From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
Devon and Nat go guest-less for this opening episode of 2023, recapping the first two stages of the Tour de Ski in Val Müstair, Switzerland.
We’ve got full breakdowns of flashy performances by Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and a Jessie Diggins debacle in the opening sprint race. We’ll be back with another episode mid-week as the tour rolls on; hit us with questions or emails at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com
Øystein Pettersen, the Norwegian Olympic champion also known as “Pølse,” or “Sausage,” joins the show to break down an epic weekend of racing in Switzerland — and to help Devon and Nat come up with ways to save the World Cup men’s distance racing from permanent Norwegian domination.
As always, we’re at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com if you’ve got questions or feedback.
A second weekend of racing in Norway left us with some breakout performances alongside the big names. Kikkan Randall, the Olympic gold medalist from Alaska, joins us for the recap.
We’re at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com if you’ve got questions or feedback. See you next week.
We’re back, with some incremental improvements to our audio production and full stoke for a new season of the Devon Kershaw Show. On this first episode of the new season, Devon and Nat break down the winter’s opening races in Sweden, Finland and Norway, and prime the pump for the World Cup kickoff in Finland next weekend. As always, email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
Andrew Musgrave is a mainstay of the World Cup cross-country skiing circuit and a two-time podium finisher, racing for a surprisingly strong British team. Devon and Nat chatted with him this week about a major budget cut for the British team that’s forced team members to fundraise; Muzzy also talks about his training, his life in Norway, his diet and his plans to start feuds on the World Cup.
You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
Matt Whitcomb has been a staple of the U.S. Ski Team coaching staff for a decade, seeing it through some of its most successful years. We hear from him about the coaching lifestyle, equal distance racing and other topics in another episode that we took a litttttle too long to post.
You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
We have no excuses for our prolonged absence other than it being the summer time. Devon has school and kids to take care of; Nat has…well, Nat really has no excuse. We taped this show with Robin McKeever, the new Canadian coach, and we’re just getting around to posting it now.
You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
You’ve been waiting on pins and needles for the first episode of this season’s Devon Kershaw Show; we know. But it’s been a busy spring. This edition was recorded a couple of weeks ago, so apologies we’re not up to speed on all the latest developments, but we break down some retirements and other off-season news and we’ll be back soon with some discussion of equal distance racing and other news.
You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
It was full sun and full gas in Falun, Sweden, for one last hurrah of World Cup racing. The three-day weekend brought us new formats, American podium performances (plural!) and any number of other highlights. Thanks for listening over the course of the World Cup tour — we’ll be back periodically during the off-season with interviews and updates.
You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll catch up with a mailbag episode in the next few weeks.
It doesn’t get much better than a weekend of full sun, epic skiing and meetings with the king of Norway. But that’s what we’ve got for you after another fun weekend of racing, at Oslo’s classic Holmenkollen venue. With help from Canadian retired Olympian Jess Cockney, we break down the 30 k and 50 k from Saturday and Sunday, touch on the COVID outbreak that’s hitting World Cup teams including the U.S. and take the International Ski Federation to task for canceling World Cup finals.
You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’re still hoping to catch up with an Olympic mailbag episode soon once things settle down.
There’s a war going on in Ukraine, and we touch on its impacts on the World Cup. But ski racing is also continuing, so we’re forging on, with respect for and acknowledgment of the tragedy that’s unfolding in Europe. For a few hours at least, on Thursday, the classic Drammen city sprint provided one heck of a distraction, and Devon and Nat are back to break down some performances for the ages by Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla, the French men and China’s Wang Qiang.
You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’re still hoping to catch up with an Olympic mailbag episode soon once things settle down.
Has it really been a week since the Olympics already? The World Cup’s furious schedule forges on with more racing this weekend in Lahti, Finland. Special guest host, Finnish Olympic gold medalist Sami Jauhojaervi, joins us to break down those results and other Finnish highlights from this season.
We also cover results from the World Junior Championships in the early part of the podcast, and finish with a brief discussion of how cross-country skiing is handling Russian participation on the World Cup circuit given the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’re still hoping to catch up with an Olympic mailbag episode soon once things settle down.
What. A. Day.
American cross-country skier Jessie Diggins scores another Olympic medal in Beijing, this time a silver, gutting out a strong race even though she was suffering from food poisoning. We break down the full 30 k freestyle race with Therese Johaug’s win and a furious chase for bronze. And we’re thrilled to welcome guest hosts Holly Brooks and Sadie Maubet (Bjornsen), the retired U.S. Olympians who joined us from Alaska.
We’ll be back when the World Cup resumes in Lahti next weekend. (Seriously?! So soon.) Get us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com in the mean time.
We know we haven’t gotten to all your questions over the course of the Olympics, but we hope to catch up with a mailbag episode soon once things settle down.
This isn’t a spoiler, even if it spoiled some of the glory Saturday: Organizers shortened the Olympic men’s 50 k to a 28 k skate. People were mad; the athletes still raced and delivered a good show. We’ve got our own show here, featuring guest star Kris Freeman, the retired American Olympian.
Alaska’s Scott Patterson threw down the best Olympic result for a U.S. man in nearly a half-century, too. We break that down, plus the Russians and Norwegians on the podium, and we’ll have one last Olympic podcast after the women’s 30 k skate tomorrow.
Get us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com in the mean time.
Wednesday’s Olympic team sprint offered another thrilling set of races at the venue in Zhangjiakou — we’re back to break down an epic performance by the German women, a critic-silencing race from Norway in the men’s event and a U.S. women’s result that left a medal just out of reach.
Thanks to everyone for sending in questions and feedback — we’re trying to keep our heads above water on the homestretch here, but you can be sure Devon will still have plenty to say post-Games. In the meantime, you can get us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
The men’s 4 x 10 k relay itself lacked for drama, but fortunately there’s plenty going on in the Norwegian team for us to talk about. Devon and Nat are back to break down Russia’s convincing win in the relay, the most disappointing silver ever for Norway and a gold-like bronze for France.
Send questions and feedback to devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back Wednesday.
Related reading:
“Burmania”: Swedish xc skier’s snack-sampling video goes viral in China
The Chinese Ski Team’s Path to Beijing (Part 1)
OMG that was awesome.
Devon and Nat are back to break down an epic finish to the women’s Olympic relay, with some details on the Russian victory, the surprise German silver and Jonna Sundling helping to deliver a bronze for Sweden. Plus some notes on the Americans in sixth.
Send questions and feedback to devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back tomorrow.
We’ve got our latest episode straight out of China to break down Iivo Niskanen’s dominating win in the Olympic 15 k individual start classic. We talk about some of the drama on the Norwegian team, cover the American and Canadian results and bring on special guest Vahur Teppan, a retired Estonian athlete who coached members of China’s national team for the past four years.
Thanks for listening!
The pod is back to recap a good old-fashioned individual start throwdown, with special guest Kristin Størmer Steira.
We break down Therese Johaug of Norway’s nail-biting win over Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen and another nail-biting race for third between Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski and Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva. And we discuss questions about the U.S. team selection for the upcoming women’s relay, and the pressure cooker environment of the championships.
We’ll be back after tomorrow’s men’s 15 k.
Get your cheese doodles ready.
Here’s Nat and Devon breaking down (and celebrating) an historic day for the U.S. A bronze medal for Jessie Diggins stands as the highlight – she’s the first American woman to win an individual medal – but there were several other steps taken forward by the men and women wearing stars and stripes.
In particular, Rosie Brennan popped the second fast time in qualification. Overcoming a bad pole plant-induced fall in her quarterfinal, she powered through to take second (to the eventual winner), building momentum each round to finish 4th, just meters behind Diggins .
And you’ve got all four American men – also a record – in the Top-30, and Ben Ogden skiing into the semis to finish one second behind Pellegrino and Klæbo, landing in 12th as the top American men’s sprint finish in history.
So much more. Thanks for listening.
