Breezy Johnson led the way for the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team in the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup downhill in Crans Montana, Switzerland. The event was scheduled to go off the day before, but was canceled due to weather and pushed to Sunday.

“Conditions were tough running early,” said Johnson. “We kept having start stops, which is a lot of hurry up and wait.”

Johnson has been recovering this season, after injuring her knee prior to the 2022 Olympics, and was excited to have scored a solid result. 

“I'm happy that I kept the focus going. I feel like I didn't ski my best today but I'm really happy to still be in the top 15 and feel like I'm still pushing forward,” said Johnson.

Italian skier Sofia Goggia snagged her fifth downhill win for the season. Second place went to fellow Italian Federica Brignone, and third place went to first time podium finisher Laura Gauche of France, who started bib 26.

Tricia Mangan, Lauren Macuga and Keely Cashman raced, finishing in 30th, 36th and 40th place, respectively. Bella Wright did not finish.

The next series for women’s speed will be in Kvitfjell, Norway, March 1-5.

RESULTS
Women's downhill

Jaelin Kauf is silver again at the Freestyle World Ski Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, after taking the second spot in dual moguls. Kauf left nothing on the snow and gave it her all in the big final, battling France’s Perrine Laffont until the end. 

“That last run against Perrine was [the most fun] I’ve had in such a long time,” she said. “I could just tell we were neck-and-neck the whole way down. That’s exactly what you want for one and two.

“To be on the podium two days back to back made for a really fun World Champs and event here in Bakuriani. I was definitely going for the gold both days but I’ll settle for second. I wanted to just go out and ski my run all day and leave nothing out there, and I didn’t.”

Sunday’s medal makes four career World Championships medals for the 26 year old. It was a podium repeat of Saturday with Laffont taking gold and Austria’s Avital Carroll with the bronze. 

Hannah Soar had a grueling bracket, dueling every other American woman to make it to the small final. She met Olivia Giaccio in the round of 16 and Elizabeth Lemley in the quarterfinals. 

“We qualified 2, 3, 4, 5 yesterday so arguably some of the hardest people to duel in the event, regardless of it being team versus team,” Soar commented. “I was excited to lay down those first two duels with Olivia and Liz and have them lay down their great runs too. Definitely nail-biters.”

Soar went against Carroll in the small final for the battle of the bronze but didn’t have the speed to ski over the line first, and ended the day in fourth - her career-best World Championships result. 

“Versus Avital, I gave it my all but was just a little too slow to pull off that bronze today,” said Soar. “But it was exciting to be out there and I definitely gave it my best. And I had a whole cheering squad here from Vermont, and it was awesome to make the final four with them here.”

Lemley ended the day in fifth in her dual moguls World Championships debut and Giaccio placed ninth - topping her best World Champs finish from Saturday. 

Nick Page was the top American man, ending the day in seventh - his career best World Championships finish. Page bested Finland’s Simi Salonen in the round of 16 but met Australia’s Matt Graham in the quarterfinals. It was a tight duel but Graham advanced, and eventually went on to earn bronze. Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury won, making history with his sixth consecutive World Championships gold, remaining undefeated in World Championship competition since 2019. Sweden’s Walter Wallberg took silver. 

Dylan Marcellini finished 12th in his dual moguls World Championships debut. Dylan Walczyk finished 18th and Cole McDonald finished 21st in his first dual moguls World Championships.

Moguls now breaks until World Cup Finals in Kazakhstan in March. 

RESULTS
Women’s Dual Moguls
Men’s Dual Moguls

At the first day of Dew Tour, U.S. Snowboard Team rookie team member Bea Kim secured her first ever pro-level podium at her first time competing in the Dew Tour halfpipe, landing in third place.

"This event means a lot to me because it's Dew Tour and it's just something in the snowboarding industry that I have looked up to since I was a little girl," said Kim. "It is insane to be here for my first time and to land on the podium. I just tried to put down a run and have fun, and it worked out!"

It was a beautiful day at Copper Mountain with a little breeze, and athletes lauded the pipe. Gaon Choi of South Korea was first and Patti Zhou, at only 11 years old, was second. U.S. Snowboard Team's Sonny Alba was fourth and Summer Fenton was fifth.

"Last year I was injured during the Dew Tour, so I was happy to land my run," said Alba. "The pipe was perfect!"

RESULTS
Women's halfpipe

On a bluebird, pristine day, Dew Tour held its first event: the men's freeski halfpipe finals, where 2x Olympic gold medalist David Wise took second and teammate Aaron Blunck was third. Canadian Brendan Mackay took the win.

Wise earned his silver medal with a score of an 87.00 with a run that included a switch right 900 tail grab, into a switch double 1080 Japan grab, into right 900 tail grab, into a left double 1260 mute grab, and ending it off with a right double 1260 mute grab. After landing his first of four runs, Wise said, "I have three more runs to go; I don't know what to do next." Thankfully for him, this run secured him into that second place for the entirety of the event. 

Wise now flies to the Bakuriani World Championships tonight. "I like when the competition schedule is tight like this, because it gives me a little less time to overthink things," said Wise. "It's like, alright, we're going to show up and there is one day of practice, there's the finals, then we're going to get on an airplane to go to Georgia. Then there is one day of practice in Georgia, then there's qualifiers, and then were going to take a day off, and then there's finals. It just goes boom, boom, boom.

"I kind of excel in that chaotic environment, maybe because I'm a parent and I have raised children. So, I am stoked. I really was just happy that the sun was out and that the pipe was nice today. So to put down some solid runs felt good!"

Blunck claimed his third place with a score of an 84.00 with a run that included a right 1080 tail grab, into a switch down the pipe double cork 900, into a switch right 700, into a left double cork 900, and ending the run off with a right double cork 1260 tail grab. 

"Conditions out here today in Copper were all time," said Blunck. "It was a beautiful, bluebird day. It has been a busy week up here at Copper, so we're stoked. To finish my season off with a podium is huge for me. It's been a really rough season battling injuries, so it is nice to have one finish on top and now go finish the season skiing in deep snow and build some jumps."

Alex Ferreira just finished off the podium in fourth with a score of an 82.33. Hunter Hess placed sixth with a 70.66 and rookie team member Matt Labaugh placed seventh in his first ever Dew Tour appearance. 

RESULTS
Men's halfpipe

An enormous crowd showed up to the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup to watch the best men tech racers in the world race the first Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup at Palisades Tahoe since 2017. George Steffey was the top U.S. man in the giant slalom, scoring his first career World Cup points in 21st place.

Marco Schwarz of Austria won the race in a thrilling fashion, with 2022 overall World Cup winner and first run winner Marco Odermatt just missing a victory by .03 seconds and finishing second. Rasmus Windingstad of Norway was third.

An enormous storm dropped two feet of fresh powder on Palisades Tahoe Friday, and while it made for a fantastic powder day, it made racing questionable for Saturday. But the course workers labored throughout the night to get the famed Red Dog hill ready for a giant slalom. The California crowd arrived in droves to sunshine and warm temperatures, and the race went off without a hitch.

Steffey, a native of Lyme, New Hampshire and Stratton Mountain School graduate, was 26th after first run and battled a cranker of a second run to take 21st overall. It was his first World Cup points score, having bounced between World Cups and Europa Cups for the last few years. “That’s a huge weight of my shoulders,” said Steffey. “I’ve been trying to crack into the top 30 for a long time—several years now. I’m really psyched to have finally done it and super grateful that the first time was at home. So much energy—I could hear the crowd coming down that last pitch. It was really just an incredible experience.”

Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete River Radamus put down a fast first run, leading the first few splits, but got his arm caught in a panel, which set him down to 18th place. On his second run, he went all out, but took a gate too tight over the pitch and did not finish. “My mentality was to push myself to the limits and see what I get away with,” said Radamus. “The course set and the snow necessitated charging to succeed today. I was happy with my mentality first run—I laid it all there; I wasn’t skiing conservatively. I felt like I was doing the same second run. Obviously the results aren’t what I want, but I have to understand that’s the risk of pushing it as hard as I can.”

The U.S. men were thrilled to be in front of the home crowd and racing on home snow in front of friends and family, even if second runs didn’t happen for everyone. Patrick Kenney and Brian McLaughlin did not qualify for second run. Tommy Ford went down hard on his first run and did not finish. He is OK.

The race also marked the first public Stifel Bibbo Award, an award given to the racer that moved up most in the ranks. Belgian skier Sam Maes took home the win and a monetary award after moving up from bib 37 to 14th place.

The men gear up for slalom on Sunday to wrap up the tech weekend at home. Watch the race LIVE on Outside for free starting at 12:30 p.m. ET. 

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
(all times ET)

February 26, 2023
12:30 p.m. - men's slalom, run 1 - LIVE on Outside+
1:00 p.m. - men's giant slalom - NBC*
4:15 p.m. - men's slalom, run 2 - LIVE on Outside+

March 4, 2023
10:00 a.m. - men's slalom - CNBC*

*delayed broadcast

Four U.S. women were in the top 30 for the 15kmsSkiathlon at the 2023 World Championships. With 7.5km of classic to start the race and 7.5km of skate to bring it home, the field of 50 women skied a fast-paced race on the third race of the championships. 

The forecasted rain and wind held off for race day and instead the glaring sun came out to play, creating a spring skiing-esque feel. Instead of dealing with the rain, athletes and support staff were seen cutting their race suits to t-shirts and shorts to deal with the heat. 

With a mass start, the strong field of women descended onto the first half of the course, which features a long downhill into a technical 180-degree turn at the lowest part of the track. Three classic tracks span the narrow course and, as it goes in mass starts, there was carnage. Unfortunately, on the second lap of the classic course, Rosie Brennan who was leading the entire field of skiers got caught up in the deep, powdery snow and lost a ski, sending her back nearly a minute from the leader. 

"I have never had that happen before," Brennan said. "I had a moment of not knowing what to do. At first I thought maybe my boot just came off the binding, but then I went to pick up my ski and I realized it was the binding. Luckily one of my coaches was there with one of my skis." 

Brennan pushed on with a spare ski. Throughout the next several kilometers and through the transition zone she continued to pick athletes off and move up the ranks to 19th place. 

"I feel like... I am at the World Championships representing my country and I have to give it my best until the very end," said Brennan. 

A highlight of the day was young athlete Sydney Palmer-Leger skiing to a top 20 in her first ever World Championships race. Palmer-Leger has a few World Cup starts to her resume but this was her first time on the World Championships stage. Nerves aside, Palmer Leger led the pack of four U.S. women throughout the entire race and ended the day in 20th place. Aside from a top 20 in her first World Champs, this was her first ever skiathlon for the 21 year old, making her result even more impressive.

“Getting top 20 at my first World Championships was pretty amazing," she said. "I didn’t have any expectations how it was going to go and I just went out there to have some fun and I definitely succeeded!”

Hailey Swirbul skied a consistent race and crossed the finish line in 26th and Sophia Laukli was in the top 30 in 29th. Among the crashes in the first few kilometers, Laukli broke a pole and skied with a reserve pole until lapping through the stadium where a staff member was there with a new one. Despite the broken pole, Laukli skied strong and added another top 30 to her resume. 

Winning the day was Ebba Andersson of Sweden and in second was teammate Frida Karlsson. Astrid Oeyre Slind of Norway was third. 

Now, the women will reset and look forward to the next races. Tomorrow, the men and women will race the team sprint. Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live.

RESULTS
Women's skiathlon

HOW TO WATCH

Sunday, Feb. 26 - skiandsnowboard.live

5:30 a.m. ET - Team Sprint, Skate, Men’s and Women’s 

Tuesday, Feb. 28 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 10k, Skate, Women’s 

Wednesday, March 1  - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 15k, Skate, Men’s 

Thursday, March 2 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 4x5k Relay, Classic/Skate, Women’s

Friday, March 3 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 4x10k Relay, Classic/Skate, Men’s

Saturday, March 4 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:00 a.m. ET - 30k, Classic, Women’s

Sunday, March 5 -  skiandsnowboard.live

6:00 a.m. ET - 50k, Classic, Men’s 

Jaelin Kauf earned her first singles moguls World Championship medal in Bakuriani, Georgia, on Saturday claiming silver. This is her third World Championships medal in the four she’s competed at. Kauf continued her season’s speed streak, skiing the fastest run of the women’s super final round and earning a score of 83.56.

“I’m really stoked,” she said in the finish area. “I was really toying around with the idea of that last one to do cork on the bottom air and really go for that top spot. But I’ve never had a World Champs medal before in singles. I just focused on skiing my same run, putting it down, skiing it fast and nailing those turns.”

Kauf is having a time of a season skiing fast and confidently, and making it look effortless on the bump track.

“I am really focused on my strengths and that’s skiing the speed and executing the jumps that I have to a really high level. I feel like I’m really pushing the sport and it’s really fun, pushing the speed, seeing if I can max it out every event.”

The American women made a statement on Saturday with Kauf, Olivia Giaccio, Hannah Soar and Elizabeth Lemley all qualifying for finals in the first qualification round, going 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. World Championship format differs from typical World Cup format in that each athlete has two chances to qualify for finals, which features 18 per gender instead of the usual 12. 

Lemley made her World Championships debut on Saturday, running first out of the gate to kick off the event and setting the tone for the rest of the women. The 17-year-old joined Kauf in the Super Final round, but unfortunately DNFd and finished the day in sixth. 

“I was pretty nervous but I laid down a good run,” Lemley reflected after qualifications. When asked if she liked going first, she answered, “Nope! Hated it.”

In finals Giaccio performed back full to cork 7 and skied a strong middle section, but didn’t quite nail the landing of her bottom air and finished the day in 12th, her career-best World Championships result. Soar finished the day in 8th, her best singles World Championships finish as well. 

France’s Perrine Laffont won her second consecutive World Championship title and Austria’s Avital Carroll rounded out the podium with bronze. 

On the men’s side Nick Page was the lone American to make finals, qualifying eighth in the first qualification round, excusing him from running a second time. In finals Page stomped his top cork 7 grab and skied a strong middle section, but had a mistake in landing his bottom cork 10, and finished the day in 15th - his career-best World Championships finish. 

Dylan Marcellini and Cole McDonald each made their World Championships debuts. Marcellini had a strong first qualification run, coming in 11th, narrowly missing the ninth position cutoff. He took another run, but it wasn’t enough to make it to finals, and he finished the day in 20th. McDonald finished the day in 30th. Dylan Walczyk also competed, and finished in 24th. 

Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury earned his seventh World Championship gold medal, Australia’s Matt Graham took silver and Sweden’s Walter Wallberg took bronze.   

Moguls continues World Championship competition with Duals on Sunday. 

“Same thing for tomorrow,” said Kauf for her game plan. “Focus on the speed, be the first out of the gate and first to cross the finish line, and hopefully move up one place.”

RESULTS
Women's Moguls
Men's Moguls

Not every day of cross country ski racing can include firm snow with perfect tracks, and today was no exception. Despite the challenging conditions, the U.S. men posted solid results among the strong field in the men's 30k skiathlon, highlighted by a top-20 result from Scott Patterson, who was 19th overall.

The skiathlon race features both techniques - skate and classic. Throughout the 30km of distance, athletes started the first 15km with the classic technique, then transitioned straight to the skate technique for the second 15km. 

For the classic portion of the race, the course led the skiers downhill for the first 1-1.5km. With technical turns at high speeds in a pack of 64 skiers, it was hard not to get tangled up; there were a few significant crashes that led to several broken poles and broken skis. Moving forward, the U.S. men consistently skied within the same pack. Within seconds of each other, Patterson was 18th going into the stadium for the first lap. Wonders and Gus were right behind him in the top 30. At the 6km marker, Patterson dropped back by only a few skiers, again in a large pack and was positioned in 26th, Hunters 30th and Schumacher 35th. 

After the first 15km of classic skiing, all athletes skied through the exchange zone to switch to their skate skis and poles, and began the second half of the race, this time on a new course.

With Simon Hegstad Krueger of Norway leading the way, he eventually put some space between him and his teammate Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, the winner of yesterday's 1.4km individual classic sprint. With the snow getting choppier each lap, the athletes pushed through. 

"This course has some really long working sections and with the snow, it made them even longer," said Schumacher. "I just tried to ski as well as I could, and I finished the race to prove that I can and to keep practicing fighting through." 

At the end of the day, Norway swept the podium. Krueger won, Klaebo was 4.09 seconds behind in second and Roethe was third. For the U.S. Patterson scored a World Championships top-20 result, Wonders was 24th and Schumacher 38th. 

"It was a good race! I skied a very consistent race which I am happy with, with good transitions into skate." said Wonders. "Overall I am happy with the performance!" Teammate Patterson was similar in his post-race response. "Today was fine!" he said. "I never really feel like I could find the top gear but it was a fine start to World Championships but I am definitely looking forward to more racing!" 

Now, the men will have a rest day and the women will race the 15k Skiathlon tomorrow, Feb. 25. 

RESULTS 

Men

HOW TO WATCH

Saturday, Feb. 25 - skiandsnowboard.live

8:00 a.m. ET - 15k Skiathlon, Classic/Skate, Women’s

Sunday, Feb. 26 - skiandsnowboard.live

5:30 a.m. ET - Team Sprint, Skate, Men’s and Women’s 

Tuesday, Feb. 28 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 10k, Skate, Women’s 

Wednesday, March 1  - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 15k, Skate, Men’s 

Thursday, March 2 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 4x5k Relay, Classic/Skate, Women’s

Friday, March 3 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 4x10k Relay, Classic/Skate, Men’s

Saturday, March 4 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:00 a.m. ET - 30k, Classic, Women’s

Sunday, March 5 -  skiandsnowboard.live

6:00 a.m. ET - 50k, Classic, Men’s 

The sun and postcard Colorado weather came out in full force for the 2023 Denver Sports Lab FIS Masters Cup and Western Regional Championships February 3-5! The race surfaced was perfectly prepped and 115 racers from 10 countries were full send for 3 days of competition. Racers lined up eagerly at the start discussing their intended line and strategies for the day then gathered around the scoreboard dissecting their times and runs. The excitement and stories of the day continued into the afternoon and evening at the awards parties held at the EagleVail Pavillion with free food and beverages thanks to our generous party sponsors. We wrapped up three days of racing with the SL awards and announcement of the 2023 Denver Sports Lab Western Regional Champions at the base of the resort. 

A big thanks to the Beaver Creek Race Department and all of the official and the volunteers for making it a great event!

Best wishes to all the racer for the rest of your seasons as you pursue more fun, titles, podiums, and maybe even a FIS Masters Cup globe!

FIS Results

Western Regional Championships Results

PDF Results Packet

PHOTOS

• Videos from GS
• Free Race Photos from event
• Event Photos, podium photos on Facebook

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On the first day of competition at the 2023 Nordic World Championships in Planica, Slovenia the U.S. Cross Country Team not only sent three women to the classic sprint heats and two men, but three athletes had their best-ever results at the World Championships. 

On a cool and partly cloudy afternoon, over 200 skiers, representing 60 nations descended onto the classic sprint 1.4km course for the first race of the World Championships.

In the qualifications round, it took skiers just over three minutes to ski the 1.4km course. With thousands of fans, donning their countries’ flags surrounding the course, the sights and sounds of Planica filled the stadium with loud cheers for the athletes. 

For qualifications, Rosie Brennan qualified the highest for the women, securing her position in the rounds in sixth overall. Right behind Brennan was teammate Julia Kern. Kern qualified 12th, breaking the top-30 to move onto the next race. Next, was Jessie Diggins. Diggins was merely seconds behind Kern and landed 14th. Hailey Swirlbul did not qualify for the rounds, but in a post-race reflection, Swirbul found several other highlights of the day. ““Everything was great. even though I didn’t have the race that I wanted, I ended up having one of the most fun days of my winter,” said Swirlbul. “I felt like the energy was really positive from everyone today. I also got the chance to go out on course for the heats and be there for support and that was really fun to support my teammates in a different way.”

For the men, two qualified for the heats. Ben Ogden led the way by qualifying in sixth overall among the strong field of over 100 racers. Teammate JC Schoonmaker was close behind and qualified in 15th; Kevin Bolger did not advance to the heats, but stayed through the entire race to support the team.

Onto the Heats

With the men’s and women’s heats going one after the other, the top 30 racers each fought to make it to the semifinals, with only the top two securing a spot and the third fastest “lucky loser” time moving on.

With the course breaking down before our eyes due to warm temperatures, impact of all of the racers and snow quality, the snow became choppy. Yet, the U.S. skiers charged on.

Kern was ultimately second in her heat and Brennan made it through to the next by having the fastest third-place time. Diggins did not advance. 

“In the semis, Rosie and I were battling in the race but we both had really good energy,” said Kern. “Overall, I gave it my all and it’s all looking good for the races ahead. It was awesome to see Rosie get her best ever classic sprint result and World Champs result and to also get my best ever World Champs result, along with JC skiing so well!”

“The course was pretty crazy. It was salted the night before and once it broke, it got really mushy,” said Diggins. “For me, this is my most challenging conditions to race in, but I was really proud of how I skied. That was some of my best slushy striding that I have ever done! But, I learned some things for the next time I race this course and it was very valuable - and it was so cool seeing JC, Julia and Rosie skiing into the finals!”

For the men, Ogden skied fast in his technical heat, but did not advance. For Schoonmaker, after a crash in his heat that he nearly missed, he advanced on to the semifinals.

At the end a long sprint day there were many moments to highlight but the best-ever results from three athletes were top of mind. Schoonmaker finished the World Championships classic sprint in ninth overall, securing his best-ever individual World Championships result. Rosie Brennan not only skied to her best ever individual World Championships result but also snagged her best-ever classic sprint result with her seventh place finish. In eighth place overall, Kern now adds the Planica classic sprint to her best ever World Championships result.

Next on the World Championships agenda is the skiathlon race. The men will race tomorrow, Feb. 24 and the women on the 25th. The skiathlon is a unique race that features both classic and skate techniques. The men will race two 15k’s and the women will race two 7.5k’s. Watch the action LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live.

RESULTS

Women's

Men's

HOW TO WATCH

Friday, Feb. 24 - skiandsnowboard.live

9:30 a.m. ET - 30k Skiathlon, Classic/Skate, Men’s

Saturday, Feb. 25 - skiandsnowboard.live

8:00 a.m. ET - 15k Skiathlon, Classic/Skate, Women’s

Sunday, Feb. 26 - skiandsnowboard.live

5:30 a.m. ET - Team Sprint, Skate, Men’s and Women’s 

Tuesday, Feb. 28 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 10k, Skate, Women’s 

Wednesday, March 1  - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 15k, Skate, Men’s 

Thursday, March 2 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 4x5k Relay, Classic/Skate, Women’s

Friday, March 3 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:30 a.m. ET - 4x10k Relay, Classic/Skate, Men’s

Saturday, March 4 - skiandsnowboard.live

6:00 a.m. ET - 30k, Classic, Women’s

Sunday, March 5 -  skiandsnowboard.live

6:00 a.m. ET - 50k, Classic, Men’s