Note: This article has been updated. There’s something about La Clusaz. Liz Stephen can’t put her finger on it, but it works for her. A week after her 26th birthday, she notched another career best in the French alpine village -- this time in a classic race.
Just over a week ago, five U.S. Ski Team women and one Canadian packed their bags in various parts of the world and set off to meet in Sweden. Usually faced with the task of preparing for months of overseas travel, some might have scratched their heads. What do you bring for just two weeks? Americans Kikkan Randall and Liz Stephen had already been in Europe for nearly a month, first competing in the Blink...
The first North American to arrive in Sweden last week, Canadian Chandra Crawford came two days earlier than everyone else, starting her journey Wednesday in Östersund near the Norwegian border. There, she visited Canadian national-team technician Micke Book and his family, and rollerskied before making her way 460 kilometers north on Friday. Up in Torsby, the home of Sweden’s famous ski tunnel, she worked out alongside U.S. Ski Team members Kikkan Randall, Liz Stephen, Holly Brooks, Jessie Diggins and...
Sticky skis and icy conditions — they don’t always mix. You didn’t have to tell Ida Sargent that. But it wasn’t about the number of times Sargent fell down on Sunday’s rock-solid course at Sjusjøen, Norway, that mattered. As the starting leg of the U.S. women’s cross-country ski team in the 4×5 k World Cup relay, she had to get back up. “I didn’t want to lose anymore time than I already had,” Sargent wrote...