest of the two Fletcher brothers is doubling up with his second FS Award of 2015, this time in the performance category for his World Cup podium in Sapporo, Japan.
Taylor Fletcher stood on the World Cup podium for the first time since 2013, when he placed third in a 10 k large hill competition in Sapporo, Japan. "My last podium was not a fluke," Fletcher said. After World Championships, he made it clear that he still wants more: "I'm probably the most competitive guy out there."
Bryan Fletcher leapt into contention in the large hill/10 k individual at 2015 World Championships with the 13th-best jump to start the race within 44 seconds of first. In the fight for third until the last few hundred meters, he placed fifth for U.S. Nordic Combined's best individual result at World Championships since 2009.
In the first nordic-combined competition of World Championships, Germany's Johannes Rydzek had some of the best timing all day, attacking late to drop his lone rival before the finish: Italy's Alessandro Pittin. The U.S. saw top-20 jumps from Billy Demong and Ben Berend, and Taylor Fletcher skied up from 25th to 19th.
Twenty-eighth in the jump was good enough for Taylor Fletcher, as the 24-year-old U.S. Nordic Combined skier rocketed to an individual podium for the second time in his World Cup career. His older brother Bryan Fletcher placed eighth for his third-straight top 10.
Catch up on what you may have missed this weekend, as nordic competitions across the globe are begging to heat up. Here, we recap everything from biathlon in Austria to the cross country World Cup in Switzerland and everything in between.
Park City hosted the first Nordic Combined Continental Cup of the season last week with jumping at Utah Olympic Park and the 10 k races at the Gorgoza tubing hill, moved there because of a lack of snow. Taylor Fletcher posted the two best U.S. performances in fifth and eighth place, followed by Billy Demong.
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.
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.
Back in April, July 31 seemed like dark cloud looming in the distance. But it wasn't that far off, and fortunately for U.S. Nordic Combined, it wasn't all that dreary. "Things are moving forward for sure, and it’s a little bit more hopeful than in April," head coach Dave Jarrett says, explaining that he kept his job and hopes to have two other coaches and two wax techs help him this season.
Taylor Fletcher is not a master blaster, but the 24-year-old U.S. Nordic Combined skier does like to get out for a hard, group road ride a few times a month. Here's an example of a 2 to 2.5-hour workout, or race, depending on your viewpoint, called Wednesday Night Worlds.
More on U.S. Nordic Combined's predicament after its program lost direct USSA funding earlier this week. We caught up with both Fletcher brothers as well as USSA Vice President Luke Bodensteiner to hear more about the decision and what it means for the sport in the U.S.
In three Olympic competitions in Sochi, U.S. Nordic Combined didn't end up with the fairy tale some had come to expect after the 2010 Vancouver Games. But with icons in Billy Demong and Todd Lodwick likely in their last Olympics, the story was more about the team closing one book and opening another.
While U.S. Nordic Combined undoubtedly has its work cut out for its four-man team, Thursday marks the day they've been looking forward to at this Olympics: the 4 x 5 k team event.
After two Americans finished in the top 30 of the first nordic-combined competition at the Sochi Olympics, the team is looking for better performances in today's large hill/10 k -- of which Billy Demong is the defending Olympic champion.
From seven years of chemotherapy and a treatment-induced stroke, to being nominated to his first Olympic Team, Bryan Fletcher has overcome the odds to be one of the best athletes in the world. He will be joined by his brother, Taylor, in Sochi to partake in the quest to reach Olympic greatness and achieve their ultimate goal: an Olympic medal.
The U.S. Cross-Country and Nordic Combined teams officially announced their athlete selections for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which start in just over two weeks in Sochi, Russia.