Chloe Kim came away with another World Cup victory, with teammate Maddie Mastro doing what she does best - another never-before-done trick as the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team was back in Aspen Snowmass, Colorado for the first time since 2021, at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix.

In Saturday's halfpipe final, the pipe was crowded with fans to cheer on a field full of heavy hitters for the penultimate halfpipe World Cup of the season. The Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team saw three women in finals, including two-time Olympic Gold medalist Kim, two-time Olympian Mastro and 18-year-old Sonora Alba, who was making her first World Cup final of the 2024-25 season.

Alba was first to drop for the American women and sent her huge signature backside indy to start off what would be a near-perfect run, before just missing the landing on her final hit, an alley oop mctwist. With a chip on her shoulder, Alba dropped into the Aspen halfpipe for a second time and laced her full run clean, earning a score of 66.74 to put her in fifth place, tying her personal best World Cup result.

Wearing the coveted yellow bib to signify her place as first overall in the FIS halfpipe World Cup standings, Mastro had an uncharacteristic fall on the first hit of her first run, just slipping out on her signature double crippler. The seasoned veteran didn’t let the mistake shake her and brought a focused determination to her second attempt to land one clean and earn her a score the judges deemed worthy of fourth place. In her final attempt to sneak onto the podium, Mastro put down a newly designed run and became the first woman to land a switch ally oop backside rodeo in the contest. The judges awarded Mastro a score of 84.00, maintaining her fourth-place spot.

Straight off of her historic X Games gold medal just last week, Kim dropped into finals as the top qualifier and sent shockwaves through the field of competitors with a massive score of 91.75 on her first attempt of the day. Kim was unable to put down her final two runs, but her three-point margin on the rest of the field held strong throughout the contest and earned her the first-place spot on the podium. Korea’s Gaon Choi’s first run score of 88.75 landed her in the second place spot and Japan’s Sara Shimizu took third, continuing her breakout rookie season.

Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team veterans Chase Josey and Lucas Foster held it down for the American’s on the men’s side of competition and the olympians put on a show in front of a home crowd. Josey put down a nail biter of a first run and was unable to clean it up on his second attempt. With one attempt left, Josey dropped in regular, switching it up from his normal switch drop in and put down a heater of a run and his best of the season, catapulting him up to third place. Following up his teammate, Foster dropped into the pipe for the final time after failing to land both of his first two attempts. With his home Colorado crowd cheering him on, Foster put on a show, stomping all five of his hits including his signature double ally oop mctwist, earning him a score of 80.25 to bump out teammate Foster on the podium. Despite massive performances, the Amwericans were eventually knocked off of the podium by the Japanese, continuing their dominance in the halfpipe. 

The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix continues Sunday with the men’s and women’s snowboard slopestyle finals, the first run dropping at 11:30 a.m. ET live on Outside Watch. The Hydro Flak U.S. Snowboard halfpipe Team turns to the Calgary Snow Rodeo for the final halfpipe competition of the season before World Championships.

The Toyota U.S. Para Snowboard Team athletes are back in the banks for the first time since November, and the wait did not disappoint, with Noah Elliott and Brenna Huckaby taking the top and third steps of the podium, respectively. 

The conditions were picture-perfect in Kühtai, Austria, for the first of two banked slalom races. After two great days of training and a few days of joyriding, the team was ready to be back in competition mode. In qualifying, Huckaby, Elliott, and Darian Haynes were the three U.S. athletes to advance to finals, as only the top four finishers in each classification move on to finals in banked slalom. Mike Schultz finished fifth in the men’s LL1 class. Zach Miller led the LL2 category in seventh, followed by Joe Pleban in 13th and Aleks Godowski in 14th. Colby Fields finished 13th in men’s UL. On the women’s side, Peggy Martin finished fifth in women’s UL. Kate Delson ended the day eighth in the LL1/LL2 classification, Dennae Russell in 12th and Rebecca Johnston in 13th. 

In the finals, Huckaby was paired against Yanhong Geng (CHN) and prevailed, winning the small final by over 10 seconds. Huckaby admitted that she was surprised she finished on the podium today after struggling with a few of the turns on the course, so the third place was a major win in her book. Haynes finished the day fourth after her battle with Anna Drobna (POL). After qualifying in the top spot, Elliott continued his dominance by winning by almost two seconds over his opponent Zhongwei Wu (CHN) in the big final, earning his third win and fifth podium of the season. 

Tomorrow, the team takes on the second banked slalom event in Austria starting at 3:35 am ET. Follow along on FIS Live Timing. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

Jaelin Kauf and Olivia Giaccio continued their hot streak Friday night in Val St. Côme, Quebec, Canada, where they finished second and third once again in FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls. 

Quebec is one of the most significant freestyle development hotspots in the world, with Jean-Luc Brassard, Mikael Kingsbury, and many more freestyle athletes hailing from the area - including many from Val St. Côme. The freestyle spirit could be felt throughout the day as the best moguls athletes flocked to the renowned Bilodeau course, considered one of the most difficult on the circuit at almost 800 ft long and a gradient of 28 degrees. 

The light was flat and chilled during qualifications, where eight Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes advanced to the final rounds. Kasey Hogg finished 23rd, followed by Charlie Mickel in 24th, Dylan Walczyk 25th and Kylie Kariotis 27th. Tess Johnson, Alli Macuga, Kai Owens, Giaccio, Kauf, Asher Michel, Dylan Marcellini, and Nick Page advanced to finals, where they continued putting on a show, allowing three to move on to the super finals round. Michel was firing all day and came extremely close to a new personal best, finishing the day eighth overall, tying his personal best World Cup result. Marcellini rounded out the top 10, and Page finished 11th. Macuga landed in 12th and Johnson in 13th. 

In the super finals round, Owens, Giaccio and Kauf advanced to the top six, which turned into an extremely tight battle. Owens ran into a bit of trouble on the top and finished sixth overall, tying her season's best result. Giaccio put down a stunning super finals run, finishing third to complete her incredibly successful day, earning the top three women’s air scores, peaking at 17.54 in qualifying. Kauf lived up to her name as the fastest woman on the World Cup circuit, earning the fastest times of the day to finish second overall. The podium was completed by Maia Schwinghammer (CAN), who earned her first career win in front of her hometown crowd. 

Tomorrow, the team will take on dual moguls in Val St. Côme. Qualification begins at 4:45 p.m. ET, followed by finals at 7:30 p.m. ET live on skiandsnowboard.live. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team has once again arrived in a new country, this time for three more races before the 2025 FIS Ski World Championships, which kick off at the end of February. Today was the team sprint, where two athletes teamed up together. Gus Schumacher and JC Schoonmaker take home the top result of the day, crossing the line together in tenth. 

The athletes were ready to get things going with the sun shining bright and Italian fans packing into the sprint course atmosphere. With the team sprint format, the top 15 teams advance to the team sprint finals in a qualification round, similar to a standard sprint race. Though you have a teammate, you qualify individually and to advance, your combined times must be within the top 15.

The women kicked things off. For the USA team, Montana's Bridger Ski Foundation athletes Erin Bianco and Emma Albrecht qualified 14th to clinch a spot in the final. Bianco and Albrecht had their first World Cup debuts last season and are excited to be back racing at the sport's highest level.

For Albrecht, this weekend in Cogne is a chance to feel more comfortable on the World Cup. “I hope to leave with the confidence that I have what it takes to be competitive at the World Cup,” she said before the races. For Bianco, it’s all about gaining more World Cup experience. “I’m excited to hopefully treat this race as any other and stick to what I know how to do,” said Bianco. “It’s important to know you don’t have to do anything special and just ski your race.” 

In the women’s team sprint classic final, the pack was together for the first couple of laps, then it began to break up lightly, with USA trailing off the back. The pace from the leaders was fast - Norway, Switzerland and Sweden each taking turns with the lead, with the Finnish team not letting go of that podium potential.

With quick bumps, steep and short uphills and long straightaways, this course favored those with a strong double pole and fast transitions. In the finish, the podium ultimately went to Finland in first, Sweden in second, and Germany in third. USA finished 15th. 

Now, the men's turn at the course. Two USA teams were on the start list, with USA One represented by Gus Schumacher and JC Schoonmaker and Team Two by Zak Ketterson and Luke Jager. In the qualifier, Schumacher showed his speed - qualifying in fourth place. All men were in the top 30, putting up fast enough times to qualify USA teams one and two to the team sprint finals. 

In the first lap of six, Jager put the foot on the pedal and went for it. Into the first exchange, Schumacher and Jager gave their teammates—Schoonmaker to Schumacher and Ketterson to Jager—a perfect chance at maintaining their position in the front pack. 

Going into today’s race, Schumacher focused on feeling good and finding the speed he knew he had. For Schoonmaker, his focus was to “race my best and walk away feeling like I executed the races well.”

Into the race's second half, the Americans were falling back into the tight pack, with Norway, Finland and France expanding the gap ever so slightly. The pace began to accelerate, but the Americans could not hold on. At the end of the race, the Norwegians took home their fourth team sprint victory of the 2024-25 season, outsprinting France, who took second and Sweden in third. 

"It was fun to get to do a team event and team up with one of my best friends and a great guy, Zak!" said Jager. "I'm proud of and very thankful for all the hard work our team did to give us really good skis today, too."

"I am really proud of how Luke and I asserted ourselves and skied where we felt we belong," said Ketterson. "We had a really unfortunate crash that took us out of the fight, but prior to that I felt like it was some of the best skiing Luke or myself had ever done. Taking a lot of positives away from the experience into the next days."

The USA’s first team, including Schumacher and Schoonmaker, was 10th, and the USA team two, with Jager and Ketterson, was 14th. 

Tomorrow, the team is back to racing in another classic sprint. Watch live and on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live with heats taking off at 7:00 a.m. ET. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

Park City, Utah (Jan. 31, 2025) —U.S. Ski & Snowboard is proud to announce the 21 athletes that will represent the Stifel U.S. Ski Team at the 2025 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach, Austria, February 4-16, 2025.

The team is headlined by the greatest skier of all time, Mikaela Shiffrin—who has 99 World Cup victories and seven World Championships gold medals. With 14 medals in 17 World Championships starts, Shiffrin is the most successful alpine skier in the modern era. The team will also feature Olympic champion eight-time World Championships medalist Lindsey Vonn, who makes her return to the World Championships after coming out of retirement; her last World Champs appearance was in 2019. 

This year’s World Championships team features both up-and-coming World Cup athletes and veterans who have already captured multiple World Cup podium finishes this year. The rising stars include Lauren Macuga who claimed her first World Cup win in the St. Anton super-G this season, as well as Katie Hensien who just missed the podium in Sölden in fourth place. On the veteran side, returning team event world champion Paula Moltzan will be a force in women’s tech with her recent giant slalom podium in Kronplatz.

Jared Goldberg and Olympic silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle headline the men’s team with their podium performances this season in Val Gardena, Italy. World champion River Radamus will be the man to watch in the giant slalom, while Ben Ritchie will highlight men’s slalom, having consistently scored World Cup points this season. 

“This has been an excellent season for both of our teams with multiple podiums across all disciplines,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Chief of Sport Anouk Patty. “We have a strong group of veteran and up-and-coming athletes that we know will work together and push one another to the top of the podium.” 

“We are proud to announce our team for the World Championships. These athletes represent the dedication, resilience and passion that defines our organization,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. “They’ve trained for this moment and are ready to compete at the highest level.”

This year’s World Championships event will be in Saalbach at one primary venue. It will also feature a new event—the team combined. This will consist of two athletes racing one run of downhill and one run of slalom. The combined time will determine the winner. 

Fans can watch all of the action in Austria live on Infront’s skiandsnowboard.live, with select events tape delayed on NBC. Skiandsnowboard.live will have all events on demand; Peacock will not have races on demand. 

 2025 FIS SKI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM
(Name, hometown, ski club, college, birthdate, past World Championship teams)
*Denotes first World Championships team
**Denotes injured athlete 

Women

• Keely Cashman* (Strawberry, CA; Team Palisades Tahoe; Montana State University; 4/4/1999)
• Katie Hensien (Redmond, WA; Rowmark Ski Academy/University of Denver; 12/1/1999; 2021, 2023)
• AJ Hurt (Carnelian Bay, CA; Team Palisades Tahoe; Dartmouth College; 12/5/2000; 2021)
• Breezy Johnson (Victor, ID; Rowmark Ski Academy; 1/19/1996; 2017, 2021, 2023)
• Lauren Macuga* (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 7/4/2002)
• Paula Moltzan (Prior Lake, MN; Buck Hill Ski Team/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail/University of Vermont; 4/7/1994; 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023)
• Nina O’Brien (San Francisco, CA; Burke Mountain Academy/Palisades Tahoe Ski Team/Dartmouth College; 11/29/1997; 2019, 2021, 2023)
• Mikaela Shiffrin (Edwards, CO; Burke Mountain Academy/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 3/13/1995; 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023)
• Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail/Buck Hill Ski Team; 10/18/1984; 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
• Jacqueline Wiles (Aurora, OR; White Pass Ski Club; 7/13/1992; 2015, 2017, 2021)

 Men

• Bryce Bennett (Tahoe City, CA; Palisades Tahoe Ski Team; 7/14/1992; 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023)
• Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, VT; Cochran’s Ski Club/Mount Mansfield Ski & Snowboard Club/University of Vermont; 3/27/1992; 2013, 2017, 2019, 2023)
• Tommy Ford** (Bend, OR; Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation; Dartmouth College; 3/20/1989; 2011, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2023)
• Bridger Gile* (Aspen, CO; Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 10/15/1999)
• Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation/University of Utah; 6/15/1991; 2015, 2017, 2021, 2023)
• Patrick Kenney* (Hingham, MA; Burke Mountain Academy/University of New Hampshire; 2/13/1997)
• Sam Morse (Carrabassett Valley, ME; Carrabassett Valley Academy/Dartmouth; 5/27/1996; 2023)
• Isaiah Nelson* (Wayzata, MN; Buck Hill Ski Racing Club; 4/3/2001)
• River Radamus (Edwards, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 2/12/1998; 2021, 2023)
• Ben Ritchie (Waitsfield, VT; Green Mountain Valley School; 9/5/2000; 2021, 2023)
• Jett Seymour (Steamboat, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club/University of Denver; 11/5/1998; 2021, 2023)
• Luke Winters (Gresham, OR; Sugar Bowl Academy; 4/2/1997; 2021, 2023)

2025 FIS World Ski Championships Live Coverage 

All times EST
Check local listings, subject to change.

Tuesday, Feb. 4
9:15 a.m. - mixed team parallel - skiandsnowboard.live

Thursday, Feb. 6
5:30 a.m. - women’s super-G - skiandsnowboard.live

Friday, Feb. 7
5:30 a.m. - men’s super-G - skiandsnowboard.live

Saturday, Feb. 8
5:30 a.m. - women’s downhill - skiandsnowboard.live
3:00 p.m. - women’s super-G - NBC (tape delay)

Sunday, Feb. 8
5:30 a.m. - men’s downhill - skiandsnowboard.live
1:00 p.m. - women’s downhill - NBC (tape delay)

Tuesday, Feb. 11
4:00 a.m. - women’s team combined, run one - skiandsnowboard.live
7:15 a.m. - women’s team combined, run two - skiandsnowboard.live

Wednesday, Feb. 12 
4:00 a.m. - men’s team combined, run one - skiandsnowboard.live
7:15 a.m. - men’s team combined, run two -skiandsnowboard.live

Thursday, Feb. 13
3:45 a.m. - women’s giant slalom, run one - skiandsnowboard.live
7:15 a.m. - women’s giant slalom, run two - skiandsnowboard.live

Friday, Feb. 14 
3:45 a.m. - men’s giant slalom, run one - skiandsnowboard.live
7:15 a.m. - men’s giant slalom, run two - skiandsnowboard.live

Saturday, Feb. 15
3:45 a.m. - women’s slalom, run one - skiandsnowboard.live
7:15 a.m. - women’s slalom, run two - skiandsnowboard.live
3:00 p.m. - women and men’s GS and team combined - NBC (tape delay) 

Sunday, Feb. 16
3:45 a.m. - men’s slalom, run one - skiandsnowboard.live
7:15 a.m. - men’s slalom, run two - skiandsnowboard.live
4:00 p.m. - women and men’s slalom - NBC (tape delay)

After 60 long days away from snow following a severe abdominal injury sustained at the Stifel Killington Cup in November, Mikaela Shiffrin made her return to World Cup ski racing at the Courchevel night slalom in France, snagging a 10th place in her first race back. With just days to go before the 2025 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships, Shiffrin stepped back into competition mode—not to chase any one goal, but instead to once again feel comfortable pushing out of the start gate. 

"It’s very much a step-by-step process, and this return to competition is part of the recovery," said Shiffrin. “It actually doesn’t even mean I’m recovered or I’m back to 100%. It means that we’ve gotten far enough in the recovery now that I’m strong enough physically, and I’ve had enough turns of slalom, to feel comfortable to push out of the start gate.”

Courchevel holds a special place in Shiffrin's career and heart. It's where she's won seven of her 99 World Cup victories across four different disciplines. In 2023, Shiffrin won three World Championships and watched her team bring home the first-ever World Championships gold medal in the parallel team event. And, it's where Shiffrin had her first victory after her father's passing in 2020.

Tonight, as the lights lit up the storied slalom hill, Shiffrin’s goal was simple: race, get the feeling back and have fun. And tonight, she did just that, signaling she’s back and ready to build toward the World Championships.

Shiffrin wasn’t the only American on the start list. Four other Stifel U.S. Ski Team tech athletes joined her at the gates, including Paula Moltzan, who was back on the World Cup podium just weeks ago, and AJ Hurt, Nina O'Brien and Katie Hensien, who are all having strong World Cup seasons. With the conditions deteriorating and becoming choppier by the second, many athletes on the start list did not finish their runs, either by straddling, skiing out or getting caught in the ruts of the soft snow. Hensien, Hurt, O'Brien and Moltzan did not advance to the second run but are already focused on training and preparing for the upcoming races.

After the first run, with the top 30 advancing to the second, Shiffrin was the sole athlete representing the U.S., comfortably making the flip in fifth place. The second run began at 8:00 p.m. CET—it was a late night, but the fans were out in force, the atmosphere was electric and the night slalom under the bright lights brought palpable energy. Shiffrin ran later in the pack. With everyone holding their breaths as she descended the course, there was one thing on the minds of many—would this be the race that would give her her 100th World Cup victory? Shiffrin skied a smart and tactful race, knifing down the course and ultimately crossed the line in the top 10. Her immediate reaction? She smiled, waved and made a heart with her hands to the crowd and her team in the finish area.

“It was so important to get this start before World Champs and I think it was a very important step in my recovery to see how I’m stacking up with the best skiers in the world," she said. "Today... it's just... it's just nice to be racing." 

The Courchevel night slalom podium included Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic in first, Sara Hector of Sweden in second and Germany's Lena Duerr in third. 

Now, the athletes will rest and prepare for the upcoming races, which include the World Championship in Saalbach, Austria. World Championships are not World Cup races, so Shiffrin's run to her 100th win is on hold. 

RESULTS
Women's Slalom

On Wednesday’s classic night slalom event in Schladming, Austria, Stifel U.S. Ski Team's Ben Ritchie knifed his way to another top 10 finish in ninth place. It was his second-ever top 10 result and also the first time an American has landed in the top 10 in the slalom since Ted Ligety in 2012. 

“Tonight was really fun! Schladming is one of the coolest races of the year,” said Ritchie. “The surface was great and I could not ask for better.” 

By 5 p.m. the Austrians filled the stands to capacity, ready to create an electric atmosphere on Wednesday night in Schladming. The first run course set was straight but tough - many racers said the track felt rough on their skis. Despite the challenge, Ritchie fought his way down to land in 18th place. No other U.S. athletes were able to make jumps. 

“First run was solid, nothing special. The second run I skied the top three quarters very well. I felt super comfortable and towards the end I started to make some small mistakes here and there,” said Ritchie. “It’s only my third top 15 and second top 10 result ever in my career so I am super happy with tonight.” 

As the evening turned to night and the crowds became more rowdy, the second run course set was ready to inspect. And the set was difficult. There was no consistent rhythm and it would be hard for athletes to make it down the course cleanly. But Ritchie ran towards the top half of the group and dominated - staying in the green at each split by a large half-second margin. At the last split, his legs tired and he lost some time, but still managed to find the green light. 

Ritchie sat comfortably in the leaderboard chair for a minute, ultimately moving up nine spots to claim ninth place for his second-best slalom result in his career.

“It has been a good January,” said Ritchie. “I am now just working on consistency. I can ski fast but you see spots of different runs here and there where I am putting together great skiing. It is only a matter of time until I put it all together in one day.” 

It’s been a strong World Cup season for Ritchie, scoring in every single race aside from one that he did not finish. Ritchie claimed multiple personal best results, proving that he can hold his own with the world’s best. He is fired up more than ever heading into the World Championships and further solidifying a spot in the World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho in March. 

The winner of the race was Norwegian Timon Haugan, in second and third were Austrians Manuel Feller and Fabio Gstrein. Stifel U.S. Ski Team members Jett Seymour and River Radamus did not qualify for a second run. 

The next stop for the slalom men will be the World Championships in Saalbach, Austria with the men’s slalom scheduled for Feb. 16. 

RESULTS
Men's slalom

On Tuesday night’s giant slalom race in Schladming, Austria, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete River Radamus landed in 12th place. Radamus powered through a difficult weather day that involved pouring rain, slushy snow and an inconsistent surface. 

“It was dumping rain during the warm up probably the hardest rain I’ve ever skied in we knew it was going to be a tight race so there was no time to warm up or get into you had to go full on from the start,” said Radamus.

Despite the pouring rain the Austrian fans came in by the thousand enduring the pouring rain. The rain was not too strong on the first run inspection but the surface was soft and slushy underfoot. The set was pretty turny and turned into a sprint as they moved the start down lower from the poor conditions. On the first run Radamus skied first for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team. Radamus did not find the best line but kept his time close in 17th place. 

Fellow U.S. members Patrick Kenney, Isaiah Nelson, Bridger Gile and Cooper Puckett also raced but did not make a second run. Puckett notably had a huge mistake and flew into the air - video can be seen here. 

The second run course set was much faster than the first, allowing racers to make some more significant jumps in their places. Radamus pushed hard but was not perfect; he ended up (at first) moving back a few spots. However the course deteriorated giving Radamus and others moves up the scoreboard.

Ultimately Radamus ended up 12th - a solid position heading into World Championships next week. Not only did Radamus end up 12th but he and Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen tied both first run and second run, down to the hundredth. A scenario you do not see often in the sport. 

“First run I felt good just a bit too safe and it cost me a lot. Second run I pinned it as hard as I could and I thought I skied as lot better," said Radamus. "It’s been a difficult January for me. I have not been skiing the way I want to so second run was a step in the right direction but it was a really tight race.”

The winner of the day was Norwegian Alexander Steen Olsen, in second was fellow Viking Henrik Kristoffersen and in third was Swiss Marco Odermatt. 

Next the men will race giant slalom in Saalbach on Feb. 14.

RESULTS
men's giant slalom 

HOW TO WATCH 
Run 1 - 11:45 a.m. ET - men’s slalom, Schladming, AUT - peacock 
Run 2 - 2:45 p.m. ET - men’s slalom, Schladming, AUT - peacock 

The second stop of the FIS Freestyle Aerials World Cup circuit in Lac-Beauport, Canada, did not disappoint. Chris Lillis and Karenna Elliott went back to back on the podium throughout two days of competition, finishing third and second, respectively. 

“This podium has given me a lot of confidence in my jumping capabilities and mental ability to handle competition pressure,” said Elliott. “I’m going to bring this confidence with me heading into Deer Valley, which will allow me to clean up my jumps and make them look more confident overall. Additionally, I will be training for a few days at the Utah Olympic Park before Deer Valley, and I plan on trying a new trick (double-full full) along with perfecting my full double-full, which I’m really excited to do and bring into this next home event.” 

On day one, the skies were clear, but the air was frigid, sitting around -4 degrees Fahrenheit. Lillis, Elliott and Winter Vinecki advanced to finals. Vinecki, who has been consistently throwing triples to start the season, just missed out on super finals, finishing seventh. Elliott advanced, but a mistake in the super finals led her to end the day sixth overall. Despite having a major crash on landing in the super finals, Lillis was able to hold on to a podium spot and earned his first podium of the season, finishing in third place behind Qi Guangpu (CHN) and Lewis Irving (CAN). Kaila Kuhn finished 14th, Tasia Tanner 16th, Dani Loeb 17th, Quinn Dehlinger in 20th, Justin Schoenefeld 22nd, Connor Curran in 25th, Kyra Dossa in 26th and Ian Schoenwald in 30th

The weather gave the athletes a new challenge on day two when the temperature warmed, and the sun turned to large, fluffy snowflakes. Kuhn, now throwing triples consistently in competition, advanced to finals alongside Loeb and Elliott. Kuhn finished ninth and Loeb in 12th. Elliott was the sole U.S. athlete to advance to super finals, and her performance did not disappoint. In supers, she threw a back full double full, earning a huge score of 87.42, quickly cementing herself on the podium more than 10 points ahead of the third-place finisher Airleigh Frigo (AUS). At this stop last season, Elliott earned her first super finals appearance, first podium, and first World Cup win, and now, her second career podium comes at the same jump. Dehlinger and Vinecki finished the day 13th, Dossa 14th, Curran 17th, Lillis and Tanner 24th, Schoenefeld 28th and Schoenwald 30th. 

 “This landing hill is one of the flattest hills on the tour, and flat landing hills cater really well to my jumping style and make landings easy for me,” said Elliott. “I just really love the environment of people in Lac-Beauport. I’ve competed here since my first NorAms in 2018 and have always had fun here because of the fun and uplifting spirits of the volunteers, families of Canadian athletes, and fans/spectators.”

The team is heading into a training block before returning to Park City for the Intermountain Health Freestyle International Feb. 6-8.

RESULTS
Women Day One
Men Day One
Women Day Two
Men Day Two

20k skate races are no easy task and today’s was no different, except that the athletes had to complete the course in powder-skiing-like conditions. Yet, Jessie Diggins did what she does best - digging deep and finishing fifth on the day to wrap up three days of racing in Engadin, Switzerland. 

Hours before the race, the volunteers were shoveling, re-grooming, and trying to find the finish line in the snowglobe, which was the Engadin World Cup 20k course. With a point-to-point on the menu for the racers, as the saying goes, it was anyone’s game. But the real test wasn’t the distance, the challenging climbs, the high elevation - it was the pure grit it would have to take to get through the snow. 

The men were off the line first. Five Americans were on the roster today, including Gus Schumacher, Zanden McMullen, Luke Jager, Hunter Wonders and Zak Ketterson. With the mass start format, it was everyone all at once. At the first checkpoint of the course, some 6.5k in, the Americans were struggling to stay in the front group, but McMullen and Ketterson were working together to stay within the top 30. At the halfway mark, Ketterson was the lone American in the top 30 and raced consistently to round out the day. At the finish, Ketterson was just one place shy of his season-best distance result, crossing the line in 30th place—a substantial distance result for the Minnesotan. 

McMullen was just eight seconds behind Ketterson in 32nd, with Wonders in 44th, Schumacher in 39th and Jager in 65th. 

For the women, grit was the name of the game - who had the most of it? Who could push through? Diggins answered. 

The American women on the roster were led by Diggins, with Sophia Laukli, Julia Kern, Kate Oldham, Kendall Kramer, Luci Anderson, Lauren Jortberg and Alayna Sonnesyn in tow. 

At the 10.8k mark, Diggins was putting up a fight in the front, trailing behind Astrid Oeyre Slind of Norway but mere seconds - 5.7 to be exact. That became the common theme throughout the rest of the course, with Diggins, Slind Nora Sanness and Anne Kjersti Kalvaa of Norway and France’s Flora Dolici fighting for the top five. With only 2k remaining, Diggins had to put the hammer down, which she did. Yet, here came Jonna Sundling of Sweden, who had risen from sixth place to contend for the podium. Into the finishing stretch, the athletes were gassed, yet Diggins does what she does best - not give up. With the podium out of reach, Diggins sprinted like the first place was on the line and came from behind to have a photo-finish with Kalvaa and was beaten out by .01 of a second to get fifth on the day. Laura was 16th and Kern 19th, rounded out the top 30 for the U.S. women, an encouraging set of results for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team. Kramer was next in 36th, Oldham 38th in her first World Cup distance race, Anderson 46th, Jortberg 54th and Sonnesyn 55th. 

The women’s podium ultimately went to Norway’s Slind in first, teammate Sannes in second and Sundling of Sweden in third. 

Now, the team will rest and reset before another round of World Cup races next weekend. 

RESULTS