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Dew Tour Olympic Qualifier Kicks Off

By Annie Fast
December, 15 2021
Jamie Anderson airs on her snowboard.
U.S. Snowboard Team rider Jamie Anderson will be competing at the Dew Tour. (Dew Tour / Mike Yoshida)

The Dew Tour kicked off today at Copper Mountain, Colorado, with more than 200 athletes representing 17 countries competing in men’s and women’s ski and snowboard superpipe and slopestyle events among others. The U.S. Freeski and U.S. Snowboard Team athletes account for 59 of those vying for points—and the podium—to earn a spot to compete at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, taking place February 4-20, 2022.

U.S. Snowboard Team Slopestyle Starts
Kyle Mack
Dusty Henricksen
Fynn Bullock-Womble
Chris Corning
Red Gerard
Luke Winkelmann
Brock Crouch
Sean FitzSimons
Ty Schnorrbusch
Courtney Rummel
Jade Thurgood
Julia Marino
Jamie Anderson
Hailey Langland

U.S. Snowboard Team Halfpipe Starts
Taylor Gold
Chase Blackwell
Chase Josey
Lucas Foster
Toby Miller
Joey Okesson
Shaun White
Jack Coyne
Chloe Kim
Maddie Mastro
Tessa Maud
Sonora Alba

U.S. Freeski Team Halfpipe Starts
Brita Sigourney
Annalisa Drew
Hanna Faulhaber
Abigale Hansen
Devin Logan
Riley Jacobs
Svea Irving

Tristan Feinberg
Hunter Hess
Dylan Ladd
Sammy Schuiling
Jaxin Hoerter
Birk Irving
Aaron Blunck
David Wise

Lyman Currier
Cassidy Jarrell
Hunter Carey
Alex Ferreira 

U.S. Freeski Team Slopestyle Starts
Colby Stevenson
Mac Forehand
Alex Hall
Nick Goepper
Cody LaPlante
Hunter Henderson
Konnor Ralph
Charlie Gnoza

Marin Hamill
Darian Stevens
Grace Henderson
Jay Riccomini
Bella Bacon

HOW TO WATCH 

All times EDT
Subject to change, click here for the full schedule.

Friday, Dec. 17, 2021
2:00 p.m. Dew Tour Men's Ski Slopestyle Final - LIVE, Copper Mountain, CO, Streaming Dew Tour
4:00 p.m. Dew Tour Women's Ski Slopestyle Final - LIVE, Copper Mountain, CO, Streaming Dew Tour

Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021
11:00 a.m. Dew Tour Women's Snowboard Slopestyle Final - LIVE, Copper Mountain, CO, Streaming Dew Tour
12:30 p.m. Dew Tour Men's Snowboard Slopestyle Final - LIVE, Copper Mountain, CO, Streaming Dew Tour
2:45 p.m. Dew Tour Women's Ski Superpipe Final Presented by Toyota - LIVE, Copper Mountain, CO, Streaming Dew Tour
4:00 p.m Dew Tour Men's Ski Superpipe Final Presented by Toyota - LIVE, Copper Mountain, CO, Streaming Dew Tour

Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021
11:00 a.m. Dew Tour Women's Snowboard Superpipe Final Presented by Toyota - LIVE, Copper Mountain, CO, Streaming DewTour
12:45 p.m. Dew Tour Men's Snowboard Superpipe Final Presented by Toyota - LIVE, Copper Mountain, CO, Streaming DewTour

Sunday, December 26, 2021
4:00 p.m. Winter Dew Tour at Copper, on NBC
5:00 p.m. Winter Dew Tour at Copper, on NBC

 

Vinecki Featured on NBC's My New Favorite Olympian Podcast

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
December, 15 2021
Winter Vinecki
Winter Vinecki shows off her Seven Continents medal, earned for running a marathon on every continent in the world - a feat she accomplished before she turned 15. (U.S. Ski & Snowboard)

Winter Vinecki, aerial skier on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team, is featured on NBC’s My New Favorite Olympian podcast, hosted by the most decorated American winter Olympian Apolo Ohno. Winter discusses her late father, Michael's battle with prostate cancer, how her passion fuels her athletic career, and her hopes to represent Team USA at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in February. 

Listen here: https://link.chtbl.com/WinterV

Winters Scores in Val d’Isere Slalom

By Courtney Harkins
December, 12 2021
Luke Winters Val d'Isere
Luke Winters skis to 25th in the Val d'Isere slalom. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Millo Moravski)

Luke Winters skied into the FIS World Cup points in the first slalom race of the 2021-22 season, taking 25th in Val d’Isere, France.

Hometown hero Clement Noel of France got his ninth World Cup win, with Kristoffer Jakobsen of Sweden taking his first World Cup podium in second place. Filip Zubcic of Croatia also grabbed his first World Cup podium in third.

Hard snow and sunshine made for great conditions in Val d’Isere and the up-and-coming U.S. men’s slalom team were stoked for some racing. “Dudes were fired up,” said Men’s World Cup Slalom Coach Ryan Wilson. “Everybody has been skiing well in training. It was nice that Jakobsen was second. We were training with him before and we know where we stand with him. That’s a confidence booster for all of them.”

The U.S. men’s slalom team has been skiing strong so far this season with Winters, Jett Seymour, and Ben Ritchie headlining the team. Seymour skied well in his first run, but got tangled up in a complicated combination at the bottom and skied out just before the finish. Ritchie went down on his hip, but had fast splits below the mistake, showing that he has it in him to also make a second run. Alex Leever and Garret Driller also started but did not qualify for a second run.

Winters had a couple of major bobbles on his first run, but had enough speed to ski into the top 30 and snag a second run. He skied conservatively second run to finish 25th, scoring World Cup points and lowering his bib number for future races. Winters also found the points twice last year, including a top 20 in Chamonix, France, and he knows he has more in him heading into the Olympic season.

The men’s tech team next heads to Italy for two giant slalom races in Alta Badia December 19-20 and a night slalom in Madonna di Campiglio on December 22.

RESULTS
Men’s slalom

Diggins Second In 10k Freestyle, Leads Five Americans Into Top 28

By Tom Horrocks
December, 12 2021

Jessie Diggins dug deep into the pain cave to find an extra gear that propelled her onto the podium, finishing second and leading five U.S. women into the top 28 in the FIS Cross Country World Cup 10k freestyle individual start Sunday in Davos, Switzerland.

Rosie Brennan finished fourth for the second-straight day, with Hailey Swirbul in sixth, Sophia Laukli posting a World Cup career-best result in 19th, and Novie McCabe scoring her first career World Cup points, finishing 28th. Katharine Ogden was 43rd; Caitlin Patterson 46th; and Hannah Halvorsen was 78th.

"Today was really, really special because we had so many women in the points," Diggins said. "I am so proud of this team, everyone raced so hard." 

"I felt good!" said McCabe after scoring her first World Cup points. "It was a really fun course and nice to be back at altitude. My skis were also sooooo good which helped out a lot!"

Norway’s Theresa Johaug won with a time of 23 minutes, 40 seconds. Diggins was 14.5 seconds back in second, while Sweden’s Frida Karlsson rounded out the podium in third, at 17.21 seconds back. Brennan was 24.3 seconds back.

"Wow, another bittersweet day for me today," said Brennen, who finished fourth for the second-straight day. "Placing fourth is absolutely nothing to complain about, however, I felt I didn't quite have my best in me today. I definitely have some fatigue from yesterday...it was a great day for the women's team and I am really happy to see some outstanding performances from the team."

Brennan came out firing on all cylinders and was just 1.1 seconds off the pace of Johaug at the 2k mark, with Diggins sitting fifth at 9.4 seconds back. At the 5k mark, Diggins moved into second at 9.0 seconds off Johaug’s pace with Brennan in third at 10.4 seconds. With 2k remaining, Karlsson moved into second place at 16.2 seconds off Johaug’s pace, with Brennan at 17.8 and Diggins at 21.3 seconds back.

In the final 2k, though, Diggins upped her pace and pulled back time on Karlsson, Brennan, and Johaug to grab her second podium of the season, and first in a World Cup distance race this season. "I'm not sure how I did that," Diggins said of crushing the final 2k, which is predominantly downhill but features flat working sections. "I was just so focused on going all out and leaving it all out there on the course. But I think those working downhills have always been a strength of mine, and...I was taking a little bit of a risky line on the downhill."

Norway took the top two spots on the men’s podium with Simen Hegstad Krueger winning the 15k with a time of 32.20. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo was second at 22.9 seconds back, with Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov third at 27.2 seconds back. Gus Schumacher was the top Davis U.S. Cross Country Team finisher in 29th; Ben Ogden was 51st; David Norris 54th; JC Schoonmaker 66th; Hunter Wonders 70th; and Scott Patterson 75th.

Karlsson leads the overall World Cup standings, with Brennan in fourth and Diggins in fifth. Johaug leads the World Cup distance standings, with Brennan in third and Diggins seventh. The FIS Cross Country World Cup season continues next weekend with a freestyle sprint on Saturday, and a team sprint on Sunday.

RESULTS
Women’s 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup distance
Men’s World Cup distance

 

Giaccio Fourth in Idre Fjäll Dual Moguls

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
December, 12 2021
Olivia Giaccio
Olivia Giaccio dueled it out for a fourth place finish in Sunday's FIS Dual Moguls World Cup in Idre Fjäll, Sweden, posted the top American result. (Steven Earl - U.S. Ski & Snowboard)

Olivia Giaccio led the Americans with a fourth-place finish in the FIS Dual Moguls World Cup in Idre Fjäll, Sweden. Giaccio met Australia’s Jakara Anthony in the Small Final and the two had a tight duel the whole way down the course, with Giaccio skiing a fierce middle section. Giaccio pushed her speed into the bottom air to get that extra boost but ended up on her heels in the landing and Anthony took the advantage. 

“The whole day I focused on attacking out of the gate and top air especially,” said Giaccio. “For advancing through the rounds I was just trying to attack as much as I could and focused on the little cues that are working well for me. My coaches and I were pretty strategic in how we approached the day. The highest seed for each qualifying round got to choose the line and I definitely used that to my advantage.”

“Olivia skied the middle really well [in Small Final]. She got on her heels in the landing, which subjects you to let your feet accelerate and is difficult to stay on top of. But another great step for Olivia in today’s competition,” said Head Mogul Coach Matt Gnoza.

France’s Perrine Laffont won, Japan’s Rino Yanagimoto took second and Anthony rounded out the podium in third. 

Five women qualified Friday for the Round of 16 Sunday. The U.S. pulled a tough draw with two friendly fires right from the start, with another on deck for the Round of Eight. 

Jaelin Kauf met Tess Johnson for an all-out drag race, and the two pushed each other to the end. Kauf went big on the bottom air but didn’t stick the landing, and Johnson took the advantage to move to the Round of Eight. Hannah Soar met Giaccio and the two were neck-in-neck the entire run, both posting impressive run times. Giaccio stepped on the gas in the bottom air for the advantage to move onto the Round of Eight. “That was fast, holy moly,” Giaccio said in the finish area. Kai Owens met  Australia’s Britteny Cox, Cox blew out and Owens moved to the Round of Eight.

Giaccio met Johnson in the Round of Eight, with Johnson having a slight advantage on speed. Johnson sustained a nasty crash, losing contact and both skis in her tumble, but fortunately is okay and was able to slide down the course. “Some of the fastest skiing of the day were those runs against my teammates,” Giaccio said. Owens met Anthony and pushed her speed down the course, but her feet got away from her in the bottom air and Anthony took the advantage.

Owens finished sixth, Johnson eighth, Soar 10th, and Kauf 12th. Madison Hogg finished 30th and Morgan Schild 42nd. 

On the men’s side, two Americans qualified for the Round of 16: Brad Wilson and Dylan Walczyk. 

Wilson met Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury in a duel that came down to inches. Wilson kept Kingsbury on his toes the entire way down, but landed in a tough spot in the bottom air and Kingsbury took the advantage. “Brad skied a hell of a run against Mik, Mik was able to just get him there in the end,” said Gnoza. Wilson finished the day in eighth

Kingsbury won the event for the men, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima came in second and Sweden’s Ludvig Fjallstrom came in third. 

Walczyk finished in sixth, Cole McDonald in 20th, and Nick Page 33rd. 

Sunday marks the final day in Scandinavia for the Moguls crew. Everyone is looking forward to a change of scenery and some sunshine. 

“I’ll be focusing on continuing to compete the best that I can,” said Giaccio. “Being really precise in my skiing and jump execution. Continuing to use parts of my run that has been working really well and make adjustments to make my run the best it can possibly be. I am really grateful to have the opportunity to be able to perform on World Cup. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings."

Moguls heads next to Alpe d’Huez, France, for another double event weekend. “We have a really quick turnaround time, we start training again in France on Tuesday,” said Gnoza. “We’re motivated to continue this push and excited to see the course in Alpe d’Huez, and the sun.”

RESULTS
Women’s Dual Moguls
Men’s Dual Moguls

 

Shiffrin Scores Second Super-G Podium in Two Days in St. Moritz

By Courtney Harkins
December, 12 2021

Mikaela Shiffrin scored her second super-G podium in two days in St. Moritz, taking third place on Sunday. Breezy Johnson also skied into the points, finishing 24th.

The Italians filled the rest of the FIS World Cup super-G podium, with Federica Brignone and Elena Curtoni going one-two. Alice Robinson, the young upstart from New Zealand, was fourth. Notably missing from the podium was Lara Gut of Switzerland, who was ahead in the splits on her run, but went too straight and crashed hard through two layers of fencing in a difficult compression. After a few tense minutes, she got up and skied to the finish full of cheering Swiss fans.

While the sun came out for Sunday’s super-G after a dark day on Saturday, the conditions remained challenging with whipping winds blowing the women around the terrain-heavy course. The gusts were too strong, in fact, that the start had to be moved down to the reserve start and the race was delayed 40 minutes. “It was a bit tricky today!” said Shiffrin. “Especially with some wind, you get these pushes from behind and you speed up like crazy and it’s a little unexpected… I just tried to push my line and trust it and make good turns and stand strong on my skis.”

Shiffrin also battled nerves—wearing bib two meant she didn’t get much of a course report—but she used her knowledge of the terrain from a long course inspection and the feeling from her skis to ski intelligently down the course. The race gave her a second super-G podium in two days (translating to 120 more valuable points in the overall standings), and her seventh career World Cup super-G podium in only 18 starts. Four of those podiums have been in St. Moritz.   

Breezy Johnson also scored points for the second time in the weekend, taking 24th. Jackie Wiles finished 39th, Nina O’Brien 40th, and Tricia Mangan 43rd. AJ Hurt, Isabella Wright, and Keely Cashman did not finish, but all three are thankfully OK.

Shiffrin leads the overall World Cup standings, with 525 points ahead of Italy's Sofia Goggia (435 points), and Slovakia's Petra Vlhova—who has opted to focus on tech events this year (340 points). Johnson is currently sitting in sixth in the standings, with 213 points. 

The women’s speed team next heads to Val d’Isere, France for a downhill and super-G December 18-19, while the tech team will train for two giant slalom races in Courchevel, France December 21-22.

RESULTS
Women’s super-G

STANDINGS
Women's World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup super-G

HOW TO WATCH
*ALL TIMES EST.

4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Super-G - same-day broadcast, St. Mortiz, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Current television broadcast and streaming schedules for all sports are available here. For more information on how to watch broadcasts and streaming, visit our full "how to watch" breakdown.

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Follow the U.S. Alpine Ski Team:
Instagram: @usskiteam
Facebook: @usskiandsnowboard
TikTok: @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter: @usskiteam

Gold, Fifth At Toyota U.S. Grand Prix

By Annie Fast
December, 11 2021
Taylor Gold Airs in the halfpipe.
Taylor Gold earns fifth place today at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. (U.S. Ski & Snowboard / Mike Dawsy)

2014 Olympian Taylor Gold was the top U.S. finisher today at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix finals, earning fifth place in the Woodward Copper superpipe. This was the first Olympic halfpipe qualifying event of this season. 

“That was the run I wanted to do coming into today and after slamming on my first run, It was really nice to land that second one,” said Gold. “The riding is just insane these days so I’m always happy to be up there. Top five is great, of course I want to be on the podium and that’s what I keep striving for but I’m happy.”

U.S. Snowboard Team rider and 2018 Olympian Chase Josey finished in sixth, followed by three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White in eighth at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix finals.

Looking ahead to the Dew Tour next week, which is also an Olympic qualifier in this same halfpipe at Woodward Copper, Gold says, “The pipe is really good. I’m going to need a day off at least, maybe two,” referring to his harrowing crash on his first hit mid-McTwist. “After that I’ll feel fresh again and be ready to go. It’ll be nice to get a few more days in here, that’ll be a good time to maybe add in some more of these tricks that I want to add but I’m happy with that first attempt.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Halfpipe Coach JJ Thomas says that after taking that huge crash, he was expecting Gold to take a safety run to get back into it, but two minutes before dropping into his second run, says JJ, “He just laced probably the best run he’s ever done and that just made my day. To come back after that crash and put down that run, I told him that was one of the sickest athletic performances I’ve ever seen in my life. That was so boss.”

Josey and White also put down two great runs each, but weren’t able to break into the podium.

Japan’s Ruka Hirano took first, followed by Switzerland’s Jan Scherrer and Japan’s Yuto Totsuka in third. Japan’s Raibu Katayama went down hard during finals, and we are sending our thoughts out for a quick recovery. 

In the women’s field China’s Cai Xuetong took first, followed by Japan’s Sena Tomita and Spain’s Queralt Castellet in third.

The next Olympic halfpipe qualifier is the Dew Tour right here at Copper Mountain, Colo. Dec. 16–19. The packed U.S. Snowboard Team roster will include Chloe Kim, who’s coming into this event following a podium trifecta sweep last winter, including at the Aspen U.S. Grand Prix Olympic tryout event, along with teammate Maddie Maestro, who graced the X Games Aspen and World Championship podiums earning silver medals at each. Mastro and Kim are two of the best women’s snowboard halfpipe athletes in the world right now and are forces to be reckoned with coming into the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. 

Final Results 

Men's Snowboard Finals 

Women's Snowboard Finals 

 

 

 

 

USA Second in Ruka Team Aerials

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
December, 11 2021

The U.S. Freestyle Aerial Team ended their four weeks in Ruka, Finland, on a high note, capturing second place in the Team Aerials FIS World Cup on Saturday. Winter Vinecki, Chris Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld represented the U.S., beating out seven nations for their podium spot. 

Rain early in the day made for some high speeds and had athletes starting further down the in-run for the one-jump World Cup event that kicked off a full day of competition. Vinecki claimed the top American spot with a fifth place finish. Kaila Kuhn was right on her heels in sixth. On the men’s side, athletes were throwing down near-perfect jumps to land on the top of the podium. Lillis earned a 12th place for the best finish of the American men. Schoenefeld came in 14th. 

“It was super exciting to end on a high note here in Finland, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs getting in the rhythm of things,” said Vinecki. “It was good to get a good jump to my feet in the singles event. I was super excited to be in the Team event, it was only my second one. [We were so close] to the top of the podium there. This gave us a bit of a confidence boost for the rest of the season.”

Australia went 1-2 in the single-jump World Cup with Danielle Scott claiming first and Laura Peel coming in second. China’s Mengtao Xu rounded out the podium in third. Russia’s Maxim Burov continued his dominance on the men’s side with another win, and Switzerland went 2-3 with Noe Roth and Pirmin Werner, respectively. 

Karenna Elliott finished 15th, Ashley Caldwell 17th, Megan Nick 21st and Dani Loeb 31st. Eric Loughran finished 19, Quinn 35th and Derek Kreuger 40th. 

In the Team event Vinecki laid down a Double-Full Full in both rounds, and pulled off an impressive save in the second finals round. She came in a little hot but managed to keep it to her feet. “I was able to save it, I was very determined not to fall, especially with it being a team event. I said to myself ‘I am going to land this’ and did,” she said. 

Lillis stomped both of his Double-Full Full Fulls in the team event. Coming off of a crash in training two weeks ago, Lillis was thrilled to be back out on the triple. “It was just a pretty big step forward for me personally,” he said. “I had a pretty traumatic crash that caused me to pull out of the events [last week]. Getting back out there jumping at high caliber felt good.”

Although Lillis holds a bronze medal for the Team event in World Championships from 2021, this marked his first World Cup Team competition. He was excited to get that experience, and to do so with one of his best friends. “It was a lot of fun. [We have been] looking to put this together for a while. It was a lot of fun to jump with Justin, he’s one of my best friends. All of us, Justin, Winter and I, we had a good chemistry and vibe on the hill.”

Schoenefeld acted as anchor and came through with his Double-Full Full Fulls, clinching the podium spot for Team USA in the second finals round. “It was great being in the team event and finding success today.”

Aerials may be an individual sport, but it takes a village for any aerial skier to land on the podium, especially during a Team event. “We have some amazing coaches to help us get here: Vlad, JC and Bergy. It’s a team effort for sure,” said Vinecki.

Team China won Saturday’s Team event and Team Ukraine came in third.

The team travels back to the U.S. Sunday for a rest period and the chance to see the sun again “I’m going to start [this break] by hopefully seeing some daylight,” quipped Schoenefeld. “I’ll continue going to the gym and bouncing on the trampolines, lifting weights, and free skiing as well.”

“I’m looking forward to spending some time with my family and getting a bit of a mental break,” said Vinecki. “It’s been a long four weeks. I’m going to give my body a little bit of rest, and be fresh and ready to go. Once we leave again it will be non stop until after the Olympics.”

Lillis says he’ll be taking time to heal, “I’m definitely still on the mend, I’m not 100% yet. I’m looking forward to competing in Nationals in Bristol in my hometown. I think we (as a team) feel we have a lot more that we need to accomplish. So the whole team is looking forward to the next time we get strap in and compete.”

Aerials will compete next at U.S. National Championships scheduled for Dec. 31 at Bristol Mountain, N.Y. 

RESULTS
Team Aerials
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

 

Baumgartner Second At Montafon SBX

By Nicholas Fabula
December, 11 2021
Alessandro Haemmerle with Nick Baumgartner in hot pursuit.
Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle in first followed by Team USA's Nick Baumgartner in second at Montafon. (FIS)

It proved to be a challenging qualification week for the teams at Montafon, the weather was throwing a lot at the competitors and the event organizers with snowfall threatened to postpone the race. As luck would have it, there was a clearing in the weather that allowed the race to continue. Stay focused and don’t let up is a theme we saw at this event. 

The men’s Snowboard Cross final had a tight field at the gate with the defending SBX and local hero, Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle, Team USA's Nick Baumgartner—coming off a third-place finish at the Secret Garden season opener in China—and two young athletes from the Team Germany, Marin Noerl, and Umito Kirchwehm. It was going to be a battle all the way to the finish. 

Out of the gates, Noerl took the lead and held it for a considerable time. On his home turf, Alessandro held his composure and the second place position keeping up the pressure. In third place was Baumgartner, using his years of experience and skill to keep the pressure on Haemmerle and Noerl. On the second-to-last large turn, Noerl lost control and fell, opening the lead to Haemmerle. With a sealed victory Haemmerle took first, close behind Baumgartner who sealed the second-place position, with Kirchwehm in third place. 

After the race, Baumgartner shared, “This has been an amazing start to my season and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve always loved racing in Montafon, the people here are so nice and so welcoming to all us athletes. This course made for some tight racing and it was my experience that helped me make smart decisions that got me through the heats and onto the box.”  

For the women’s team, it was the weather, stiff competition, and challenging terrain that really made it difficult during the races. Team USA’s Stacy Gaskill took sixth in the overall standings at Montafon. 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Coach Peter Foley said that the qualifications were a challenge for the teams. “Nick and Stacy had really good races today. Nick really showed veteran racing skills making incredible passes and calmly weaving his way through traffic.”

Next stop for the SBX team—Cervinia, Italy, Dec. 17–18.

RESULTS
Men
Women

 

Brennan Fourth, Career-Best 12th For Ogden In Davos Sprint

By Tom Horrocks
December, 11 2021
Rosie Brennan
Rosie Brennan finished fourth in Saturday's FIS World Cup Cross Country sprint in Davos, Switzerland. (Modica/NordicFocus)

Rosie Brennan led four Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athletes into the points as she continued her torrid early-season World Cup pace, finishing fourth in the freestyle sprint in Davos, Switzerland. 

Ben Ogden posted a World Cup career-best result in 12th. He was 13th-fastest in qualifying and advanced into the semifinals for the first time in his career as one of two Lucky Losers. Jessie Diggins was 19th and Hailey Swibbul was 24th.

"Fun stuff," Ogden said. "I felt really good out there today, especially in the qualifier."

After posting the fifth-fastest qualifying time on a course where she earned her first career World Cup victory last season, Brennan won her quarterfinal heat and finished second in her semifinal heat to advance to the finals.

Sitting like a cat at the back of the pack ready to pounce on the first of two laps in the finals, Brennan moved up on the outside at the start of the second lap, and into the lead heading up the climb. Sprinting up the climb, she crested the top and, unfortunately, caught some loose snow and stumbled, which allowed Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist, Switzerland’s Nadine Faehndrich, and Slovenia’s Annemarija Lampic to pass.

"What an absolute bitter-sweet day...I am so crushed to have found myself face-first in the snow on the last lap after making my move," Brennan said. "It was a little tricky snow with some fast patches and some slow patches and I think I just got ahead of myself. It was no fault but my own and is definitely hard to swallow.

"I felt great all day and felt strong about my tactics and strength, but it's sprint racing and anything can happen," she continued. "Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug, and today I was the bug."

Brennan recovered quickly, however, Dahlqvist, Faehndrich, and Lampic were too far ahead and finished 1-2-3. For Dahlqvist, it was her third-straight World Cup Sprint victory this season after winning in Ruka, Finland, and Lillehammer, Norway. 

Through seven World Cup starts so far this season, Brennan has four-straight individual top-five results, and currently sits third in the overall World Cup standings. She is also seventh in the World Cup sprint standings and third in the World Cup distance standings.

Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won Saturday’s sprint. Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov was second and Richard Jouve of France was third. With his 12th-place finish, Ogden moved up to 18th in the World Cup sprint standings and 30th in the overall World Cup standings.

The FIS World Cup cross Country season continues Sunday in Davos with a 10k freestyle individual start for the women, and a 15k freestyle individual start for the men.

"The good news is that my fitness is there and my shape is holding up through this very busy Period 1, so I'm doing my best to put that mistake behind me and move forward to tomorrow," Brennan said. 

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle sprint
Men’s freestyle sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup sprint
Men’s World Cup sprint

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EDT
Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021
5:40 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Men’s 15km Freestyle - LIVE, Davos, SUI, Streaming Peacock
8:00 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Women’s 10km Freestyle - LIVE, Davos, SUI, Streaming 

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