FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

A collection of live feeds from cross-country ski blogs around the web.

  • Sweet Skiing

    It was still snowing when I went to bed last night!

    And today was absolutely gorgeous.

    Clear and cold.

    The snow line on the mountains was way lower than it has been.

    This is one of the nicest places in the world when it looks like this.

    And we got to ski on hard wax! (We had great skiing on VR45). Here’s Kris Freeman prepping his skis:

    Here I am enjoying the freshly groomed trails:

    This morning we had a great, hard classic intensity workout. We did ten continuous six minute loops. Each loop had five hills in it ranging from ten seconds to more than a minute. We skied the hills really hard. (We were working on powerful striding. This is a continuation of the bounding work both Kris and I have been doing.) We skied the flats and downs slow, focusing on recovery. It was a hard session. (Kris had an ending lactate over 9mmol.)

    This afternoon was frustrating for me. I was supposed to do a two hour skate ski, but, and this sounds absurd, my pinkie toenail was bothering me. It was debilitating, and I couldn’t ski. I have had seemingly small ailments be big problems for me in the past, so I know I need to focus on solving the problem. Instead of skiing, I drove to Wanaka to go to the pharmacy and pick up Epsom Salts, antibiotic ointment, and a “Gel Toe” protector.

    This was the first time on this trip that I’ve driven a car, and my first time ever driving a manual transmission on the left hand side of the road. I drive a manual at home, so that part isn’t a problem for me; however, it took some concentration to shift with my left hand. First gear is still on the left hand side of the gearbox, so it’s on the side away from the driver. Also, the blinker is on the right while the windshield wipers are on the left. It’s a different experience.

    I did enjoy going back to Wanaka because it’s a beautiful city.

    It is located on a large lake by the same name.

    And the surrounding mountains are beautiful (especially with new snow on them.)

    New Zealand is one of the places we go that I feel I could happily live.

  • Winter

    Winter arrived today at the Snow Farm!

    We got 6 inches of snow last night and close to a foot today. I’m so psyched! After talking all week about having to go home early because all the snow was melting, this is a nice change. I can’t remember the last time I experienced a snow storm like this.

    Today felt like the holiday season. It would have been a good day to curl up with a book by the fire or go powder skiing.

    My teammate Kris Freeman and I went cross country skiing instead. They only groomed about 1500 meters of trail. We tried classic skiing off-piste first.

    It was too deep and heavy to ski in the powder. So, we switched to skate and did 6 minute laps for two hours. It was a monotonous workout. I had the afternoon off. It was fun to just watch the storm.

    I am now looking forward to the rest of the time here way more than I was yesterday. If they groom all the trails, about 30km, it is some of the best training in the world. As a bonus, temperatures are supposed to stay cold so we may be hard wax skiing (a type of kick wax for classic skiing used for colder snow) for the first time since the middle of last winter.

  • A New Way of Life – Yurt Life!

     

     

    Living in the mountains again!

    photo 52

    After 8 years of living and training in the Midwest, Brian and I had an awesome opportunity to head out west to the Methow Valley for some quality training in the Mountains! This is the view from my current training camp residence, Brian and I are staying in a Yurt below Lucky Jim’s Bluff, which towers above. The “yurt” is incredible, it is a glorified tent really with only fabric between myself and the wildlife on the other side. As a child in New York City walking alone in China Town and riding the Subway in Soho never seemed scary…wild animals, however, kinda freak me out! I have run into Bear, RattleSnakes and even had a Wolf Pack out my back door a few nights ago. I am also getting more comfortable with the idea that there are Cougars around here! I can’t help but run along the rocky outcroppings thinking that there is a Couar watching me from above. Apparently it is rare to see a Cougar but I am not putting it past this City-Slicker who seems to find the wild animals when I least expect to!

    photo 34

    The yurt is where Chad and Alieta Gregg have lived for the past 5 years! It’s been cold here in the mornings sometimes registering around 44F inside the Yurt when I wake-up. I can’t even imagine how cold it can get during a winter below 0F night! Cad and alieta have done a wonderful job of making the yurt feel like a home. When they moved to Seattle for new jobs, they were gracious enough to let us stay in there home away from home! Alieta talks about her abrupt change from life in the suburbs to life in the yurt and how much she has grown to love yurt living. After being here for a  couple of weeks I totally get it!

    photo 43

    Life inside a 300 SQ/FT Yurt! There is quite a bit of space for a single round room! The windows are plastic and roll up during the day while the walls are reinforced by a wooden criss-cross pattern.

    photo 17

    Nothing beats morning Yoga in the yurt while looking through the amazing circular sky light! I will also say that although it has only rained here in the Methow ONCE in the past 3 weeks, listening to it fall on the roof of the yurt was one of the most pleasant ways to wake up.

    photo 16

    Training is the focus here in Washington and we have been getting in a ton of it! With endless miles of trails in the mountains and the Methow Community Trail down the road from the yurt, Brian and I have been able to log some of the best training sessions of our careers. The change of venue and scenery has proven to be a good stimulus for me in terms of keeping things new. The training methods we are using are also new which also keeps my body guessing. As Brian mentioned a quote he heard that summed up our experiences here “Madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” I will second those feelings and welcome the change!

    photo 26

  • Rollerski German Flats & Justin Downhill Video

    We did a pretty sweet combo workout the other day, with an uphill ski followed by a gradually downhill run. The weather was fine and the spirits were high. The new pavement on one of our favorite routes was pristine, and everyone enjoyed it on the uphill. Justin refused to just ski up, and carved out some unreal turns on the down instead of running. The video is below the pictures.

  • D-pole Test and Speeds

    This afternoon we did our d-pole test. We try to do this test about once a month to see how everyone is adapting to their training. Although we try to have similar speed skis, there are always faster and slower skis. This does not really matter because we are looking for personal improvement; as long as each person uses the same skis, we are all set.

    Our test starts with a pretty good climb followed by a short gradual downgrade and then a gradual up. The course is 1.5 kms long.

    Everyone had 30 minutes to warm up, then we sent them out one every 15 seconds.

    We seeded them slowest to fastest based on previous times. The goal was to have the slower skiers exposed to the faster skiers as they came by.

    It was a perfect day for the test, dry pavement, low 70’s and calm. Since the coaches were timing and videoing, we did not get pictures of the test.

    With a large group, it is important to keep the flow safe. Therefore, after the test we moved onto the Sunbowl road (very little traffic) for some speed work.

    Nope, those poles of Skylers are not shaped.

    We started with 5 uphill d-pole sprints.

    Jack and Paddy battle it out.

    Koby and Hamish.

    Annie and Scott.

    Sophie and Erika with a bunch of SMS girls in tow.

    They are probably laughing because Katharine asked why they were going so slow :).

    Jordan gave Jessie a small lead and then tried chasing her down.

    Is that what you call a 6-pack?

    Jack got to experience pure power when he went with Skyler.

    Paddy.

    Gino.

    Scott giving full effort.

    Tess getting tough.

    We then did 5  uphill striding sprints. The goal was to start off, throw in a couple of quick running steps to get the weight forward and then stride to the end.

    Here Annie shows a nice high, forward position.

    Ana gets after it.
    Oh yeah..times… we had 23 skiers and had 20 PR’s… good day :). Don’t forget, ski speeds vary.
    Skyler  3:15 (new course record)
    Eric 3:28
    Hamish 3:47
    Jordan 3:49
    Jack 3:50
    Koby 4:00
    Paddy 4:05
    Gino 4:08
    Calvin 4:10
    Scott 5:25

    Jessie 4:16 (new girls record)
    Sophie 4:18
    Annie 4:23
    Erika 4:39
    Katharine 4:58
    Brooke 5:01
    Mackenzie 5:09
    Ana 5:20
    Pippin 5:33
    Tegan 5:37
    Tess 5:45
    Alex 5:54
    Kate 6:05

  • Nationals, Biking, and full gas for Nordic Combined.

        We have wrapped up US national championships. All in all it was a very good competition from all points for myself. I came into competition very happy with my level of training and knew that I could produce a good event. Jumping has been getting better and better all summer long and I felt very comfortable in producing jumps that would put me in a good spot for the race.

       I was happy with most of my jumps, but got a little unlucky and didn’t have the exact same jump as some beforehand. All in all, I feel now that I can produce top quality jumps in competitions without too much pressure. Coming in to the  race, I haven’t spent much time on roller-skis this year. After Russia, I only roller-skied to make sure I had some fitness going into the race. So with that being said, I was happy with my performance and glad to be on the podium at US Nationals for the first time.

    After Nationals, it was time to put the grind of daily roller-skiing and running. This is a great time of year, as I kind of get into a great pattern of training and get going very early when its refreshing out.  In this period we have had a couple Intensity training periods and quality jumping sessions. I feel even more confident with my jumps as I feel each session is productive and I can feel the changes I am making.

    Last week was my last bike race of the year. It was my first stage race in the PRO 1-2 category of the year. I was really happy with my results as I was racing against some of the best elite riders in the western part of the country. I had a solid Time Trial with a placing of 16th. I had a strong Road Race on a very physically demanding course placing 14th. To top it off I placed 11th in a VERY fast criterium in downtown Steamboat Springs. Our field averaged 28.3 MPH for 60 minutes of racing. This isn’t a strong race for me as it can be very dangerous, and I am always focusing on skiing and don’t want to get hurt. Now that biking is over, I am excited and refreshed for the upcoming season and feel like I am in great shape for this time of year, but at the same time still have work to do!

    Up next we are heading to Europe for a two week training camp to test equipment and meet with sponsors. I am very excited to see whats new out there, and if it will benefit our training and competitions.

    So long,

    Taylor

  • Long, Wet, Slow

    It rained last night for several hours and thundered and lightninged here at the Snow Farm. When I looked out the window this morning I was surprised to see any snow at all. We actually didn’t seem to lose too much, but it is dangerously thin. The sun was out this morning, and it was too wet to groom. So, Kris Freeman and I headed out for a long ski on crusty, fast, rutted, sketchy snow. (I classic skied for four hours; he classic skied for two and a half then switched to skate for another two and a half.) After an hour or two, the snow was just soft and wet. “Resistance Training!” as Steve, the manager here at the Snow Farm says. Here’s some of what we were dealing with:

    And here’s Kris skiing by a cool mudslide off the side of the trail:

    The forecast is more promising (no rain)! Kris and I keep joking about when we’ll be heading home (if the snow melts.) We’re not scheduled to leave for 9 more days!

    Fri Saturday 8 Sunday 9 Monday 10 Tuesday 11 Wednesday 12 Thu
    PM night AM PM night AM PM night AM PM night AM PM night AM PM night AM
    Wind
    (mph)
    Summary clear snow shwrs light snow snow shwrs light snow snow shwrs snow shwrs snow shwrs snow shwrs snow shwrs light snow light snow light snow clear some clouds some clouds light snow snow shwrs
    Snow in – 0.4 1.2 1.2 0.4 – – – 0.4 0.4 1.6 0.8 0.4 – – – 0.4 0.4
    Rain in – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
    Max °F
    		 39 30 34 34 25 30 30 23 30 30 19 21 21 18 30 32 28 36
    Min °F
    		 34 28 30 28 21 25 27 19 27 25 16 18 19 16 23 27 27 32
    WChill °F
    		 21 16 18 18 9 12 16 5 12 9 1 5 7 3 14 16 14 18
    Freezing
    level (ft)
    		 7400 7100 5400 5400 3600 3100 4600 3100 3800 4600 2100 1600 2500 1000 2800 4600 5200 5900

  • New Website!

    Welcome to my website!  It’s still under construction, but will be up and running in no time.  I’ll be adding content every day, so check back often.

    Eric

  • New Website!

    Welcome to my website!  It’s still under construction, but will be up and running in no time.  I’ll be adding content every day, so check back often.

    Eric

  • Swedish Women By Individual

    Following up from last time, we’ll look a little more closely at the individual trends among some of the top Swedish women in distance and sprint events.

    First the distance skiers (click through for a larger version):

    Not surprisingly, Charlotte Kalla is generally the top performer here. But notice that there’s a bit of a solid drop off after her and Anna Haag. Maria Rydqvist surprised many by coming back from a year off with some very solid results, but then seemed to hit a bit of a plateau last season. Sofia Bleckur took a large jump last season, but the move from 0.5-1 standardized percent behind the median skier to -0.5 to -1 standardized percent behind the median isn’t quite as challenging. The next jump will likely be orders of magnitude harder.

    I believe I’ve commented on this before, but Anna Haag’s trend over the past three seasons is a bit worrying. The Swedish women had a very strong year in 2010, but both Kalla and especially Haag seem to have experienced a bit of “regression to the mean”. That makes me wonder whether Haag’s 2010 campaign (and to a certain extent even Kalla’s) was the best we’ll see from her.

    As for the sprinters (again, click for full version):

    I certainly like the looks of Ingemarsdotter’s trend there: steady improvement over more than 2 seasons with little signs of a plateau. Hanna Falk appears extremely promising but I believe she had some strange medical issues last season that now I’m suddenly very fuzzy on. Something to do with her eyes, maybe? I can’t quite remember.

     

    Related posts:

    1. <Most Improved: Women’s Distance
    2. <Most Improved: Women’s Distance
    3. <Most Un-Improved: Women’s Distance


  • SMS NORDIC 2012-09-06 05:53:00

    We got some footage from our L3 skate in Stratton the other day.  Basically a 8-10k continuous steady state effort   This was mostly put together so the team could check their technique but also for the parents who love to see their kids in action.  I missed a couple young gun J2’s Scott and Katharine, they were too fast and were already over the climb when I got up there!  Sorry about that, I’ll get ’em next time.

    Some of the things we were looking for: foot stance: narrower to wider depending on speed and terrain, high elbows on the fast sections, nice side to side push with legs and hips, crisp, smooth tempo and upper and lower body compression working together.

    We also checked a few lactates.  Jack nailed it, 4.4.  Koby sprinted the last K and got a 17!  17 is crazy high and shows nice sprinting potential.   That was partly our fault about for not explaining the steady state effort part clearly enough to the workout newbies.  A few more people were 7-9 so they pushed a a little too much and few were a bit low and need to push a little more effort and speed.  So all in all a great workout with a lot of learning about pacing going on.

    more vids: HERE

  • Race Video

    Here’s the video from the skate race we did withe the Canadians on Monday.

    I raced in the blue and white Team Homegrown suit. Kris Freeman raced in the dark grey US Ski Team suit (not to be confused with the all black that Lenny Valjas raced in.)

    Today is windy up at the Snow Farm, 56mph gusts. I skated for two and a half hours this morning. It’s crazy fast with a tail wind and almost standing still when trying to ski into the wind. This afternoon I have an hour and a half classic ski. the wind has not let up at all.

  • Agility & Distance Classic Ski

    We had two workouts today – agility, balance, and speed up in Lot 1 this morning and a classic distance ski this afternoon.  Our girls spent sometime working on their balance – rolling down the hill on one foot – while the boys did a lot of drop in speeds and worked on their quickness.  In the afternoon we went for an easy distance ski – the girls skied from school around Stratton Mountain and the boys started down on Old Town Road and skied through Bondville and up the Access Road.  Check out more pictures here! 
     Pippin works on her balance.
     Boys doing some bungee work.
     Katharine.
     Matt explains the next part of the workout to the guys.
     A few speeds.
     Finishing stretch.
     Kate.
     Brooke, Katharine, & Alex.
     Gino.
     Gino, Jack, and Koby.
     Jack leads the guys through Bondville this afternoon.
     Heading through town towards the access road.
     Going up…
     Hamish.
     Scott.
     Almost home – Stratton in the distance!
     Mackenzie working on reaching forward.
     Mollie.
     Ana.
    Tegan.

  • How to Stay Connected to Skiing

    With the arrival of XC Running and other fall HS sports, I want to share some information with everyone to stay abreast of the happenings in the Nordic ski world. First, a list of fun and useful websites. Following, a short calendar of important events in our region (including World Cup races in Quebec this December!).

    http://www.FasterSkier.com (updated daily. Domestic & international news)
    http://www.NENSA.net (Regional news for New England skiing)
    http://www.SportLemon.tv (links to watch World Cup skiing live via Eurosport)
    http://www.USSA.org (US Ski Assocation)
    http://www.USSkiTeam.com (US Ski Team)
    http://www.NationalNordicFoundation.org (Supports elite American skiers)
    http://www.BiathlonWorld.com (World Cup biathlon – watch events live and in HD)
    http://www.EAbiathlon.org (Our local biathlon club – Ethan Allen)
    http://www.fis-ski.com/ (International Ski Federation)
    http://www.fiscrosscountry.com/ (Internationl Nordic news)

    Events and Dates:

    Anti-Doping Awareness Article:

    • Sweet Sprint Simulation with Burke

      Last week, Burke coach Kate Barton brought Peter Neal down to do a sprint simulation with us on the access road. Peter had arrived early to school and it was really fun having him join our gang for a tough  workout. David Sinclair was here and Kate and I sprinted as well, so we had 5 current athletes, one alum, and two coaches racing, with Justin furiously driving from start to finish and calculating times. It was a sweet time all around.
      The sprint simulation begins as any sprint does: with qualification. After this first round, skiers are reverse-seeded. This means that each athlete begins as far in front of the winner as he or she finished behind in qualifying. If everyone skis the same speed as in qualifying, everyone finishes at precisely the same time. The idea is to try to reel in the people who started in front of you and hold off the people who started behind. It makes for a great scene and some exciting finishes.
      The goal of the workout is to ski consistently through the four heats: there is a prize (honor) for the fastest overall time as well as the smallest difference between your heat times. We had some great shuffling the whole way, and Elliot took the A-final, holding off David Sinclair and Heidi Halvorsen, who finished 2nd and third.

      The whole crew lines up for the A-Final. Elliot skied a phenomenal last sprint and held off the whole train to take the victory.

      We practiced getting off the line fast with short explosive strides… made harder by the cracks in the pavement!

      Peter struggled a little with a rollerski wheel that kept falling off, but we were excited to have him join us and look forward to seeing him more this fall and winter!

      David and Heidi start within a second of each other, and Dev waits to be released from the gate.

      It was a great workout and day all around, and we got the Burkies to stick around for lunch afterwards. What a great collaboration opportunity we have with the teams and skiers up in Vermont. We look forward to continuing to work with Burke as the season continues. Thanks for coming down, guys!

    • Training Day

      Today was a pretty basic training day for me and Kris Freeman. We both did a three hour classic ski this morning. I did a one hour skate this afternoon and Kris went for two hours. The weather and snow were really good again today. The forecast is a bit iffy with rain the next couple of days. If we make it to the weekend with snow we should be OK, as it is supposed to get really cold (-17C) after the next storm. Here’s a picture of Kris posing during our ski today:

      And, here’s a picture looking the other direction:

      Today was the Canadians last day. We’ve been playing a lot of the board game Settlers of Catan. It has been really fun to hang out with them, and it will be really quiet when they leave.

    • Running Race

      We had our first running race of the season this afternoon in Bellows Falls. There were 6 teams competing and it was fun to jump in the race. The boys started first with the girls taking off 3 minutes later.

      All of our kids ran well!

      Scott Mooney got his first taste of high school running and did well mixing it up with the bigger kids.

      Mollie led the first lap and ended up second.

      Tegan ran a good race to finish 5th.

      Katharine passes one of the boys.

      Kate ran a good race and finished 9th.

      Mackenzie.

      Tess.

      Alex and Pippin.

      Jack showing good form (he placed 2nd).

      Gino used to hate running, but he is getting better and he got 4th today :).

      Koby was wondering why most of the runners were not as strong as he is.

      Russell was allowed to jump in as run alongside. He ran the 5 km in 19:30 and placed around 20th.

      Our freshman group was all smiles after the race.

      Koby takes the sprint finish.


      Hamish ran well and cracked the top 10.

      Our senior girls after the race.

      After the race, we celebrated Matt’s birthday (thanks to Tamra for the doughnuts and some of the pictures).

    • Update from Germany

      For the past couple weeks, I have been training in Germany with the USBA national A team.  We have spent time at some of the winter World Cup venues and shared the ranges with European national teams and club teams.  The first couple weeks were in Bavaria, training at  Ruhpolding.  This week we are training in eastern Germany at Oberhof and using the indoor ski hall a lot.  Unlike camps back home, we have almost all of our team staff together onsite, including coaches, wax techs, physios, etc, most of whom live in Europe. 

      One of my favorite things about being over here in the summer is that we can get out and see a lot of the surrounding area.  In the winter race season, we are lucky if we see more than the venue, the hotel and maybe the grocery store.  

      20120904-224205.jpg

      In Bavaria we stayed in the town of Inzell, at the foot of a mountain.  Our cabins had a pool out front, which helped us survive temperatures in the mid 90s.  The pool was chemical-free and had recirculating water- the plant life along the edges filtered the water and kept it clean.

      20120904-130419.jpg

      The valley was very green and idyllic, with lots of small farms.  In some ways it reminded me of Craftsbury.

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      Former Craftsbury and Dartmouth teammate Chelsea Little came to visit on her way to start grad school in Sweden.  We spent an afternoon at Konigsee near Berchtesgaden (photo: Sara Studebaker)

      20120904-224316.jpg

      The team experienced all sorts of interesting Bavarian foods during our two weeks.  Pictured above is Schweinshax’n, or roasted ham hock.  My favorite meal was smoked trout, served whole.  The most interesting was a lean unidentified chunk of meat that tasted a lot like corned beef.  After I ate it, I was told it was cow tongue.  

      20120904-220526.jpg

      Training at the range.  We shared the facility with many other teams, including Germans, Ukrainians, and a large group of French juniors.  (photo credit: Chelsea Little)

      20120904-131131.jpg

      Rainy days call for bright colors…

      20120904-132536.jpg

      … and not just for us.  I found a whole hillside crawling with 6 inch long Fire Salamanders one rainy morning.  This sighting was very special for me.  When I was in kindergarten, I used to have a pet salamander a lot like these (it was an Eastern Spotted Salamander), and back home it is really usual to spot them in the wild. (photo credit: Wikipedia).  

      20120904-224428.jpg

      We spent one afternoon at the University of Salzburg’s indoor shooting hall.  They hooked our rifles up to various force places and lasers that recorded things like trigger pressure and the path our barrels trace over the target.

      20120904-130744.jpg

      My favorite afternoon recovery workouts involved hiking through alpine cow pastures to mountain alms and maybe ordering a coffee or beer.  The Stoisseralm high above our cabin had a great view looking down onto Salzburg.  On the way back down we took breaks to pick blackberries and blueberries.  (photo credit: Sara Studebaker)

      20120904-130350.jpg

      Mountain yoga over Inzell with Sara

      This past weekend we relocated to Oberhof, where we spend our mornings training on snow in the ski tunnel and our afternoons training outside.  We are working closely with our team techs to test new skis for the coming season.  

      20120904-130519.jpg

      Ski hall from above (photo credit: Thueringen tourism website)

      20120904-130702.jpg

      The view from inside.  The smaller branches depart from the corners of the hall and the loop is surprisingly hilly.

    • Rochester Skate and DP

      The other day we headed over Granville Gulf to do a skate rollerski on easy terrain. The goal was to ski long and smooth and to get the feeling of going fast on skis. It is also always nice to get a change of scenery, and the beautiful stretch between Rochester and Hancock did not disappoint. We were joined on the road by David Sinclair, who is about to enter his junior year at Dartmouth. Pretty crazy that it’s been that long since he was at GMVS, but it is always awesome to have him around to show us what it’s all about.

      Sinner leads Dev and Ian past a barn on Rt. 100.

      After turning around, we transitioned to double pole to get in some specific strength. The girls gapped the boys for a while, and then we all skied together to the finish. Pretty sweet day all around.

      Heidi and Maddy double pole past another barn.

      This is a pretty sweet training group.

    • Swedish Women

      Reading the recent interview with Rikard Grip, the Swedish women’s coach got me thinking about how they’ve fared recently. From a very broad perspective for the whole team, we have the following in distance events:

      Clearly their depth has greatly improved, as evidenced by the dramatic rise in the number of top 30 results per WC race. Most other categories are generally up as well over the last 4-5 seasons. I try not to read too much into the (rather noisy) year to year variations in these plots, but instead try to folks are broader trends over several seasons.

      On the sprinting side:

      Thing actually seem to be declining slightly over the past three seasons here across the board, though thanks largely to Ida Ingemarsdotter not at the victory/podium level. I also find it interesting how the two obvious peaks in performance in terms of placing women in the top 30, 10 or 6 seem to coincide with Olympic years (but not 2002). There might be a glimmer of that trend at the podium/victory level but it’s hard to interpret changes in numbers that slight.

      On Thursday we’ll take a closer look at the individual women on the Swedish squad.

      Related posts:

      1. <Most Improved: Women’s Sprint
      2. <Comparing Variability In Men’s & Women’s Sprinting
      3. <European Mid-Season Review