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World Cup

The cream of the crop. The best in the world compete all winter long on the World Cup. We follow them at every stop with article and results. We also post occasional reports from North America’s best as they travel the globe.
The SMST2 Team Announces Gap Grants to Fully Fund World Cup Experience for Athletes

The SMST2 Team is proud to announce this year’s Gap Grant program to support elite World Cup skiers in their pursuit of excellence on the international stage.  This initiative provides financial assistance to unfunded (D Team and non-USST) athletes that qualify to race on the FIS World Cup for any period of time. Gap Grants were made possible by the generous contribution of an anonymous donor and will be available to SMST2 skiers for the...

US Ski and Snowboard Announces World Cup Team for Period 1

Dear Cross Country Community,   We are pleased to announce the XC Team for Period 1 of the 2024-25 World Cup season:   Ruka, FIN Sprint C Men Michael Earnhart                      Objective          23-24 Overall SuperTour Leader JC Schoonmaker                        Objective          10th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Ben Ogden                                Objective          15th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Gus Schumacher                       Objective          27th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Kevin Bolger                             Objective          30th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Zak Ketterson                           Objective          35th 23-24 Sprint World Cup...

Jessie Diggins agrees. Yes, that was stupid

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. All of us need to take a break from our jobs every now and then and do something a little bit—out there— which challenges us. For many, that’s going for a long ski,...

Sprinting Away With Julia Kern. Part II

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In part I of our interview with Julia Kern we talked about her summer training changes, and what was a very challenging winter of racing. Please continue reading for Part II of our...

Sprinting Away With Julia Kern. Part I

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Julia Kern is firmly established as a veteran member of the U.S. Ski team. She is uniquely sandwiched between the venerable veterans Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan, and the up and coming squad of...

No Miracles, Lots of Hard Work—Lake Placid’s World Cup Bid:  Part II

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In Part I of FasterSkier’s article about the Lake Placid organizing committee’s work to be chosen as a venue for a World Cup, we spoke with Kris Seymour, Nordic Program Coordinator for the...

No Miracles, Lots of Hard Work—Lake Placid’s World Cup Bid:  Part I

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. The Minneapolis World Cup was a sensational success. Now, the announcement of the upcoming vote on Lake Placid as a host venue for a cross-country World Cup weekend has kindled hopes of another...

2025 Trondheim Nordic World Championships and the 2024-25 World Cup Criteria Announced

Dear Cross Country Community, The finalized selection criteria for the 2025 Trondheim Nordic World Championships and the 2024-25 World Cup have been approved by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Cross Country Sport Committee and can be found here: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/sport-programs/criteria You’ll notice the selection methods are the same as in recent past seasons.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns about the criteria, please reach out.  My contact info is below.  I wish everyone...

Bend Camp—Building the Team Dynamic:  Part II

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In part one of our interview with U.S. coach, Matt Whitcomb, about Bend spring training camp he told us about training regimens and the team building approach. In part II, Whitcomb talks more...

Lake Placid’s Bid: What It Took to Get Another American World Cup

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. After the smash success of the Minneapolis World Cup, a question being asked by American cross-country fans was whether Minneapolis was a one trick pony, or would we see other World Cup events...

USSS Congress Highlights: Lake Placid to Host 2026 World Cup Final

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Skiing is an activity divided into seasons of the year: summer is when fast skiers are made; winter leaves us feeling like it went by all too fast; spring is for politics....

Higher Elevations, More Skiathlons—World Cup Schedule and Rule Changes Announced

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Last week, the International Ski Federation (FIS) held its annual spring meeting. Among the topics were finalizing next year’s calendar and fine tuning of some of the sport’s rules. All actions taken...

Gus Schumacher Voted FIS ‘Best Distance Performance of the Year’

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. After the 2018 Olympics, workers at the Minneapolis Parks and Rec Department had to start putting up posters in the old Theodore Wirth Park chalet to “Clean up your glitter.” Thousands of...

Catch Me if You Can—Sophia Laukli: Part II

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Sophia Laukli likes to keep busy. That is an understatement. Her non-stop, year round ski and running schedule keeps her trotting across the globe to pursue racing on dirt and snow. In part...

Catch Me if You Can—Sophia Laukli: Part I

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Sophia Laukli likes to keep busy. The 23 year old Maine native is coming off her best season as a professional skier. After a grueling four month World Cup season which included a...

Hollywood Calling: Klaebo Takes On a New Role

In a move likely to anger movie purists everywhere, it was announced late this weekend that a long awaited sequel to the cherished classic The Sound of Music is in the works. Why is this relevant to a ski racing magazine? Because none other than Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo has been announced as the choice to play the lead of Captain von Trapp. “It seemed like a natural fit for us,” said Charles Diller, President of...

The Devon Kershaw Show, Glitter Edition: Jessie Diggins Joins Us

Jessie Diggins should not need an introduction at this point, but for anyone who needs a quick reminder: This episode of the Devon Kershaw Show features the best American cross-country skier of all time. Diggins has three Olympic medals to her name, a gold from the last World Championships and, most recently, a crystal globe she was awarded a few days ago as the past season’s overall World Cup champion. Diggins joins us for a...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Finale in Falun, or the not-last episode of the 2024 season

Reports of our demise are greatly exaggerated. Apologies for the tardiness of this episode, but we’re back with a wrap from Falun, the last World Cup weekend of the season. It’s just Devon and Nat kicking it old school again here, but we’ll return soon with some guests. Seriously. Send us your 2025 predictions, Russian troll comments and Gjøran Tefre memes: devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. Thanks for hanging out with us for the whole World Cup...

Irwin Finishes 12th in Final Pursuit of the Season

Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) rounds out this season’s pursuit races with a stellar 12th place finish, just one of two athletes in the pool of 60 to shoot a perfect 20 for 20 in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Irwin, jumping 14 places from bib 26, crossed the line in 12th, just +1:23.1 behind the pursuit victor Lisa Vittozzi of Italy, who shot 19 for 20. “It feels amazing to shoot clean in...

Diggins Dominates Falun to Win World Cup Overall!

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. The long road that is the World Cup cross-country season came to an end today. And, like all good road trips, something special should be waiting at the end of that road. Today...