Goldberg Career-Best Super-G At Kvitfjell

Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) picked up a career-best FIS Ski World Cup super-G result Sunday, finishing 16th on the Olympic course in Kvitfjell, Norway.

Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud took the victory ahead of Switzerland’s Beat Feuz in second and Brice Roger of France in third. Jansrud also wrapped up the World Cup super-G title with his victory Sunday.

Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 37th; Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.) was 38th, and Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) was 41st.

Up next, the World Cup finals take place March 12-18 in Are, Sweden.

RESULTS
Men’s super-G
World Cup overall standings
World Cup super-G standings

Olympic champion Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) gained another level of global respect Sunday. Diggins commanded a spot in the lead group from start to finish in the Holmenkollen 30k freestyle race in Oslo, Norway to finish second behind Norwegian superstar Marit Bjoergen. It was the first time an American woman had taken a podium spot in a World Cup 30k race.

Diggins wasted no time, charging out of the start and battling with Finland’s Krista Parmakoski for the lead. By the 5k mark, Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla joined the fray. At 10k, Diggins, Kalla and Norway’s Ragnhild Haga formed a lead group with Bjoergen and Astrid Jacobsen a few seconds back. At times in the latter stages of the race, the lead trio had put a 25-second gap on the chase. 

“I was feeling great today, and I’ve been in the best shape of my life these last few weeks,” said Diggins. “So I decided that whatever else happened, I was going to have a gusty race and be brave enough to push the pace even if that meant skiing in the front and doing a lot of the work, because I knew that was my best shot. I took my chances and kept hammering ... I felt I was almost sprinting the whole 30k.”

Kalla and Wiggins took turns pulling the lead group with Haga sitting back. In the final five kilometers, Haga took over the lead as Bjoergen and Jacobsen were quickly closing the gap. Sensing the chase narrowing, Kalla took over the lead again, quickening the pace with Diggins right on her heels. 

"It would have been smart to switch skis, but I was just focusing on going," Diggins said. "I was in front most of the time, so I did not know who was going to switch or not."

With just a kilometer to go, the two groups melded with Bjoergen vaulting to the lead and quickly putting a gap on Kalla and Diggins. In the sprint to the finish, Diggins charged ahead to take second with Haga barely nipping Kalla at the finish for third.

It was a strong day for the USA with four in the points. Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) had a career-best 12th. In her final visit to Holmenkollen, Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) was 19th for a top career 30k skate (she was 12th at Holmenkollen in 2014 in a 30k classic). Caitlin Patterson (Anchorage) was 28th - a first-time long distance World Cup points finish. Rosie Frankowski (Minneapolis) just missed the points in 31st.

The World Cup tour now journeys to Sweden for the Finals in Falun next Friday, Saturday a, d Sunday. The schedule is very U.S.-centric with an opening freestyle sprint, a 15k/10k classic mass start and a 15k/10k freestyle pursuit Sunday to close the season.

Diggins remained third in the overall World Cup standings and is also third in distance. Heidi Weng retained the World Cup lead with Ingvild Jacobsen second, 107 points ahead of Diggins.

RESULTS
Women's 30k mass start freestyle
World Cup overall standings

Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) finished 15th in Saturday’s FIS Ski World Cup downhill in Kvitfjell, Norway. Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) was 27th and Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.) was 42nd.

Germany’s Thomas Dressen continued his late-season surge, with his second World Cup victory. Switzerland’s Beat Feuz was second, followed by Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway in third.

Up next, the men race super-G Sunday in Kvitfjell before heading to Are, Sweden for the World Cup Finals. Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.) is currently 25th in the super-G standings heading into Sunday’s event. Only the top 25 in each discipline qualify for the World Cup Finals. Bennett is the only American who has qualified for the downhill at the World Cup Finals.

RESULTS
Men’s downhill
World Cup downhill standings
World Cup overall standings

Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) won a fifth World Cup slalom title following her 42nd FIS Ski World Cup victory Saturday in Ofterschwang, Germany. Shiffrin now holds the record for the most World Cup victories before the age of 23.

Battling spring snow conditions and light rain, Shiffrin won the first run, then unseat second run leader Wendy Holdener of Switzerland by 0.09-seconds for the victory. Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter rounded out the podium in third.

“It was a really good fight,” said Shiffrin, who celebrates her 23rd birthday March 13. “For Wendy, I knew she had a really good run because I could hear the announcers from the top, but I thought ‘not today Wendy!’”

Saturday’s win was Shiffrin’s 31st World Cup slalom victory, and after wrapping up the overall World Cup title with a third-place finish in Friday’s giant slalom, she now has won the World Cup slalom title five times: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018.

“It was an incredible, incredible weekend for sure,” said Shiffrin, who now heads to the World Cup Finals in Are, Sweden next week. “My biggest challenge this year has not been the Olympics, or the (World Cup) overall or any of that, but getting motivated for these last races.

“I’m in a constant chase of skiing my best and skiing free,” she added. “Hopefully, I’m not going to be feeling a lot of nerves (in Are) because there is not a lot of risk. But still every time I get in the start gate I want to perform at my highest level, and that’s the biggest goal there.”

Up next, the women race downhill at the World Cup Finals in Are March 14, followed by super-G March 15; team event March 16; slalom March 17 and giant slalom March 18. 

RESULTS
Women’s slalom
World Cup slalom standings
World Cup overall standings
 

Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) wrapped up her second overall FIS Ski World Cup title following her third-place finish in Friday’s giant slalom in Ofterschwang, Germany.

Shiffrin came into Friday’s race, her first since winning the gold medal in giant slalom and silver in alpine combined at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, with a 561-point lead over Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener, who finished 14th Friday.

“It’s an incredible moment right now,” Shiffrin said. “After last year when I won the overall, some people were saying it was sort of fake ‘because the other girls weren’t there and there was nobody to challenge her.’ So to have the overall this year locked in already before we go to (World Cup) Finals, it feels like a confirmation for me.”

Shiffrin now carries a 603-point lead into next week’s World Cup Finals in Are, Sweden, and mathematically clinches her second-straight overall World Cup title. Shiffrin can clinch the World Cup slalom title Saturday with a 10th-place or better result in Ofterschwang.

Olympic downhill champion Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway won her first World Cup race Friday, as Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg was second. Rebensburg leads the overall giant slalom standings by 92 points over Tessa Worley of France. Shiffrin is third, 101 points back.

Up next, the women compete in a slalom Saturday in Ofterschwang.

RESULTS
Women's giant slalom

The 2018 Olympic Winter Games are behind us but the race for podiums and crystal globes continues with U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes competing around the globe. Read on to see where the action is this week and how to watch via NBC, NBCSN and the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA.

FIS Women’s Ski World Cup - Offerschwang, Germany
Current overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) will compete in both the slalom and giant slalom events in Offerschwang, Germany March 9-10. Shiffrin currently has a 561-point lead over Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener in the battle for the overall crystal globe and leads the slalom standings as well. If results go Mikaela’s way she could secure the overall World Cup title this weekend. Stay tuned as history could be made!

FIS Men’s Ski World Cup - Kvitfjell, Norway
The men’s speed team, including Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.), will race downhill in Norway on Saturday, March 10 followed by a super-G on Sunday, March 11.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Airolo, Switzerland
Coming off a winning weekend of podium performances from Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) and Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.), the U.S. Ski Team moguls athletes are back in Europe for a dual moguls weekend in Airolo, Switzerland. Competition will take place on Saturday, March 10.

FIS Cross Country World Cup - Oslo, Norway
The cross country stars of the U.S. Ski Team, including Olympic gold medalists Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall, move on to Norway for a pair of mass-start distance races March 10-11. Saturday features the men’s 50k freestyle followed by the women’s 30k freestyle on Sunday.

FIS Men’s & Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup - Oslo, Norway
Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.) and Michael Glasder (Cary, Ill.) will lead the charge for the U.S. at the men’s HS134 team and individual events March 10-11 in Oslo, Norway to kick off the Raw Air tournament. Saturday’s team event will be a night jump followed by the individual event on Sunday.

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup - Oslo, Norway
Brothers Bryan and Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) are joined by Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) to compete in an HS134 jump and individual Gundersen on Saturday, March 10 in Oslo, Norway.

FIS Snowboard World Cup - Scuol, Switzerland
U.S. riders Maggie Carrigan, Abby Champagne, Lynn Ott, Robert Burns, Ryan Rosencranz and Dylan Udolf will compete in parallel giant slalom in Scuol, Switzerland. Qualifying rounds and finals will take place on Saturday, March 10.

FIS Snowboard World Cup - Moscow
A strong contingent of U.S. riders, including Alex Deibold (Boulder, Colo.), Jonathan Cheever (Saugus, Mass.) and Meghan Tierney (Edwards, Colo.), will join the international field in a city race in Moscow, Russia. Individual qualification and finals will take place on Saturday, March 10 followed by a team event on Sunday, March 11.

Burton US Open - Vail, Colo.
Newly crowned Olympic gold medalists Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.), Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.) headline a roster of star-studded U.S. athletes competing at the 36th annual Burton U.S. Open in Vail, Colo. March 7-10. A full schedule and information on how to watch is available at events.burton.com.

HOW TO WATCH
*All Times EST

ALPINE 
March 9
5:00 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 1, Ofterschwang - OlympicChannel.com
7:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Ofterschwang - Olympic Channel TV - LIVE

March 10
3:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1, Ofterschwang - OlympicChannel.com
5:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill, Kvitfjell - Olympic Channel TV - LIVE
6:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom, Ofterschwang - Olympic Channel TV - LIVE
11:00 p.m. - Women’s slalom, Ofterschwang - NBCSN - Same Day Broadcast

March 11
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill, Kvitfjell - Olympic Channel TV - LIVE

FREESTYLE
March 10
8:45 a.m. - Dual moguls, Scuol - OlympicChannel.com 

CROSS COUNTRY
March 10
8:30 a.m. - Men’s 50k mass start freestyle, Oslo - OlympicChannel.com
12:00 p.m. - Men’s 50k mass start freestyle, Oslo - Olympic Channel TV - Same Day Broadcast

March 11
5:45 a.m. - Women’s 30k mass start freestyle, Oslo - OlympicChannel.com
11:30 a.m. - Women’s 30k mass start freestyle, Oslo - Olympic Channel TV - Same Day Broadcast

SKI JUMPING 
March 9
1:30 p.m. - Men’s HS 130 qualifying, Oslo - OlympicChannel.com

March 10
11:00 a.m. - Men’s HS 130 Team, Oslo - OlympicChannel.com

March 11
4:15 a.m. - Women’s HS 130, Oslo - OlympicChannel.com
8:30 a.m. - Men’s HS 130 qualifying, Oslo - OlympicChannel.com
12:30 p.m. - Raw Air Tournament, Oslo - Olympic Channel TV - Same Day Broadcast

NORDIC COMBINED
March 10
4:00 a.m. - Men’s HS 134 - Olympic Challen TV -OlympicChannel.com
7:30 a.m. - Men’s individual, Oslo - Olympic Challen TV - OlympicChannel.com
11:00 a.m. - Men’s individual, Oslo - Olympic Challen TV - Same Day Broadcast

SNOWBOARD
March 10
7:30 a.m. - Parallel giant slalom, Scuol - OlympicChannel.com
10:00 a.m. - Snowboardcross sprint, Moscow - OlympicChannel.com
1:00 p.m. - Snowboardcross sprint, Moscow - Olympic Channel TV - Same Day Broadcast

March 11
3:30 a.m. - Snowboardcross team event, Moscow -OlympicChannel.com

Olympic champion Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) returned to the FIS World Cup tour Wednesday, finishing third in a grueling city sprint in Drammen, Norway. It was her first ever podium in a classic sprint. Diggins remained third in the overall World Cup standings and moved up to fifth in the sprint standings. Norway swept titles with Johannes Klæbo and Maikken Kaspersen Falla taking wins.

"I’m really happy I could finally make the podium in the classic sprint," Diggins said. "My coaches and I have been working a lot on my classic. But still, I’m a bit surprised I got third today. I had again amazing skis, the technicians did a great job!"

It was a hard-fought battle for Diggins on a course that featured tight 180-degree corners and an uphill finish that played a role in nearly every heat. Diggins won her first heat to advance to semifinals. In a grueling semifinal heat, she finished strong on the uphill to advance as a lucky loser to the finals. In the championship round, Diggins found herself in a group that was gapped by the three leaders. She persevered, closing the gap on Stina Nilsson of Sweden in the final 200 meters then won a sprint to the finish for third with Russian Natalia Nepryaeva to take third.

Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) was 21st with Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) 27th. Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) was the only American man in the heats, finishing 18th – a career-best sprint.

The World Cup tour now heads to Oslo for a men’s 50k mass start freestyle on Saturday with women’s 30k on Sunday. Diggins holds a 35 point lead over Finland’s Krista Parmakoski for third in the overall heading into the weekend with only the World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden to follow.

RESULTS
Women's classic sprint
Men's classic sprint 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard will provide a live stream broadcast for its upcoming Junior Cross Country Championships on the Olympic venues at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah March 6-10. Each event over the four days of competition will stream live on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Facebook channel.

Action begins Tuesday, March 6 with individual start classic distance races at 9:00 a.m. MST. Action continues Wednesday, March 7 with freestyle sprint. Qualifying rounds begin at 9:00 a.m. MST with heats starting at 12:00 p.m. Friday, March 9 will feature freestyle mass start races starting at 9:00 a.m. MST. The event wraps up Saturday, March 10 with classic relays beginning at 9:00 a.m. MST.

The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Junior Championships attract the top cross country athletes 20 years of age and under from clubs around the nation.

"The Junior Championships are an important stepping stone for young athletes," said U.S. Ski & Snowboard's Nordic Domestic Director Robert Lazzaroni. "With the success of our national team the last few years, and especially now with Olympic gold, we're seeing a growing interest at clubs from all parts of our country. Athletes are motivated to come to an Olympic venue like Soldier Hollow for their own national championship."

The live streaming is a part of a season-long initiative from U.S. Ski & Snowboard which has included the L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships, SuperTour and Slumberland American Birkebeiner. Coverage will include three to four cameras in the stadium, plus one to two additional cameras on course depending on the race. An overview camera on top of the competition center is also planned. There will be live commentary.

Fans can also follow live scoring and obtain start lists from Summit Timing. Additional event information is available at: www.xcjuniornationals2018.com or usskiandsnowboard.org/events/2018-junior-national-cross-country-championships.
 

U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD JUNIOR CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tuesday, March 6, 2018
9:00 a.m. MST - Classic individual start
U16 women 5k
U16 men 5k
U18 women 5k
U18 men 10k
U20 women 5k
U20 men 10k

Wednesday, March 7, 2018
9:00 a.m. MST - Freestyle sprint qualification rounds
U16 women
U16 men
U18 women
U18 men
U20 women
U20 men

12:00 p.m. MST - Quarter final/semi final/final
U16 women/men
U18 women/men
U20 women/men

Thursday, March 8, 2018
Training day - no competitions

Friday, March 9, 2018
9:00 a.m. MST - Freestyle mass start
U16 women 5k
U16 men 5k
U18 women 10k
U18 men 10k
U20 women 10k
U20 men 15k

Saturday, March 10, 2018
9:00 a.m. MST - Classic relays
U16 women 3x3k
U16 men 3x3k
U18 women 3x3k
U18 men 3x3k
U20 women 3x3k
U20 women 3x3k

Junior Cross Country Championships LIVE Stream

Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.), the youngest member of the U.S. moguls team at 17 years old, made it through five runs down the Tazawako moguls course on Sunday to claim her first World Cup victory in dual moguls. The win was also Johnson’s first podium of her career and came just a few weeks after she made her Olympic debut.

Johnson was one of four U.S. women who made it out of the qualifying rounds. She skied consistently throughout the day leading into her final dual against last year’s overall World Cup winner Britteny Cox of Australia. Johnson took the win with a score of 22 against Cox’s 13. Germany’s Laura Grasemann was third.

"Today was unreal," said Johnson. "I'm overwhelmed by it all. I think the key to my success was just focusing on skiing my very best and taking it one run at a time. I was able to ski faster and better than every girl out there when it really counted and that was something that I've dreamed about for a long time. The other girls skied so fast and challenged me to ski my best. It was definitely a fun competition to ski in and I'm honored to have been a part of it and come out on top!"

Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.), Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) and Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) rounded out the top finishes for the U.S. women in 10th, 12th and 15th respectively.

On the men’s side, Emerson Smith (Dover, Vt.) and Troy Murphy (Bethel, Maine) represented the U.S. men in the round of 16, but were unable to advance and finishined 11th and 13th. Japan’s Ikuma Horishima once again upset Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury to take home his second win of the weekend on home soil. Kazakstan’s Dmitriy Reikhard repeated his result from Saturday’s moguls event with another third place finish.

After this weekend’s results, the U.S. has four women ranked in the top 10 in the World Cup standings; Kauf is third, Johnson is seventh, McCargo eighth and Morgan Schild (Pittsford, N.Y.) 10th. The World Cup tour continues next weekend with men’s and women’s dual moguls in Airolo, Switzerland.

RESULTS
Men’s Dual Moguls
Women’s Dual Moguls

Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) posted a career-best World Cup finish in ninth, and Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) posted a career-best giant slalom result in 10th as the FIS Ski World Cup circuit resumed in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia Saturday.

“It was a fight,” said Ford. “Two big mistakes, one from each run, but the skiing was there. It’s been a battle throughout the season, but I’m glad to have this race today on this kind of snow.”

Ford, who finished 10th in a World Cup giant slalom at Beaver Creek last season, led three U.S. Ski Team athletes into the points as Tim Jitloff (Reno, Nev.) finished 14th. Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) did not finish the first run.

“That second run, I couldn’t be happier with it,” said Cochran-Siegle, who posted the third fastest second run time on a hard, fast course. “I got to sit down in that (leader’s chair) for a while, which is always fun too.”

“It was cool watching Tommy,” Cochran-Siegle added. “He had that little mistake and I think he could’ve really moved up, but he skied great as well.”

Marcel Hirscher of Austria won the race by a massive 1.66 seconds over Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen. Alexis Pinturault of France was third. Hirscher extended his overall World Cup lead to 249 points over Kristoffersen.

Up next, the men race slalom Sunday in Kranjska Gora.

McKennis Top American in Super-G

Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) was the only member of the U.S. Ski Team to finish in the points in Saturday’s World Cup super-G, finishing 23rd in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) finished 34th, Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore) was 45th and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) was 50th. Both Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) and Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) are sitting out this weekend’s events.

Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein won the race, followed by Austria’s Anna Veith in second and Wendy Holdener of Switzerland in third. Shiffrin continues to lead the overall World Cup standings by 611 points over Holdener.

Up next, the women compete in alpine combined Sunday with one run of super-G, followed by one run of slalom.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom
Women’s super-G