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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.

Tag: New zealand

  • Campbell Wright: The U.S. Biathlete Who Believes in Luck—and Hard Work

    Campbell Wright: The U.S. Biathlete Who Believes in Luck—and Hard Work

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    Campbell Wright might just be the United States’ greatest biathlete. Born to American parents who emigrated to New Zealand in 1993, the 23-year-old joined the U.S. team in 2023 by using his dual citizenship. Since the change, he’s continued his progression and notched some of the best results the U.S. program has ever seen. Wright became the first U.S. biathlete to win two medals at a World Championships when he took home two silver medals from the 2025 championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. He’s been training around the world – Italy, the U.S. and New Zealand – as he prepares for the 2026 Olympics. Get to know Wright as he tells his story with a mix of humor and candor, and explains his philosophy on luck that’ll have you rooting for him even harder.

    This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.

    Campbell Wright (USA) on his way to his second straight silver medal at the IBU World Championships Biathlon, in Lenzerheide (SUI). (Photo: NordicFocus)

    You’re on the national team with my sister, Chloe, but we haven’t met, and I honestly don’t know much about you. How did you get into cross-country skiing and then biathlon?

    My getting into cross-country skiing is the result of one person: Mary Lee. She and her husband started the cross-country Snowfarm in New Zealand. She was my neighbor. My parents had four boys and had their hands pretty full. So when she offered to take us kids cross-country skiing, they were like, “Yeah, go for it!” I started cross-country skiing when I was about 10 and just really enjoyed the vibe up there. It was pretty chill, pretty laid back, not as high-stress as alpine skiing.

    That’s so lucky Mary was your neighbor. It sounds like without her, you might’ve never become a skier.

    She also took me over to my first-ever skiing race in Australia when I was probably 11. She organized for me to go to Canada on an exchange with a skier. So when I was 14 I went to Ontario. That’s when I really started loving skiing a lot, because that’s the first time I ever saw people my age skiing. The cross-country skiing scene in North America is just epic, I really fell in love with cross-country skiing properly there. That’s when I was like, Oh, I’d really love to be a skier.

    Campbell Wright (USA) after the IBU World Championships Biathlon, sprint in Lenzerheide (SUI). (Photo: NordicFocus)

    How long were you there?

    Four weeks. I was able to race against other kids, which was great because in New Zealand, I didn’t know if I was good or bad or somewhere in the middle because there was no one to race against. I was pretty shocked, realizing I wasn’t horrible at skiing. My brother (who is a professional cyclist) talked about how Europe is more competitive, so I also had the opportunity to go train with the Australian biathlon team in Italy. I was at the training sessions with everyone, and then when a race came, they would all go to a biathlon race, and I would just stay at the hostel by myself. I realized Europeans are a bit better at skiing than North Americans, and that I should try to spend more time in Europe and try biathlon properly. If I wanted to go to Europe and train with a group, biathlon was my opportunity to do it. I spent school holidays in Europe, a few more weeks every year. And then when I was 18, I left school and spent four months in Europe.

    What was the team like?

    Pretty much every single biathlon federation that didn’t have enough money to actually make a team gave Australian biathlon a little bit of money and became part of their team. So it was like Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, all kinds of working together. There were about 30 of us living in bunks in a hostel while training in Europe. There were teenagers up to 40 years old. It was good to see, as a young person, that not everyone has everything available to them. It’s a privilege to get to do what I do.

    Campbell Wright (USA) celebrates his silver medal at the IBU World Championships Biathlon in the men’s pursuit in Lenzerheide (SUI). (Photo: NordicFocus)

    You were with the New Zealand team until 2022 and represented them in the Olympics in 2022. What made you want to join the U.S. Team?

    I worked with Emil Bormetti from when I was 15 to 19. When I went from the IBU Cups and junior cups to training with the older athletes, I had a different coach. Once I stopped getting coached by Emil, I started enjoying biathlon a lot less. I was thinking about quitting biathlon a little bit. At the end of the season, I didn’t really know what I was going to do. I knew I wasn’t going to go back to train under my old coach. At the same time, Emil got the assistant coaching job with the U.S. I already had a U.S. passport. It just came at the absolute perfect time. I had just gotten good enough to probably qualify for the US World Cup team. Tim Burke and Lowell Bailey were two of my idols, and they were working for U.S. Biathlon, too. It was just a perfect time to swap. One day you’re like, Maybe I’m done doing this forever, and then the next day it’s just like, life-changing. 2023 was my first official season on the U.S. team.

    It certainly seems like it’s been the right choice. You’ve had some incredible results since joining the U.S. team. The best, of course, was at the World Championships in 2025, where you won two silver medals. What was that week like?

    Everyone wants to have their best race at World Champs, but I know that’s not the reality of the world. It doesn’t work like that. I thought if I had my best skiing day and my best shooting day, I might be able to get in the flowers. In the sprint, Ponsiluoma started a minute in front of me.  He’s probably a top 3 skier in the world in biathlon. I was thinking, If he misses three in prone then I can follow him on my second lap. I came into prone. I went clean, and I saw him coming out of the penalty loop and I was like, Holy sh*t, it actually happened. You just have to follow him, no matter how many matches you burn on this lap, if you want any chance to be near the front, you really just need to follow him.

    Campbell Wright (USA), Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR), Eric Perrot (FRA), (l-r) – IBU World Championships Biathlon, pursuit men, Lenzerheide (SUI). (Photo: NordicFocus)

    That’s such a risk, going that hard on a lap that leads right back into shooting.

    My second lap was pretty hot, like, I was redlining pretty hard. I came into standing and was like, OK, let’s just get these targets down. I don’t know how, but they all went down. On the last lap, I saw from the wax techs and everyone that I was doing pretty good, and everyone was screaming like, You’re probably gonna get a medal here! That will motivate you to ski fast.

    You got your silver medal in the sprint. And then that led to you having a great starting position in the pursuit, where you medaled again. Your face after the last shooting was one of the greatest moments of the season.

    I don’t know how I did it again, to be honest, because at Junior Worlds, I won the sprint and then proceeded to miss like eight in the pursuit. I was very much preparing for that mentally. I was like, Campbell, this could be a sh*t show. When you prepare for the worst and hope for the best, it’s a pretty good place to be. I came into the final shooting in second place. Eric Perrot and Sturla Laegreid were behind me. Those are the two best standing shooters on the World Cup. I knew I needed to shoot clean because I knew those guys were going to shoot clean. And sure enough, they both did. But I did, too. I knew I was safe. It was pretty fun to be me on that day.

    Campbell Wright (USA) takes aim during the men’s relay at the IBU World Championships in Lenzerheide (SUI) last February. (Photo: NordicFocus)

    We’re heading into an Olympic year. How excited are you? How are you feeling?

    I want to be a good biathlete. I would say I was a successful biathlete this past season, even without two World Champ medals. I’m a lot more proud of that than I am of it coming together on the right day, because I think there’s a huge component of luck there. You need to be f*cking lucky to get on a podium at the Olympics or World Champs because there’s probably 20 guys who can do it.

    That’s true, especially in your sport. Cross-country skiing alone would require luck to get on a podium. But then add in the variables of shooting, and there’s a lot of luck involved.

    I know in my heart that if Ponsiluoma didn’t miss three, I would not be a World Champs medalist. I can’t look myself in the mirror and say that luck wasn’t part of it.

    Campbell Wright (USA) climbing the Stelvio Pass in Livigno (ITA) during his summer training in July. (Photo: NordicFocus)

    Earlier, you spoke about how you got into biathlon as a way to train in Europe. But you’ve clearly fallen in love with the sport. What do you love about it?

    The thing I like most about biathlon is that it will break your heart, but then it also gives you these highs. That’s what I’m here for. A bit of thrill, a bit of heartbreak, a bit of theater. That’s what I love about it.

    Campbell Wright’s World Cup season will start in November in Östersund, Sweden. Olympic biathlon competitions begin on February 8th in Antholz, Italy.

    Campbell Wright (USA), Otto Invenius (FIN), and Paul Schommer (USA), (l-r) climbing the Stelvio Pass, Livigno (ITA), in July. (Photo: NordicFocus)

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    Campbell Wright (USA) is now setting his sights on the 2025/26 season. (Photo: NordicFocus)
  • Lights, Camera, Action: U.S. Ski Team Stars in Latest Warren Miller Film

    Lights, Camera, Action: U.S. Ski Team Stars in Latest Warren Miller Film

    Terraces of groomed snow. The U.S. Ski Team trains at New Zealand’s Snow Farm, 2018. (Photo: Colin Witherill/ Warren Miller Entertainment)

    Big and bold. Published on the latest press release from Warren Miller Entertainment are the rarefied featured athletes in the season’s cinematic siren call that winter is imminent: The Warren Miller ski film Face of Winter. Of course, there’s the icon of the Iron Cross, Jonny Moseley. Listed along with the gravity side of skiing royalty are U.S. Cross Country Ski Team (USST) members Kevin Bolger, Paddy Caldwell, Sophie Caldwell, Jessie Diggins, Simi Hamilton, and Ida Sargent.

    First things first. It’s been almost four long years since Outside Magazine put undue pressure on Hamilton by claiming, “This man will make nordic skiing cool”.

    What is cool anyway? In other words, cool is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Furthermore, one person responsible for a sport’s coolness? Talk about a burden. 

    On October 12, in Portland, Oregon the 69th Warren Miller film premiered. And with it, the film crew and editors made their visual case for sustaining cross-country skiing’s coolness.

    For six days this September, a Warren Miller production crew shadowed the USST during their on-snow camp at New Zealand’s Snow Farm. The images they captured do not disappoint. Drone shots of synchronized striding on perfect switchbacking corduroy are drool-worthy. There’s the obligatory mix of thumping tunes and up-tempo ski clips that are hallmark Warren Miller. The fellowship of skinny skis and lycra get the creative treatment they deserve.

    Behind the scenes, the New Zealand shoot wasn’t a certainty. 

    “We spent considerable time and a lot of debate about whether or not we’d do this,” the film’s producer Josh Haskins emailed. “It was entirely too late in the season to add a shoot, our budget was tapped, but we appreciated the unique angle and felt this was the year to tell it, while the Olympic story was still fresh.”

    U.S. Ski Team member Simi Hamilton with coach Matt Whitcomb review technique footage at New Zealand’s Snow Farm, 2018.

    Despite the obvious exposure the film’s segment could provide nordic sport, according to U.S. women’s coach Matt Whitcomb, the coaching staff was hesitant.

    “We heard mumblings about it for a couple of years but nothing really came to fruition,” Whitcomb explained during a phone call. “We as coaches said we are not sure that we want to do this. What if we all end up sick because we are skiing back and forth trying to get a good shot with Warren’s crew? Then we are going to have spent a lot of money for nothing for this camp.”

    At the Snow Farm, despite the potential for distraction, the ski team stuck to its rigid training schedule. The New Zealand camp remained focused on quality training — maximizing the investment in chasing the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.  

    “So not spending too much time talking to a coach, continuing to move and just having a lot of well-orchestrated sessions,” Whitcomb said of the team’s on-snow priorities. “And when you have a film shoot happening during that, you can see the chance for things to run off the rails. And so we played a little bit hard to get and those guys were great they stayed at it. I don’t know if we were really appreciating how large Warren Miller is and what a professional crew they have. Because it was almost easier than when you don’t have the film crew out there. They were just so good.”

    Whitcomb noted any potential disruptions were mitigated by good communication. Coaches would explain the next day’s training beforehand, the producer, in turn, explained how they could optimize their cinematography. For example, an 8-kilometer loop with fewer opportunities to film athletes would become a 3 k circuit.

    “If it were 3 k long, the skiers would come by two and half times as frequently,” Whitcomb said. “And then they would have a better shot at getting the footage they needed.”

    The backroom transactional nature of the USST’s participation related to business opportunities. Both the U.S. Cross Country team and Boulder, Colorado-based Warren Miller Entertainment have sponsorship deals with L.L. Bean. From a marketing perspective, both entities understood the positive value of producing content during the ski team’s limited New Zealand window.  

    Jessie Diggins (USST) training at the Snow Farm in New Zealand, 2018. (Photo: ColinWitherill/Warren Miller Entertainment)

    “We have an existing partnership with L.L. Bean, who is a partner of the team, and the IOC, USSA and U.S. Cross Country Team were all integral and extremely helpful in the planning and logistics, giving us the assistance and access we needed to properly tell the story,” Haskins explained. “In the end, we griped about the added stress, money and limited screen time in the movie but we all agreed it would make the movie better to include it. And it paid off, at our world premiere in Portland, OR. last Friday the segment received one of the loudest audience responses and applause of the night when Jessie crossed the finish line.”

    Footage of the Diggins and Kikkan Randall Olympic gold stands as the narrative arc’s apogee for the cross-country ski segment. Those Olympic moments still strike a nerve.      

    Whitcomb relayed a personal story. By chance, a close friend happened to notice Face of Winter‘s world premiere would be showing as he left work recently in Portland. That former skier from St. Lawrence University eventually sat in a packed theater expecting the usual and iconic Warren Miller powder-lust ski shots.

    “He had no idea that his favorite sport was being featured,” Whitcomb said. “Then halfway through the movie, when the cross-country segment ran, he was so happy that he just wanted to stand up and start cheering. That was good to hear from someone who was surprised by it all. He was just so proud.”

    Once in a while, it’s ok to feel like the cool kid in the room.

    Taking a break during their Park City, Utah training camp, the U.S. Cross Country team was on hand and on stage Oct. 18, for the Salt Lake City opening of Warren Miller’s Face of Winter. (Photo: Justin Miller)
  • The College Conflict: Part 1

    The College Conflict: Part 1

    2018 U.S. Ski Team camp at the Snow Farm in New Zealand, with author Alayna Sonnesyn (teal jacket) in the middle of the group shot. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)

    The following was written by Alayna Sonnesyn, a new member of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team who graduated from the University of Vermont (UVM) this past spring.

    Originally from Plymouth, Minnesota, Sonnesyn, 22, raced on the UVM Ski Team for four years and qualified for four NCAA Skiing Championships teams. She placed second and third in two races at 2017 NCAA Championships, and in her senior season, won the first five Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) races and went on to reach the podium in 10 out of 11 EISA races. Sonnesyn expressed an interest in exploring the dilemma many of the nation’s top skiing talents face out of high school: whether to attend college or get an early jump on a pro-racing career. She plans to post this two-part series on her blog as well.

    ***

    For the first time in 17 years I will not be going back to school this fall. Saying that out loud is more daunting than I had anticipated. For the most part, the classmates that I graduated with can say that they are “going to grad school,” “starting a new job,” or “taking a year off to travel,” but I still don’t know where I lie. I am not taking any classes this year, I am not working anywhere consistently, and I am doing more than just traveling to explore, I’m traveling to race!

    I am wrapping up a three-week training camp in New Zealand with the SMS, Craftsbury, and US Ski Team. When I walked through customs I had to write down my reason for visiting New Zealand: Was I a student? Was I visiting a family or friend? Was I working? What was my job? In the rush of the moment and due to habit, I wrote that I was still a student and continued on my way. I later had a few reflections; I still haven’t reached the point yet where I can say I have a job. I don’t have a salary and there are no company benefits. Yet, I work 24/7 toward my job — my job is ski racing. But why is this so hard for me to admit to myself? Is it because, for my entire life, I’ve been a student? What if I hadn’t taken this route? How do others make this decision?

    National Training Group (NTG), summer 2013, in Park City, Utah.

    Racing throughout high school, I was given a number of perspectives about picking skiing versus school. My friends were all preparing to go to college and I always assumed I would go to college, too. My parents and older sister went to school, why wouldn’t I go as well? But then I thought about skiing. I never had the most outstanding results in high school (never qualified to race internationally), but I was good enough to qualify for regional and national level camps like REG, NEG and NTG. I traveled to these camps and trained with other high-level athletes, getting more and more motivated by each skier or coach that I met. Then the thought came to me… what if I didn’t go to college? I could focus on training, make those vital steps toward international racing, and continue along the “pipeline” that so many Olympians had followed. Maybe I would make bigger jumps and improve my skiing exponentially? I was entering the unknown and I was unsure how to pick the right choice for me. Looking back on this four years later, I realize that I was far from alone in this predicament.

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    I have since had the opportunity to talk to a wide variety of skiers and competitors and have learned so much that I wish I knew in high school. It’s OK to be confused. It’s OK to make your own path. Every athlete is in a different situation, comes from diverse athletic and academic backgrounds, and has various goals that they hope to achieve post-high school.

    “I’ve always believed that the most important thing to remember when discussing the decision to go to school or not (or when to go to school) is that is it a completely individual decision and the right decision for one person might not be the right decision for the next.” — Sophie Caldwell

    Personally, I finally decided that taking a gap year might be too big of a jump for me. I wasn’t ready to focus on skiing and I had a lot of goals for myself academically. I decided to attend the University of Vermont and upon reflection, can admit that this was one of the best decisions of my life. Similarly, SMS teammate, Kelsey Phinney, went from high school in Boulder, Colorado, directly to Middlebury College.

    “The reason I chose Middlebury College was simple: I went to visit and I was ready to unpack and stay for good. I loved the people, the area, the ski team, and the classes I sat in on.” — Kelsey Phinney

    Carnival love, with Kelsey Phinney (top) and Katie Feldman.

    Kelsey and I both fell in love with our schools from the start and knew we were where we belonged. We took these college experiences as learning opportunities; maybe we wouldn’t have been ready to jump right into the professional circuit but we both determined this was the right path for us.

    “I loved the experiences I had on the Carnival circuit. Both good and bad times taught me a lot about life and skiing, and I felt like the balance of school and sport made me better at both,” Kelsey reflects.

    Similarly, Sophie Caldwell had her mind made up without the need to hesitate over a gap year or jumping into full-time skiing.

    “I chose to go to college right out of high school, and it was something I had always known I wanted to do. I knew there was a good chance I wanted to ski professionally at some point in my life, but when I was 18, I wasn’t ready to 100% commit to skiing,” Sophie, a Dartmouth graduate, explains.

    With academic goals in mind and the confidence to pursue skiing in the long run, sometimes there’s no need to question it. Going directly to college might challenge you more than you think and it might make you question what you’re doing. The balance of school and skiing is great, but it’s TOUGH! At least you worked through those challenges and figured out where you want to be though.

    “I definitely had my ups and downs throughout college and at times I considered not pursuing skiing after college, but by the time I entered my senior spring, I knew I wanted to give skiing professionally a shot and knew it was because it was what I wanted to do, not what I had to do,” Sophie notes.

    Over the course of four years, we were able to say goodbye to our homes, grow into adults and develop as skiers, allowing a much smoother transition into the professional racing circuit post-college. This decision to go right to college made sense for Kelsey, Sophie and me — it was simple; but I recognize that this choice isn’t as straightforward for everyone.

    ***

    “I loved my time at Burke and wasn’t quite ready to leave. I also didn’t know where I wanted to go to college as part of me wanted to go out west while part of me wanted to stay closer to home.”  — Ida Sargent

    The conflict of picking a school, a place we are willing to spend at least four years of our lives at, can be intimidating to anyone. Taking a year off to think and explore what motivates you once the structure of school is taken out of the picture can be extremely vital to one’s skiing longevity. Other times, this year off can be done to test out what skiing professionally is actually like.

    “I wanted to test out whether I could do only professional skiing.” — Katharine Ogden

    A feat that might sound easy to accomplish — ski, eat, sleep, repeat — can’t be THAT hard! But what happens when you suddenly put all of your time and energy into one goal?

    “Ironically, my gap year did not turn out even close to how I had planned or imagined!” reflects Julia Kern.

    Julia Kern with swollen legs after surgery, requiring A LOT of physical therapy during the summer.

    After facing an early summer surgery for compartment syndrome and then an untimely back injury in the fall, Julia notes that her gap year was extremely tough with plenty of lows and setbacks.

    Ida Sargent offers, “My PG year was a bit of a disappointment as I wasn’t as happy as I was expecting and I also didn’t feel like I made as big of a jump with my results as I had hoped.”

    “I think in hindsight it was a good philosophy but I think I approached it wrong. I didn’t do a good job securing other things to do besides training and was thus pretty bored, which led to me putting a lot of stress on skiing and racing,” says Katharine Ogden.

    Maybe taking a gap year isn’t as easy as it sounds? Coming face-to-face with this type of ski-focused intensity as an 18 year old can be challenging.

    “It showed me how much I really wanted to go to college,” offers Katharine.

    It can also be validating, as it can prove to oneself where they really belong at that point in their life.

    “It made me realize that I wasn’t ready to ski full time and I still needed balance in my life,” reflects Ida.

    What might be the most beneficial aspect of taking a gap year are the lessons you learn throughout. How to deal with the pressure, free time, potential obstacles, and how to respond when you’re suddenly put in an unfamiliar situation.

    “My gap year turned out to be far from ideal from a training/fitness standpoint, but I became very in tune with my body, learned how my body responds to training, became mentally tougher, and learned that I love the skiing lifestyle (even if it is tough sometimes) and that I want to ski at the highest level possible,” says Julia.

    Some things you just can’t learn in a classroom.

    Julia Kern (on table) still smiling!
    Julia Kern taking the time to think about something other than skiing during her gap year. (Photo: Julia Kern)

    How to pass the time away, when you have so much of it. (Photo: Julia Kern)

    After taking a gap year to figure out what skiing was like full-time; Ida, Katharine, and Julia attended Dartmouth College (via various routes):

    Ida states, “I started by going to school full time and I raced for Dartmouth for three years and then made the National team so I took my senior winter off to race for the USST and then I went back for a spring term my fifth year.”

    “One year in [as a traditional student], I am very happy at Dartmouth and racing the collegiate circuit last year reignited my love for the sport,” adds Katharine.

    While Julia contributes, “I chose Dartmouth because I wasn’t sure what skiing and school balance I wanted to have, but I did know that I wanted to be able to take terms off to race internationally.”

    Regardless of which Dartmouth plan they followed, all three skiers seem to have enjoyed the choices they made. Whether taking a gap year is or isn’t part of your plan, the most important takeaway is that you should TAKE SOMETHING AWAY! Learn something new about yourself, about skiing, or about classes you want to study.

    So what about other options for pursuing a ski career? Jessie Diggins and Andy Newell both chose to skip college and go straight into skiing. Stay tuned for my next post when I’ll include input from both of them as well as what U.S. Ski Team coach Matt Whitcomb has to say on this topic.

  • Nordic Nation: The Two-Halves-Make-a-Whole Edition with Team Gregg

    Nordic Nation: The Two-Halves-Make-a-Whole Edition with Team Gregg

    Team Gregg, consisting of two halves that constitute a podium-threat whole, is featured on the latest episode of Nordic Nation. Caitlin (formerly Compton) Gregg, 36, and husband Brian Gregg, 33, the two members of Team Gregg, are based along the border of Wirth Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Yes, the two skiers are highly accomplished; both are former Winter Olympians and Caitlin earned a bronze medal in the 10-kilometer freestyle at the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden. But their partnership has become a model of independent professional ski team viability.

    The sum total of Team Gregg: Brian Gregg (left) and Caitlin Gregg (right). (Courtesy photo)

    They are also a model of two hyper-driven people able to moderate their own personal goals for the collective greater good of the team. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to see the Greggs at a race venue, this much is clear: they have got each other’s back. Brian can be seen helping test skis, handing Caitlin feeds along the course and screaming encouragement. The same can be said of Caitlin. Neither is above doing the menial tasks to ensure the other has the best opportunity on race day.  

    Nordic Nation caught up with Caitlin and Brian Gregg on Sept. 13, a few days after their return from an on-snow camp at New Zealand’s Snow Farm. Along with the usual “how’s the training going”, questions, you’ll hear about the unique way the Greggs financed their house and what the future holds.

    (To subscribe to the Nordic Nation podcast channel, download the iTunes app. If you have iTunes, subscribe to Nordic Nation here.)

    Have a podcast idea? Please email nordicnation@fasterskier.com.

  • Americans Dominate 2017 Merino Muster and Half Marathon

    Americans Dominate 2017 Merino Muster and Half Marathon

    The start of the 2017 Merino Muster 42-kilometer on Sept. 2 at the Snow Farm near Wanaka, New Zealand, with Americans Jessie Diggins and Simi Hamilton (in blue) up front. (Photo: Winter Games NZ Facebook/Neil Kerr)

    Visibility was thin and temperatures were below freezing last Saturday at the Snow Farm. Opaque white clouds of fog swept over the landscape near Wanaka, New Zealand, showcasing a skyline that seemed to play on the country’s largest historical farm industry: sheep. If bluebird skies and sun had greeted competitors in previous years, racers in the 2017 Merino Muster experienced temperatures around -5 degree Celsius (23 Fahrenheit) and a four-meter radius of visible track, then fog, for most of the 42-kilometer marathon.

    Simi Hamilton (U.S. Ski Team) leads Phillip Bellingham during the 42 k Merino Muster on Sept. 2 at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. Hamilton ultimately won and Bellingham placed third, 2 seconds back. (Photo: Winter Games NZ Facebook/Neil Kerr)

    The flutter of his own pole grips passing in his peripherals might have been the only company U.S. Ski Team (USST) A-team member Simi Hamilton saw during the race, had it not been for American Brian Gregg and Australian Phillip Bellingham.  

    The two contenders followed Hamilton from the start, and within the first few kilometers, all three had broken away from the rest of the 80+ men’s field to form a lead group. Together, the two Americans and Australian forged through the next 40 k, taking turns leading through the day’s scrim that hid the panoramic views of the Pisa mountain range that surround the Snow Farm.

    “It was incredibly foggy all morning,” Hamilton wrote in an email. “I think we would have all gotten a little lonely out there if we had been skiing on our own.”

    The trio kept each other company for the entirety of the race, but by the final two kilometers, Hamilton had staked his spot in the front. As Hamilton headed into the finishing stretch, both Bellingham and Gregg pushed to keep up with his pace. He ultimately held off Gregg by a second and Bellingham by 2 seconds to take the win with a finishing time of 1 hour, 40 minutes and 33 seconds.

    “My energy felt good both years, but last year I had trouble accessing my sprint/[Level 4] gear in the final 2 kilometers of the race,” Hamilton wrote. “This year, I felt more comfortable skiing level 3 and I found that it was much easier to access my sprint gear at the very end.”

    The victory is Hamilton’s first in the Merino Muster, which has been running for 23 years, the last three of which its been part of the Worldloppet marathon series. He first raced the marathon last season and finished second to his then-teammate Noah Hoffman (who won in 1:45:08 by 23 seconds over Hamilton). Upon returning, Hamilton had some specific objectives.

    “The primary goal (both last year and this year) is to get in a really solid level 3 workout, with a hard effort at the very end,” Hamilton wrote. “It’s great terrain to be able to do that on because it’s all very rolling and you can maintain a really consistent effort the whole time without burying yourself too deep. And I think it’s always important to put on a race bib this time of year from time to time in order to start getting back into the race routine before the season really starts.”

    Simi Hamilton (c) of the U.S. Ski Team after taking the win in the 2017 Merino Muster marathon on Sept. 2 at the Snow Farm in New Zealand. He held off fellow American Brian Gregg (r) by one second and Australia’s Phillip Bellingham by 2 seconds.(Photo: Winter Games NZ Facebook/Neil Kerr)

    Gregg’s second-place result came at his first Merino Muster, an event he was able to enter since he was in New Zealand for a training camp with his wife and Team Gregg teammate, Caitlin Gregg. The two arrived in New Zealand on Aug. 22 and planned to train there until the second week of September.

    “Our dates ended up aligning with the USST camp dates as well and it has been a lot of fun joining them for workouts,” Brian wrote. “At the start of the second week down here athletes from Craftsbury, Stratton and Sun Valley arrived so we have had a large US representation. My brother and sister in law also made the trip down to race the Muster and help support our training. They both work remotely for their companies and it has been a blast to have them here with us.”

    While he indicated that his summer training had been going well, the race itself was an invaluable opportunity for Gregg to tackle technique. Following Hamilton for an extended hard effort was one of his primary aims, not to mention testing his sprint speed against one of the U.S.’s top sprinters.

    “One of my specific goals for this race was to ski with Simi,” Gregg wrote. “I think he is one of the better technical skiers in the world especially in V2 and following his smooth rhythm has been helpful for my own technique. Technical adaptations on snow has been my biggest goal of the camp and the race offered a focused 1 hour and 40 minutes of that.

    “Swapping leads with Simi allowed me the opportunity to make technical adjustments through mimicry and then I could take the lead and make the technique more my own,” Gregg continued. “Although my goal was also to win the race I can hardly complain about being able to match the finishing sprint of a World Cup Winner.”

    Bellingham, an Australian national team member, rounded out the men’s marathon podium in third, just two seconds out of first. A week prior to the Merino Muster, Bellingham competed in the 2017 Kangaroo Hoppet in Falls Creek, Victoria, where he placed second to American Miles Havlick.

    Diggins 1st Woman, 4th Overall 

    In the women’s 42 k race, which started with the men, USST A-team member Jessie Diggins took the win with a time of 1:51:42 for fourth place overall. Diggins explained that while she was able to ski with the front group of men for the first few kilometers, she eventually settled into a pace that was more her own.

    The all-American women’s podium at the 2017 Merino Muster on Sept. 2 at New Zealand’s Snow Farm, with Jessie Diggins (c) of the U.S. Ski Team in first, Hannah Dreissigacker (l), formerly of US Biathlon, in second, and Britta Clark (r) in third. (Photo: Winter Games NZ Facebook/Neil Kerr)

    “We all started together but after 3-4km I knew I couldn’t hang with the lead guys the whole race, so I dropped back a bit,” Diggins wrote in an email. “I didn’t have to ski alone though, which was really nice!”

    For much of the race, Diggins skied with Estonian Joosep Tammeme, a change from last season when she paired with her USST teammate Liz Stephen for most of the marathon.

    “Last year was super fun because I got to ski with Liz the entire race,” Diggins wrote. “This year I had a really nice Estonian man to partner with but nobody can replace Liz Stephen!”

    Thirty-one seconds behind Diggins, Tammeme, the fourth male, finished fifth.

    With the Merino Muster behind her, Diggins will look to finish off the remainder of the USST’s three-week training block in New Zealand.

    The start of the 2017 Merino Muster 42-kilometer on Sept. 2 at the Snow Farm near Wanaka, New Zealand, with Americans Jessie Diggins and Simi Hamilton (in blue) up front. (Photo: Winter Games NZ Facebook/Neil Kerr)

    “The Merino was a fun way to get a long intensity session in during the week and ski hard while also enjoying the feeling of racing again!” Diggins wrote. “Huge, huge thanks to the entire crew here at the Snow Farm. They always treat us so well and make sure the trails are groomed perfectly for great training. This is my favorite camp so I’m really grateful to them for making space for us down under!”

    The second woman after Diggins, 10 minutes and 17 seconds back, was retired American biathlete Hannah Dreissigacker, who has been working at the Snow Farm over the past few months. Dreissigacker, 30, explained that the race was her first since her retirement in the spring of 2016, and though she had remained relatively active leading up to it, gunning for the win wasn’t a goal.

    “I’ve been doing a variety of work in the office as well as coaching and instructing and I’ve been trying to get out and ski whenever I can,” she wrote in an email. “But I definitely went into the race with low expectations.”

    The Vermont native, instead saw the race — which ended up being her longest workout of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter — as more of an opportunity to do something she loved: skiing.

    “The race split up immediately for me — I knew better than to try to stay with Jessie at all,” Dreissigacker wrote. “I skied with an older Russian skier, and then by myself, keeping the pace comfortable and I was very happy to feel good the whole time! There was some low-visibility off the start but the trails were in great condition and it was a fun first race as a ‘master blaster’.”

    Rounding out the women’s podium in third (+17:24) was American and 2016 Bates College graduate Britta Clark.

    In the 21 k “Snow Rake”, USST A-team member Sophie Caldwell took the overall win in a time of 51:21. Just one second behind her was Caitlin Gregg in second place, while the third woman was U.S. Paralympics Nordic Head Coach Eileen Carey (+5:48). The first man in third overall (+4:44) was U16 skier Campbell Wright, of New Zealand.

    Results: 42 k | 21 k

  • 17 Questions for 2017: Emma Lunder

    17 Questions for 2017: Emma Lunder

    Emma Lunder (left) sharing the "Queen of the Mountain" title from Biathlon Canada's summer "Testival" with Rosanna Crawford (right); Brendan Green was the "King of the Mountain". (Courtesy photo)
    Emma Lunder (left) sharing the “Queen of the Mountain” title from Biathlon Canada’s summer “Testival” with Rosanna Crawford (right); Brendan Green was the “King of the Mountain”. (Courtesy photo)

    Welcome to “17 Questions for 2017”, where we are catching up with American and Canadian national-team members before the beginning of the winter season.

    ***

    Canada’s Emma Lunder had her big break in 2014, when she finished 30th in her first-ever World Cup sprint in Pokljuka, Slovenia. Now 25 years old, the Biathlon Canada “B” teamer has a few more World Cup starts under her belt, including a tenth-place relay result in Hochfilzen last season with teammates Julia Ransom, Megan Tandy, and Rosanna Crawford.

    Lunder missed the cut for the first period of World Cup racing, finishing eighth (+1:30.4) and ninth (+43.7) behind Crawford in national team trials in Canmore in November. But then she has also jumped in a ski race, placing third in an 8.1 k Alberta Cup race behind American cross-country skiers Chelsea Holmes of APU and 2010 Olympian Caitlin Gregg of Team Gregg.

    Lunder is set to start racing on the IBU Cup circuit Ridnaun, Italy, this week.

    1. Biggest change in your life in the last five or so months since the ski season ended?

    The Canadian team with Anais Bescond of France (third from left), who joined them for a training camp this summer. (Courtesy photo)
    The Canadian women’s biathlon team with Anais Bescond of France (third from left), who joined them for a training camp this summer. (Courtesy photo)

    The biggest change in my life since the ski season ended has probably been the amount of time I’ve been spending in Calgary. I’ve been heading into the city almost every weekend to spend time with my boyfriend (Christian Gow) and his amazing family. Since my family lives in Vernon and Yellowknife, it’s been pretty special to have a home away from home to relax and recharge at on the weekends.

    2. Biggest change in your training?

    I was really happy with the training I put in last year, so my approach this year was very similar. There haven’t been too many changes, but I’ve put a much larger emphasis on core work, which usually includes a pilates session every week, as well as trying to be better about rest and recovery.

    3. Major areas of improvement you’ve seen so far?

    This year I’ve put a lot of focus towards my shooting, and I think with something like shooting there’s always going to be more to improve, but so far I’m quite happy with the progress I’ve made.

    4. Whom you’ve been working closest with this offseason (coaches or training partners)?

    Julia, Rosanna and Sarah have been my closest training partners all season. We’ve definitely become a tighter group of teammates and friends, with another year of learning and understanding how we work best together.

    5. Best trip in the last five months (and why)?

    Emma Lunder and Christian Gow at a Biathlon Canada training camp in New Zealand this summer. (Courtesy photo)
    Emma Lunder and Christian Gow at a Biathlon Canada training camp in New Zealand this summer. (Courtesy photo)

    Our team spent three weeks in New Zealand this summer, and it was an amazing experience. I loved being able to ski right from the door, come inside to an amazing meal, take a nap and do it all over again. Skiing on snow in August is always a perk.

    6. Favorite cross-training?

    Running! On rest weeks I love exploring new trails wherever I am (or old favorites, like the trails I grew up running on in Vernon). And nothing beats running with a dog – Rosanna’s dog Gonzo has joined us on more running workouts this year than I can count.

    7. Favorite non-athletic activity or pastime this summer?

    Reading! Last January a close group of my friends decided we’d keep track of how many books we read in 2016 and compare notes in the new year. I’m currently on book #39. Also, this summer I picked up some sourdough starter from my dad in Yellowknife, so twice a week Christian and I have the most amazing sourdough waffles for lunch.

    8. Song that was your jam this summer?

    Closer – The Chainsmokers. And basically anything country.

    9. All time favorite race moment?

    My 2nd place finish at the Canmore IBU Cups in 2015. Racing in Canada with my family and friends watching, PLUS my first ever podium was an unbeatable experience.

    10. First thing you pack in your bag when you leave for Europe?

    Canada’s Emma Lunder leaving the range en route to second place in Saturday’s 7.5 k IBU Cup sprint in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Pam Doyle)
    Canada’s Emma Lunder leaving the range en route to second place in Saturday’s 7.5 k IBU Cup sprint in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Pam Doyle)

    My Kindle + one hardcover book. I love being able to turn real pages for at least a few days on tour.

    11. Venue/event you’re most excited to visit this season?

    The venue I’m most excited to visit this season is Hochfilzen, Austria. If I’m racing there in February it’ll mean I’ve qualified for my first ever World Championships, which has been a major goal of mine since I started my biathlon career.

    12. Who will win the World Cup title this year? 

    Martin Fourcade and Rosanna Crawford!

    13. Biggest sacrifice you feel you’ve made choosing this career path?

    I know I’m extremely lucky to be following my dreams right now, but I fret about being a freshman at the age of 30.

    14. If you could change one thing about your sport, what would it be?

    I would eradicate doping. I think if we could erase any doubts about who is racing clean and who isn’t, biathlon would be pretty close to perfect.

    15. What did you have for breakfast this morning?

    Homemade eggs benny and cinnamon buns! (Sunday morning breakfasts in Calgary are always the best)

    16. In 5 years, I’ll be ____?

    Beginning my 30’s.. and hopefully a career?

    17. In 50 years, I’ll be ____?

    Reading book after book to my grandchildren.

    The women's 8.1 k freestyle podium at the Alberta Cup in Canmore, Alberta, with winner Chelsea Holmes (c), of APU, Caitlin Gregg (l), of Team Gregg, in second, and Biathlon Canada’s Emma Lunder (r) in third. (Photo: annas4036/flickr)
    The women’s 8.1 k freestyle podium at the Alberta Cup in Canmore, Alberta, with winner Chelsea Holmes (c), of APU, Caitlin Gregg (l), of Team Gregg, in second, and Biathlon Canada’s Emma Lunder (r) in third. (Photo: annas4036/flickr)
  • 17 Questions for 2017: Katharine Ogden

    17 Questions for 2017: Katharine Ogden

    Katharine Ogden (left) training with U.S. Ski Team teammates (r-l) Jessie Diggins, Liz Stephen, and Sophie Caldwell in New Zealand this summer. (Courtesy photo)
    Katharine Ogden (left) training with U.S. Ski Team teammates (r-l) Jessie Diggins, Liz Stephen, and Sophie Caldwell in New Zealand this summer. (Courtesy photo)

    Welcome to “17 Questions for 2017″, where we are catching up with American and Canadian national-team members before the beginning of the winter season. 

    ***

    Katharine Ogden of the Stratton Mountain School kicked off last season by winning the SuperTour 10 k skate in West Yellowstone, Montana – then picked up a fourth-place finish at U.S. National Championships, two top-20’s at World Junior Championships, and finished the season off with her first World Cup starts in the Ski Tour Canada.

    Ogden just turned 19 years old. The U.S. Ski Team “D” teamer placed fourth in both the sprint and 10 k classic at New Zealand Championships this summer and has spent serious time training with the women’s national team.

    1. Biggest change in your life in the last five or so months since the ski season ended?

    Biggest change in my life since the past season was graduating high school. So far I’m loving being able to just ski without having school work to worry about.

    2. Biggest change in your training?

    Since I’m not in school I’ve upped my training hours considerably since last year. I also started on a new strength plan.

    3. Major areas of improvement you’ve seen so far?

    The biggest improvement I’ve seen so far has been in my double poling. I’ve worked really hard for years now to correct my back position in that technique and it is finally starting to come along.

    4. Whom you’ve been working closest with this offseason (coaches or training partners)?

    During the summer I’ve been training predominantly with the SMS Elite Team girls and coach Pat O’Brien.

    5. Best trip in the last five months (and why)?

    Left to right: Ida Sargent, Sophie Caldwell, Katharine Ogden, Liz Stephen, and Jessie Diggins racing at New Zealand National Championships at Snow Farm, New Zealand. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)
    Left to right: Ida Sargent, Sophie Caldwell, Katharine Ogden, Liz Stephen, and Jessie Diggins racing at New Zealand National Championships at Snow Farm, New Zealand. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)

    My favorite trip this summer was definitely New Zealand in September. It was totally awesome to get on snow then and it was also an extremely productive camp for me. I also just loved everything about the place the people and the food there. Honestly might have been one of my favorite camps of all time.

    6. Favorite cross-training?My favorite cross training is mountain biking.

    I just got a new bike and I’m loving it so much.

    7. Favorite non-athletic activity or pastime this summer?

    My favorite non-athletic pass time this summer was eating a big yummy brunch on off days.

    8. Song that was your jam this summer?

    I don’t really have a favorite song. I mostly listen to audiobooks. My favorite is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

    9. All time favorite race moment?

    My all time favorite race memory is from my first ever Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow in Utah. I was just barely picked as the third member of New England’s “A” relay team for U16 girls, my teammates were Zoe Snow and Julia Kern. Our team and the Alaskan team were super close the whole race and Julia was out anchor leg. My favorite moment was when the three of us found out that Julia had out lunged the Alaskans at the line to win the race!

    10. First thing you pack in your bag when you leave for Europe?

    First thing in the bag when I pack to go to Europe is oatmeal and peanut butter. You new know with the food in a new place so I always pack the essentials.

    11. Venue/event you’re most excited to visit this season?

    U.S. Ski Team D-team skier Katharine Ogden (r) during a sprint time trial at the USST's annual training camp in Park City, Utah, which ran this year from Oct. 17 until Oct. 31. (Photo: Bryan Fish)
    U.S. Ski Team D-team skier Katharine Ogden (r) during a sprint time trial at the USST’s annual training camp in Park City, Utah, which ran this year from Oct. 17 until Oct. 31. (Photo: Bryan Fish)

    The event I’m most looking forward to this year is the SuperTour races in Silver Star BC. I’ve never been to Silver Star but it’s so many people’s favorite place so I’m really excited.

    12. Who will win the World Cup title this year?

    Jessie Diggins. duh.

    13. Biggest sacrifice you feel you’ve made choosing this career path?

    I think choosing to pursue skiing as a career has caused me to give up some things but they really arent worth considering because this lifestyle gives back much more than it takes. I wouldn’t give up the opportunities to travel, make new friends and learn about myself for anything.

    14. If you could change one thing about your sport, what would it be?

    If I could change one thing about the sport I would make it snow more. I guess that’s not specifically about the sport but the one bummer about being a skier is when you want to ski but there isn’t enough snow.

    15. What did you have for breakfast this morning?

    For breakfast today I had french toast but I usually have peanut butter banana oatmeal.

    16. In 5 years, I’ll be ____?

    Hopefully racing on the World Cup, living the dream.

    17. In 50 years, I’ll be ____?

    Living in Vermont and I’ll hopefully have cute grandkids that I can ski around with.

    Left to right: U.S. teammates Ida Sargent, Jessie Diggins and Katharine Ogden during their first ski of the camp at Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Erika Flowers)
    Left to right: U.S. teammates Ida Sargent, Jessie Diggins and Katharine Ogden during their first ski of the camp at Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Erika Flowers)
  • Green Focuses on Core to Remedy Back and Rev Up for Another Season

    Green Focuses on Core to Remedy Back and Rev Up for Another Season

    Brendan Green training in Canmore, Alberta, on his birthday, Nov. 4. (Photo: Rosanna Crawford/Instagram)
    Brendan Green training in Canmore, Alberta, on his birthday last Friday, Nov. 4. (Photo: Rosanna Crawford/Instagram)

    Chiropractor appointments, massage sessions, physical therapy, yoga, you name it and Biathlon Canada ‘Eh!’ team member Brendan Green has probably tried it. After suffering from a herniated disc in his lower back five years ago, undergoing surgery, a re-herniation, and a second surgery, post-surgical treatments had almost become part of Green’s training plan.

    However, the past few winters tested his pain tolerance too far and by the end of last season, Green decided to give both his treatments, and his back, a rest.

    “I was at a bit of a crossroads trying to figure out what to do,” Green, who turned 30 last week, said on the phone from Canmore, Alberta. “So come springtime, I took some time off and gave [my back] time to recover.”

    When Green rejoined Biathlon Canada for training this summer, keeping his back feeling better remained part of the plan. But returning to treatments was not the way Green wanted to go. Instead, deriving inspiration from other athletes and social media, he made a slight change to a another training component: his core.

    Biathlon Canada's Brendan Green making friends with some sheep during a road bike in the Rockies this summer. (Photo: Scott Gow)
    Biathlon Canada’s Brendan Green making friends with some sheep during a road bike in the Rockies this summer. (Photo: Scott Gow)

    “I mean, you see [the Norwegian guys] on Instagram and it’s like, holy cow, half that stuff I could probably not even do one rep of,” Green said. “So that got me thinking, if I could really, really strengthen the core, maybe I could strengthen the back.”

    Green began incorporating two extra core circuits a week, each 20-minutes long, relying heavily on physio ball work that targets ski specific motions.

    “My core is exhausted after, but that’s what I want to achieve with this,” Green wrote in an email. “And this summer has actually been one of my better summers in terms of training and not getting sidelined with nerve pain or back problems.”

    Along with more fine-tuned concentration on his core, another novel nuance to Green’s summer training included traveling to the Snow Farm for Biathlon Canada’s first summer training camp in New Zealand.

    “This year, the team decided that one of the goals would be spending more time on snow for the training season,” Green said of the team’s three-week camp in August. “New Zealand is a beautiful country, but also an ideal training set up as well. … [At the Snow Farm] you can eat breakfast and walk out your door and you’re on snow.”

    Earlier in the offseason, Green also attended his men’s team’s second-annual  “ManCamp” in Jasper, Alberta. Green explained that for the past two years, the men’s and women’s national biathlon teams have split training camps in the summer, with the men spending a week in Jasper and the women traveling to Kelowna, British Columbia, for a weeklong “Wine Camp.” 

    “I was at a bit of a crossroads trying to figure out what to do … Come springtime, I took some time off and gave [my back] time to recover… and this summer has actually been one of my better summers in terms of training and not getting sidelined with nerve pain or back problems.” — Brendan Green, Biathlon Canada A (technically, ‘Eh!’) team member

    “Two years ago at World Champs, Nathan [Smith] had a podium, so he had a little more input than normal into some of the early season training camps and Nathan really wanted to go to Jasper, so we thought we’d give it a try,” Green explained. “There’s no shooting range [there], so we leave our rifles at home and we just focus on volume training. There’s lots of good rollerskiing there and it’s fun. Jasper is a good way to start the season.”

    'King' and 'Queen' of the mountains, Brendan Green (r) with his girlfriend and teammate Rosanna Crawford after Biathlon Canada's summer "testival". (Photo: Matthias Ahrens)
    ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ of the mountains, Brendan Green (r) with his girlfriend and teammate Rosanna Crawford after Biathlon Canada’s summer “testival”. (Photo: Matthias Ahrens)

    Currently competing at Biathlon Canada’s World Cup team-selection trial races at Frozen Thunder in Canmore this week (he is already prequalified for the World Cup), Green is excited about the quickly approaching race season and the prospect of more podiums for his team.

    Last season at 2016 World Championships, he anchored his men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay team to bronze for Canada’s first medal in a team event at a major world championships. On Oct. 28 at Frozen Thunder, Green beat out American Matt Gelso in North America’s first unofficial on-snow race of the season: the 12 k freestyle interval start.

    “In the past, the big names have been a little more solidly consistent — [France’s Martin] Fourcade, [Norway’s Ole Einar] Bjørndalen — but now it seems to be changing up a little more,” he said. “I feel like there’s a lot more podium possibilities or potentials on the horizon. You have to have a good day obviously, but I think it’s within reach.”

    ***

    We asked Green to give our ’17 Questions for 2017′ a go. Here are his responses:

    1. Biggest change in your life in the last five or so months since the ski season ended?

    My longtime teammate Scott Perras retired at the end of last season.  He was a machine and I used to do almost all of my training with him.  It was definitely a change not having him around when I started training again this spring.

    2. Biggest change in your training?

    I’ve taken a different approach to my core strength training, but otherwise no significant changes, just sticking to the plan while trying to put in high quality hours.

    3. Major areas of improvement you’ve seen so far?

    It’s so difficult to say until race season rolls around.  I think I’ve put in good work but we will find out for sure in just a few weeks!

    Biathlon Canada's Brendan Green (r) rollerskiing at his team's “ManCamp" in Jasper, Alberta. (Photo: Matthias Ahrens)
    Biathlon Canada’s Brendan Green (r) rollerskiing at his team’s “ManCamp” in Jasper, Alberta. (Photo: Matthias Ahrens)

    4. Whom you’ve been working closest with this offseason (coaches or training partners)?

    This season the Men’s and Women’s team split off into more separate training groups, so the men’s team has been working closer together as a whole.

    5. Best trip in the last five months (and why)?

    This summer the team did a training camp in New Zealand.  It was a fun change of venue for us and New Zealand has a lot to offer.  It’s a beautiful country.

    6. Favorite cross-training?

    I bought a new mountain bike in the spring which has been fun.  There is lots of great riding around Canmore.

    7. Favorite non-athletic activity or pastime this summer?

    A friend gave me some sourdough starter this spring and since then I’ve been making a few loaves of bread a week.  I’m also always trying to up my espresso-making game.

    8. Song that was your jam this summer?

    I’ve really been digging Trevor Hall lately.

    9. All-time favorite race moment?

    There have been a couple, but winning bronze at last years World Championships was amazing.

    10. First thing you pack in your bag when you leave for Europe?

    Ear plugs. Can’t sleep without them!

    11. Venue/event you’re most excited to visit this season?

    Our World Cup in Antholz, Italy, is always my my favourite stop on tour, but I think the World Championships in Hochfillzen, Austria, will also be exciting.

    12. Who will win the men’s and women’s World Cup titles this year?

    Martin Fourcade and Kaisa Makarainen

    13. Biggest sacrifice you feel you’ve made choosing this career path?

    I live a long ways from where I grew up, so for me definitely time spent with family.  And education.

    14. If you could change one thing about your sport, what would it be?

    Doping.

    15. What did you have for breakfast this morning?

    Sourdough pancakes.

    16. In 5 years, I’ll be ____?

    Hopefully still able to call Canmore home.

    17. In 50 years, I’ll be ____?

    In 50 years I’ll be 80, so in all likelihood there is a pretty good chance I’ll be dead?

  • 17 Questions for 2017: Sarah Beaudry

    17 Questions for 2017: Sarah Beaudry

    Sarah Beaudry and her Biathlon Canada teammates having summer ski fun in New Zealand. (Courtesy photo)
    Sarah Beaudry and her Biathlon Canada teammates having summer ski fun at the Snow Farm in New Zealand. (Courtesy photo)
    Welcome to “17 Questions for 2017″, where we are catching up with American and Canadian national-team members before the beginning of the winter season. 

    ***

    22-year-old Sarah Beaudry is quickly becoming a contributing member of Canada’s senior biathlon team: she made her first trip to World Championships in 2016, as well as increasing her World Cup experience. That included racing the second leg of a sixth-place mixed relay team in Canmore, Alberta, and scoring her first individual World Cup points the same weekend.

    The 2014 World Junior Championships bronze medalist in the pursuit, Beaudry is now a member of Biathlon Canada’s “B” national team.

    1. Biggest change in your life in the last five or so months since the ski season ended?

    Moving out of chaotic athlete housing known as Coda, to a much calmer house downtown, 1min from work and 2min from the grocery store.

    2. Biggest change in your training?

    Changing from working more closely with Matthias [Ahrens] to having Roddy [Ward] as my main head coach.

    3. Major areas of improvement you’ve seen so far?

    Endurance.

    4. Whom you’ve been working closest with this offseason (coaches or training partners)?
    Beaudry on a camping trip with Cross Country Canada's Maya MacIsaac-Jones (right) and Quebec biathlete Chloe Selerier (taking photo).
    Beaudry on a camping trip with Cross Country Canada’s Maya MacIsaac-Jones (right) and Quebec biathlete Chloe Selerier (taking photo).

    Biathlon Canada’s wicked girls team.

    5. Best trip in the last five months (and why)?

    Skiing on snow in New Zealand followed directly by a rest week spent at a family cabin on British Columbia’s sunshine coast. To be able be to halfway around the world and be skiing in perfect snow for three weeks and then have some family time, eating fresh seafood and swimming everyday makes for the best combination.

    6. Favorite cross-training?

    Adventuring, whether it be a long mountain run hike or rollerskiing some far out roads, just getting out of the usual run, rollerski, bike routes that sometimes become habit.

    7. Favorite non-athletic activity or pastime this summer?

    Baking adventure, baking something new and exciting and seeing how it works out, making a complete mess of the kitchen and then sharing the results with friends.

    8. Song that was your jam this summer?

    I wouldn’t say I had one summer jam but I did forget my aux cable on my most recent drive back home to PG which resulted in driving back to Canmore with CDs from when I was a kid which was pretty fun. Some old school Avril and Hilary Duff along with some Big Fun Party mixes.

    9. All time favorite race moment?
    Beaudry finished 38th in the 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, in 2016, before making her first trip to World Championships. (Photo: Daniel S. Guay)
    Beaudry finished 38th in the 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, in 2016, before making her first trip to World Championships. (Photo: Daniel S. Guay)

    Moving up from 29th to third at World Juniors in Presque Isle and being able to share the flower ceremony with Julia!

    10. First thing you pack in your bag when you leave for Europe?

    My Onepiece.

    11. Venue/event you’re most excited to visit this season?

    I enjoy new races courses and countries so I think if I get to go to Pyeongchang that would be exciting.

    12. Who will win the World Cup title this year?

    Nathan Smith and Anais Bescond

    13. Biggest sacrifice you feel you’ve made choosing this career path?

    Putting my post secondary education on hold.

    14. If you could change one thing about your sport, what would it be?
    Beaudry celebrating fifth place in the youth sprint at 2013 World Youth and Junior Championships in Obertilliach, Austria. (Photo: Hugh Harden)
    Beaudry celebrating fifth place in the youth sprint at 2013 World Youth and Junior Championships in Obertilliach, Austria. (Photo: Hugh Harden)

    Well I feel like everybody agrees that having 100% clean sport and more races in North America would be awesome. So I will add another race that is a mass start and the leader gets to pick what position shooting the field does at each time you enter the range. That or you can tell a joke to count for penalty loops and based on how funny it is you have to do less loops.

    15. What did you have for breakfast this morning?

    Toast, eggs and an orange. I am not a huge breakfast fan except on off days. Then I usually have what me and some friends call Fat Amy day which is basically a pretty elaborate brunch.

    16. In 5 years, I’ll be ____?

    Well if Nathan and his girlfriend have their way and Calgary wins the Olympic bid I will be training for #Beauds2026.

    17. In 50 years, I’ll be ____?

    Skiing, adventuring and eating cake.

  • 17 Questions for 2017: Noah Hoffman

    17 Questions for 2017: Noah Hoffman

    Noah Hoffman (r) with fellow Americans Andy Newell (c) and Ben Saxton (l) after finishing third in the men's 15 k classic mass start at New Zealand National Championships at Snow Farm, New Zealand, in September. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)
    Noah Hoffman (r) with fellow Americans Andy Newell (c) and Ben Saxton (l) after Hoffman placed third in the men’s 15 k classic mass start at New Zealand National Championships at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand, last month. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)

    Welcome to “17 Questions for 2017″, where we are catching up with American and Canadian national-team members before the beginning of the winter season. 

    ***

    U.S. Ski Team member Noah Hoffman made a big change to his training this season: he is aiming for 1,000 hours of training, a significant increase compared to the past few years.

    “I am excited about it, that is the biggest thing for me,” the 27-year-old Colorado native told FasterSkier in June. “I am really excited about doing what I’m doing right now.”

    Hoffman is a 2014 Olympian and a three-time World Championships team member; he made his first World Championships at age 21. He has two World Cup top-10’s to his name, a skiathlon in Canmore, Alberta, in 2012, and a ninth-place mini-tour finish in Kuusamo, Finland, in 2013. Last month, he won the 42 k Merino Muster in New Zealand.

    1. Biggest change in your life in the last five or so months since the ski season ended?

    The big change for me in my life outside of skiing/training was the ending of a relationship that I was in for nearly three years.

    2. Biggest change in your training?

    The biggest change in my training is the increase in my volume by nearly 40% over last year.

    3. Major areas of improvement you’ve seen so far?

    I am handling the increased training load well, and I believe it has resulted in better fitness.

    4. Whom you’ve been working closest with this offseason (coaches or training partners)?

    I have continued to work primarily with my two personal coaches, John Callahan and Zach Caldwell. I have continued to train almost exclusively alone.

    5. Best trip in the last five months (and why)?

    USST teammates Noah Hoffman and Andy Newell skiing at the Snow Farm, New Zealand. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)
    Noah Hoffman leads fellow U.S. Ski Team member Andy Newell during a ski at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)

    My training year is notable because of the sharp reduction in travel from years past. However, I have had two productive camps in Bend and New Zealand.

    6. Favorite cross-training?

    I just got a new mountain bike. I LOVE it!

    7. Favorite non-athletic activity or pastime this summer?

    This summer has also been notable for me because of the reduction in energy-intensive “fun” or “social” activities outside of training. However, I have played a lot of the yard game Cornhole, including playing in a couple of tournaments, which has been really fun.

    8. Song that was your jam this summer?

    This summer has been marked by live music for me. I have seen Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Motown the Musical, Emmylou Harris & Lyle Lovett, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Los Lobos and North Mississippi Allstars, Brandi Carlile, Ray LaMontagne and Marian Hill. They have all been amazing! Before I depart for the World Cup I have tickets for Mandolin Orange, Colbie Caillat, Indigo Girls, The Head and the Heart and the Goo Goo Dolls as well as a Broadway Musical and a ballet.

    9. All-time favorite race moment?

    Racing the 50k at the World Championships in Oslo, with +/- 120,000 people on course, was something I’ll never forget.

    10. First thing you pack in your bag when you leave for Europe?

    My Kindle. When the training load is low in the winter, there’s lots of time to read!

    11. Venue/event you’re most excited to visit this season?

    I’m very excited to go to Ullricehamn, Sweden, and Tyumen, Russia, as they will be my two new venues this year.

    12. Who will win the men’s and women’s World Cup titles this year?

    Who’s to bet against Sundby? And for the women, I’ll be very interested to see how Bjørgen’s comeback goes.

    13. Biggest sacrifice you feel you’ve made choosing this career path?

    Skiing has afforded me more opportunities than I ever imagined, and I am so excited to live a different lifestyle after my career is over.

    14. If you could change one thing about your sport, what would it be?

    I would like to see more World Cup and World Championship level racing on this continent and I’d like to see Nordic skiing intensify the fight against doping and become as clean as possible.

    15. What did you have for breakfast this morning?

    Eggs, cheese, sour cream and salsa in a tortilla. I have that almost every morning.

    16. In 5 years, I’ll be ____?

    Going to school and adventuring every chance I get.

    17. In 50 years, I’ll be ____?

    Your guess is as good as mine.

  • USST Returns From New Zealand Training Camp (with Photo Gallery)

    USST Returns From New Zealand Training Camp (with Photo Gallery)

    Left to right: U.S. teammates Ida Sargent, Jessie Diggins and Katharine Ogden during their first ski of the camp at Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Erika Flowers)
    U.S. teammates Ida Sargent (l), Jessie Diggins (c) and Katharine Ogden during their first ski of the U.S. Ski Team’s camp at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Erika Flowers)

    Four inches of snow on one day, gray storm clouds and drizzling rain the next, followed the day after by blue skies, sunshine, and groomed trails of corn-snow. When it came to this year’s forecast for the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) on-snow camp in Snow Farm, New Zealand, the weather was anything but consistent.

    For many American athletes and coaches who spent Aug. 30 to Sept. 14 training on the southern end of the country’s South Island, however, the inconsistency in weather was warmly welcomed.

    “New Zealand is the perfect place to work on technique!” Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 skier Erika Flowers, who joined the USST for its 16-day camp, wrote in an email. “The conditions change daily so we also had the opportunity to ski in many different conditions (think fluffy dry snow, pouring rain, wind, sun, icy, soft, slushy, and even some perfect corduroy) and practice adjusting technique based on weather, snow, terrain, etc. ”

    Skiers double pole up a hill during the USST's training camp at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)
    Skiers double pole up a hill during the USST’s training camp at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Matt Whitcomb)

    It was not just opportunity to practice skiing in varying conditions that made Snow Farm — one of the USST’s favorite summer training destinations since 2002 — once again a top pick to return to. In her second visit to the Snow Farm, current USST member Jessie Diggins described the area as also having the perfect mix of training terrain.

    “I absolutely love this training camp,” Diggins wrote in an email. “It’s amazing skiing with 35km of groomed tracks, really fun crust skiing since it’s springtime here, and the terrain includes all the elements I like to work on: steep climbs, rolling tracks, turning downhills!…I don’t think the travel is actually much worse than going to Europe because once I get here, I adjust quickly every year and jump right into quality training!”

    Including Diggins and Flowers, a total of 10 athletes ventured to the Snow Farm with the U.S. team. Ida Sargent, Sophie Caldwell, Liz Stephen, and development-team member Katharine Ogden made up the rest of the women’s contingent, and U.S. men’s team veterans Andy Newell, Simi Hamilton and Noah Hoffman trained with SMST2 skier Ben Saxton.

    While Flowers and Saxton are not current USST members, U.S. head coach Chris Grover explained the team invited them to the camp.

    “We don’t create selection criteria for non-USST athletes to join camps; we simply invite athletes to join camps when we feel they will add quality training partners to the group, the camp will benefit their own development and help them get better, and we have the space and resources to accommodate them,” Grover wrote in an email.

    At New Zealand National Cross-Country Ski Championships, which took place Sept. 9-11 at the Snow Farm, Saxton raced to second in the 15-kilometer classic mass start and third in the classic sprint final. He described being appreciative of the chance to not only get so much time on snow, but spend that time with training partners who can push him.

    “While I’m taking the performance results of the camp as positive indicators of where my fitness is at right now, I know there’s a lot of work left to be done before we get on snow in Bozeman [at the U.S. SuperTour opener] this fall,” Saxton wrote in an email. “I was also very pleased with the technique work I got to do in camp. Being on snow is just so different than roller-skiing and I have so much to work on technically, that getting the chance to work behind World Cup athletes in unique and occasionally unstable snow conditions was, for me, a tremendous opportunity.”

    USST athlete Andy Newell carving a turn during a crust cruise at Snow Farm, New Zealand. (Photo: Erika Flowers)
    USST athlete Andy Newell carving a turn during a crust cruise at Snow Farm, New Zealand. (Photo: Erika Flowers)

    The winner of both the men’s sprint and 15 k classic mass start was Newell, Saxton’s SMST2 teammate. Hamilton (also of SMST2) won the 10 k freestyle individual start and Hoffman placed third the 15 k classic mass start.

    “The sprint, as normal, was a bit of a struggle and the classic race, I’ve always struggled at this time of year really putting down solid race efforts,” Hoffman, a distance skier, said on the phone from Park City, Utah. “I’m impressed with [Andy’s] form. He just easily skied away from me and Ben in the last kilometer or so of that race.”

    The weekend prior to New Zealand nationals, Hoffman won the Merino Muster 42 k freestyle marathon on Sept. 3. He explained that while his training load has been considerably higher this year, his body has been able to adjust fairly well so far.

    “[The 42 k race] came early in the camp so I didn’t feel super comfortable on my skis at that point, but it was a fun opportunity,” Hoffman said. “Simi raced as well and we got to ski together almost the entire race. It was in the last 2 k we were able to race against each other. That was good practice for me. That’s the part of the race that I need to be able to accelerate and be able to really lay it on the line in the World Cup.”

    Hamilton finished 23 seconds behind Hoffman in second place, while Diggins took third overall and won the women’s race. Twelve seconds behind her, Stephen was the second woman in fourth overall.

    “Not all of the team was ready for a 42k race that close to travel at the beginning of a camp, so we had half of the team do some lighter threshold in preparation for the FIS [New Zealand nationals] races the following weekend,” U.S. women’s coach Matt Whitcomb wrote in an email. “We talked with the racers – Simi and Noah, as well as Jessie and Liz, about skiing together at a comfortable race pace. We wanted them to take turns leading, to practice pulling as well as drafting, and to not tap the body too deeply so early in the camp. But at the end, everyone agreed to let each other have it in the final part of the race – no hand-holding across the finish line. Noah and Simi hit full-gas at 40k, and Jessie and Liz waited until the 500 meters-to-go mark.”

    Both Stephen and Diggins also reached the podium the next weekend at New Zealand nationals, which doubled as Australia/New Zealand Cup races. Diggins took second to Sargent in the classic sprint, and Caldwell placed third. Diggins then took first in the women’s 10 k classic mass start ahead of Sargent in second and Caldwell in third. Stephen won the final women’s event of the weekend, the 5 k freestyle individual start.

    American Sophie Caldwell skiing through fresh powder at Snow Farm, New Zealand. (Photo: Katharine Ogden)
    Sophie Caldwell skiing through fresh powder at the Snow Farm in New Zealand. (Photo: Katharine Ogden)

    While the USST left with quite a few podium finishes, Grover explained the primarly goals of the camp were not race results, but race starts and time on snow.

    “The primary goal was extended time on snow working on group and individual technique needs,” Grover wrote.  “Another goal of the camp was to touch base with racing.  Besides the Merino Muster, we had 3 AUS-NZ COC [Continental Cup] races.  All athletes had between 2-4 starts.”

    For athletes like Ogden, it was the chance to get race starts on snow without feeling pressure to perform that allowed her to focus on her technique and form during the camp.

    “I think that it was very valuable for my technique having a focused on snow block without the pressure of important races,” she wrote. “As for fitness I’m pretty happy with where I’m at, it was awesome to get some volume in and get to train with some older, more experienced athletes.”

    Ogden also competed in the first two races of the New Zealand nationals and placed fourth in both the classic sprint and 10 k classic mass start. She wrote she was “really happy” with her efforts in both races “optimistic about the upcoming season.”

    After arriving back in the U.S. last Thursday, most of the NZ camp athletes planned to spend a few days recovering before training at full steam again. The USST’s next camp is Oct. 17-31 in Park City, where most of its athletes will take part in high-elevation, dryland training. This year, the team opted out of its annual camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., which typically takes place in September and offers dryland training around sea level.

    “This year we dropped one camp from the schedule (total 4 camps) in order to prioritize high-quality camps followed by solid blocks of training for each athlete at home with their club teams,” Grover wrote. “We have at least 4 weeks at home for each athlete between camps.  I can’t remember the last time we didn’t have a camp in Lake Placid; I’ve personally been there the last 10 years in a row.  It’s a great training location and we love going there, so we will be back there in the future.  It simply didn’t fit this preparation period.”

    New Zealand nationals results: Classic sprint (women, men) | women’s 10 k classic mass start | 15 k classic mass start | women’s 5 k freestyle | men’s 10 k freestyle

    Merino Muster (Worldloppet) results: Men | Women (Complete results)

    — Alex Kochon contributed reporting

     

     

  • Irwin and Gelso Win Australian Hoppet; USST Goes 1-2 in New Zealand Marathon

    Irwin and Gelso Win Australian Hoppet; USST Goes 1-2 in New Zealand Marathon

    Left to right: Americans Mary Rose and Deedra Irwin, both of SVSEF, along with Australian Aimee Watson on the podium for the women's Kangroo Hoppet 42-kilometer maration,, on Saturday Aug. 27 in Falls Creek, Australia. (Photo: Kangroo Hoppet)
    Americans Mary Rose (l) and Deedra Irwin (second from l), both of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), along with Australian Aimee Watson on the podium at the women’s Kangroo Hoppet 42-kilometer freestyle marathon on Saturday, Aug. 27, in Falls Creek, Australia. (Photo: Kangroo Hoppet)

    Note: This article has been updated to include official results from the Merino Muster.

    In their first ski marathon south of the equator, a few Sun Valley Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team team members founds themselves on the podium two weekends ago at the Kangaroo Hoppet on Aug. 27. 

    After spending nearly a month training on snow in the land down under, SVSEF teammates Deedra Irwin and Matt Gelso finished their Australian training camp on top of the podium, winning the respective women’s and men’s 42-kilometer Hoppet, part of the Worldloppet marathon race series, in Falls Creek, Australia.

    “Not many people can say that they’ve skied and raced a marathon in Australia,” Irwin wrote in an email. “The Nordic ski community down there is also really supportive and was excited to have us there. There were lots of people cheering for us along the way.”

    Irwin skied most of the 42 k freestyle race alongside her Sun Valley teammate Mary Rose. From start to finish, Irwin explained it was predominately a race between the two of them, with Irwin outlasting Rose by 0.6 seconds with a winning time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 15.6 seconds. Finishing more than 12 minutes later, Aimee Watson was the leading Australian in third place (+12:17.7).

    “The competition was mostly just Mary and I from the start,”  Irwin wrote. “The race came down to a sprint … I got in front of her at the right time and was able to push through the finish first. Skiing with her during the Hoppet taught me a lot about marathon racing. She is a really strong skier and it was fun to be with her during the race and try to match her moves.”

    Sun Valley's Deedra Irwin after winning the 2016 Kangaroo Hoppet on Saturday Aug. 27, in Falls Creek, Australia. (Photo: Kangaroo Hoppet)
    Sun Valley’s Deedra Irwin after winning the 2016 Kangaroo Hoppet on Saturday Aug. 27, in Falls Creek, Australia. (Photo: Kangaroo Hoppet)

    Rose pointed out that there was plenty of competition besides her teammate.

    “Most of the Australian National Team competed, along with some AUS legends like Esther Bottomley,” Rose wrote in an email.

    Both Irwin and Rose plan to race another marathon this coming winter, the 2017 American Birkebeiner in February, which is also part of the Worldloppet marathon series. And next summer, Rose indicated that she might return to the Kangaroo Hoppet.

    “I don’t have any marathons on my race schedule for this coming year, except the Birkie,” Rose wrote. “I will for sure be returning to Australia to compete in this event, hopefully next year!”

    First across the line in the men’s race, Gelso beat out Australian national-team athletes Phillip Bellingham and Nick Montgomery, who finished in second and third, respectively. Just over the halfway point, Gelso explained the front group gradually began to dwindle.

    “It split up into five guys, maybe with 20 k left,” he said on the phone from Australia. “At 5 k I kind of blew off the front … and in the last 4 k it turned into, like, three separate people.”

    Gelso has raced at least two marathons before, finishing seventh in the 2014 American Birkie and 16th at the 2014 Engadin in Switzerland.

    For winning the Hoppet, both Irwin and Gelso received $1,300 Australian dollars, as well as a wooden plaque, compression socks and a mug. More than 230 men competed, and 64 women finished this year’s edition of the race. 

    “The organizers of the events and the volunteers involved put on a race that I will never forget,” Irwin wrote. “Thank you to the Australian ski community for having us there and letting us enjoy their beautiful winter.”

    American winner Matt Gelso (c), runner-up Phillip Bellingham (Australia), and third-place finisher Nick Montgomery (Australia) on the podium at the men's Kangaroo Hoppet 42-kilometer maration, on Saturday Aug. 27 in Falls Creek, Australia. (Photo: Kangaroo Hoppet)
    American winner Matt Gelso (c) with Australian runner-up Phillip Bellingham (l), and third-place finisher Nick Montgomery (r), also from Australia, after the men’s Kangaroo Hoppet 42-kilometer maration, on Saturday Aug. 27 in Falls Creek, Australia. (Photo: Kangaroo Hoppet)

    After the Hoppet, most of the SVSEF skiers headed back to the U.S. for a recovery week in Sun Valley, Idaho, before resuming training. Gelso and Rose opted to take their recovery week exploring Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, prior to flying home this coming Wednesday.

    “Everybody else is back, it’s just Mary and I here now,” Gelso said. “We’re kind of doing a recovery week right now, but when we get back, we’ll obviously have to get back into time zone … That’s kind of the plan: get back, get recovered and then get back into full training before we head to Frozen Thunder [in Canmore, Alberta].”

    Soaking up the Southern Hemisphere sun and a few last days of rest were also a part of Rose’s schedule.

    “I am hanging out in Sydney for a week visiting a friend,” she explained. “So I am putting in some beach time and being a tourist.”

    2016 Kangaroo Hoppet results: Women | Men

    Hoffman, Diggins Win Merino Muster 42 k

    The U.S. Ski Team took first and second in both the men's and women's races at the 22nd Merino Muster 42 k freestyle, with Noah Hoffman (second from l) winning the men's race over Simi Hamilton (l), and Jessie Diggins (r) outlasting Liz Stephen (second from r) for the women's win. Here, those top finishers pose with Wanaka's Mary Lee at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: USSA Nordic/Facebook)
    The U.S. Ski Team took first and second in both the men’s and women’s races at the 22nd Merino Muster 42 k freestyle, with Noah Hoffman (second from l) winning the men’s race over Simi Hamilton (l), and Jessie Diggins (r) outlasting Liz Stephen (second from r) for the women’s win. Here, those top finishers pose with Wanaka’s Mary Lee at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: USSA Nordic/Facebook)

    This past weekend in New Zealand, the U.S. Ski Team (USST) swept the overall top four in the 42 k Merino Muster at the Snow Farm in Wanaka. Noah Hoffman beat out his USST teammate Simi Hamilton for the overall victory, and Jessie Diggins was the fastest woman in third overall, 12 seconds ahead of teammate Liz Stephen in fourth.

    U.S. Ski Team members Simi Hamilton (c) and Noah Hoffman during the 2016 Merino Muster at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. Hoffman won the 42 k freestyle race, and Hamilton placed second. (Photo: USSA Nordic/Facebook)
    U.S. Ski Team members Simi Hamilton (c) and Noah Hoffman during the 2016 Merino Muster at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. Hoffman won the 42 k freestyle race, and Hamilton placed second. (Photo: USSA Nordic/Facebook)

    Hoffman won the skate race in 1:45:08 and Hamilton finished 23 seconds later in second place. U.S. coach Matt Whitcomb told the Otago Daily Times that Hoffman, the team’s leading distance skier, was working to improve his sprinting, while Hamilton, who has podiumed in World Cup sprints, wanted to improve his distance skiing.

    Two years ago, Hoffman placed second in the 2014 Merino Muster behind Poland’s three-time race champion Maciej Kreczmer. Canadian Para-Nordic visually impaired legend Brian McKeever won last year’s edition (as well as 2010 and 2011), ahead of his teammate and guide in Paralympic events, Graham Nishikawa.

    Clocking in third at 1:59:12 was Diggins and Stephen followed 12 seconds later as the second woman.

    Of 10 USST members in New Zealand, four raced — finishing first or second in their respective men’s and women’s races. Whitcomb told the Otago Times that the U.S. has held training camps at the Snow Farm for more than 16 years.

    This year, all but six of its athletes are there. Of those six, at least four — Alaska Pacific University skiers Kikkan Randall, Rosie Brennan, and Sadie and Erik Bjornsen — are training at home in Alaska on snow at Eagle Glacier.

    2016 Merino Muster results

  • USST Makes Up for Lost Snow Time in New Zealand; Next Up: Norway

    USST Makes Up for Lost Snow Time in New Zealand; Next Up: Norway

    Part of the USST contingent in New Zealand. From left to right: Matt Whitcomb, Andy Newell, Anouk Faivre-Picon, Sophie Caldwell (top), Noah Hoffman (bottom), Liz Stephen, Ben Saxton, Paddy Caldwell (Photo: Simi Hamilton)
    Part of the U.S. Ski Team contingent in New Zealand. From left to right: Matt Whitcomb, Andy Newell, Anouk Faivre Picon (of France), Sophie Caldwell (top), Noah Hoffman (bottom), Liz Stephen, Ben Saxton, and Paddy Caldwell (Photo: Simi Hamilton)

    On July 7, the U.S. Ski Team (USST) headed south to the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand, for its first on-snow camp of the offseason. Usually the team would have logged some spring skiing in May in Bend, Ore., but minimal-snow conditions at Mt. Bachelor led the USST to cancel its annual camp there.  Instead, the team relied on its mid-summer trip to the Southern Hemisphere to make up for the lost time on snow.

    “One reason we felt it was important to go to New Zealand this year was that we weren’t able to have our traditional camp at Mt. Bachelor,” USST Head Coach Chris Grover said on the phone. “We wanted to have a longer on-snow camp than we have had the last few years in the middle of the summer to try and make up some of those missed days on snow.”

    Nine USST athletes and three coaches from the lower 48 reported to camp — with A-team members Andy Newell, Simi Hamilton, Liz Stephen, Jessie Diggins, Sophie Caldwell, and Ida Sargent, B-team member Noah Hoffman, D-teamers Paddy Caldwell and Ben Saxton, as well as women’s coach Matt Whitcomb, assistant coach Jason Cork, and Grover. French World Cup skier Anouk Faivre Picon also joined the group.

    Of the 16 skiers nominated to the USST this spring, most of those who didn’t make the New Zealand trip trained with the Alaska Pacific University (APU) Elite Team in Anchorage. Instead, they had three shorter on-snow camps planned for Eagle Glacier, where the USST held a camp last summer and where several of the USST women have returned every year since 2011 for the North American Women’s Training Alliance.

    The women in New Zealand. From left to right: Anouk Faivre-Picon, Liz Stephen, Jessie Diggins, Ida Sargent, Sophie Caldwell. (photo: Sophie Caldwell)
    The U.S. Ski Team women in New Zealand plus France’s Anouk Faivre Picon (l). From left to right: Liz Stephen, Jessie Diggins, Ida Sargent, Sophie Caldwell. (Photo: Sophie Caldwell)

    For the athletes in Alaska, it is easy to take advantage of Eagle Glacier’s location. But for everyone else, a longer trip to New Zealand made more sense this year, Grover explained.

    “Alaska is awesome, but Eagle Glacier really lends itself to about six days of skiing up there and then its time to come down and take a rest with the way that everything is set up, the way the living situation and everything works,” he said. “[The APU skiers] have their plan that they get from [their coach] Erik Flora. … They are getting on Eagle Glacier three times: once in each summer month, June, July, and August. I understand it, I mean, when you have skiing out your back door, it makes it a little bit hard to make the move all the way down to the Southern Hemisphere.”

    But for the rest of the USST, the 15-day camp at the Snow Farm was ideal, with easily accessible ski trails along a ridge and an accommodating staff willing to groom specifically for them.

    “It’s a fantastic place for just focusing on training as much as you want and eating and sleeping and recovering in between,” Grover said. “Typical days were breakfast, ski for two and a half, three hours until lunch, [then] lunch, a little bit of recovery time, and then an afternoon workout — that was usually skiing — and then dinner and some technique review and that sort of thing from the day, maybe some PT [physical therapy]-type work in the evening if necessary and then to bed.”

    With so much ski time paired with effective recovery, the athletes accomplished one big goal of the camp: ticking off a lot of kilometers in on snow. Another group goal was to refine technique to make for the kind of technical training it would have normally done at Mt. Bachelor in May.

    Skiing during the sunrise (photo: Simi Hamilton)
    Skiing into the sunrise. (Photo: Simi Hamilton)

    “One thing that we spent a lot of time on down there was herringbone technique because it’s not something you can train dryland training on rollerskis,” Grover said. “For the most part, it needs to be trained on snow. The athletes also worked on technique fundamentals, doing a lot classic and skate skiing without poles.”

    While hours on snow and technique remained the main focus, the group also incorporated strength and intensity into its camp.

    “Every third day would be some sort of intensity in the morning and then half the group would go down to Wanaka to either run, or to lift, or to do both whereas the other half of the group might stay up and use the small gym and ski and lift up top,” Grover explained. “As a whole, everyone is kind of making good gains, some really good gains in strength happening right now.”

    The group also made sure to have some fun. One off day, everyone went to Queenstown and went go-carting. They also did a couple photo shoots with new USST clothing sponsor L.L. Bean. Grover said the team had fun with the usual ski camp stuff and “did a great job of supporting each other and taking care of each other.”

    The team was able to trek to New Zealand because of an increased budget from the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and some fundraising from the team itself. Last year, the team had to forgo a camp there because of a lack of funds.

    “Luckily, this year we were able to really not even take the budget as much into consideration as we had in the previous year, but to do what we felt was the best program for the team,” Grover noted.

    USST members enjoyed excellent skiing conditions (photo: Sophie Caldwell)
    USST members enjoyed excellent skiing conditions. (Photo: Sophie Caldwell)

    Now back in the U.S., team members are spending time with their local clubs, continuing their summer training before their next USST camp in Norway. Kikkan Randall, Diggins, Caldwell, Stephen, Newell, Hamilton, and Hoffman depart for Norway on Aug. 9, where the main focus will be on competing in the Toppidrettsveka, a three-day rollerski competition in Aure, Knyken, and Trondheim from Aug. 20-22, which several national teams attend.

    The trip is for the more experienced World Cup athletes who are looking to gauge themselves against the world’s best. “For some athletes, that just didn’t really fit in to what they felt like they needed to be doing in August whereas others felt like they really did need to have a measuring stick to see where they were against the competition,” Grover said.

    Reflecting on New Zealand, Grover was positive: “It was a really good camp. We feel like we really accomplished what we set out to accomplish with it,” he said. “I think that athletes, everybody is coming back tired, knowing that they put in about as many kilometers in good snow conditions as they could really hope for.”

  • Hoffman Lone U.S. Ski Team Member to Train in New Zealand

    Hoffman Lone U.S. Ski Team Member to Train in New Zealand

    Polish skier Maciej Kreczmer leads Noah Hoffman in the 2014 Merino Muster at the Snow Farm in New Zealand. Noah Hoffman spent roughly two weeks training at the Wanaka venue. (Photo: Noah Hoffman/NoahHoffman.Com)
    Poland’s Maciej Kreczmer (r) leads Noah Hoffman (c) in the 2014 Merino Muster at the Snow Farm in New Zealand. Hoffman spent roughly two weeks training at the Wanaka venue. (Photo: Noah Hoffman/NoahHoffman.com)

    Noah Hoffman isn’t one to take his training lightly. The way he sees it, a serious-and-dedicated plan will allow the the 25-year-old U.S. Ski Team (USST) member to achieve his lofty career goals, which include winning an Olympic gold medal and an FIS World Cup Distance Globe.

    Given his driven nature, Hoffman is willing to venture outside the standard USST plan in order to bolster his training and address what he’s identified as his weaknesses.

    This summer, that meant participating in a solo camp at New Zealand’s Snow Farm following the USST men’s camp in Alaska.

    From Aug. 9 t0 Aug. 25, Hoffman had 15 full days of on-snow training at the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. Over the course of his camp, he trained more than 50 hours.

    For Hoffman, the decision to make the summer trip to New Zealand was easy. He’s been adding the trip to his training plan for the last three years and finds that the often-fast, hard snow is ideal for his technique work. This year, he said conditions were especially favorable.

    The view from the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. Accodring to Hoffman, the conditions were the best he's seen in five years at the venue. (Photo: Noah Hoffman/NoahHoffman.com)
    The view from the Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. Accodring to Hoffman, the conditions were the best he’s seen in five years at the venue. (Photo: Noah Hoffman/NoahHoffman.com)

    “I had the best snow conditions that I’ve seen in any of my five years going there,” he wrote in an email. “I was hard-wax skiing the entire time and had 14 days of beautiful weather.”

    Hoffman explained that his New Zealand trip served as an additional on-snow camp used to supplement the USST camp schedule. For the Colorado native, his continued on-snow training has helped him improve his technique.

    “I think the additional on-snow time has been essential to the technique improvements that I’ve made in the last two years and is critical to my technique goals for this summer and beyond,” he wrote.

    While Hoffman appreciates the value of North-American summer glacier camps, he found that New Zealand’s skiing better replicated winter World Cup conditions.

    “Training at the Snow Farm is significantly more valuable than on-snow time on a glacier in the Northern Hemisphere,” he wrote. “Glacier skiing is slow and soft. It is a different type of skiing than we see at most venues in the winter.”

    Often times during the race season, World Cup venues are hit with warm conditions and organizers salt the course to increase snow speed.

    Even though Hoffman was the sole USST member to travel to New Zealand this year, his coaches and teammates who remained stateside were extremely supportive.

    “They understand my goals and support the plan that my personal coaches and I believe is best for my training,” Hoffman explained.

    The Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Noah Hoffman/NoahHoffman.com)
    The Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Noah Hoffman/NoahHoffman.com)

    While most of his training in New Zealand was spent alone, Hoffman was able to connect with Canada’s multiple-time Paralympic gold medalist Brian McKeever and one of his guides Graham Nishikawa for several training sessions. And when he wasn’t training, Hoffman spent meals with the Canadian Para-Nordic Team.

    “That social activity was critical for me to stay happy down there,” he wrote.

    Hoffman’s training also included the 2014 Merino Muster. The 42 k freestyle mass start took place on Aug. 16 and included several international competitors, such as Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk.

    Hoffman placed second, 11 seconds behind Poland’s Maciej Kreczmer.

    While he would have liked to win the race, he wrote on his blog that he was happy with the outcome and that the race served as an excellent intensity workout.

    “The goal is not to be good in August,” he wrote. 

    Hoffman also allotted time for some lighthearted charity work. With the help of his Canadian counterparts, he participated in the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Ice Bucket Challenge, a social-media phenomenon intended to raise awareness and research funding for the illness, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

    Hoffman returned to the U.S. on Aug. 25, where he will continue the remainder of his summer training. This year he will sit out the USST Lake Placid camp in New York (taking place Aug. 26-Sept. 7), as his trip to New Zealand served as its replacement.

    Reflecting on his summer, Hoffman said his training was “almost ideal,” citing his health, happiness, and technique improvement. Looking ahead, he feels prepared for the season ahead.

    “I believe I’m really well set up to transition to higher intensity and more race-type fitness as the fall progresses,” he wrote. “I’m very happy and excited with the way things have gone.”

    The Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Noah Hoffman/Noahhoffman.com)
    The Snow Farm in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo: Noah Hoffman/Noahhoffman.com)

     

  • Casting Traditional Sponsorship Aside, Small Wisconsin Business Brings Skiers Together from Around the World

    Casting Traditional Sponsorship Aside, Small Wisconsin Business Brings Skiers Together from Around the World

    Victoria Hernandez rollerskis in her native Spain while wearing there Out There training kit. Hernandez was the first member of the Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team. The Team now has seven members and aims to support its athletes through a family-like environment. (Photo: Out There/Facebook
    Victoria Padial Hernandez rollerskis in her native Spain while wearing there Out There training kit. Padial was the first member of the Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team, and in 2014 won silver in both the sprint and the pursuit at Open European Championships, becoming the first Spanish athlete to ever medal at the event. The Team now has seven members and aims to support its athletes through a family-like environment. (Photo: Out There/Facebook)

    Spain. New Zealand. Hungary. Lithuania. Brazil. The U.K. The Netherlands. The U.S.

    At first glance these countries have very little in common when it comes to skiing. In fact, it’s rare to hear of high performing World Cup athletes from many of these nations, let alone a team that boasts members from all eight of these counties.

    Despite the lack of apparent ties, one small-town ski shop in Wisconsin is joining forces with nordic athletes from each country in order to help grow the sport and in the process they’re building a family.

    It all started roughly seven years ago when Kristen and Bjørn Hanson were attempting to bring a ski shop to Rice Lake, a small town in northern Wisconsin with less than 9,000 residents.

    Bjørn, who is the U.S. board member for the World Loppet Skiers Association, knew there was a demand in the community but everyone he approached dismissed the idea, saying that nearby Hayward would be a more suitable location.

    One of the logos for the Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team. in the 2014/2015 season the team boasts eight athletes from eight different countries. (Photo: Out There/Facebook)
    One of the logos for the Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team. in the 2014/2015 season the team boasts eight athletes from eight different countries. (Photo: Out There/Facebook)

    It wasn’t until their long-time friend and Fischer/Swix representative for the Midwest, John Theis, suggested that Hanson open the shop himself that the Rice Lake shop came into fruition.

    The move made sense. Hanson had a long history with cross country skiing. He was an avid cross country skier and had a strong Norwegian heritage with many family members still in the Scandinavian country.

    “It wasn’t an option,” said Hanson about his introduction to skiing in a phone interview. “You were born and then you had skis slapped on your feet a couple years later. The rest was history.”

    Not only did a background in cross country skiing qualify the Wisconsinite to open a ski shop, he also had extensive experience in retail.  To this day, Hanson runs a paint and decorating business in Rice Lake that is the anchor store of the town’s main street. Situated in a 1904 Victorian, the family business has been a facet of the town for 38 years.

    Hanson and his wife realized that with such a large facility, there was room for more than just paint. After rearranging the store, the couple utilized two rooms in the house in what would be called Out There.

    Today, Out There has become a fully outfitted ski shop and has grown from two rooms to encompass the entire basement, four rooms on the main floor, and a strength facility in the warehouse behind the shop.

    That’s not the only way Out There has grown. After the Hansons’ son became interested in Biathlon, Hanson turned to a graphic designer to create a biathlon logo for the store. The task was only a whim at the time, but when Hanson realized the O in Out could be used as a biathlon target, he became excited about the possibilities.

    Out There athlete, Sarah Murphy of New Zealand, practicing her shot in 2013. (Photo: Out There/Facebook)
    Out There athlete, Sarah Murphy of New Zealand, practicing her shot in 2013. (Photo: Out There/Facebook)

    Soon after the creation of the new logo, Hanson was contacted by a British representative who said he had a Spanish biathlete, Victoria Hernandez, who was interested in expanding her image. Open to the idea of partnering with an athlete or two, Hanson and Hernandez discussed how the shop could best support an athlete from a non-traditional nordic nation.

    The shop agreed to sponsor Hernandez, and as word spread of how Out There was supporting those on the fringe of nordic sports, more and more athletes got in touch with the store.

    “There’s been this snowball effect and we are continuing to grow,” Hanson said of the Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team. “We are getting emails about once a month from either an athlete or coach who is asking about us. We take each situation and see if it is a good fit for what we are doing.”

    Represented by the biathlon logo that was originally created on a whim, the Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team has grown to a fully fledged team. In the 2014/2015 season Out There will be sponsoring eight athletes from eight nations, all of whom are biathletes and one who is also a cross country ski racer.

    Out There makes an attractive sponsor for several reasons that have very little to do with financial gain.

    Bjørn and Kristin work with each athlete individually to tailor a sponsorship that fits their needs. That could mean financial support, subsidized gear, or getting them in contact with other potential sponsors.

    “We’re this extended family that is championing what they want to do. We try not to do it from a business standpoint, but from a family standpoint.”

    For biathlete Katrina Howe, Out There’s first American athlete, the Hansons have crafted a unique plan in which the skier sells homemade knit hats and earrings through the shop and it’s website. Out There has also helped her set up her own Facebook page to promote the hats, which she calls Foxy Toppers.

    Out There collects no income from any of her products, and sends her the full profits via PayPal once a sale is made.

    “Some people would mark it up and try to make a cut on it, but we’re just trying to promote it and make more money for the athletes,“ Hanson said.

    Out There also attempts to ensure its athletes have a plan for the future, whether or not that includes skiing.

    “Some day you have so become a person. Maybe that’s is coaching, or a wax tech, or selling who knows what,” Hanson said. “That is something that you have to think about as you progress in your professional athletic life. I think a lot of athletes haven’t thought about that so we’re trying to assist them by laying the foundation for them to get into the things that can allow them to help build the sport in ten years. “

    At the end of the day, Out There is all about growing nordic skiing by creating a strong support system for fringe athletes.

    “The more we grow the sport the more potential business there is for everyone. If we don’t grow the sport it is too small,” explained Hanson. “When you look at the globe and realize that the client base comes from north of the 45th parallel, you realize you don’t have billions of potential customers.”

    Perhaps the most important aspect of an Out There sponsorship is its inclusion into a tight-knit community. In order to ensure the sport continues to grow, Out There aims to build a family environment for its racers that can support them regardless of whether they are from Hungary or Brazil.

    “We’re this extended family that is championing what they want to do,” Hanson said. “We try not to do it from a business standpoint, but from a family standpoint.”

    Leandro Lutz is a member of the Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team. A native of Brazil, Lutz often jokes that there aren't many people rollerskiing in his country. Lutz will travel to the U.S. in July to train with Out There before he heads to Europe in the fall (Photo: Out There/Facebook)
    Leandro Lutz is a member of the Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team. A native of Brazil, Lutz often jokes that there aren’t many people rollerskiing in his country. Lutz will travel to the U.S. in July to train with Out There before he heads to Europe in the fall in the hopes of attending the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Out There/Facebook)

    This family orientation means that the Hansons will regularly host athletes in their home. Last year Sarah Murphy, a biathlete from New Zealand, spent several weeks with them while she was racing in the 2014 Berkie. Another athlete, Leandro Lutz, will travel from his native Brazil to Rice Lake in July so that he can train in Wisconsin with Out There before he heads to Europe in the fall. This year he hopes to qualify for the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden.

    Hanson also described some other nontraditional support that the team gives its athletes. He said that he’s received many emails asking advice for personal issues. Recently an Out There teammate asked for guidance regarding his girlfriend. Hanson was more than happy to help.

    Hanson explained that many people are initially perplexed by Out There’s model, but that eventually the team’s intimate nature makes sense.

    When Out There first started its relationship with Murphy, one of the team’s first athletes, the New Zealand biathlete was very skeptical of the program.

    “When she first contacted us she said she was very leery but thought that she would extend a hand and contact us,” said Hanson. “The first couple times we talked she thought it was too bizarre. Why would someone want to do this when there is no initial financial gain or little face-to-face contact? Then she realized that we were trying to do this in order to grow the sport.”

    “Sarah Murphy always jokes ‘Bjorn and Kris decided to open a ski shop. Rule number one: change the world. Rule number two: sell some ski stuff.’”

    When asked about the future of the Out There team, Hanson said that he and his wife don’t have any concrete plans.

    “I don’t like to set too many plans because you miss opportunities because you are settling with one plan,” he said.

    The Hansons plan to talk with their athletes and see what they think is best for the direction of the Out There shop and team. Regardless of future expansion or developments, the small Wisconsin shop will continue to support its team in an manner that helps grow the sport of skiing.

    Highlighted by a joke from Murphy, Hanson sums up his shop and its future direction in one sentence.

    “Sarah Murphy always jokes: ‘Bjorn and Kris decided to open a ski shop. Rule number one: change the world. Rule number two: sell some ski stuff.’”

  • FIS Registration Due For Southern Hemisphere Races

    2013 Kangaroo Hoppet at Falls Creek - Leading Women - Chisa Obayashi, JPN (in purple) & Marina Chernousova, RUS (in red)
    2013 Kangaroo Hoppet at Falls Creek – Leading Women – Chisa Obayashi, JPN (in purple) & Marina Chernousova, RUS (in red)

    Press Release, June 20, 2014

    Temperatures are dropping and the ski fields in Australia and New Zealand will soon be opening. In Australia cross country skiing club races begin at the start of July, with all FIS competitions in AUS and NZL taking place in August. Any elite international racers planning to compete in FIS races in the southern hemisphere should note that FIS registration for the 2014/2015 season is now due. Athletes wishing to be on the 1st FIS points list for the season and to have their points count for southern hemisphere races should ensure that their FIS registration is processed by their National Ski Federation and sent to FIS before June 30.

    The schedule for the FIS Australia – New Zealand Continental Cup is as follows:

    August 2 – Perisher, AUS – Sprint Classic

    August 3 – Perisher, AUS – 5/10km Freestyle

    August 7 – Snow Farm, NZL – Sprint Freestyle

    August 9 – Snow Farm, NZL – 5/10km Freestyle

    August 10 – Snow Farm, NZL – 10/15km C Mass Start

    August 16 – Falls Creek, AUS – Sprint Freestyle

    August 17 – Falls Creek, AUS – 10/15km Classic

    August 23 – Falls Creek, AUS – Kangaroo Hoppet 42km Freestyle (Worldloppet)

    Link to all race on FIS site: 2014 AUS/NZL FIS Races

    International athletes seeking additional information on racing in Australia should contact Finn Marsland, Ski & Snowboard Australia High Performance Manager, via email on: finn.marsland@gmail.com

    Ski & Snowboard Australia Cross Country – AUSXC

    www.facebook.com/ausxc

    Twitter: @ausxc
  • Mindful Babikov Plans to Pace Season for Olympic Peak

    Mindful Babikov Plans to Pace Season for Olympic Peak

    Ivan Babikov (CAN) racing to a career-best fourth in Wednesday's 15 k freestyle individual start at World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Fiemme2013)
    Ivan Babikov (CAN) racing to a career-best fourth in the 15 k freestyle individual start at 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Fiemme2013)

    Ivan Babikov knows the deal when it comes to Olympic years. Having already competed in two previous Olympics, the Canadian World Cup Team member is entering this season with the confidence that comes from knowing how the game works. At 33, he’s essentially prequalified for this season’s Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and so far all of his prep work is going according to plan.

    Babikov ended last season with some serious fatigue, but all wasn’t lost.

    “It actually turned out the best ever,” he wrote on his blog. “With scoring points in pretty much every World Cup Race before Christmas, awesome result at Tour de Ski, and 4th place at the World Championship 15km skate race, which let me finish in top 20 in the World Cup Overall.”

    Babikov biking on the South Rim Trail at the California training camp this fall. (Photo: ivanbabikov.com)
    Babikov biking on the South Rim Trail at the California training camp this fall. (Photo: ivanbabikov.com)

    Babikov’s fourth-place finish at World Championships was the best ever by a Canadian man in that event, and his runner-up result at the Tour de Ski hill climb earlier the season — also in Val di Fiemme, Italy — was also notable.

    After that the World Championships, the effects of the long season started to kick in. He struggled with sickness for the next several weeks of World Cups, won the 10k classic race at Canadian Nationals, and then hit the wall.

    “I just went straight to vacation, without even finishing Canadian Nationals,” Babikov continued. “I was exhausted mentally and physically, tank was empty, no juice left.”

    After a bit of a reboot, Babikov moved on from that exhausting-yet-successful season to build upon what he knows works for him.

    His early season saw the familiar iteration of a June training camp in Bend, Ore., followed by a New Zealand camp in August, where Babikov has been going for the past six years.

    Babikov getting some cross-training during his national-team training camp this summer in Bend, Ore. (Photo: ivanbabikov.com)
    Babikov getting some cross-training during his national-team training camp this summer in Bend, Ore. (Photo: Ivan Babikov)

    The Canadians have the benefit of training on the Haig glacier just outside of Canmore, Alberta, where Babikov lives. Even so, the Russian native feels that the benefits of accessing many kilometres of trail, combined with the mid-winter conditions, more than make up for the hassle of travelling to New Zealand.

    This fall included a new national-team camp in Truckee, Calif., for high-altitude training. Besides that, Babikov has stuck to his usual regimen.

    “[I’m] not trying to reinvent the bicycle, you know how they say?” Babikov said in a recent phone interview.

    However, with the lessons of last season, Babikov’s main goal for this winter is to “pace the season well and pace the energy.”

    “The season is long, and the Olympics are at the end of it, so you’ve got to pace [the World Cup races and the Tour de Ski] and get in good shape for February,” he said. “That’s what matters the most. But, yeah, we’ll see what’s gonna happen.”

    Ivan Babikov (r) and his teammates on the Canadian World Cup team, Alex Harvey (c) and Lenny Valjas (l), during a rollerski near Truckee, Calif., in October. (Photo: Ivan Babikov)
    Ivan Babikov (r) and his teammates on the Canadian World Cup team, Alex Harvey (c) and Lenny Valjas (l), during a rollerski near Truckee, Calif., in October. (Photo: Ivan Babikov)

    Babikov has already seen some indication that his fitness is close to where he wants it;  in an informal time trial at Canmore’s Frozen Thunder earlier this month, Babikov beat a solid group of Canadian and U.S. competitors in the distance skate race.

    Looking ahead to the Olympics in February, Babikov is especially excited about racing in his country of birth. Although he was born and raised in Kozhva, a tiny town close to the Arctic Circle far away from Sochi, he said, “It’s going to be special … going back to your motherland and race. Not many athletes in the world get a chance to race two home Olympics. … I raced one in Vancouver and then [Sochi]. That’s already pretty special.”

    At the same time, he doesn’t want to put too much emphasis on his results there.

    “It’s all energy wasting … thinking too much and then getting too excited and too psyched,” he said. “I try to waste as least energy as possible and then just focus on the races.”

    Fortunately, he said the courses suit him.

    “There’s [a] huge uphill in the skate part and of course I love that,” Babikov said. “Harder is better for me. I’m not super-speedy guy, but I can manage those uphills.”

    “What matters most is that the athletes are in the top shape for the best moment for those two weeks,” he added. “Whoever feels the best is going to [do best]. That’s why it’s so important to pace your season and save some energy for February.”

    And, despite racing as a Canadian, Babikov is not worried about feeling like an outsider in his homeland.

    “I still have my Russian passport and I’m still Russian,” he said. “We [my wife and kids] still speak Russian at home. So it’s like when some people have two houses, but they’re both home, and that’s kind of what it is for me. Of course, my home home is Canada, but I still know so much about Russia and it’s not going to be weird at all. It’s going to be like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve been here so much and I’m comfortable here,’ that kind of stuff.”

    Until leaving for the World Cup circuit at the end of November, Babikov is doing his best to keep things normal and spend time with the family. His 11-year-old son Sergei, a budding biathlete, has his first race coming up.

    “He’s going to start racing even before me!” Babikov says.

    Ivan Babikov and his son, Sergei, in 2008. (Photo: Ivan Babikov)
    Ivan Babikov and his son Sergei, now 11, in 2008. (Photo: Ivan Babikov)
  • The Road to Sochi Isn’t Easy for Those from Non-Skiing Nations

    The Road to Sochi Isn’t Easy for Those from Non-Skiing Nations

    Wearing the colors of the Maine Winter Sports Center, Anna van der Rhee of The Netherlands races toward a Dutch national title. (Photo: Bert Romani, Courtesy: Anna van der Rhee)
    Wearing the colors of the Maine Winter Sports Center, Anna van der Rhee of The Netherlands races toward a Dutch national title last winter. (Photo: Bert Romani)

    The Netherlands is a flat-as-a-pancake country with nearly snowless winters.

    But according to Anna van der Rhee, who grew up in northern Maine and had a successful college skiing career at the University of Utah before marrying a Dutchman, there is an enthusiastic group of cross-country skiers there.

    Van der Rhee, 30, won the Dutch National Championships (held in Germany) in 2012, prompting some to suggest she try for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. She said her initial reaction was laughter, but after some consideration, she thought, “Why not?”

    Every country is entitled to enter one man and one woman into the Olympic sprint or 10/15 k, granted the individual has a “B” standard (sub-300 FIS point) rating at the distance they wish to compete in.

    An “A” standard (100-point maximum on the FIS distance points list or 120-point maximum sprint rating) gives the athlete the right to compete in more events. The qualifying window for Sochi is July 2012 to January 19, 2014.

    Van der Rhee raced last season while maintaining a full-time job in scientific research. In April, realizing this may be her only opportunity to make the Olympics, she quit her job and became a full-time skier.

    With support from the Maine Winter Sports Center and its competitive programs director Will Sweetser, van der Rhee and her husband will balance a single income while traveling to FIS-scored events, which are not found in The Netherlands. She currently has 181.63 distance points, giving her the “B” standard.

    Though she has technically qualified for the Olympics, the Dutch Ski Federation and Dutch Olympic Committee do not want to send athletes to the Games to compete for last place, according to van der Rhee. The Netherlands does not have specific performance standards of its own, but will decide if van der Rhee is worthy of the Olympics.

    “I would love to raise the profile of the sport and help generate interest, especially among younger athletes,” van der Rhee wrote in an email. “I imagine that this is also a goal in other countries without developed competition programs, and that sending athletes to the Olympics is a means to this end. That said, I fully understand the viewpoints of the Dutch organizations in only wanting to send athletes who can be successful, although it could be debated as to what the definition of ‘successful’ then may be. In any case, I certainly would not want to be at the Olympics just to compete for last place.”

    Sarah Murphy grew up in Canmore, Alberta, but has dual citizenship in Canada and New Zealand.

    Sarah Murphy, New Zealand's lone IBU and biathlon World Cup representative, training before an event. (Photo: Federico Fontana, Courtesy: Sarah Murphy)
    Sarah Murphy, New Zealand’s lone IBU and biathlon World Cup representative, training before an event. (Photo: Federico Fontana)

    She moved to New Zealand in 2008 and made the national team, competing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

    In biathlon, an athlete must have two results at an International Biathlon Union (IBU) Cup, Open European Championships, World Championships, or World Cup that are a maximum of 20 percent behind the average time of the top three finishers. Younger athletes may qualify with two top-half placings at Junior World Championships. Olympic quota spots are disbursed based on the team results of the last two World Championships.

    In addition to the International Olympic Committee’s qualifying standards, New Zealand has criteria of its own. Murphy must place in the top 50 percent of half the World Cups she competes in. In an email, she explained she’s hoping for a good start to the season after struggling with sickness and a broken rifle last year.

    Murphy, 25, was recently informed by the New Zealand Olympic Committee that she has little to no chance of going to Sochi, despite being New Zealand’s only IBU and World Cup representative. Combined with last season’s results, even a strong start this year will likely fall short of New Zealand’s criteria.

    “It is frustrating,” Murphy wrote. “I understand if you have a big team, and I understand the IOC standard, but I do not understand New Zealand’s reluctance to support winter sport, other than those in the top 16 in the world.”

    The highest-ranked Argentinian nordic skier in the world, Fede Cichero, 29, hit the “B” standard with 130 points on the latest distance list and will be granted an Olympic berth.

    Cichero started this Olympic cycle, his first, with no equipment and often had to travel to races without a coach and only a small wax box. He trained in Vermont and Colorado and received contributions from American ski clubs and businesses. In an email, Cichero explained he recently secured financial support through the Argentine federal government and the National Entity for High Performance Sports (ENARD).

    “After all this is over, what would be equally meaningful to me, is to help cross-country in Argentina and South America,” Cichero said, according to friend and translator Matt Muir. “Ushuaia, for example, has enormous raw potential and it would help my country in many ways if we could improve access to skiing and other outdoor activities.”

    The “B” standard creates a balance of Olympic values – inclusion of all nations while maintaining the highest athletic standards. For van der Rhee, Murphy and some other skiers from countries FIS has termed “exotic,” the fulfillment of an Olympic dream relies on the judgment of their own nation’s officials.

  • Before Olympics, U.S. and Canadian National Teams Train at Both New and Familiar Venues

    Before Olympics, U.S. and Canadian National Teams Train at Both New and Familiar Venues

    The Snow Farm in New Zealand. The Canadian National Ski Team and U.S. men will return there this August for a two week on-snow training camp.
    The Snow Farm in New Zealand. The Canadian National Ski Team and U.S. men will return there this August for a two week on-snow training camp.

    As U.S. and Canadian national team members continue to log hours this June on snow, asphalt and trails, they have several more training camps on tap for the remainder of the season to look forward to. The first World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland, isn’t until the end of November, but when you start to break down the North American training schedules by camp and month, the offseason suddenly looks much shorter.

    The two nations have a history of holding joint camps in the offseason; last month in Bend, Ore., the teams often skied together on rollerskis and on snow at Mt. Bachelor. The teams separated after Bend; the U.S. Ski Team migrated to Park City, Utah, for an altitude camp and series of treadmill tests. Liz Stephen traveled to Norway and Sweden to train with national team members there, and the Canadians split for their respective homes, which for Perianne Jones, Ivan Babikov and Devon Kershaw meant Canmore, Alberta.

    For their next training blocks, the U.S. Ski Team and Canadian National Ski Team diverge. The Canadian men and women will be back in Bend in late June for a two-week dryland camp, while the Americans have a month-long block of home-based training to follow Park City.

    “By design, we have a really open summer,” said USST head coach Chris Grover. “The idea was to really allow each athlete to build some momentum in their home club environment and home training environment, and to really make some progress with their day-to-day training over the summer. So everyone’s got quality at-home time in the summer, some on-snow opportunity.”

    When the training season transitions to fall, U.S. athletes will be together more often than not. “[It is] a little more of an intensive camp schedule once we get into the fall, as the volume drops and we’re typically doing more intensity,” Grover said.

    In between now and October, the U.S. men and women each have a separate two-week training camp on the schedule. The women will once again be in Alaska starting in mid-July for a half dryland, half on-snow camp in Anchorage and on Eagle Glacier. In 2012, the women’s Alaska camp included Finnish guest athlete Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, and Grover indicated another guest invitation was currently being finalized.

    The U.S. men have a longer break built into their camp schedule, but will travel all the way to the New Zealand’s Snow Farm to return to snow for group training in mid-August. After trying something new with a men’s camp in Ramsau, Austria, and Oberhof, Germany, last year, Grover is returning his team to familiar ground before the Olympics. He says they found the quality of skiing on Dachstein glacier to be inconsistent and the Oberhof ski hall wasn’t suited for long sessions.

    “Dachstein in the morning is good, but in the afternoon it’s typically not very good, depending on the weather,” Grover said. “In the ski hall there’s only so much skiing you really want to do on a daily basis inside there.

    At the Snow Farm, he says, the snow is more consistent and offers higher quality skiing for longer training sessions. With the Canadian men scheduled to be there at the same time, the location also offers more opportunity for group workouts.

    New Zealand also provides the potential for some early head-to-head competition. The New Zealand Winter Games take place there in August and include three FIS races at the Snow Farm. The U.S. will miss the first two races, a 15 k mass start classic and a 10 k individual freestyle, while they fly down, but Grover thinks there is a possibility the U.S. men will jump into the freestyle sprint on August 15 for their second day on snow. Whether they compete or not, he expects the camp to be a quality one.

    “New Zealand has been a go-to for us since 2002 and we’ve really come away from it so many times going, ‘That was a really great camp,’ ” Grover said. “We took a look around and tried something different last year, but I think because it’s an Olympic year, we know we can get a ton of great skiing down there and we know we can come away from the camp having had a fantastic camp. It made sense to go back down.”

    When fall intensity ramps up the USST will return once again to Lake Placid, N.Y., followed by a return to Park City for another altitude block and a final pre-season camp in Canmore on the stockpiled snow of Frozen Thunder.

    “We had a great camp up there last year and I think one of the reasons the team hit the ground running so well in the fall World Cup was because we had that extra eight days of on snow time that we haven’t had in previous years for some of the athletes,” Grover said of Canmore.

    After New Zealand, the CNST’s October camp takes them to a new venue: Truckee, Calif., instead of Park City. Women’s coach Eric de Nys explained in an email that they wanted a new location for their October camp.

    “We wanted a fresh place to do the training this year and we feel we can achieve our objectives for this camp better in Truckee,” he wrote.

    — Alex Matthews contributed reporting.

  • Canadian Men Leave NZ ‘Feeling Good,’ Cracking Jokes

    Canadian Men Leave NZ ‘Feeling Good,’ Cracking Jokes

    Canadian World Cup team member Alex Harvey crashes and burns during a head-to-head sprint with one of his teammates at the Snow Farm near Wanaka, New Zealand, where the team recently spent two weeks training. (Photo from XC Canada video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8roNOx3M0dk)

    Just over two weeks ago, the Canadian men’s cross-country ski team made the long journey to New Zealand in search of some low-altitude, on-snow volume training. According to head coach Justin Wadsworth, they planned to work on intensity and climbing steep hills.

    That was the plan, and after checking in with Wadsworth before the team left for home on Wednesday, he wrote in an email that all went well. In fact, he described the camp as excellent.

    “Overall we are ahead in every aspect from where we were last year,” Wadsworth wrote. “So I’m very pleased.”

    Lenny Valjas (l) and Alex Harvey while being filmed at the Snow Farm in New Zealand. (From: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8roNOx3M0dk)

    While the four World Cup teammates — Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey, Ivan Babikov and Lenny Valjas — put in some long days at the Snow Farm near Wanaka, they also had some fun. The team posted a YouTube video called, “Snow Farm – New Zealand – August 2012” to sum up their time there, which was mostly a laughing matter.

    In one scene, the four men stand stand on a treeless trail high above the landscape while taking a break during training. Valjas looks to his left.

    “Pop questions for our teammate Ivan Babikov,” he says.

    “Hey Babs, what’s your spirit animal?” Kershaw chimes in.

    Babikov laughs. “Unicorn?”

    Devon Kershaw (l) interviews Ivan Babikov in an XC Canada video at the Snow Farm in New Zealand. (From: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8roNOx3M0dk)

    The camera pans to Harvey: “Hey Babs, can you explain why we see the moon and the sun at the same time?”

    Babikov pauses. “We’re way down deep south. That’s why.”

    They all laughed, and then it was probably back to training. At least that’s what the videos shows. But between jumping out to scare Kershaw at surprising moments and doing penguin-like belly slides on skis, the Canadian men did have a productive camp. Wadsworth pointed out the quality of a couple speed sessions and hefty amount of technique work.

    “Maybe one of the best days was a crust cruise up to the top of the Pisa Range [the plateau where the Snow Farm is located] on a bluebird day,” he wrote.

    Snow conditions were good despite a thin snow year, he added. The team has also never skied in New Zealand this late in the season (they typically travel there about two weeks earlier in August for the Winter Games NZ races with other international skiers).

    “Really the only hitch was 2 of the 4 guys got a 24 hour flu,” Wadsworth wrote about Harvey and Babikov’s illness about halfway through the camp. “This happened on the morning of the classic time trial we had planned, so we had to move things around a bit, Alex and Ivan bounced back quickly and even though they were rooming with Devon and Lenny the flu didn’t spread.”

    Asked how he was feeling, Harvey responded in an email from the airport that he was doing well.

    “I’m coming out of the camp not really tired,” he wrote. “It’s hard to know what [the sickness] was exactly. … It was quick but pretty intense. Probably something we caught down in town, in Wanaka. I was able to ski twice the next day so I didn’t loose any training really. I just ended up skipping a rest day later in the camp.”

    View from the Snow Farm near Wanaka, New Zealand, in late August. (From: youtube.com/watch?v=8roNOx3M0dk)

    Harvey added that having the camp a bit later gave them more time to enjoy summer back in Canada. Once they arrived in New Zealand, he said the conditions were still good, just a bit more spring-like.

    “But there was never a day were we couldn’t ski because of the weather, which is pretty good for the Snow Farm,” he wrote. “We usually get one or two days were we can’t ski up there so we were lucky this time.”

    Just like other team training camps, Harvey focused on completing hard-intensity workouts with his teammates.

    “The training camps are the only time I do Level 4 intensity in the summer so it’s good to be with the boys to do that,” he wrote. “We also worked a lot on technique, classic, skating, uphills, flats. Trying to improve a bit on all aspects. I feel like I was able to put a lot of hours on snow, maintain the strength training while doing 4 solid hard intensity sessions and training kind of at altitude.”

    (Harvey trains at sea level near Quebec City and could feel the difference at the Snow Farm’s elevation at 1,500 meters.)

    “I’m coming out of the camp fitter and faster that’s for sure,” he added. “I feel like the camp didn’t take too much out of me so I should ba able to get two more solid weeks of training before our next camp in Park City, Utah (from Sept. 23-Oct. 4).”

    As for highlights, Harvey picked out three:

    “1. The weather allowed us to ski everyday if we wanted to.

    2. Settlers of Catan. It’s ‘The Game that Defines our Generation!’

    3. Devon’s beard and hair combo. Skyping with my mom, she asked why he tried to look like a hobo and said that he’s a ‘complete disaster.’ “