On a beautifully prepared slope in Jasna, Slovakia, two-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin grabbed her 102nd FIS Ski World Cup podium, finishing third to lead three Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes into the top 25. 

On her home hill, Slovakian Petra Vlhova put on a good show for her country, winning the race by sixteen-hundredths of a second over New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, who showed the strong skiing she’s capable of after moving up from seventh first run. Shiffrin rounded out the podium in third, .37 second off Vlhova’s pace. 

After snagging her 69th World Cup victory in Saturday’s slalom, Shiffrin came out first run with her game face on and ready to go Vlhova’s home hill. Both women skied incredible runs, with Shiffrin leading after the first run by a mere .16 seconds. Poland’s Maryna Gasienica-Daniel skied a beautiful first run, landing in third, .44 seconds off the pace. Nina O’Brien, who was second in the first giant slalom run at World Championships, showed her speed once again, landing in fourth from bib 19, .49 off the lead. 

Americans Paula Moltzan and AJ Hurt also put down solid first runs, in 17th and 29th, respectively. Heading into the second run, the Americans had a very tangible opportunity to double podium—the last time that happened was on March 11, 1984, in Waterville Valley, N.H., when Tamara McKinney won and Christin Cooper was third. With four Americans in the second run, the stoke levels were high and the possibilities were exciting. 

Hurt, who has scored points in four disciplines (slalom, parallel, giant slalom, and super-G) this season and will be heading to Bansko, Bulgaria next for FIS Ski World Junior Championships, started off the second run by laying down a solid time. She had a few minutes in the leaderboard and moved up to 22nd on the day. Moltzan also skied solidly to cap off a weekend of two top-20 results, landing in 19th. O’Brien left the start gate charging, was skiing blazing-fast through the first interval until she leaned in and DNFed. She was disappointed, but is OK and is happy with her skiing. 

Vlhova broke a gate in the bottom section of the course, causing an unfortunate course hold for Shiffrin, who was in the start gate and ready to kick out. Clearly rattled from the start, Shiffrin skied clean from top to bottom, but couldn’t find the fire to grab the victory. Following the race, Shiffrin articulated her disappointment with the way the broken gate was handled, and how lengthy the course hold was. 

Standing in the start gate, athletes are able to see the countdown clock from the start (the interval timer counts down from two minutes). Shiffrin heard the course crew and Vlhova's team celebrating when she crossed the finish line, so said she knew Vlhova had come down in the lead. "Then we have a 25-second countdown when the ref closes the start wand, so I clicked my poles together and put them in place, and rather than hearing the 'beeps' to signal 'go', I heard someone behind me say 'start stop' and for a second I thought he said ‘start’, so I almost went," Shiffrin explained.

Shiffrin knew the hold wasn't because Vlhova fell, because she heard the cheering. "It took nearly a minute to hear what the course hold was for, so I was standing there trying to just stay focused, but I felt there was something else going on because we normally get info quicker than that especially for a gate-fix. And then it took another minute for them to say the course was clear. The next countdown for my start was a half-interval, so it took another minute before I was able to go. It just doesn't take that long to fix a gate, but even more so, it doesn't take that long for them to tell you that was what the course hold was for...and it felt like stalling. I had said it was eight minutes, which is obviously not true, but as an athlete standing in the start gate, it feels like an eternity even if it's not. Life isn’t fair and ski racing is certainly not always fair, so it really was more frustration about the hold and communication being unprofessional, rather than unfair.”

Shiffrin noted that even though it felt "unprofessional," it may not have changed the outcome had it not happened. "It might not have changed the results. I could still be third, and Petra deserved to win...she’s skiing amazing, so that’s a separate thing...but life isn’t fair and ski racing isn't always fair, but at least it can be professional.”

All in all, Shiffrin is happy with her skiing and the progression she has made this season, after having some difficulty in giant slalom prior to World Championships. “I felt pretty good with my skiing...it was really good conditions, and super fun to ski GS on that slope, so I was pretty happy about that,” she reflected. “It’s incredible at this time in the season and getting back on the podium in both slalom and giant slalom, after World Champs it was a really big push, and then we went back into training and came prepared for these races. It’s always really incredible when it works out to get not just one but two podiums and have some really good skiing to show.” 

The rivalry between Shiffrin and Vlhova on the snow has been thrilling for fans to watch. They have elevated the sport to another level, and continue to do so. Shiffrin shared her thoughts on the rivalry as well, “Petra’s skiing really strong in every event, so I always know it’s going to be a big fight. If I’m second and pushing to climb another step or if I’m in first and I have to defend it, it’s always a really good fight,” she added. “She skied really great today and was able to get the victory. She can be proud of how she skied.”

 

 

 

 

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With her fourth place in Sunday’s giant slalom, Italy’s Marta Bassino wrapped up the race for the giant slalom globe, with 510 points over France’s Tessa Worley (362 points). With her victory on Sunday, Vlhova closed the gap to current World Cup overall leader, Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami to just 36 points heading into a double slalom World Cup in Are, Sweden. Qualifying for Finals in giant slalom for the United States include Shiffrin, ranked fourth and O'Brien in 20th. Moltzan just missed qualifying, ending up ranked 27th. 

Katie Hensien also started for the Americans but did not finish the first run. She is OK. 

Up next for the women is a double slalom in Are, Sweden—the final races series for the women before heading to World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

RESULTS
Women’s giant slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Giant Slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST. 

11:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Jasna, SVK, Broadcast NBCSN

Scott Patterson led the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in the last race of the 2021 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships, taking 10th place in the 50k classic.

The results were contentious, with Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo through the lights as the original winner, but was disqualified for obstruction after a clash with Alexander Bolshunov of the Russian Ski Federation right before the finish line. Emil Iversen of Norway took the eventual gold medal with Bolshunov second and Simen Hegstad Krueger of Norway third.

Patterson skied a solid race, staying in the lead pack until the fifth lap when he changed skis. “I had to put in a pretty strong surge after that to try and get back in on the leaders,” he said. “I paid for it in the end, but I’m pretty happy. I wish I could have gotten a few more. I was hurting that last lap up that big hill. But it was a good race. I’m pretty psyched with it.”

Patterson said he had been building toward this result all season long, and while it was his career-best individual World Champs result and met his goal of making the top 10, he knows he can do more leading up to Beijing next season. “I’m fit; I’m feeling pretty good,” he said. “I can pull out top 10s and if you’re in the top 10, it’s not that much to get a little further up. I’m psyched. I’m looking forward to a few more races this season and try and see what we can do next year and build into the Olympics.”

David Norris also had a stellar race, skiing into 16th place, despite a slow transition and sticky skis for a few kilometers after the ski exchange. “I picked off some spots in the last 10k, but that gap has already formed,” he said. “It’s a little disappointing to know I could have been fighting for a top 10, but I kind of got stuck with a top 20 battle.”

But Norris was still OK with his result, knowing that it’s been a strange and abnormal year. “Earlier in the year, I didn’t even think I’d race this winter,” he said. “I’m grateful to be here and happy I’m in good shape. I really can’t complain, but I have big goals so I’ll be hard on myself a little bit.”

Gus Schumacher also cracked the top 30, taking 29th place in his first 50k attempt. “This year has been a really big learning year,” reflected Gus. “A lot of it is patience. A lot of it is seeing how everyone does it. I would have loved to do better this week, but I think this morning I was happy to feel like I released a little pressure from myself. I came in today and was ready to absorb it and focus on the future to be at the top in a year.”

Rounding out the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, Hunter Wonders finished 37th.

The 50k capped off a fantastic two weeks of racing in Oberstdorf, Germany, with strong American results across the board. Next up, the team heads to Engadin, Switzerland for a 10/15k classic and a 30/50k skate race.

RESULTS
Men’s World Championships 50k classic

HOW TO WATCH
Tuesday, March 9
12:30 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Men’s 50k classic mass start - same-day broadcast, Oberstdorf, GER, NBCSN

Under the sunshine at Saalbach, Austria, Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Bryce Bennett grabbed a career-best FIS Ski World Cup super-G result, finishing in ninth-place to lead all four American starters into the points. 

In a nail-biting race with four guys from outside the 30 throwing it into the top 10, Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt had a beautiful run to take the victory over the surprise second-place finisher Matthieu Bailet by .62 seconds. Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr rounded out the podium in third, .81 seconds off the pace. 

Bennett, whose previous best super-G result was 20th in Santa Caterina, Italy back in December 2016, skied a clean run, hitting the two tactical sections well. The rest of the course was pretty straight-forward, assistant coach Chris Beckmann shared, and the sun was popping on the track, which gave the higher bibs a bit of an advantage. Rather than going home for a break following World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Bennett opted to stay in Europe and train with the Austrians at Saalbach to work through some ongoing equipment issues. 

“It’s been a pretty tough season...but with that, in the last month and a half, Leo - my technician - and I, along with my whole team at Fischer, have gotten on the same page and started working in a good direction together,” commented Bennett. “We’ve been testing a lot of stuff, and we’re trying to advance the product, which has been difficult...but we’ve been making steps in the right direction. Coming to Saalbach for training was good, to test it out. Hopefully, we don’t make the same mistake twice, but it’s ski racing and in ski racing, you’re probably going to make that mistake 50 more times, so we’ll see.”

Bryce’s height, along with the fact that the prep period was limited due to COVID, affecting equipment testing, both have played a factor in his equipment challenges this year. “The canting of the boots—if it’s off by literally .1 of a degree, the skiing is totally different with my long shins and long legs...if it’s off by a little bit at the bottom, it’s huge at the top of the leg, so it’s super difficult to figure out. Just takes some time.”

Both Bennett and head coach Randy Pelkey shared that the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team men’s speed crew’s vibe is great and the team is progressing well as a whole. Bennett, who grew up skiing at Squaw Valley, Calif. with Erik Arvidsson, specifically called out Arvidsson’s performance on Saturday with his top-10 and how stoked he is for him. 

“The whole team is going in a good direction,” said Bennett. “There was some good skiing that happened yesterday...and Erik skied so well. I mean, he is an incredible skier. There’s no denying that. He’s really good, he works so hard. It’s cool to see him so motivated and focused...I haven’t seen that in him in a very long time, and I’ve been around him for a long time. He wants to race World Cup and he wants to be successful at it, and all season long he’s been a sponge—he’s just been learning and learning and learning. He executed perfectly yesterday, skied so well top to bottom, and it just shows his capabilities. It’s cool to have him around too, pushing us. He has serious focus, and it paid off for him. I’m psyched for our whole team and the results the team is collectively putting down.”

Jared Goldberg also started for the Americans, and grabbed points, landing in 25th. Travis Ganong ran into some trouble, making an awesome inside ski recovery, landing in 28th. Middlebury College’s Arvidsson grabbed his first World Cup super-G top-30, landing in 30th to cap off what was a brilliant weekend for the 2016 World Junior downhill champion.

Kriechmayr leads the super-G standings with 401 points over Odermatt, with 318 points. In the overall standings, Odermatt (969 points) further closed the gap that France’s Alexis Pinturault (1,050) has to just 81 points. For the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Cochran-Siegle ended up ranked 10th in downhill, followed by Ganong in 16th.

Up next for the men is a tech series in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, with a giant slalom and slalom. The men’s speed team will now have a break and a training block prior to World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, where Ganong, Bennett, and Goldberg will be starting.

RESULTS
Men’s super-G

STANDINGS
Overall
Super-G

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST. 

Sunday, March 7
11:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Jasna, SVK, Broadcast NBCSN

In her last race as a professional skier, the decorated Sadie Maubet Bjornsen came out as the top American in the 2021 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships 30k classic race, finishing in 15th place.

It was another warm day for the conclusion of the women’s races in Oberstdorf, Germany, with temperatures hanging in the upper 30 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day. But the weather didn’t hinder Therese Johaug of Norway, who won gold in a striking fashion, crossing the line more than two and a half minutes ahead of her teammate Heidi Weng. Frida Karlsson of Sweden took bronze.

Capping off an impressive decade-long career that included nearly 200 World Cup starts, two Olympics, six World Championships, 12 World Cup podiums and a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships, Maubet Bjornsen skied well, sticking with the lead pack for the first three laps, until a ski exchange halfway through the race didn’t work to her advantage. “I had many kilometers of celebrating!” she laughed. “It was the hardest 30k I’ve ever done. Nothing like going out on that to remind you how hard this sport is… But I feel really stoked about my first 15k and that’s a good memory to leave—feeling like one of the strongest girls climbing that monster hill.”

Maubet Bjornsen is retiring to spend time at home and pursue an accounting career after receiving her degree from Alaska Pacific University. Living on the road and out of a suitcase is hard, and the ski racer is looking forward to a life in Alaska with her husband Jo, but she would never trade the 10+ years on the World Cup circuit with her teammates. “I definitely feel really grateful for my whole career,” she said. “This last week was definitely really special—the relay was certainly the highlight of the week. It’s good to finish on a really hard note too, pushing through 30k. I’m thankful for my whole career.”

Hailey Swirbul finished 26th—her best individual finish in her first World Championships appearance. And she was thankful to have been able to race with her teammate and mentor one last time. “I’m happy with my day,” she said. “I had a pretty fast start and I got to ski with my teammate Sadie for a brief moment there in her last race as a professional, so that was really special. In the 30k, there are so many deaths and revivals, you just have to keep going. And I went through a couple of those and was very relieved to see the finish line. I’m proud of our team today, some good fighting.”

Hailey also reflected on Maubet Bjornsen’s retirement—the 22-year-old skier grew up idolizing athletes like her as she climbed the ranks in her career to make the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. “I grew up with them on a poster on my wall that’s still there today, wearing yellow puffy jackets from like 2011,” she said. “They inspired me then and they inspire me now. Wherever they go next in life is so lucky to have them, and I’m lucky that we got to have them for this part of their lives. They’re pretty amazing.”

Sophia Laukli, who also races for Middlebury College, was 28th—her third top-30 result in her first World Championships appearance. “I’d never done a 30k, so I wasn’t sure how to pace it, but I never blew up,” she said. “It was a lot of solo skiing, which was a bit tough, but I’m pretty happy with how it went. My body was definitely getting pretty fatigued at the end, but I never felt like I was about to bonk. At the finish I was definitely tired, but I didn’t feel like I totally ruined myself. Definitely, a learning experience and there’s a lot I can improve on.”

Rounding out the Americans, Katharine Ogden finished 37th.

There’s just one final race of the 2021 World Championships, with the men racing the 50k classic on Sunday. The women next head to Engadin, Switzerland for a 10k classic and 30k skate World Cup.

RESULTS
Women’s World Championships 30k classic

HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, March 7
7:00 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Men’s 50k classic mass start - LIVE, Oberstdorf, GER, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, March 9
12:30 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Men’s 50k classic mass start - same-day broadcast, Oberstdorf, GER, NBCSN

Middlebury College’s Erik Arvidsson—the 2016 World Junior Downhill Champion—staked his claim on the FIS Ski World Cup on Saturday, finishing eighth to lead two Americans into the top 10 in Saalbach, Austria’s downhill. 

Unfortunately, Friday's downhill was canceled after nine racers, just before Jared Goldberg, when thick fog and snow rolled in. Saalbach was a replacement for the Wengen and Kvitfjell speed races, which both had to be canceled due to Covid-19. The weather cleared for Saturday’s downhill, and despite the fact that the track was a bit bally, the conditions were surprisingly good given Friday’s weather. 

Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr showed his strength with his fourth-straight speed victory, though his first downhill victory since 2019. Switzerland’s Beat Feuz was second, just .17 seconds off Kriechmayr’s pace, with Austrian Matthias Mayer in third, .27 seconds out. 

Bryce Bennett, who was testing some new skis in the training runs, went back to his normal set-up for race day and had a solid run, skiing confidently and snagging a top-10 result on the day—the final downhill prior to World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. The top 25 athletes from each discipline get a start at World Cup Finals, and with his finish, Bennett moved up to 19th in the downhill ranking.

Arvidsson, who came into the weekend fresh off his second Europa Cup downhill victory, started bib 34 to finish eighth, with an astounding run. As teammate Ryan Cochran-Siegle said in his Instagram story, Arvidsson got his first World Cup points, first top 20, first top 15, and first top 10 all in one day. This success is not necessarily surprising to those who have followed Arvidsson’s trajectory. As the 2016 World Junior downhill champion in Sochi, Russia, Arvidsson has a natural touch and is an incredibly gifted athlete. In 2018, Arvidsson decided to take an unconventional path that worked well for him, attending Middlebury College and getting some valuable experience. It more than paid off. 

Following the first training, Arvidsson mentioned to the coaches that he felt he could be top 15 on the Saalbach track. “Obviously today was pretty incredible for me, I never could have imagined that I could have had a result like this at the beginning of this season, but going into the week, the momentum has definitely been building,” reflected Arvidsson. “In the first training run, I felt like I could pull it together on this hill and put down a good run. The top is really technical and has a lot of turns, which definitely suits my style, and I just had to clean up some things on the flats, and I was able to do that today and put together a good run.”

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team head men’s speed coach Randy Pelkey, who coached Arvidsson at the development level for three years and coached him to that gold in Sochi at World Juniors, was eager to take him in as an invitee, knowing his potential. “His progression this year has been to get quality repetition on speed skis while keeping the GS going,” commented Pelkey. “We made a several-year plan and he has been taking the steps to learn and improve every chance he gets. We are still focused on the process and enjoying that process.”

Arvidsson is thankful for the opportunity, and the work the U.S. Ski & Snowboard staff has done this season. “I’m really, really happy and super thankful to the whole team and my service guy, and all of the coaching staff for all of the work they’ve put in this year,” he added. “I’m definitely going to enjoy it and see what we can do tomorrow too.” 

 

 

 

 

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Travis Ganong and Jared Goldberg also started for the Americans but finished outside of the 30. Sam Morse, who had solid training runs, was having a great run with top 25 splits but he DNFed. He is OK. 

Feuz leads the downhill standings with 486 points over Mayer, with 418 points. Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt (869 points) closed the gap that France’s Alexis Pinturault (1,034) has in the overall race to 165 points. For the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Cochran-Siegle ended up ranked 14th in downhill, followed by Ganong in 18th, Bennett in 19th, and Goldberg in 23rd. 

Up next for the men is super-G on Sunday to close the weekend in Saalbach, Austria. 

RESULTS
Men’s downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST. 

Saturday, March 6
11:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men’s Downhill - same-day broadcast, Saalbach, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN
12:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Slalom - same-day broadcast, Jasna, SVK, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, March 7
3:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom, run 1- LIVE, Jasna, SVK, Streaming Peacock
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men’s Super-G - LIVE, Saalbach, AUT, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Olympic Channel and Peacock
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Jasna, SVK, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Olympic Channel and Peacock
11:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Jasna, SVK, Broadcast NBCSN

Two-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin showed the world that she belongs on the top step of the podium, prevailing over rival Petra Vlhova on her home turf at Jasna, Slovakia, to grab her 45th career FIS Ski World Cup slalom victory on Saturday at Jasna, Slovakia. 

Despite the fact that weather came in on Friday, forcing organizers and the International Ski Federation (FIS) to invert the program, with slalom on Saturday and giant slalom on Sunday, Shiffrin showed she could go with the flow and roll with the punches. A relatively straight, simple course set the first run did not play to Shiffrin’s strengths, but she was able to hang in there first run, finishing .27 seconds off of hometown hero Petra Vlhova. Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener skied with confidence and power and was sitting in third, four-tenths off the pace. 

The recently crowned world champion, Austria’s Katharina Liensberger, was fourth, .91 seconds back. Paula Moltzan, who started bib 26, had a super solid first run, skyrocketing from bib 26 to sixth, in podium contention. Running 25th second run, Moltzan made some impressive recoveries in the second run and held on to finish with yet another solid, top-15 result—her third top-15 slalom result this season.

It was a thrilling second run, with Liensberger coming down with a big lead, then Holdener besting her with a nearly-second lead...and then all eyes were on Shiffrin. Shiffrin took advantage of the more technical second run set, showing a renewed sense of confidence and fire right out of the gate, in the green the first two splits, then in the red, in the green again narrowly, and carrying that momentum down to the finish and across the line, into first by .52 seconds. She kept fans on the edge of their seats, taking risks with a great recovery through the last flush and keeping it exciting all the way down. As she crossed the line, Shiffrin looked up at the scoreboard and smiled, with relief. The pressure was on for Vlhova, and she couldn’t hold her lead, losing time all the way down, crossing the line .34 seconds back, settling for second-place in front of her home crowd. 

“It was just a really good day, a really good hill, and good course sets to attack...actually I was a little bit disappointed after the first run because I felt like my start was really strong but I was losing my momentum and my determination as I went down the course,” Shiffrin explained. “Of course, I wanted to be fast all the way down through the finish, and I was starting to slow down a little bit. In the end, I wasn’t too far off Petra, so I thought...anything is possible for the second run, but the most important thing was that I wanted to have a feeling that I was pushing all the way from the start to the finish. I did that.”

Shiffrin had the fastest second run by nearly four-tenths, clearly skiing with confidence and back to her winning ways. She will try to take this mentality with her through to the finish of this unprecedented 2020-21 season. “I was really excited during my second run—both while I was skiing it and when I went through the finish—I was really excited, even before Petra skied. I didn’t know how she was going to do, and she could still win the race, but I thought to myself, ‘Ok, yeah—I can be proud of my day, and especially that second run.” 

Saturday's victory marked Shiffrin's 45th career slalom victory, one shy of the record for most World Cup wins in a specific discipline: 46 by Ingemar Stenmark in the giant slalom. It was also her 69th career victory.

In the tight race for the slalom globe, Shiffrin is now a mere 45 points behind Vlhova (480 points), with 435 points. Liensberger is on Shiffrin’s heels with 410 points, with three World Cup races to go on the calendar. With her second-place finish on Saturday, Vlhova has closed the gap to current World Cup overall leader, Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami to 107 points. It’ll be a literal race to the finish at the World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. 

Nina O’Brien, Lila Lapanja, and Katie Hensien also started for the Americans but did not qualify for a second run. AJ Hurt was having a blazing fast run from bib 51, sitting in 16th at the third split, before going out and DNFing. She is OK and will now travel to Bansko, Bulgaria for the FIS Ski World Junior Championships. 

Up next for the women is a giant slalom on Sunday to wrap the weekend. 

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Slalom

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST. 

Saturday, March 6
11:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men’s Downhill - same-day broadcast, Saalbach, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN
12:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Slalom - same-day broadcast, Jasna, SVK, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, March 7
3:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom, run 1- LIVE, Jasna, SVK, Streaming Peacock
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men’s Super-G - LIVE, Saalbach, AUT, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Olympic Channel and Peacock
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Jasna, SVK, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Olympic Channel and Peacock
11:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Jasna, SVK, Broadcast NBCSN

Simi Hamilton, David Norris, Scott Patterson, and Gus Schumacher teamed up to represent the United States and post the best 4x10k relay finish in decades for the Americans, finishing eighth in Friday’s event at the 2021 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany.

“I’m super proud of our team,” Hamilton said. “We put together four really good, consistent legs. Our skis were awesome...and that was the most fun relay I have ever skied on the World Cup or World Champs.”

Norway dominated again, winning their 11th-straight World Championships team relay gold medal dating back to the 2001 World Champs in Lahti, Finland. In fact, Norway has won the gold 19 times in the history of the event at World Championships. The RSF team took the silver, and France skied to the bronze medal. 

Much like the past World Champs, Norway won again in dominating fashion, as Johannes Klaebo simply toyed with Alexander Bolshunov during the fourth and final leg. Entering the last three laps of the race with a sizable advantage, Klaebo skied at a comfortable pace, allowing Bolshunov to catch him. 

Both men had a sizable advantage over the second group consisting of France, Sweden, and Switzerland heading into the third and final 3.3k lap. Coming into the stadium with one climb remaining, Klaebo passed Bolshunov around a sweeping right turn and dictated the pace up the final climb. Near the top, he attacked and Bolshunov could only watch him glide away to yet another gold.

The Americans had a battle in their own right, moving up from 12th early in the race, into the top 10 on the second classic leg by Scott Patterson. Hamilton skied a solid third leg and tagged off to Schumacher to finish it off.  On the second of his three laps, Schumacher attacked a group that included Germany’s Friedrich Mock, and Canada’s Remi Drolet. With Japan’s Keishin Yoshida and Jan Pechousek of the Czech Republic dangling a few seconds behind. That effort pulled the German into a one-on-one battle with the 2020 Junior World Champion.

“It was fun to just feel like I had some fight to give,” Schumacher said. “I knew (Mock) was a really strong skater and distance skier, and especially on the climbs, so I strung out a (few), but I didn’t want to lead so much. I knew if I was leading I could control the pace a little more, so I kept it more in my zone.”

“In my mind, if I would have made it to the top of the climb with him, I think I could have beat him to the line, but I wasn’t able to close the door enough,” he added. Schumacher dug deep and finished strong for the American’s on another crazy weather day with moderate to heavy wet snow falling throughout the race.

“It was a crazy, bizarre, different day with the conditions,” Hamilton said. “You never really knew what to expect when you wake up and it’s just 32 (degrees) and dumping (snow) all day.”

Up next, the women compete in the 30k mass start classic. Starting for the Davis U.S. Cross Country team are Katharine Ogden, Hailey Swirbul, Sophia Laukli, and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, who will close out an illustrious 11-year professional career tomorrow that has included six World Championships, two Olympic Winter Games, and 12 World Cup podiums.

RESULTS
Men’s 4x10k relay

HOW TO WATCH
Friday, March 5
11:30 p.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Women’s 4x10k relay - same-day broadcast, Oberstdorf, GER, Broadcast NBCSN

Saturday, March 6
6:30 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Women’s 30k classic mass start - LIVE, Oberstdorf, GER, Streaming Peacock
10:00 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Women’s 30k classic mass start - same-day broadcast, Oberstdorf, GER, Broadcast Olympic Channel

Sunday, March 7
7:00 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Men’s 50k classic mass start - LIVE, Oberstdorf, GER, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, March 9
12:30 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Men’s 50k classic mass start - same-day broadcast, Oberstdorf, GER, NBCSN

Faye Gulini battled her way to a third-place finish on the second day of competition in Bakuriani, Georgia on Friday, marking her third podium in five World Cup starts this season.

“This was one of those races where you had to be a bully, put it all on the line, and not take no for an answer,” said Gulini. “It was fun, exhausting, and interesting. In most races, I’m able to pick out what is consistently working and use that to my advantage, but today was not that way.”

Following a strong third-place performance by teammate Lindsey Jacobellis on Thursday, the U.S. Snowboardcross Team circled up to strategize ahead of day two. 

“We did a lot of video review after yesterday’s competition and it was really interesting,” said Gulini. “We found areas where certain individuals could make good passes, but the same technique wouldn’t work for other athletes. It was actually a little confusing, but we were able to narrow it down and get some good beta to apply to today’s snowboarding.”
 

While it may be a mystery as to what is exactly is discussed in those meetings, whatever it is is working. The U.S. Snowboardcross Team has amassed seven World Cup podiums this season with Gulini headlining the effort for the Americans. Gulini is ranked third in the FIS Snowboardcross Cup standings behind Czech Republic’s Eva Samkva in first and Italy’s Michela Moioli in second. 

“I’m super happy with my riding and my results this season. I think I’m at the highest level I have ever been riding at and I really want to carry this momentum forward to close out this season strong. Then hopefully, moving into the Olympics, I can be confident and fast on my snowboard.”

Great Britain’s Charlotte Banks won the event followed by France’s Chloe Trespeuch in second. U.S. Riders Jacobellis and Stacy Gaskill finished in seventh and ninth respectively. 

For the men, veteran and 39-year-old Nick Baumgartner led the way for the U.S. finishing in fifth, signaling his best result of the season. 

“Getting old and slowing down happens to every athlete and I’ll be no exception,” said Baumgartner jokingly. “My season hasn’t been the best so I’m sure people didn’t look at me as a threat. I can’t even begin to explain how awesome it feels to crush it when the competition counts you out.”
 

WATCH THE REPLAY ON PEACOCK
 

RESULTS
Women’s Snowboardcross Finals
Men’s Snowboardcross Finals

CUP STANDINGS
Women’s Snowboardcross
Men’s Snowboardcross Finals
 

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Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Ben Ritchie won slalom gold at FIS Alpine World Junior Ski Championships in Bansko, Bulgaria on Friday, becoming the first American male to win the title since veteran teammate and downhiller Steven Nyman in 2002 in Sella Nevea, Italy. 

Vermonter and Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) alumnus Ritchie was the 2019 silver medalist at World Junior Ski Championships at Val di Fassa, Italy, and recently grabbed a career-best 13th-place at World Championships at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. He was a clear favorite coming into Friday’s race. On a perfectly prepared track with a course set by head men’s development coach Sasha Rearick, Ritchie capitalized on the conditions and ended up tied in first with Switzerland’s Fadri Janutin. 

The pressure wasn’t a problem for Ritchie, who kept his composure and skied a solid second run, crossing the finish line in the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Austria’s Joshua Sturm, who would end up with bronze on the day. Switzerland up next, but Janutin couldn’t catch Ritchie, and crossed the finish line .48 seconds behind Ritchie to settle for the silver medal. 

“It feels really good. A couple of years ago I was in second place...I wasn’t expecting that result...and then last year, unfortunately, things got canceled so I’ve been waiting for a long time and it feels good to come through when the pressure’s on,” reflected Richie. Ritchie, who has been focusing on a full World Cup and Europa Cup schedule this season, felt a different kind of pressure skiing amongst his peer group in Bansko, but he was stoked to live up to the challenge. 

“It was a different feeling for me, this year I’ve been racing a lot of World Cups and Europa Cups,” Ritchie said. “It's different being the favorite here versus not being the favorite at some of those races, so I was really happy to be able to come through and take the win with that.” What did he do to ease the pressure? “I just relaxed and tried to pretend it was a training day, which is pretty hard to do sometimes, but I tried to relax and ski it like any other day,” he continued, in his calm and cool demeanor. 

This title has been a long time coming for American men. Prior to Ritchie’s silver in 2019, AJ Ginnis—who now skis for Greece—was the last World Juniors slalom medalist, with a bronze in 2015 in Hafjell, Norway. The last American male to win the World Junior Ski Championships slalom title was none other than veteran downhiller and teammate Steven Nyman, with his surprise victory in 2002 in Sella Nevea, Italy. Rearick told Ritchie after the race that the men’s downhill team was “super fired up” and asked if he was excited to join the downhill team. “No, I won’t be joining (the downhill team) anytime soon...I’m not a downhiller. Yeah, that’s about it...I’m no downhiller,” Ritchie replied with a laugh.

“I’m not a downhiller.”—Ben Ritchie, on his WJSC Slalom Title and the fact that downhiller @Steven_Nyman was the last American male to win a @fisalpine World Junior slalom title in 2002. 🤣🤘

Ben knows what’s up...slalom is where it’s at. #zickzack #Bansko2021 pic.twitter.com/oGYLD4b3Hu

— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) March 5, 2021

Also starting for the Americans were Isaiah Nelson, who was 17th fastest after the first run, but did not finish the second run, Cooper Puckett, who also DNFed the second run, and Bradshaw Underhill, who DNFed in the first run. 

Slalom on Friday concluded competition for the men at the 2021 World Junior Ski Championships. What’s next for Ritchie? “Next is a little bit of training, and then Kranjska Gora World Cup, and then Europa Cup Finals and World Cup Finals...I’m really excited to go to Lenzerheide. It’s a really good opportunity to score some points, maybe even some FIS points...who knows,” he said. 

Up next, the women head to Bansko and will kick off competition on March 8, with the super-G. Live timing will be provided by FIS. Fans can also watch all of the action, live-streamed on Bansko’s Facebook page. 

RESULTS
Men’s slalom

WATCH THE SLALOM REPLAY
Bansko Facebook Page

BANSKO 2021 COMPETITION SCHEDULE
March 8  – Women's super-G
March 9  – Women’s giant slalom
March 10 - Women’s slalom

MORE INFORMATION
Bansko 2021 Official Website

FOLLOW THE LAND ROVER U.S. ALPINE SKI TEAM
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Facebook - @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter - @usskiteam

Some days the team effort means so much more than the actual race result. Thursday was one of those days as the U.S. Women finished fourth—for the fourth time in a World Championships team relay event—in Oberstdorf, Germany, at the 2021 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships.

Norway skied away from the RSF team by 26 seconds to win the gold medal for the fifth time in the past six World Championships. However, the U.S. was oh so close to that elusive World Championships team relay medal until Finland’s Krista Parmakoski passed Jessie Diggins heading up the final climb, and held off the gritty American at the line to seal the bronze medal for Finland by just 0.8 seconds. 

“The relays are the highlights and why I’m still skiing racing,” said Sadie Maubet Bjonsen, who skied the second classic leg. “I think it’s so cool to see everybody give every bit that they can, and today our goal was to not be able to see when we were passing off to the next person because we had boxed ourselves so much—as the kids would say—and we did that 100 percent. 

“Of course, we were shooting for a medal, and for about six championships in a row, we knew it was possible if we had all the ducks lined up, but part of the game is getting those ducks lined up, and that is why we keep coming back and fighting,” she continued.

The U.S. opened the fight with Hailey Swirbul skiing her first World Championship team relay at the elite level. Swirbul, who was part of the historic U.S. Junior women’s World Championships bronze medal-winning relay team in 2017, tagged off to Maubet Bjornsen in the eighth position, just 14 seconds back of the Czech Republic team, with Norway and RSF in second and third.

Maubet Bjornsen pulled the U.S. Team into a bronze medal battle as Norway and Russia kept the pace high at the front of the race. Tagging off to Rosie Brennan for the third leg, the Americans were in the medal hunt, however, Finland’s Riitta-Liisa Roponen Germany’s Pia Fink marked Brennan’s every move.

“We’re gritty racers, and we’re aggressive races, and that was our card to play today and we all did that,” Brennan said. “Some days that pans out, and some days you just can’t drop those clingers. But that is what is so cool about this team, and that is something that I am very proud of and I know those young girls back home were watching this and are going to want to race the same way.”

Brennan tagged off to Diggins for the fourth and final leg, but just like Roponen, Parmakoski clung to Diggin’s every move and made her move on the final climb.

“I played the only card I had and I knew I had to ski twice as hard as the girls that were with us, and I did my absolute damndest to drop them in the only place I thought I could, and I am really proud of that effort,” Diggins said. 

“It’s heartbreaking to come that close to a medal and know that fitness-wise, we are so there, and that is what is really encouraging because that is the only part that we can really control is that coming into World Championships knowing that our fitness is there, our minds are there, our tactics are there, and most importantly, that we are gritty enough,” Diggins added. “That was an absolute championship performance from every member of this team and not just those of us who were racing, but those who weren’t racing. It’s heartbreaking to come that close and know that we’re there, but also that is part of the sport.”

For Swirbul, the experience will have a lasting impression. “It was so exciting for my first World Champs—or World Cup—relay,” Swirbul said. “I’m so proud to be part of it and it’s a weird feeling because we are expected to feel sad about finishing fourth, but I feel really proud of this team and how everybody did—and now I’m crying.”

RESULTS
Women’s 4x5k relay

HOW TO WATCH
Friday, March 5
7:30 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Men’s 4x10k relay - LIVE, Oberstdorf, GER, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Olympic Channel and Peacock
11:30 p.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Men’s 4x10k relay - same-day broadcast, Oberstdorf, GER, Broadcast NBCSN

Saturday, March 6
6:30 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Women’s 30k classic mass start - LIVE, Oberstdorf, GER, Streaming Peacock
10:00 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Women’s 30k classic mass start - same-day broadcast, Oberstdorf, GER, Broadcast Olympic Channel

Sunday, March 7
7:00 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Men’s 50k classic mass start - LIVE, Oberstdorf, GER, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, March 9
12:30 a.m. FIS World Cross Country Championships Men’s 50k classic mass start - same-day broadcast, Oberstdorf, GER, Broadcast Olympic Channel