Battling rough weather in the latter half of the day, the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski halfpipe and snowboard slopestyle qualifiers went off at Aspen’s Snowmass Mountain in Colorado. Fifteen Americans qualified for Friday’s finals.

The women’s freeski halfpipe went off without a hitch, with Olympic gold medalist Maddie Bowman (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) celebrating her 24th birthday by leading the Americans in second place. Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.) was third and Olympic silver medalist Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) fourth. Carly Margulies (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) also made it into finals in eighth place with a solid second run.

But thick fog rolled in and heavy snow started during men’s training. After delays throughout run one and before run two, the Americans stacked six skiers into the 10 spots. Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.) led the U.S. Freeski Team men with an enormous 93.66-point first run and local boy Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.) won his heat. Both chose to not take a second run due to conditions and high first-run scores. Also taking spots in Friday’s finals were Olympic gold medalist David Wise (Reno, NV), Birk Irving (Winter Park, Colo.), Taylor Seaton (Avon, Colo.) and Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.).

The women were able to get their snowboard qualifiers off cleanly, with Jessika Jenson (Rigby, Idaho) snagging the top spot and Ty Walker (Stowe, Vt.) also made finals. Jules Marino (Westport, Conn.) and Hailey Langland (San Clemente, CA) did not qualify.

The men squeaked in their first run of slopestyle qualifiers, but the increasing darkness and snow stopped a second run from happening. Three U.S. men qualified: Red Gerard (Silverthorne, CO), Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska) and Chandler Hunt (Park City, Utah).

Friday’s snowboard slopestyle and freeski halfpipe finals count as an Olympic qualifier. Bowman has met objective criteria for the U.S. Olympic Team with two podiums and would confirm her nomination with a first or second place at Snowmass. Already qualified for the U.S. Olympic snowboard slopestyle team are Jamie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Calif.). Neither Anderson nor Corning are in attendance at Snowmass.

Snowboard halfpipe and freeski slopestyle qualifiers start Thursday.

RESULTS
Men's freeski halfpipe
Women's freeski halfpipe
Men's snowboard slopestyle (heat 1, heat 2)
Women's snowboard slopestyle

The U.S. Ski Team put on an impressive show on the first night of the Putnam Investments Freestyle Challenge at Deer Valley Resort Wednesday evening. Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.), Morgan Schild (Rochester, N.Y.) and Brad Wilson (Butte, Mont.) all landed podium finishes in front of a USA home crowd with Kauf in second and Schild and Wilson in third.

Kauf continued to display her dominance on the Champion course, skiing clean and fast runs to land her third podium of the season. This finish secures her spot on the team headed to PyeongChang for the Olympic Winter Games in February and puts her back on top of the women’s World Cup standings.

“Coming into this event, I knew I pretty much had the spot locked up," Kauf said. "I had that confidence coming in and it’s incredible to be on the podium here. I want to clean up my bottom air for tomorrow, and I think I still have a little more speed to give.”

Schild, who won the Deer Valley event last season, was the top qualifier heading into the final round. She dropped last into the super final and had the opportunity to claim another win, but a few small mistakes dropped her to third. It was her first podium of the season and gives her one of two podiums needed to objectively qualify for the Olympic team.

“I think I’m moving in the right direction, especially with the Olympics coming up,” said Schild. “I want to make sure I’m building momentum. Tomorrow I’m going to keep my energy up, keep building through each round and stay precise with my skiing.”

After a strong finish in Calgary, Wilson was in fine form on his home course. He pushed the speed and skied clean through the middle section to land his first podium of the season and put him one step closer to making the 2018 Olympic team.

“I’m really excited about where my skiing is at," Wilson said. "It was a slow start to the season, but I’m starting to build to where I want to be and it’s paying off. I was able to throw one of my good runs today to land on the podium.”

Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury made history, capturing his 47th World Cup win and breaking the all-time moguls World Cup win record previously held by USA athletes Hannah Kearney and Donna Weinbrecht. Perrine Laffont took the win for the women.

Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) posted her best result of the 2018 season so far, finishing just off the podium in fourth. Casey Andringa (Boulder, Colo.) continued to impress in his second World Cup start, making it into his first super final and finishing fifth. Other U.S. skiers advancing into Wednesday night’s finals included Troy Tully (Pleasantville, N.Y.) in eighth, Emerson Smith in 11th, Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.) in 12th, Troy Murphy (Bethel, Maine) in 14th and Bryon Wilson (Butte, Mont.) in 15th.

The Visa Freestyle International takes place Thursday night with round two of men and women’s moguls competitions. Finals will be streamed live on nbcsports.com beginning at 8:45 p.m. EST.

RESULTS
Men’s Moguls
Women’s Moguls

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*subject to change

Jan. 11
8:00 p.m. – Moguls finals #1 – NBCSN (next day coverage)
8:45 p.m. – Moguls finals #2 – nbcsports.com

Jan. 12
8:30 p.m. – Moguls finals #2 – NBCSN (next day coverage)
9:45 p.m. – Aerials finals – nbcsports.com

Jan. 13
2:30 p.m. – Aerials finals – NBC (next day coverage)

For the first time this season, Mikaela Shiffrin came from behind to win a FIS Ski World Cup race - her fifth-straight victory - in Tuesday’s evening slalom in front of 7,000 fans in Flachau, Austria. She also tied Austria’s Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 41 World Cup victories before turning 23.

Trailing Austria’s Bernadette Schild by 0.37-seconds after the first run, Shiffrin tackled the rough, choppy second run with a “nothing to lose” attitude and absolutely blew the doors off the competition.

“Tonight I was chasing in the second run and I knew with Bernadette – she’s skiing so loose – I had to go all out,” Shiffrin said. “I had nothing to lose.”

Schild settled for second, 0.94 seconds off Shiffrin’s winning time. Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter was third. Resi Stiegler (Jackson Hole, Wyo.) was the only other American to qualify for the second run and finished 26th.

“I haven’t really comeback in a second run and made a big jump like that (all season), and I sort of needed that for my confidence,” Shiffrin said. “Each race this year I’ve been good in the first run, but the second run I’m just sort of holding on. But tonight, it was a different story and I’m very excited.”

With her victory, Shiffrin added to her overall World Cup lead with 1,381 points. Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener is second with 560 points, and Slovenia's Petra Vlhova is third with 554 points. Shiffrin also leads the overall World Cup downhill, slalom, and giant slalom standings. However, will not participate in this weekend’s speed series in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria, opting to take a much-needed rest after competing in 10 races over the past three weeks – winning nine and finishing third in the other.

Up next, the women’s World Cup Tour moves to Bad Kleinkirchheim for downhill and super-G races Jan. 13-14. Shiffrin is planning to return to the World Cup circuit Jan. 20-21 with downhill and Super-G races in Cortina, Italy.

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*schedules subject to change

Jan. 9
5:30 p.m.  – Women’s slalom, run 2; Flachau  – NBCSN (same day coverage)

Jan. 11
6:00 p.m.  – Women’s slalom, run 2; Flachau  – NBCSN (re-air)

Jan. 12
4:30 a.m. – Men’s combined, downhill; Wengen – olympicchannel.com
10:00 a.m. – Men’s combined, slalom; Wengen – Olympic Channel TV

Jan. 13
4:30 a.m. – Women’s downhill; Bad Kleinkirchheim – Olympic Channel TV
6:30 a.m. – Men’s downhill; Wengen – Olympic Channel TV
10:00 p.m. – Women’s downhill; Bad Kleinkirchheim – NBCSN (same day coverage)
11:00 p.m. – Men’s downhill; Wengen – NBCSN (same day coverage)

Jan. 14
4:15 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 1; Wengen – olympicchannel.com
5:00 a.m. – Women’s super-G; Bad Kleinkirchheim – Olympic Channel TV
6:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 2; Wengen – Olympic Channel TV
 

Caitlin Patterson (Anchorage/Craftsbury Green) finished a golden four-race performance at the 2018 L.L.Bean U.S. National Cross Country Ski Championships at Anchorage’s Kincaid Park on Monday sweeping to a fourth straight gold medal. Her dramatic come-from-behind win in the women’s classic sprint final capped a run of four national titles in four races over six days. Reese Hanneman (Anchorage/APU Nordic) swept both sprint events with his men’s classic sprint. He edged APU Nordic teammate Tyler Kornfield (Anchorage/APU Nordic) by a mere two tenths of a second to earn his fourth career sprint title – two freestyle, two classic.

But the U.S. Championships belonged to Patterson, a 27-year-old from Vermont and formerly of Anchorage. She won all four U.S. Championship gold medals, taking three of the four races outright. She finished second to Sweden’s Hedda Baangman (University of Colorado) in Sunday’s 20k classic mass start event, but took gold as top American. These four races, and Monday’s race in particular, illustrated her mix of talent, strength, stamina, versatility, wit and grit. The classic sprint silver went to Kaitlyn Miller (Craftsbury Common, Vt./Craftsbury Green) with bronze to Becca Rorabaugh (Fairbanks, Alaska/APU Nordic). It was Miller's third medal of the Championships.

Patterson’s four titles matches the golden streak set by Anchorage native Kikkan Randall at the 2010 U.S. Championships, also at Kincaid Park. Randall went on to make it a five medal year winning the long distance event that March in Fort Kent, Maine.
 
“It’s hard to put into words,” said Patterson, who leaves Anchorage a six-time national champion. “Amazing. Beyond what I could have imagined.”
 
Her Craftsbury Green Project Racing coach Pepa Miloucheva wasn’t surprised, though, saying, “She worked hard for this and she deserves this. It’s her nationals,” he said.
 
Patterson’s younger brother, Scott, a three-time U.S. champion who won on opening day, was impressed, and humbled, by his sibling’s week. “It’s been pretty incredible to see, and she’s rubbed it in all week,” he said smiling.
 
Patterson arguably saved her best for last. In Monday’s lassic sprint final she was two ski-lengths behind University of Denver’s Jasmi Joensuu in the final downhill with just 200 meters to go. Using tactics she gathered from earlier heats, her familiarity of that stretch of Kincaid Park’s trails from her high school and juniors racing days, and some vicious double-poling, Patterson quickly overtook and then dusted Joensuu. Patterson came across the line with both poles pumping in the air, winning by two seconds (3 minutes and 39.58 seconds to Joensuu’s 3:41.94).
 
“When I passed her, I felt like I carried more momentum,” Patterson said. “And I got out of there as fast as I could.”
 
Not bad for a skier who claimed that she’d never won a big sprint race before this week. When asked if she’s a sprinter now, she smiled and said, “I guess so.”
 
Her brother Scott has been a believer for a long time. “She’s such a killer finisher,” he said. “When I saw her two ski-lengths back (on the final downhill), I thought, ‘Oh, that’s (nationals title) number four.’”
 
The Pattersons are South Anchorage High School grads and former members of the local Alaska Winter Stars ski program. After the Championships, both are hopeful to be teammates at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Selections will be announced the week of January 22. This weekend she’s back to the World Cup in Germany.
 
Hanneman is hopeful for his own ticket to PyeongChang. He certainly beefed up his resume this week. First, he put up Friday’s freestyle sprint win. Then Monday morning, he clocked the day’s fastest classic sprint qualifying time, gaining him critical Olympic Winter Games points that are among the many factors considered in determining national teams.
 
Then Hanneman muscled his way through a gauntlet of hungry skiers in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final rounds. His biggest roadblock to the win was Kornfield, a tall sprinter with two classic sprint national crowns (2010 and 2012) and momentum from his exciting – and somewhat unexpected – win in Sunday’s 30k classic mass start.
 
In Monday’s final, Hanneman and Kornfield broke away from a tight pack on the last major hill climb and speedy downhill of the 1.6k course. It was Hanneman who popped up first into the 100-meter flat stretch to the finish line, with Kornfield behind him in the same tracks. As both double-poled furiously, Hanneman stayed just far enough ahead to negate Kornfield’s frantic finishing move. The win was decided by the length of a ski pole handle, Hanneman clocking 3:20.62 to Kornfield’s 3:20.82. Ben Saxton (Lakeville, Minn./Stratton Mountain School) took bronze.
 
“I couldn’t let off at all,” Hanneman said. “Tyler is cranking right now - impressive skiing by him all week. It definitely motivated me to just drive that thing so hard in the final. It was awesome.”
 
Kornfield, as thoughtful as he is competitive, said, “We’re at a point where Reese and I just kinda nod heads before the final and we know that it’s me against him now. Sometimes it's hard to be racing your teammates but like any training session, we just go hard, try to race clean, race fair, and go as hard as you can. And Reese had it today. I was trying to catch him in the end and didn't quite have that last push. But it was a lot of fun.”
 
The week’s events were extra fun for the host state of Alaska and its nordic ski community, clubs and training groups. All eight of the National titles were won by Alaskans or skiers with Alaska roots.
 
Monday’s hill-filled sprint courses mirrored the crazy-quick loop used in Friday’s freestyle sprints. The men skied a 1.6k course with the women going 1.4k. The course started at the south end of Kincaid’s stadium and immediately took a sharp, steep right to gain the top of the wild and winding Gong Hill area, which led to the chilly Frog Pond, briefly back near the stadium, and then to a sharp left on the backside of the Gong Hill. There, the women turned to the stadium while the men made an extra 200-meter loop before reaching the stadium. A big, sweeping turn and gradual uphill led skiers to a flat 100-meter straightaway and the finish line.

In addition to national titles, teams were selected for the upcoming FIS Junior World Ski Championships, U23 World Championships and U18 Nordic Nations' Championships, as well as points towards possible selection to the 2018 Olympic Team.
 
RESULTS
Men’s Classic Sprint
Women’s Classic Sprint 

These are exciting times for U.S. Ski & Snowboard with the 2018 Olympic Winter Games less than a month away.

Since the start of 2018, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) has won all four (maybe five, we’ll know Tuesday) World Cup events. Aeralist Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) won her first-career World Cup event and achieved objective criteria to make the Olympic team, and Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) became the first U.S. skier ever to land on the Tour de Ski podium with a third-place finish. Momentum is building across the entire U.S. Ski & Snowboard team as the final competitions take place before the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Read on to see where U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes will be in action this week and how to watch via NBC, NBCSN and the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA.

FIS Women’s Ski World Cup - Flachau + Bad Kleinkirchheim, AUT
Shiffrin will continue her quest for dominance in the final slalom World Cup before the Olympics on Jan. 9 in Flachau, Austria. The women’s speed team is back in action in the New Year with super-G and downhill races Jan. 13-14. The U.S. has a strong contingent of athletes expected to compete, including Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.), Laurenne Ross (Bend. Ore.), Stacey Cook (Mammoth, Calif.) and Jackie Wiles (Aurora, Ore.).

FIS Men’s Ski World Cup - Wengen, SUI
Wengen, Switzerland will play host to men’s speed and tech events this coming week with an alpine combined event on Jan. 12, downhill Jan. 13 and slalom Jan. 14. Notable names on the large U.S. roster include Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah), Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah), Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.).

Visa Freestyle International - Deer Valley Resort, Utah
The FIS Freestyle World Cup tour makes its first of two stops in the U.S. this week with moguls and aerials competitions Jan. 10-12 at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. It’s the penultimate Olympic selection event, so the top U.S. Ski Team athletes will be looking to secure podiums and state their case to be named to the 2018 Olympic team. Lake Placid hosts the Putnam Investments Freestyle Cup with aerials competition Jan. 19-20.

Toyota U.S. Grand Prix - Snowmass, Colo.
U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Team athletes will compete in their third Olympic qualifier of the season this week at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Snowmass, Colorado. It is the first time Snowmass has hosted a Grand Prix since 1998 and despite the warmer than average weather, the mountain operations team has put a ton of effort into snowmaking and grooming to provide the athletes a world-class competition venue. Chloe Kim (Torrence, Calif.), Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) are the only athletes that have confirmed their nominations to the U.S. Olympic Team, so athletes across both sports will be gunning for top results and the chance to compete in PyeongChang. Finals for all competitions take place Jan. 12-14.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Idre Fjall, SWE
Tanya Prymak (Goshen, N.Y.), Tyler Wallasch (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and Brant Crossan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) will represent the U.S. this weekend at the ski cross World Cup in Sweden. Qualifications take place Jan. 12 followed by competitions Jan. 13 and 14.

FIS Cross Country World Cup - Dresden, GER
The U.S. Cross Country Ski Team enters its final weekend of Olympic selection events with individual and team sprints Jan. 13-14 in Dresden, Germany. The U.S. will have nine skiers racing, including World Champion Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska), Sophie Caldwell (Stratton, Vt.), Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.).

FIS Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup - Sapporo, JPN
Newly named U.S. Olympic Team member Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, Utah) leads the U.S. into a HS100 event in Sapporo, Japan. Qualifications take place on Jan. 12 followed by World Cups on Jan. 13 and 14. Other competitors include Nita Englund (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Abby Ringquist (Park City, Utah) and Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, Vt.).

FIS Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup - Tauplitz/ Bad Mitterndorf, AUT
2018 Olympic Team member Michael Glasder (Cary, Ill.), along with USA Nordic teammates Will Rhoads (Park City, Utah) and Kevin Bickner (Wacounda, Ill.) will compete in the first of two ski flying World Cups this month on the HS235 hill in Austria. Qualifications take place on Jan. 12 followed by competitions on Jan. 13 and 14.

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup - Val di Fiemme, ITA
Brothers Bryan and Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) along with Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) will compete in two individual and one team event in Val di Fiemme, Italy Jan. 12-14.

FIS Snowboard World Cup - Bad Gastein, AUT
The U.S. will have six athletes competing in parallel slalom and team slalom World Cups Jan. 13-14 in Bad Gastein, Austria.

U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD BROADCAST AND STREAMING SCHEDULE
All times EST
*schedules subject to change

ALPINE
Jan. 9
12:00 p.m. – Women’s slalom, run 1; Flachau – olympicchannel.com
2:30 p.m.  – Women’s slalom, run 2; Flachau  – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 p.m.  – Women’s slalom, run 2; Flachau  – NBCSN (same day coverage)

Jan. 11
6:00 p.m.  – Women’s slalom, run 2; Flachau  – NBCSN (next day coverage)

Jan. 12
4:30 a.m. – Men’s combined, downhill; Wengen – olympicchannel.com
10:00 a.m. – Men’s combined, slalom; Wengen – Olympic Channel TV

Jan. 13
4:30 a.m. – Women’s super-G; Bad Kleinkirchheim – Olympic Channel TV
6:30 a.m. – Men’s downhill; Wengen – Olympic Channel TV
10:00 p.m. – Women’s super-G; Bad Kleinkirchheim – NBCSN (same day coverage)
11:00 p.m. – Men’s downhill; Wengen – NBCSN (same day coverage)

Jan. 14
4:15 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 1; Wengen – olympicchannel.com
5:00 a.m. – Women’s Downhill; Bad Kleinkirchheim – Olympic Channel TV
6:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 2; Wengen – Olympic Channel TV

FREESTYLE
Jan. 10
8:45 p.m. – Moguls finals #1; Visa Freestyle International – nbcsports.com

Jan. 11
8:00 p.m. – Moguls finals #1; Visa Freestyle International – NBCSN (next day coverage)
8:45 p.m. – Moguls finals #2; Visa Freestyle International – nbcsports.com

Jan. 12
8:30 p.m. – Moguls finals #2; Visa Freestyle International – NBCSN (next day coverage)
9:45 p.m. – Aerials finals; Visa Freestyle International – nbcsports.com

Jan. 13
5:00 a.m. – Ski cross; Idre Fjall – olympicchannel.com
2:30 p.m. – Aerials finals; Visa Freestyle International – NBC (next day coverage)

Jan. 14
6:00 a.m. – Ski cross; Idre Fjall – olympicchannel.com

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX
Jan. 12
11:15 a.m – Slopestyle snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
2:45 p.m – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com
9:30 p.m – Slopestyle snowboarding finals – NBCSN (Same day coverage)
11:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBCSN (Same day coverage)

Jan. 13
11:15 a.m – Slopestyle skiing finals #1 – nbcsports.com
2:45 p.m – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com

Jan. 14
3:00 p.m – Slopestyle skiing finals #2 – nbcsports.com
3:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (next day coverage)

Jan. 15
1:30 a.m. – Slopestyle skiing finals #1 – NBCSN

Jan. 16
12:00 a.m. – Slopestyle skiing finals #2 – NBCSN

CROSS COUNTRY
Jan. 13
6:20 a.m. – Men’s and women’s sprint – olympicchannel.com
12:00 p.m. – Men’s and women’s sprint – Olympic Channel TV (Same day coverage)

Jan. 14
5:15 a.m. – Men’s and women’s team sprint – olympicchannel.com
12:00 p.m. – Men’s and women’s team sprint – Olympic Channel TV (Same day coverage)

SKI JUMPING
Jan. 12
6:00 a.m. – Men’s HS225 Qualification; Tauplitz/ Bad Mitterndorf – olympicchannel.com
9:00 p.m. – Women’s HS100 Qualification; Sapporo – Olympic Channel TV

Jan. 13
6:00 a.m. – Men’s HS225; Tauplitz/ Bad Mitterndorf – olympicchannel.com
4:00 p.m. – Men’s HS225; Tauplitz/ Bad Mitterndorf – Olympic Channel TV (same day coverage)
9:00 p.m. – Women’s HS100; Sapporo – Olympic Channel TV

Jan. 14
8:15 a.m. – Men’s HS225; Tauplitz/ Bad Mitterndorf – olympicchannel.com
4:00 p.m. – Men’s HS225; Tauplitz/ Bad Mitterndorf – Olympic Channel TV (same day coverage)

NORDIC COMBINED
Jan. 12
3:30 a.m. – Men’s HS135 – olympicchannel.com
7:30 a.m. – Men’s individual 10k – olympicchannel.com

Jan. 13
4:00 a.m. – Men’s HS135 – olympicchannel.com
9:45 a.m. – Men’s team sprint – olympicchannel.com

Jan. 14
4:00 a.m. – Men’s HS135 – olympicchannel.com
7:45 a.m. – Men’s individual 10k – olympicchannel.com

SNOWBOARD
Jan. 12
12:00 p.m. – Men’s and women’s parallel slalom; Bad Gastein – olympicchannel.com

Jan. 13
10:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s parallel slalom team event; Bad Gastein – olympicchannel.com

The world’s best moguls and aerials skiers are taking flight over Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah this week for the 20th-anniversary edition of the Visa Freestyle International. Athletes will compete in two single mogul World Cup events Jan. 10 and 11, followed by aerials on Jan. 12. With only two weeks of Olympic selection events remaining, the pressure is on for U.S. Ski Team athletes to land those coveted podium finishes to qualify for the 2018 Olympic team.

2017 World Championship bronze medalist Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) is currently the only U.S. moguls athlete that has met objective Olympic qualifying criteria following first and second place World Cup results in December. Kauf has podiumed in dual moguls the past two years at Deer Valley Resort. There are no dual moguls on the schedule this year, but Kauf is carrying plenty of momentum and is hungry for more top finishes.

The U.S. women’s moguls team has qualified anywhere from four to six athletes into the final rounds at World Cups this season. Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.), Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.), Morgan Schild (Rochester, N.Y.) and Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) are all familiar faces in finals this season and fully capable of taking the next step to secure their Olympic spots.  

On the men’s side, Troy Murphy (Bethel, Maine) has one of two podium spots needed to make the Olympic team after landing his first World Cup podium last month. The door is still wide open for other U.S. athletes to land top results, and a competition on American soil with a hometown crowd is a huge motivator. As always, a strong international field will play a role in determining who gets the top spots this week.

2015 overall aerials World Cup champion Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) finished second at last year’s Visa Freestyle International, which was an Olympic selection event for the U.S. team. Her first World Cup victory last week in Moscow gave her the two podiums needed to qualify for the Olympic team. 2017 World Champion Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) has one podium this season and will be in the hunt, along with the U.S. men’s squad, for top results before their last Olympic select events in Lake Placid, N.Y. Jan. 19-20.

NBC Sports Group will feature comprehensive coverage of the Visa Freestyle International with shows airing on NBC, NBC Sports Network and streaming on nbcsports.com. For additional event information, visit usskiandsnowboard.org.

VISA FREESTYLE INTERNATIONAL

Mogul Athletes

Men
Casey Andringa
Joel Hedrick
Jack Kariotis
Troy Murphy
Emerson Smith
Troy Tully
Dylan Walczyk
Brad Wilson
Bryon Wilson

Women
Nessa Dziemian
Olivia Giaccio
Tess Johnson
Jaelin Kauf
Mikaela Matthews
Keaton McCargo
K.C. Oakley
Morgan Schild
Avital Shimko

Aerials Athletes

Men
Mac Bohonnon
Alex Bowen
Jon Lillis
Eric Loughran
Nick Novak
Nik Seemann
Zach Surdell

Women
Ashley Caldwell
Kiley McKinnon
Morgan Northrop
Madison Olsen
Madison Varmette
Winter Vinecki

Visa Freestyle International Schedule
*subject to change

Jan. 10
Men and women’s moguls qualifications + finals

Jan. 11
Men and women’s moguls qualifications + finals

Jan. 12
Men and women’s aerials qualifications + finals

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*subject to change

Jan. 10
8:45 p.m. – Moguls finals #1 – nbcsports.com

Jan. 11
8:00 p.m. – Moguls finals #1 – NBCSN (next day coverage)
8:45 p.m. – Moguls finals #2 – nbcsports.com

Jan. 12
8:30 p.m. – Moguls finals #2 – NBCSN (next day coverage)
9:45 p.m. – Aerials finals – nbcsports.com

Jan. 13
2:30 p.m. – Aerials finals – NBC (next day coverage)
 

Halfpipe and slopestyle skiers and riders kick off their first competition of 2018 this week with the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Snowmass Jan. 10-14. The event is the penultimate Olympic qualifying event of the season, providing athletes with the opportunity to achieve top finishes before teams are named at the end of January.

Snowmass marks the second of three stops on the Grand Prix tour in the 2017 / 2018 season. The resort previously hosted one of the first snowboard halfpipe Olympic qualification events and a snowboard big air exhibition event in 1998. Although Mother Nature hasn’t been the most cooperative so far this season, the mountain operations team at Snowmass have built world-class park and pipe venues for the international field of competitors to showcase their talents.

“The teams here at Snowmass have been working around the clock to build-out a solid course in the anticipation of hosting skiers and riders from around the world as they continue to make their way to the Olympics,” says Deric Gunshor, director of event development, Aspen Skiing Company. “In such an important Olympic year, we look forward to putting on a seamless event as well as watching five days of exciting and top-notch athletic competition.”

U.S. Freeski Team slopestyle skiers have just one qualifying event checked off after last month’s Dew Tour in Breckenridge. Sochi bronze medalist Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) was the lone American athlete to achieve one of two podium finishes needed to objectively qualify for the Olympic team. Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) also has a first-place finish from a qualifying event last season in Mammoth Mountain but did not land on the podium at the Dew Tour.

The Grand Prix at Snowmass will include two slopestyle events on Jan. 12 and Jan. 14. Athletes including McRae Williams (Park City, Utah), Sochi slopestyle silver medalists Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.) and Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) will be in the hunt. Snowmass also marks defending Olympic gold medalist Joss Christensen’s (Park City, Utah) return to competition after suffering a knee injury in May.

“I’m super excited for the Snowmass events; it’s been really hard sitting on the sidelines,” said Christensen. “I’m healthy and ready to get back in the start gate. I hope I can get a good result this week before we head into the last qualifying events.”

Halfpipe skiers are heading into their fourth of five Olympic qualifying events. Olympic Champion Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) has achieved minimum U.S. qualifying criteria with two podium finishes so far. David Wise (Reno, Nev.), Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.), Taylor Seaton (Avon, Colo.), Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Nev.), Kenworthy, Logan and Aspen locals Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.) and Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.) each have one of the two podiums needed. Olympic spots could very well be secured in the halfpipe skiing finals on Friday, Jan. 12.

Olympic Champion Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.), Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.) and Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) have all confirmed their nominations to the 2018 U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team. There are a host of other athletes across halfpipe and slopestyle snowboarding in the running for the final spots, including Olympic Champions Kelly Clark (Mammoth, Calif.) and Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.), Ben Ferguson (Bend, Ore.), Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo), Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.) and young guns Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.), Hailey Langland (San Clemente, Calif.) and Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.). Finals for slopestyle will take place on Jan. 12 followed by halfpipe on Jan. 13.

"I’ve actually never competed at Snowmass, so I’m excited to ride at the Grand Prix,” said White. “I heard the pipe is great and I think it’s going to be a great competition this close to the Olympics.”

NBC Sports Group will feature comprehensive coverage of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Snowmass with shows airing on NBC, NBC Sports Network and streaming on nbcsports.com. For additional event information, visit usskiandsnowboard.org/grandprix.

• Current Freeski Olympic Selection Rankings
• Current Snowboard Olympic Selection Rankings

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX - SNOWMASS

Event Schedule
*subject to change
Jan. 10: Halfpipe skiing + slopestyle snowboarding qualifications
Jan. 11: Halfpipe snowboarding + slopestyle skiing qualifications
Jan. 12: Halfpipe skiing + slopestyle snowboarding finals
Jan. 13: Halfpipe snowboarding + slopestyle skiing finals
Jan. 14: Slopestyle skiing finals (non-World Cup)

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*subject to change

Jan. 12
11:15 a.m – Slopestyle snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
2:45 p.m – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com
9:30 p.m – Slopestyle snowboarding finals – NBCSN (Same day coverage)
11:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBCSN (Same day coverage)

Jan. 13
11:15 a.m – Slopestyle skiing finals #1 – nbcsports.com
2:45 p.m – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com

Jan. 14
3:00 p.m – Slopestyle skiing finals #2 – nbcsports.com
3:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (next day coverage)

Jan. 15
1:30 a.m. – Slopestyle skiing finals #1 – NBCSN

Jan. 16
12:00 q.m. – Slopestyle skiing finals #2 – NBCSN 

Tyler Kornfield (Anchorage/APU Nordic) and Alaska native Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Common, Vt./Craftsbury Green) skied to gold in Anchorage’s Kincaid Park Sunday in the final distance event of the L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships. Kornfield won his third career gold - first in distance - winning the men’s 30k classic mass start. Patterson took gold in the women’s 20k, picking up her second gold of the week.

The men’s 30k as a battle from start to finish with a pack of eight sprinting to the finish. Kornfield, who grew up skiing the Kincaid Park trails, hung back the first few laps but turned it on for the final circuit to move into contention. He took the win over Eric Packer (Anchorage/APU Nordic) by less than a second. Norwegian Eyvind Romberg Kvaale of Denver University was third overall with American Kris Freeman ( /Caldwell Sport) taking bronze.

“People know me as a sprinter but I’ve been thinking about this race for the last six months,” said Kornfield, who has two national classic sprint titles to his credit. “This was MY race. I knew I had a good distance race in me and I showed it today.”

Kornfield and others remain optimistic on Olympic Team spots based on their distance results. “ knew that the only way I could make it was to win this race. I’ve known I’ve had the ability within myself but wasn’t able to put it together on a given day. But I know this course like the back of my hand and I  knew where I had to go.”

If he had one worry, it was teammate Packer. He made his move on the final lap, keeping close watch on Packer and  holding him off at the finish.

The win was a special one for Kornfield coming in front of hometown family and fans. “This means everything,” said Kornfield. “I  put a lot of pressure on myself. This is Anchorage - the pressure should be on us. I was so excited to come up these hills with these crowds all cheering for APU. I’m glad I could make them proud.”

Swede Hedda Baangman of the Univ. of Colorado took the overall win in the women’s 20k in one hour, 55.3 seconds - a 15.9 second margin over Patterson, the top American. Rosie Frankowski (Anchorage/APU Nordic) took silver with Kaitlynn Miller (Anchorage/Craftsbury Green) winning bronze - her second medal of the week.

Action wraps up Monday with classic sprints. Any Olympic selections from the Championships will be announced as part of overall Olympic Team nominations the week of January 22. 

RESULTS
Men’s 30k Classic Mass Start 
Women’s 20k Classic Mass Start 

Four more cross country skiers clinched their spots on the Olympic Team Sunday following the conclusion of the final World Cup distance event of the selection period. Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah) qualified for her first Olympic team. Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) is now set for her fifth and Liz Stephen (E. Montpelier, Vt.) will make her third appearance. Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) will join sister Sadie for his second Olympics. All four qualified by virtue of a top 50 ranking in the World Cup distance standings.

Selection Notes
This update is as of the noted date and subject to change through the selection period. Update includes only those athletes who have achieved the top levels of objective selection criteria, which does not guarantee a spot on the team. Final team announcements will be made the week of Jan. 22, subject to USOC approval.

Alpine (selection period runs through Jan. 22)

• Stacey Cook (top 10 downhill) *
• Tommy Ford (World Cup ranking GS) ^
• Breezy Johnson (top 10 downhill) *
• Ted Ligety (top 5 giant slalom) ^
• Megan McJames (World Cup ranking GS) ^
• Laurenne Ross (top 10 super G) *
• Mikaela Shiffrin (top 3 downhill, top 5 super G, top 3 giant slalom, top 3 slalom) ^
• Lindsey Vonn (top 3 super G) *
• Jackie Wiles (top 5 downhill) *

^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria

Cross Country (selection period runs through Jan. 15)

• Erik Bjornsen (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) ^
• Sadie Bjornsen (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
• Rosie Brennan (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) ^
• Sophie Caldwell (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
• Jessie Diggins (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
• Simi Hamilton (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
• Andy Newell (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
• Kikkan Randall (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint, distance) ^
• Ida Sargent (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
• Liz Stephen (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance) ^

^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria as of rankings on Jan. 6 (rankings subject to change through Jan. 15)

Freeski (selection period runs through Jan. 21)

• None have met objective criteria yet
• Freestyle (selection period runs through Jan. 21)
• Jaelin Kauf (2 top 3 moguls) *
• Kiley McKinnon (2 top 3 aerials) *

* Achieved objective qualification criteria

Nordic Combined (selection period runs through Jan. 22)

• Bryan Fletcher (winner Olympic Trials) ^

^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team

Ski Jumping (selection period runs through Jan. 21)

• Mike Glasder (winner Olympic Trials) ^
• Sarah Hendrickson (winner Olympic Trials) ^

^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team

Snowboard (qualifying through Jan. 21)

• Jamie Anderson (mathematically clinched qualifying series points in slopestyle) ^
• Jonathan Cheever (top 3 in designated snowboardcross selection event; leading selection points) *
• Chris Corning (mathematically clinched qualifying series points in slopestyle) ^
• Faye Gulini (top 3 in designated snowboardcross selection event) ^
• Chloe Kim (mathematically clinched qualifying series points in slopestyle) ^
• Lindsey Jacobellis (top 3 in designated snowboardcross selection event) ^

^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria

A day after battling for her 39th World Cup victory, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) made it look easy, cruising toward World Cup history with her 40th victory in Sunday’s slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

Brushing aside a flu bug, rainy weather, and rough course conditions, Shiffrin opened up a 1.47-second first run advantage and never looked back. Starting last in the second run, she extended her winning margin to 1.64-seconds over Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter, who finished second, and 1.87 seconds over Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener in third.

“I really loved the surface the first run,” Shiffrin said. “It got warmer in the second run and a little bit more of a track, but I actually thought it held up quite well. I had so much fun skiing today!”

Shiffrin is undefeated in 2018, winning the past four World Cup events, including two slalom victories, one giant slalom and a city event win in Oslo, Norway on New Year’s Day. She also won the Snow Queen title for her slalom victory in Zagreb, Croatia on Jan. 3, and following her giant slalom and slalom wins in Kranjska Gora, was awarded the Golden Fox, which goes to the best-combined finisher from the slalom and giant slalom.

“It’s really incredible to be the Golden Fox again,” Shiffrin said. “That one is definitely important to me … to be the best performer in the GS and the slalom through the weekend is really cool. That’s been one of my goals for so long, and it’s really, really an honor. But at the end of the day, it’s just a title and I still have to go back to work tomorrow.”

At 22-years-old, Shiffrin has reached another milestone in her ski racing career, equaling Ingemar Stenmark’s 40 wins before his 23rd birthday. Annemarie Moser-Pröll totaled 41 World Cup victories before turning 23. With four slalom and four giant slalom events remaining before Shiffrin turns 23 on March 13, the door is wide open for her to make World Cup history.

Since her World Cup debut as a 16-year-old on March 11, 2013, in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, Shiffrin has racked up some impressive stats, including:

• 29 World Cup slalom victories
• 6 World Cup giant slalom victories
• 1 World Cup alpine combined victory
• 1 World Cup downhill victory
• 2 World Cup city event wins
• 1 World Cup parallel slalom victory
• 3 World Championship slalom titles
• 1 Olympic slalom gold medal
• 57 World Cup podiums

Up next, the women’s World Cup circuit moves to Flachau, Austria Jan. 9 for an evening slalom where a victory would tie Shiffrin with Moser-Pröll’s 41 World Cup victories before turning 23.

“I’ve had some incredible races there … and I’m looking forward to going back there,” Shiffrin said. “The hill is one of my favorites, and when it’s in good condition, it’s really fun to ski.”

RESULTS
Women’s slalom