Mikaela Shiffrin led the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team women in the annual Zagreb night slalom, finishing just off the podium in fourth place. Paula Moltzan was 14th and Katie Hensien 18th.

While the ski world was on edge about the future of the Snow Queen Trophy race last week after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit the Croatian city, the Zagreb race organizers didn’t back down and pressed on to hold the FIS World Cup race only five days later. Under the lights, the women raced in springlike conditions, complete with sugary salted snow and even some rain first run. And neither earthquake nor sloppy snow could stop Petra Vlhova of Slovakia, who won her fourth race of the season. Katharina Liensberger of Austria was second and Michelle Gisin was third.

Mikaela, who was fourth after first run, put down a fast second run to leave her just .05 seconds off the podium. “Things are going in a good direction,” she said, referencing that it was only her sixth race back on the circuit after an extended break. “But it takes time and I always said that from the beginning: It’s not easy to win. Especially if you don’t have momentum, then it’s even harder. It’s always really hard work—hard mentally and I know that. I’m trying not to expect too much.”

However, Mikaela’s signature drive is still there—seen in her eyes and in her fast skiing. She had won in Zagreb four times before and can see herself on the top of the podium again. “I want to be there—on the podium and in the first spot—but it’s also greedy or arrogant to think I can just do it,” she said. “It’s strange because of the past 10 years, but at the same time, it’s normal for right now. I’m not sad.”

For now, she’ll take the fourth-place result and put some more time on her skis. Slalom requires hours and hours of work and Mikaela is still getting those miles under her feet. “Out of all the events, you have to ski a lot of slalom to be really strong,” she said. “I can be hopeful and positive, but also realistic. Fourth and three tenths out is okay. I had a better second run with fewer mistakes—maybe a little less risk, but some better position on my skis. I can take that and go with it.”

It was also an impressive day for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team women, with four athletes skiing in the second run—the first time since 2007 that four women made the flip. Paula Moltzan skied the third-fastest second run to take 14th overall—her best World Cup slalom result since 2019 when she was 12th in Flachau, Austria. Katie Hensien made a World Cup second run for the second time in a week and scored her first points, nailing a coveted top-20 result in 18th place. Nina O’Brien was 30th after first run, but straddled and did not finish.

Resi Stiegler and Lila Lapanja also raced but did not qualify for a second run.

Zagreb was just another example of the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team showcasing its depth, with the men and women amassing 10 podiums across five different athletes so far this year, along with career-best results and first World Cup points for a number of athletes. This has been the strongest start to a season in this generation. Keep an eye on this team!

Next up, the men race a night slalom in Zagreb on January 6. The tech women have a short break before racing another night slalom in Flachau on January 12.   

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All Times EST

Sunday, Jan. 3
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBC
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - Replay From Bormio, Italy, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBC
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBCSN

Wednesday, Jan. 6
6:15 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast Olympic Channel
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock

All streams will be available via desktop as well as mobile, tablet, and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports, Peacock TV, and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.

Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan powered to the top of the overall FIS Tour de Ski standings, finishing a historic 1-2 in Sunday’s 10k freestyle pursuit in Val Müstair, Switzerland. 

Coming into Sunday’s third stage, Jessie was second overall, and Rosie was fourth. Starting 19 seconds back of the race leader–and winner of the first two stages–Sweden’s Linn Svahn, Jessie settled into a pace with Sweden’s Frida Karlsson and Rosie, who started 20 and 22-seconds back respectively.

"I started out trying to help pull the group, but then nearly imploded in the altitude and spent the next few laps getting my legs back after feeling extremely wobbly," Jessie said after leading Rosie to the first ever 1-2 finish for two American athletes on the World Cup circuit.

The trio caught the leader on the second of four 2.5k laps. At the midway point of the race, Frida, Jessie, and Rosie held a 24-second advantage over Linn and a further 43-second advantage over the chase group that included Slovenia's Anamarija Lampic and Russia’s Yulia Stupak. 

"I was fortunate to start in a strong group with Jessie and Frida. We are all workhorses so I knew it was going to be game on from the start," Rosie said. "Frida really took reigns and charged hard the whole race. Being more of a climber I tried to make a move at the top of the climb on the last lap. It worked to get a gap to Frida but also made a perfect launch for Jessie to utilize her fantastic downhill skills." 

On the final lap with Frida setting the pace up the last climb, Jessie launched her winning attack over the top and once again, enjoyed the fast skis prepared by the Davis U.S. Cross Country Service Team. Rosie followed and the two, separated by a couple of seconds, put a further five seconds into Frida, who finished third.

“Frida was amazing and I kept trying to push the poles and be there, but I kept thinking that every lap I’m going to get dropped,” Jessie said after her first victory of the season, and third-straight podium. “I was just hanging on by a thread and I just got really excited for the downhill. I thought that maybe I could hold on, and if not, then I blow up, but it was worth a shot.”

Worth a shot indeed! The victory moved her atop the overall Tour de Ski standings, with Rosie second overall, just five seconds back. Frida sits third at 10-seconds back of the overall lead.

"I did my best to follow (Jessie's) counter move but didn’t quite have what I needed," Rosie added. "It’s a pretty cool feeling to finish and realize that two Americans are 1-2 in the Tour right now!"

In addition to Jessie and Rosie landing on the podium, Sunday was another impressive day for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team with Hailey Swirbul finishing 13th (seventh fastest Time of Day), and moving from 17th to 13th in the overall standings. Katharine Ogden finished 25th (22nd fastest Time of Day) and sits in 25th overall. Rosie continues to lead the overall FIS World Cup Cross Country standings and the overall World Cup distance standings. 

“I love this team and we have such a positive environment,” Jessie said. “It’s a fun time to be on this team.”

In the 15k men’s race, Gus Schumacher continued to impress in his first World Cup season, finishing 32nd to lead the Americans, he also had the 24th-fastest Time of Day, tying his World Cup career-best result from earlier this season in Ruka, Finland. Scott Patterson was 38th (24th fastest Time of Day); Simi Hamilton was 47th and Kevin Bolger was 55th.

Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov dominated again, winning his third-straight race by 53 seconds over his countryman Artem Maltsev. Maurice Manificat was third. Alexander holds the overall lead through three stages by 53 seconds over Artem.

Monday is a rest day followed by stage 4 Tuesday, which features a 10k freestyle for the women and a 15k freestyle for the men in Toblach, Italy. Toblach holds a special place for Jessie as she won a World Cup stage race freestyle event there in 2017, sharing the podium with her teammate Sadie Maubet Bjornsen.

"It’s important for me not to put pressure on myself and take the tour one day at a time," Jessie said. "But it’s also important to not take these special moments for granted, and to enjoy a few moments knowing how hard so many people have worked to help me get here!"

RESULTS
Stage 3
Women’s 10k pursuit
Men’s 15k pursuit

STANDINGS
Women’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 3)
Men’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 3)
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall

SCHEDULE
Monday, Jan. 4
Rest day

Tuesday, Jan. 5, Toblach, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle

Wednesday, Jan. 6, Toblach, ITA
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit

Thursday, Jan. 7
Rest day

Friday, Jan. 8, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Saturday, Jan. 9, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Men and women’s classic sprint

Sunday, Jan. 10, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb

HOW TO WATCH

Tuesday, Jan. 5
7:00 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Women's 10k - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock
10:45 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Wednesday, Jan. 6
7:30 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Women's 10k Pursuit - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock
10:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Pursuit - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Friday, Jan. 8
7:15 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Men's 15k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Women's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Saturday, Jan. 9
7:00 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Men and Women’s Classic Sprint - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 10
6:45 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Women's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Men's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Jessie Diggins finished third to grab her second-consecutive podium, and Rosie Brennen finished sixth to maintain her overall FIS Cross Country World Cup lead in Saturday’s 10k classic mass start, the second stage of the 15th FIS Tour de Ski in Val Müstair, Switzerland.

In a four-up sprint to the line, Sweden’s Linn Svahn took her second-consecutive victory, with Russia’s Yulia Stupak in second. Hailey Swirbul and Katharine Ogden both had impressive results, finishing 17th and 23rd respectively. Caitlin Patterson was 38th, Julia Kern finished 41st; and Sophie Caldwell Hamilton, who was taken out near the end of the first lap, rallied to finish 46th.

“My goals for today were to ski smooth and really work the downhills without letting them become a stress in a mass start environment, so I stayed near the front to keep out of trouble,” Jessie said. “This was a great course for me with all the long power-striding, and when I felt good on the last half of the last lap I just decided to push it!”

With light snow falling throughout the race, Jessie, Linn, and her Swedish teammate Frida Karlsson pushed the pace in the first mass-start race of the season, which always proves a bit chaotic, especially at the start. 

“My goal was to keep things as close as possible and then see what I left in the end,” said Rosie, who posted a career-best classic distance result. “I think I did this well as I skied in the front pack throughout the race.”

With a lead group of 10 heading in the final 2.5k lap, Jessie upped the pace up the final climb and whittled the group down to seven, and on the final downhill into the finish arena, she found herself in a position to sprint for the podium.

“For someone previously labeled as a skater only, it was very exciting to find myself sprinting for the podium in a 10k classic race, and confidence-boosting as well since I’ve been working so hard for so long on my classic striding,” Jessie said. “I think that improvement speaks to our coaches’ dedication and our positive team environment where we can learn from one another and push each other in our weaker areas. This summer I really benefited from my SMST2 teammates helping me push the envelope in classic intervals and I’m extremely grateful to them!”

Once again, Saturday’s results were a team effort between the athletes and service staff, who worked long hours to prepare fast skis.

“We had great skis out there,” Jessie added. “Huge thanks to our service team and coaches for all their hard work, and the Salomon service team for their help picking my skis before the race!”

In the 15k men’s race the Russians dominated, in fact, the only thing that stopped the Russians from sweeping the podium was themselves. With Alexander Bolshunov holding a commanding lead into the finish to secure his second-straight victory, Evgeniy Belov and Alexey Chervotkin were sitting second and third before they got tangled up in the final downhill corner and opened the door for Switzerland’s Dario Cologna to land on the podium in second. Russia’s Ivan Yakimushkin finished third.

Gus Schumacher was settling in for a top-30 result, sitting 23rd after the first lap, then 27th after the third of four 3.3k loops. As the final lap pace kicked into high gear, the race split apart and Gus slid back a bit but glided across the line in 37th to lead U.S. men, with Scott Patterson in 44th, Simi Hamilton 47th and Kevin Bolger in 60th.

Up next, Stage three features a freestyle pursuit format, 10k for the women and 15k for the men Sunday in Val Müstair. Rosie won the previous freestyle pursuit in Davos by a huge margin, so she’ll toe the line Sunday with a ton of confidence. “I am in a great position for tomorrow's pursuit start so I hope to find some good energy and take advantage of that,” she said.

After two of eight stages, Jessie is second and Rosie is fourth overall. Hailey is 17th and Katharine moved up to 28th overall.

RESULTS
Stage 2
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 10k classic mass start

STANDINGS
Women’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 2)
Men’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 2)
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall

SCHEDULE
Sunday, Jan. 3, Val Müstair, SUI
Women’s 10k freestyle pursuit
Men’s 15k freestyle pursuit

Tuesday, Jan. 5, Toblach, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle

Wednesday, Jan. 6, Toblach, ITA
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit

Friday, Jan. 8, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Saturday, Jan. 9, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Men and women’s classic sprint

Sunday, Jan. 10, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb

HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, Jan. 3
5:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Pursuit - LIVE, Val Mustair, SUI, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Women's 10k Pursuit - LIVE, Val Mustair, SUI, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Jan. 5
7:00 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Women's 10k - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock
10:45 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Wednesday, Jan. 6
7:30 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Women's 10k Pursuit - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock
10:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Pursuit - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Friday, Jan. 8
7:15 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Men's 15k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Women's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Saturday, Jan. 9
7:00 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Men and Women’s Classic Sprint - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 10
6:45 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Women's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Men's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Editor's Note Jan. 2, 2020: Appeal from Slovenian Ski Association against FIS Jury decision of January 1, 2021 partly granted by FIS Appeals Commission

The appeal by the Slovenian Ski Association against the FIS Jury decision of the Sprint Freestyle case concerning Anamarija Lampic from January 1, 2021 was partly approved. The Appeals Commission asks to change the sanction to a written reprimand (yellow card). 

As a consequence, Friday's Sprint results will be updated and Anamarija Lampic will be ranked as second and Jessie Diggins ranked as third and Frida Karlsson ranked as fourth. Additionally, the decision impacts the Tour Overall standing, the Tour point standing, and therefore also the start list of Sunday’s Pursuit competition.

Jessie Diggins suddenly found herself sprinting for her first podium result of the season in the opening stage of the FIS Tour de Ski in Val Müstair, Switzerland, Friday. And, she certainly didn’t let her good fortune slip away, eventually finishing second to kick off a solid start in the 10-day event for Davis U.S. Cross Country Team. Rosie Brennan finished fourth to maintain her overall FIS World Cup Cross Country lead.

"Today was a fun way to start 2021! " Jessie said. "But I think it’s important for me to say that I’m equally as proud of my all-out effort and our team as I am when I’m not on the podium. It was just another day of giving it my absolute best effort, but the patience and trust in the training plan that (coach Jason) Cork and I set down together have been paying off and my race form is coming into sharper focus now."

Qualifying 14th on the longest sprint course so far this season, Jessie won her opening quarterfinal heat and finished second in her semifinal heat to advance to the finals. Rosie, meanwhile, qualified fifth and finished third in her opening quarterfinal heat, advancing to the semifinals as one of the Lucky Losers. Racing in the second semifinal with Jessie, Rosie finished fourth, but again advanced to the finals as one of the Lucky Losers. 

"This might be the hardest sprint course I have ever raced. It's long, at altitude, and had some slow snow out there today," Rosie said. "I worked hard in the semi to keep the pace high to ensure our heat would have lucky losers, which I then benefited from. However, I was pretty beat by the time we got to the final."

In the finals, Jessie and Rosie were up against three of the best sprinters in the world in Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampic, Sweden’s Linn Svahn, and Switzerland’s Nadine Faehndrich - the current World Cup sprint leader. With Linn holding the lead into the final 300 meters, Anamarija made a pass on the inside around Nadine on the final downhill, to move into second, clipping the front of Nadine’s skis and sending her face-first onto the snow. In a move to avoid the Swiss skier, who was sprawled out on the snow, Jessie made a high-speed dash to the inside and jumped over Nadine to move into third. 

"The final was exciting, for sure," Jessie said. "I fell behind a bit on the steep climb, and was working my way down the downhill sections with as much speed as I could when I saw Nadine go down and slide around the corner in front of me. I didn’t want to hit her (or break her equipment, or my own) so I jumped over her pole while rounding the corner! In sprinting you can get lucky or be the recipient of incredibly bad luck, and today the luck definitely came my way (and I’m grateful for it)."

Across the finish line, Linn took her fifth career individual World Cup sprint victory, with Anamarija in second and Jessie in third—her first podium of the season. However, after further deliberation by the race jury, Anamarija was relegated to sixth for obstruction, moving Jessie up one step on the podium to second, Sweden’s Frida Karlsson into third, and Rosie into fourth. 

"I stayed out of trouble and for that was rewarded another two places," Rosie added. "That's a sprint race for you...It's also very cool to note that we had our fourth different girl on the podium in just four weeks of racing. Our team is really working hard to get through this tough season together and support one another as we navigate the world."

"It was so exciting to have (U.S. athletes) as one-third of the women’s final," Jessie added. "And for myself, it was exciting to be out there having fun, not putting pressure on myself but still skiing with confidence and enjoying the banked turns and rollers all at the same time."

In addition to Jessie and Rosie, five other U.S. athletes qualified for the heats Friday, including Sophie Caldwell Hamilton, Julia Kern, Hailey Swirbul, Simi Hamilton, and Kevin Bolger. Simi, Hailey, and Sophie just missed advancing to the semifinals, each finishing third in their respective quarterfinal heats. Unfortunately for Kevin, his race day was cut short when he clipped a ski, fell and broke a pole just a few hundred meters into his quarterfinal heat. Gus Schumacher just missed qualifying for the heats, finishing 31st in the qualifier. 

Hailey posted a career-best World Cup sprint result finishing 15th, while Sophie was 16th, and Julia 24th.

In the men’s race, Italy’s Federico Pellegrino took the win—his 16th individual World Cup sprint victory. Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov finished second and maintained his overall World Cup lead, while France’s Richard Jouve was third. Simi was 13th and Kevin 30th.

Up next, Stage 2 features a classic mass start, 10k for the women and 15k for the men Saturday in Val Müstair. 

RESULTS
Stage 1
Women’s freestyle sprint
Men’s freestyle sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 1)
Men’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 1)
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall

SCHEDULE
Saturday, Jan. 2, Val Müstair, SUI
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Sunday, Jan. 3, Val Müstair, SUI
Women’s 10k freestyle pursuit
Men’s 15k freestyle pursuit

Tuesday, Jan. 5, Toblach, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle

Wednesday, Jan. 6, Toblach, ITA
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit

Friday, Jan. 8, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Saturday, Jan. 9, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Men and women’s classic sprint

Sunday, Jan. 10, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb

HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, Jan. 2
6:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Women's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val Mustair, SUI, Streaming Peacock
8:45 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Mass Start - LIVE, Val Mustair, SUI, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
5:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Pursuit - LIVE, Val Mustair, SUI, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Women's 10k Pursuit - LIVE, Val Mustair, SUI, Streaming Peacock

The remaining Broadcast/Streaming Schedule will be available here!

Two-time Olympic medalist Andrew Weibrecht has been picked to guide the relaunch of the Alpine skiing program at Paul Smith's College, a small school in the Adirondacks.

Weibrecht is a three-time Olympian who won medals in super G at Sochi and Vancouver. He will bring 16 years of national and international experience with the U.S. ski team to the school. Weibrecht, 34, retired from skiing two years ago.

Weibrecht, 34, retired from skiing two years ago. He will assume a lead role in creating a new Alpine program. Members of the men's and women's teams will be able to train and compete at nearby Whiteface Mountain, which hosted Alpine skiing at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

"The Division I world has gotten crazy competitive, both admissions into these colleges and getting slots on the team, which often go hand in hand," he said. "If you're being recruited by the team, it does help you get into the school itself."

Paul Smith's, the only four-year college in the Adirondack Mountains, is committed to bringing more sports to its campus. The addition of Alpine skiing for 2021-22 comes after the school added Nordic skiing, biathlon, hockey, trap shooting and esports, giving the school 27 varsity sports programs.

Release courtesy of the Associated Press. 

Ryan Cochran-Siegle thrilled downhill fans on Wednesday, linking together one of the fastest runs with a couple of incredible recoveries to take seventh in the Bormio downhill.

The Austrians went one-two on the dark and bumpy Stelvio track, with Matthias Mayer taking first and Vincent Kriechmayr second. Urs Kryenbuehl of Switzerland was third. It was a tight podium, with all men finishing within .06 seconds of each other.

Ryan was fastest in both downhill training runs and was equally as fast as soon as he kicked open the start wand. However, it looked like he was done off the first jump when he flew a little too far and landed with his butt on the tails of his skis. But he managed to muscle himself back into a tuck and continued making up time; each split flashing green throughout the run. Then, just before the finish, he came in a little in the backseat off a roller and nearly threw a power-wedge into his run—before straightening himself out and finishing. Murmurs of Bode Miller were thrown around at the finish, with racers compared Ryan’s run to the fellow fast New England speed skier and speculating that Ryan would have won again if he didn’t have those errors.
 

"The top jump, I was just getting a little rattled and backseat and a little beyond my comfort zone. I think that was lucky I was able to carry through there," said Ryan. "Getting seventh in a World Cup downhill, I am grateful for that and appreciate that result. I was happy to survive when I got to the finish and seeing that I was still competitive was cool, but I’m realizing that it could have been a really good day. I'm learning with that and will try to take what I learned this year into next year."

Ryan had won Tuesday’s super-G—his first World Cup victory—and his results in Bormio combined with his results this season continue to prove that he’s a force to be reckoned with on the FIS World Cup circuit. He podiumed in the Val Gardena downhill and has only finished out of the top 15 in a speed event once this season. 

"End of the day, it was definitely an incredible weekend," Ryan said. "Yesterday was something else. I don’t know if that's hit me yet. In a way, this is a good way to end the weekend—not being totally on top, staying a little bit hungry, knowing that there’s still more to learn and more to gain in order to be that top-level skier that I’m trying to be and believe that I can be."

Rounding out the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Jared Goldberg, who put down a couple of strong downhill training runs, finished 20th. Travis Ganong finished just out of the points in 31st, while Bryce Bennett crashed and DNFed, but is OK. So far this season, the Team has amassed nine podiums across five different athletes, as well as career-best results and first World Cup points for several athletes—making it the strongest start to a season for this generation of U.S. Ski Teamers.

The men’s speed team has an extended break over the new year before heading to Adelboden, Switzerland January 8-10. The tech men start back up again in Zagreb, Croatia with a night slalom on January 6.

RESULTS
Men’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
Dec. 28, 2020 - Jan. 3, 2021
All Times EST

Sunday, Jan. 3
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast Olympic Channel
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBC
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - Replay From Bormio, Italy, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBC
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBCSN

All streams will be available via desktop as well as mobile, tablet, and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports, Peacock TV, and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.

The Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team looks to continue its early-season success as they kick off the 15th edition of the FIS Tour de Ski Friday in what may be the most important event of the season outside of the Feb. 23-March 7 FIS World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Americans have found success at previous editions of the Tour de Ski, including Jessie Diggins’s third-place overall result in 2018. However, this year Rosie Brennan comes into the 10-day, eight-stage event as the overall World Cup leader - only the second American to ever wear the overall FIS cross country yellow leader’s bib - following two victories in Davos, Switzerland earlier this month. And with the World Championships falling later in the season than usual this year, Rosie, and her teammates are ready to get back to racing, gain some experience, and reach for podium results.

“I just want to be able to be in a position where I can put up a good fight every day and see what comes of that,” said Rosie, who will be among 11 U.S. athletes, including four - Gus Schumacher, Scott Patterson, Hailey Swirbul and Catiline Patterson - who are competing in their first Tour de Ski when it kicks off with Friday’s freestyle sprint. 

“My goal is to give it a really good, honest shot at an overall podium,” Jessie said. “We have had some really good times in the past, and we have had some really tricky times, but if everything goes well, and everything lines up, you can have really amazing races. But, I’m just going to take it one day at a time.”

With eight days of racing from Jan. 1-10 in Val Müstair, Switzerland, Tolblach and Val di Fiemme, Italy, there are plenty of opportunities for success. However, there are also plenty of opportunities for mistakes as well. During the 2019 Tour de Ski, icing skis knocked Jessie out of the overall lead in the fourth stage 10k classic. She finished the 2019 Tour ninth overall. 

“Every [stage] is just as important as the other,” Rosie added. “It’s hard to come back from any sort of mistake, or bad wax, or tough condition day.”

That is precisely what Scott, Hailey, Caitline, and Gus hope to learn from their first Tour de Ski start. “My goal is to get as far as I can, drink in the experience, and try to stay somewhat alive,” Gus said, adding that he hopes to make it to the final stage hill climb up the alpine slopes Val Di Fiemme that averages 12% gradient, with stretches up to 30%, over the last 3.5k. 

“I’m looking forward to gaining experience because I hope to one day be able to do really well in [the Tour],” said Hailey, who picked up her first career World Cup podium this month, finishing third in the 10k freestyle in Davos. “Because it is my first Tour, I really don’t know what to expect, so I’m just going in with an open mind.”

While top results are always the goal heading into the Tour de Ski, coming out of a 10-day event with a fitness boost is always a great benefit, so long as each athlete successfully manages the rest and recovery phase post-tour. With that in mind, Sophie Caldwell Hamilton plans to race the first three stages in Val Müstair and then opt out in order to prepare for the remainder of the season.

“I debated for a while whether or not the Tour de Ski made sense to do given [the upcoming World Championships],” Rosie said. “I don’t know if there is a right answer. [In the past] I have had the Tour go well and not affect the rest of my season, and I’ve also had the Tour be really hard to recover from and put a dent in the rest of my season. I feel confident about my shape this year, so I think I have the ability to handle it and I’m hoping that it sets me up well for World Champs, especially given a little later start to the World Champs this season.”

Following the Tour de Ski, the FIS Cross Country World Cup schedule will have an off weekend before resuming Jan. 23-24 in Lahti, Finland.

U.S. Starters for the 15th FIS Tour de Ski 

• Kevin Bolger
• Rosie Brennan
• Sophie Caldwell Hamilton
• Jessie Diggins
• Simi Hamilton
• Julia Kern
• Katharine Ogden
• Caitlin Patterson
• Scott Patterson
• Hailey Swirbul
• Gus Schumacher

Tour de Ski Schedule
Friday, Jan. 1, Val Müstair, SUI
Men and Women’s freestyle sprint

Saturday, Jan. 2, Val Müstair, SUI
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Sunday, Jan. 3, Val Müstair, SUI
Women’s 10k freestyle pursuit
Men’s 15k freestyle pursuit

Tuesday, Jan. 5, Tolblach, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle

Wednesday, Jan. 6, Tolblach, ITA
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit

Friday, Jan. 8, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Saturday, Jan. 9, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Men and women’s classic sprint

Sunday, Jan. 10, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb

HOW TO WATCH

Friday, Jan. 1
5:45 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men and Women's Sprint - LIVE, Val Müstair, SUI, Streaming Peacock

Saturday, Jan. 2
6:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Women's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val Müstair SUI, Streaming Peacock
8:45 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Mass Start - LIVE, Val Müstair, SUI, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
5:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Pursuit - LIVE, Val Müstair, SUI, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Women's 10k Pursuit - LIVE, Val Müstair, SUI, Streaming Peacock

The remaining Broadcast/Streaming Schedule will be available here!

It was a banner day to finish out 2020 with Mikaela Shiffrin taking third place in the FIS Alpine World Cup slalom in Semmering, Austria, and Nina O’Brien finishing in ninth—her first top-10 result in her career. 

Under the lights, Michelle Gisin of Switzerland had a heroic second run to win her first-ever World Cup race and become the first woman besides Mikaela or Petra Vlhova in 28 races to win a World Cup slalom. The last time someone else had won a slalom was Frida Hansdotter in Flachau in January 2017. Since then, Mikaela had won 19 slaloms and Petra had won nine. Katharina Liensberger of Austria finished second in Semmering.

Mikaela led the first run by just .02 seconds but had an on-the-edge second run, which lost her some time. But even with a few bobbles, she was able to score a podium finish and adjust her approach for future races when she’s leading after first run. “I forgot a bit how it feels to stand at the start and think, ‘I’m the last person to ski down this course tonight—whoopee!’” said Mikaela. “It’s a good thing. Even if I didn’t win the race, it’s a good thing to be in this position today and have to relearn how that feels. I was really pushing on the second run and I didn’t handle that very well. I made some mistakes, but then again, I could have been out of the course. I was fighting to stay in the course and trying to be tough with my skiing. I feel like that’s a really big step even though it’s not a win.”

In her last 46 slalom races, Mikaela has finished on the podium 43 times. But she acknowledges that the women are skiing faster and faster and that she still has to work on her mindset every day to stay competitive. “When I was 16 or 17, it happened and I was like, ‘Oh that works! I’ll just think like that now,’” said Mikaela. “I got in this groove and started winning. Now everything is just a little bit different. I have to find a different way to think. I can’t really move forward until I don’t try to go back.”

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Nina O’Brien had a career-best day, taking her first top-10 result on the World Cup circuit in ninth place. Nina—whose previous best slalom result was 23rd—even enjoyed a few minutes in the leader's chair, beating racer after racer. She finished out the day with a huge hug from her masked teammates, who were ecstatic to see Nina climb to the top 10. Fun fact: The last time two American women were in the top 10 was in a slalom in Crans-Montana, Switzerland in 2016 when Mikaela won and Resi Stiegler was eighth.

"I’m a little bit shocked...I can’t believe I ended up ninth!" Nina said following the race. "But I’m so happy to close out the year with a top 10 and personal best! I’ve put so much work into my slalom and it all came together tonight. It’s been crazy inspiring watching my teammates throw down these past weeks. I’m just psyched to be a part of this team and keep the momentum rolling." So far this season, the Team has amassed nine podiums across five different athletes, as well as career-best results and first World Cup points for several athletes—making it the strongest start to a season for this generation of U.S. Ski Teamers.

University of Denver skier Katie Hensien qualified for her first World Cup second run but had to hike. She finished 27th. Five-time Olympian and U.S. Ski Team alumnus Casey Puckett, who is Katie's coach, promised her that he'd let her cut his hair if she got a second run. Stay tuned for coverage of that event on social media. 

Keely Cashman, Resi Stiegler, Lila Lapanja, and Paula Moltzan—who was skiing fast and solid, but hiked first run—did not qualify for a second run.

Semmering was the last women’s race before the year finally rolls over from 2020 to 2021 and Mikaela remarked that while things won’t necessarily change overnight, she’s optimistic for the future. “My wishes are simple: I hope that things can come back closer to normal and the people I love are happy and healthy,” she said. “I hope that people have a really special New Year's celebration and find some hope that maybe the new year can bring some better luck or better times or some healing if you had a difficult time.”

Next up, the tech women have a short break before heading to Zagreb on January 3 to vie for the Snow Queen Trophy in a night slalom.

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

HOW TO WATCH
Dec. 28, 2020 - Jan. 3, 2021
All Times EST

Wednesday, Dec. 29
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast Olympic Channel
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBC
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - Replay From Bormio, Italy, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBC
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBCSN

All streams will be available via desktop as well as mobile, tablet, and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports, Peacock TV, and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.

On Tuesday in Bormio, Italy, Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Ryan Cochran-Siegle ended a 14-year drought to become the first American male to win a FIS Ski Alpine World Cup super-G since Bode Miller in Dec. 2006. 

It’s been a steady build towards the top for Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the son of 1972 Olympic slalom champion Barbara Ann Cochran. He injured his left knee in a crash on the third gate of the downhill portion of the alpine combined at the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria. At that same World Champs, teammate and two-time Olympic champion Ted Ligety won the super-G. With multiple surgeries and thousands of hours spent in the gym, Ryan is one of the most intensely focused and coachable athletes on the U.S. Alpine Ski Team. In 2012, he won double gold at the World Junior Championships in Italy. 

Ryan’s nearly eight-tenths margin of victory is the largest winning margin in a men’s World Cup super-G since Carlo Janka of Switzerland in the Olympic test event in Korea in 2016. When asked about this margin, Ryan humbly and in his signature understated manner replied, “I skied well. I had a good approach and carried speed in a lot of sections...that middle section, I definitely skied with a good limit and just trusting that, trying to ski it smart. The speed I gained from there, I carried through the finish and had that gap.”

Ryan was quick to give credit to the U.S. Ski Team, the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain, Colo., and his serviceman and teammates for their support. “I’ve always been pretty technically sound, but gliding has always been a weakness of mine,” he reflected. “The past couple of years I’ve been skiing a little more speed with our speed team, both in Copper, and South America, which has progressively gotten me to the point where I can be solid on race day. I have to shout out the team and the serviceman Gregor, and everyone who has helped me get to this point because it is a team effort.” 

When asked about what it's like to be the first American male to win a World Cup super-G since Bode in 2006, Ryan said, “It’s a tricky event, there’s just so many things that have to fall into place for race day in order to make it happen, but it’s pretty spectacular.” The interviewer then mentioned that Ryan now has matched his mother, and he replied, "I think she had four World Cup wins...and a bunch of other medals, but yeah—it's pretty spectacular." 

Travis Ganong grabbed another top-15 result in super-G, while Bryce Bennett, Jared Goldberg, and Erik Arvidsson also started for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Tuesday’s super-G, and ended up 37th, 41st, and 45th, respectively. So far this season, the U.S. Alpine Ski Team has amassed eight podiums for five different athletes, making it the strongest start to the season the Team has had in a long time.

Up next is downhill on Wednesday. Ryan, Travis, Bryce, Jared, and Sam Morse will all start for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team with Ryan and Jared putting in some strong results in the downhill training runs. Both races will be streamed live on Peacock.

HOW TO WATCH
Dec. 28, 2020 - Jan. 3, 2021
All Times EST

Tuesday, Dec. 29
9:15 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Semmering, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Wednesday, Dec. 29
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Channel
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Bormio, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 3
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast Olympic Channel
9:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Zagreb, CRO, Streaming Peacock
3:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBC
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - Replay From Bormio, Italy, Bormio, ITA, Broadcast NBC
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom - Same-Day Broadcast, Zagreb, CRO, Broadcast NBCSN

All streams will be available via desktop as well as mobile, tablet, and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports, Peacock TV, and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.
 

This story was first published in the Autumn issue (40.1) of Cross Country Skier Magazine, the only English language publication celebrating the world of Nordic skiing. It’s critically important to ski racing, in all of its forms, that we support the journalism that supports the U.S. Team! Learn more and subscribe today at crosscountryskier.com/subscribe.

For the U.S. Ski Team, raising money has always been a challenge. And as any 501c3 organization knows, Covid-19 has turned fundraising on its head. For the Team, that’s meant no grand galas, no national championships and plenty of stress on corporate supporters. And, unlike its European competition, no traditional government support at all.

So when the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund stepped up to cover the entire budget for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in 2019 and through the 2022 Olympics, there was a collective sigh of relief in Park City and from Anchorage to Stratton, Tahoe to Steamboat Springs.

The Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund is partly administered by Shelby’s grandson Andrew Davis, who replaced his father on the USSA board of directors in 2012. The fund, established by the late Shelby Cullom Davis and administered by his children and grandchildren was, according to Andrew, the legacy his grandfather passed down instead of inheritances. And while funding was in place last season, it wasn’t until this year that “Davis” was added to U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in order to, Andrew says, encourage other potential donors to step up in the future.

“Andrew Davis and the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund have been tremendous supporters of U.S. Ski & Snowboard,” says Tiger Shaw, president and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “[Andrew’s] passion and support for the cross country team as they prepare for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games has provided the athletes the opportunity to focus on reaching their full athletic potential.”

The funding provides coaches and techs with assurance that they won’t have to make the tough decisions that may face some of their counterparts on the snowboard and alpine side of the team. In short that means coaching, travel, training and technical support are 100-percent covered by the U.S. Cross Country Team.

“It’s a tough environment for finding funding at the moment,” head cross country coach Chris Grover said on the Cross Country Skier Podcast in late spring. “[This support is] really huge and it’s taken so much stress out of the planning and budgeting conversations that we’ve had over the last few months, because we haven’t had to make the really hard choices that we’d have to make in a tougher budget environment.”

In addition to being on the USSA board, Andrew Davis is president of Davis Selected Advisors, a financial firm founded by his father and based in New York City. Davis, 57, is a lover of sport, and though he’s not an avid cross country skier himself, through his own athletic endeavors, he gets it. We caught up him this summer to better understand his motivation to throw funding behind the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. But first, we had to talk a little bike racing. –Adam Howard

I’m an avid cyclist. I hope in my next life to come back as a 155 pound Italian or, these days, Columbian, depending on how they’re doing in The Tour [de France]. You watch these guys who cycle professionally either in a classics race or at a tour or in a grand tour, you watch the way they suffer. I mean, they’re on a bike for three weeks, a hundred miles a day, 10,000 feet of climbing. I mean, just looking at the suffering they do is, for me, I just admire it. I just think that they are incredible athletes.

So, when I got to be a part of the Ski Team, the Nordic team [was] doing pretty well. I thought, my goodness, look how well these women are doing, for example. If they weren’t on the podium, they were near to it or they were top 10. And you look at the equipment they were saddled with. Whereas in cycling, they had these large buses where the teams go in and relax and rest. And [our team] was operating out of the van! They didn’t have a waxing truck like every other dominant team in the field. They had a van!

When I saw that, it was easy pickings. These guys are competing hard and well, and the playing field isn’t even level. And I just couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it. I said, imagine how [they] might do if they were provided with the ability to train and be able to wax their skis as every other team does, as the Norwegians do. And the Russians do. And all the other dominant players in the field. Imagine how they might do? So, I got revved up about that. And I was an early contributor to get them a real wax truck and was pleased to be part of that. And the results that they [achieved], I mean, you saw America’s first gold medal of the last Olympics.

Then the next question was, all right, let’s take a look at the training. How much time did these guys have to stand out with a tin cup in their hand trying to raise money so they can train? Because, as you well know, the government doesn’t kick in anything. It’s all privately funded, and this team, once again, has been doing well with that arm tied behind their back. So, I got to talking with Chris [Grover] and the rest of the USSA team and said, “So what does it cost to get these guys to not have to focus on fundraising but to focus on their Olympic-caliber talent?”

That was a number that I was willing to do for their own Olympic assault that’s coming up for the next Winter Games, to allow them to be fully funded. And I’ve got to tell you, as philanthropy goes, that felt like one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made. Because you have excellence, you have dedication, you have everything you want to see from an Olympic athlete, and yet they can’t find the funding to pursue [their dreams]. I wanted to allow them to pursue fully, 100-percent pursue versus OK, now, “I’ve got to go to this fundraiser and sit down here and, you know, beg for money.” All of which has got to be not only taking away training days but also taking away motivation. And that’s got to wear on your psyche. What I want them to do is focus on “I’ve got to get up that hill. That damn hill is steep, and I’ve got to get up [it] faster than that particular competitor. I’ve got to get up that hill.” I want their minds totally focused on that.

I’m proud to be a part of helping them pursue their excellence. I think it’ll be very exciting to see them compete at the next Olympics and to keep making progress toward becoming a true world power in Nordic ski racing.