We recently caught up with U.S. Ski Team member Noah Hoffman -- which is not such a easy thing to do lately as he's training big hours -- to discuss his new training paradigm and how it came to be. If you're training big hours too, this podcast serves as good recovery.
At the helm of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team since 2010, head coach Chris Grover sits down with FasterSkier to talk what success might look like in the future and the challenges he faces as a coach. The snow may be gone, but Grover and the team are in full preparation mode for the 2016/2017 World Cup season.
On Wednesday, June 1, U.S. Ski Team veteran Kikkan Randall plans to resume training, six weeks after giving birth to her first child. While she's admittedly antsy, she also knows it's wise to ease back into things with a goal of peaking for 2017 World Championships. “I’m really curious to see how it feels,” she said of racing. “My body is refreshed from a little break, my mind is refreshed and that could open totally new doors.”
Do gender equality in sport and race distances go hand in hand? We asked a multitude of skiers and coaches who raced (or are currently involved in racing) at the collegiate level, as well as FIS Cross-Country Committee Chair Vegard Ulvang: should men's and women's distances be the same, and if so, how do you go about doing that at every level?
At the first on-snow camp of the season at Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Ore., the U.S. Ski Team aims to jumpstart its training year with high-volume training loads and a series of technique sessions. On Wednesday, they targeted uphill striding and herringboning, using instant videos to provide trailside feedback.
After being nominated to the U.S. Ski Team D-team, Northern Michigan University junior Ian Torchia has decided to stay in school while simultaneously accepting the nod to the country's most-coveted training group. “One of the main reasons why I wanted this to happen is to show that you can do it while you’re in college,” Torchia explains.
Opportunity has come knocking for Sugar Bowl Academy's 18-year-old Hannah Halvorsen. Her recent nomination to the U.S. Ski Team brings Halvorsen closer to her World Cup dreams, but she maintains she'll continue to take it day by day.
Following up on the U.S. Ski Team nominations announced earlier this week, we asked Chris Grover to explain the rationale behind some of the picks and share some insight on the coming season.
The U.S. Cross Country Ski Team has announced its nominations for the 2016-17 season, and the list includes eight A-team members, three B-teamers, and five development-team skiers, including newbies Ian Torchia and Hannah Halvorsen.
Jessie Diggins was once again unstoppable on the second day of the SuperTour Finals in Craftsbury, Vt., winning the classic sprint ahead of fellow U.S. Ski Team members Ida Sargent and Rosie Brennan. Three SMST2 skiers reached the final, with Annie Hart placing fourth and Sophie Caldwell finishing fifth on her birthday.
With the wrap-up of this year's World Cup season, many U.S. Ski team members made their way to Craftsbury, Vt., for the final races of the U.S. calendar. Noah Hoffman raced to his first win of the season in Monday's 15 k freestyle individual start. “Honestly, it’s nice to get to win a race every once in awhile,” he said.
Jessie Diggins felt right at home on Tuesday in Gatineau, Quebec, racing to her fourth podium in the last two months in the first stage of the Ski Tour Canada. She timed her strikes and finished third overall, while three other U.S. women made the heats and Canada's Maya MacIsaac-Jones achieved 29th.
After 10 years of the World Cup grind, U.S. Ski Team veteran Andy Newell discusses his future while regenerating at home in Shaftsbury, Vt., ahead of the season-ending World Cups in Canada. "I think being able to adapt year after year, and stay relevant and stay current in the sprints has been a challenge, but also something I'm proud of," he says.
Returning to Falun, Sweden, was exciting for some members of the U.S. Ski Team -- like World Championships silver medalist Jessie Diggins. For Sadie Bjornsen, the memories weren’t as happy, and she tried to forget them before Saturday’s 5 k classic individual start, the first World Cup back at the venue since the championships.
American sprint specialist Andy Newell a marathon contender? After placing second in Saturday's Dolomitenlauf 42 k classic, he could be hungry for more. “I haven’t done too many of these types of marathons," Newell said. "In the future I would like to make it to some more of the [Ski] Classic races and the really big European marathons.”
Though four U.S. skiers qualified for the freestyle sprint heats in Planica, Slovenia, none advanced beyond the quarterfinals. With a fresh mindset, the U.S. Ski team is looking to move forward for the next freestyle sprint: the team sprint on Sunday.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby showed he's still got it, winning Saturday's 15 k classic mass start ahead of Norwegian teammate Niklas Dyrhaug and Kazakhstan's Alexey Poltoranin, for nearly a 1 1/2-minute head start in Sunday's final climb. Alex Harvey notched seventh on the day for 12th overall heading into the final stage.
Despite starting 26th in Sunday's final stage of the Tour de Ski, nearly 10 minutes back from the leader, Noah Hoffman is excited for the opportunity ahead of him. "You couldn’t design something that could be more to my strengths," he said of the infamous 9 k freestyle hill climb up Alpe Cermis.
Jessie Diggins fended off all challengers for her first individual World Cup victory -- that's right -- another one for the U.S. in the last three stages of the Tour de Ski. Diggins did so in the 5 k freestyle in Toblach, Italy, besting four Norwegians in the top five.
Finn Hågen Krogh knows a lot about ups and downs, and has formed somewhat of a pattern at this year's Tour de Ski. However, the Norwegian had one of his career-best races on Friday, winning the 10 k freestyle by 3.6 seconds ahead of teammate and overall Tour leader Martin Johnsrud Sundby. Noah Hoffman placed 19th to lead the U.S., and Canadian Alex Harvey finished 37th and is now 15th in the Tour.