Breezy Johnson—who returned to competition from back-to-back knee injuries in January—matched her season-best from Bansko with a fifth-place on Friday in the first of two downhills in Crans-Montana, Switzerland to lead three Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes into the top 30. 

For the second-straight day, the sun was shining down on the track, and though it was warm during the race, the temperatures dropped enough on Thursday night for the snow to firm up and create a surface that was a touch faster than in Thursday's downhill training run. The Swiss women really put on a show for the crowd, with Lara Gut grabbing her first downhill victory since January 2017 by a massive .80 margin, followed by Corrine Suter in second, and Austria's Stephanie Venier in third, .92 seconds back. 

Coming down bib four, Breezy was building time the entire way down and had a .33-second advantage before making a costly mistake at the bottom, that would put her in second behind Slovakia's Petra Vlhova by just 18 hundredths of a second. Though Petra was knocked off the podium, Friday's fourth-place result was her career-best downhill finish and earned her valuable points towards the overall title chase. 

Breezy, who returned in January from back-to-back knee injuries, grabbed two top-10 results in Bansko Bulgaria—a fifth and a 10th—and was happy to have earned a matching season-best result in Crans-Montana on a track that she's never skied before.  All of the blood, sweat, and tears in the last 18 months has paid off for Breezy. 

"I spent so long after my first injury, so excited to be back and I couldn't wait to be back, I started skiing and it was so nice but then I got injured again and I was devastated," reflected Breezy. "All I could think about was getting back to racing. Skiing was great, training was great, but race day is my favorite day. So, I am just SO grateful to be back, and I'm trying to take advantage of every moment and not let anything slip through my fingers."

"I was in the start this morning and I was like, 'You have been through too much sh*t to let this get to you," she continued. "I'm trying to enjoy this as much as possible. I've just been trying to ski the way that I have been dreaming about skiing for forever. I'm so blessed with the fact that my body is in line with what I want to do mentally, and that is so rare...so I'm so grateful to all of my therapists, and my strength coach, and both of my surgeons."

A bobble before the last split cost Breezy her first podium, but she's eager for a second opportunity on Saturday. "I came out of the start, and I went to the outside gate a little bit right at the top and was like, 'well, I can still arc this but it's not the fastest line, obviously,' and then I just tried to send it from there and ski as well as I could," she said. "I felt like I skied pretty well and then I came into the bottom pitch and the snow was a little peely down there...I didn't quite get the direction that I needed coming out of the triple, coming on to the last face, and then the snow just kind of peeled away from me and my skis were doing some weird things—I don't know if my tips crossed—definitely felt pretty strange. I was so backseat, and I told myself, 'you have to make that gate—you've been through too much to lose it now!'"

Alice McKennis grabbed some more points, finishing in 24th, while Alice Merryweather was 29th. Jackie Wiles got late and pulled low, then missed a gate. She DNFed but she is OK and skied down. 

Despite sitting the last six races out (two downhills, two super-Gs, a giant slalom, and a slalom), Mikaela continues to hold the lead in the overall standings, by 77 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone (who was seventh in Friday's downhill) and 104 points ahead of Petra Vlhova. In the downhill standings, Corrine leads the way with 397 points, followed by the Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka with 277, Federica with 270, and Mikaela with 256. At this point, the current overall leader Mikaela's return to Europe and return to competition is unknown. 

Friday's downhill was rescheduled from the Rosa Khutor (Sochi), Russia canceled downhill. Up next is another downhill on Saturday, followed by an alpine combined—with one run of super-G and one run of slalom—on Sunday. 

RESULTS
Downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Feb. 22
4:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 23
12:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*
4:15 a.m. - Women’s combined super-G, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s combined slalom, Crans-Montana, SUI- Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Feb. 24
1:00 a.m. - Women’s combined, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*

*Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow. 

Moguls returns to World Cup competition this week with a double feature: singles on Saturday and duals on Sunday. After a brief break in competition following a successful 2020 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort, athletes are stoked to get back in the start gates in one of their favorite tour venues: Tazawako, Japan.

The U.S. athletes welcome the opportunity to embrace Japanese culture during their week in the country. With an onsen on-site at their lodging and delicious, plentiful food, fighting through jet lag is that much easier. Rooms even feature tatami mat flooring, which some athletes choose to sleep on as is traditional in Japanese culture. 

“Tazawako is my favorite stop for so many reasons but one of the main ones is the weird and delicious food,” notes Jesse Andringa. “For example, [Coach] Riley and I, as soon as we landed in Tokyo, got ourselves some dried cherrywood smoked mussels. And of course, the steamed buns are to die for.”

Located in the Akita Prefecture, Tazawako is known for its February snowfall. However, unseasonably warm temperatures and a lack of precipitation have made for interesting course conditions. On Thursday athletes were only given one inspection and thirty minutes of training time, no jumping was allowed. “The biggest concern on course is getting enough snow into the landing so that they match the jumps,” explained Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. “Right now they are very flat and limited. There are about 50-60 volunteers shoveling snow onto the course from the surrounding trees. We expect to jump today (Friday), and are starting a little later, to provide more time to move snow.”  

The Team concentrated on skiing the middle section of the course and used Thursday as an opportunity to return to a focus on basics. What snow there was, skied well Matt noted.

“The first day of training was interesting since the snow conditions didn’t allow us to jump, but there’s always been adversity here on the training days in the past, so I’m not concerned,” said Tess Johnson. “It’s going to be a rad week, and I’m already having a ton of fun!”

Managing drop time in the landings will be the key to success on the Tazawako course this week as athletes will have more time in the air between contact with the snow. Although the smaller landing pads may prove favorable for the women, who don’t jump as far down as the men. “They are going to land right at the bottom [of the landing] and will be able to initiate that first turn [off the top air] really well,” explained Matt. 

Leading the American women's #PowHERhouse is Jaelin Kauf, who is coming off of a third-place dual moguls finish at Deer Valley. During the weeklong break Jaelin trained a back mute grab, which she may bring to competition this week. “[That jump] will make her faster through the middle section [coming off of] that top air,” said Matt. Bringing this new trick to snow will double Jaelin’s goal of bringing one new trick to snow this year as she has already successfully competed a cork 7. 

Hannah Soar will continue to build off of the success she has enjoyed this season with two World Cup podiums, the first two of what she hopes will be many during her career. Hannah has about 18 different run combinations she can pull from and has the potential for the highest DD package of the women with a back full to cork 7. Matt suspects she’ll run with her back tuck to cork 7 this week. 

Tess Johnson proved to 8,500 hometown fans what she’s made of when she upset France’s until-then undefeated Perrine Laffont during the semi-final round of dual moguls competition at Deer Valley Resort. Tazawako is where Tess earned her first World Cup victory in 2018, and after a refreshing week at home is looking to pounce. “The past week at home was fantastic,” she said. “With some light training and an epic powder day, it was the perfect scenario to recover, reset and prepare for these next five weeks on the road. I absolutely love Japan, so I’m stoked to be back here in a contest bib. I’ve had some great success here in the past, the people here are welcoming and kind, and I’m a big sushi girl.”

Kai Owens rounds out the women’s roster. The youngest of the Americans, this will be Kai’s fifth and sixth World Cup starts as she looks to break back into finals.

On the men’s side, Matt notes that Jesse is skiing strong and athletically and is carrying well through the fall line. “I have learned a lot these past couple weeks,” Jesse reflects. “I realized I don't need to ski balls to the wall every run to still be in that top ten. I am really going to put my confidence and my consistency to the test and put down clean run after clean run.”

New Team members Alex Lewis and Nick Page will look to continue to collect World Cup points and break into the final rounds. Nick made his first World Cup finals appearance in front of his hometown crowd at Deer Valley. Alex is looking to up his DD and he may throw a cork 10 to cork 7.

Veteran members Brad Wilson and Emerson Smith are also set to start. Brad has enjoyed a lot of success in Japan, most recently with a second-place in singles in 2019. This will be his fifth and sixth World Cup starts of the season as he works to climb back into the top ten. 2018 Olympian Emerson made his return from injury to World Cup competition at Deer Valley. Tazawako marks his third and fourth starts this season. “It’s good to have him back in there and continuing to charge forward,” said Matt.

Kalman Heims, who had a breakout performance in Dual Moguls at Deer Valley, finishing the night in 12th, is working on setting himself up for success through the jumps. 

With Japan 14-17 hours ahead of the United States, fans at home can catch all of the moguls action Friday and Saturday nights.

U.S. STARTERS

Women
Tess Johnson
Jaelin Kauf
Hannah Soar
Kai Owens

Men
Jesse Andringa
Kalman Heims
Alex Lewis
Nick Page
Emerson Smith
Dylan Walczyk
Brad Wilson

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Friday, Feb. 21
11:20 p.m - Men and women’s moguls, Lake Tazawako, JPN - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 22
12:30 a.m - Men and women’s moguls, Lake Tazawako, JPN - Olympic Channel
11:20 p.m - Men and women’s dual moguls, Lake Tazawako, JPN - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 23
12:30 a.m - Men and women’s dual moguls, Lake Tazawako, JPN - Olympic Channel

This week the 38th Annual U.S. Open celebrates the life of Burton founder Jake Burton Carpenter, who passed away in November. From Feb. 24-29 in Vail, Colo., U.S. Snowboard Team members alongside the world’s top riders will remember the snowboarding community’s greatest champion through special events, concerts, and elite level snowboard halfpipe and slopestyle competition. Coming off a slopestyle win at the Dew Tour, the defending 2019 U.S. Open Champion Red Gerard is set to drop in for Jake. 

“The U.S. Open has always been the best event of the year,” said Red. “We can almost always count on nice weather, a perfect progressive course, and the vibe and feel is all time! This year will be a very special one as we remember Jake. I am just stoked to come back and compete and have a good week with all my friends.”

Joining Red from the men’s U.S. Snowboard Slopestyle Team is Luke Winkelmann, Sean FitzSimons, Jake Canter, Judd Henkes, Lyon Farrell, Kyle Mack, and 2020 Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Champion Dusty Henricksen. For the women, Julia Marino is making her return to competition following a forearm injury at X Games Aspen 2020. Julia will be joined by six-time champion Jamie Anderson, and the always stylish Hailey Langland. 

This year’s Burton U.S.Open slopestyle course will see an updated course design based on rider feedback, incorporating more speed and flow throughout.

The defending women’s halfpipe U.S. Open Champion, Maddie Mastro, is also ready for the week in Vail. At 19 years old, the U.S. Open has been running for double her lifetime. 

“I’m excited to be back at the Open,” said Maddie. “It’s always one of the best contests of the year. Every year my goal is to just have fun and snowboard, which is what the U.S. Open is all about to me. Being the defending champion doesn’t change that goal for me, I’m just going to focus on having fun and riding.”

Joining Maddie from the women’s U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe Team is rookie team member Tessa Maud. For the men, Chase Blackwell, Lucas Foster, Jason Wolle, Jack Coyne, Jake Pates, Ryan Wachendorfer, Chase Josey, Toby Miller, and Taylor Gold are ready to compete in what should be a new environment for everyone involved. The U.S. Open halfpipe venue has been completely reformed, combining a 13-foot enhanced minipipe creatively transitioning into a 22-foot superpipe.

The world’s best snowboarders descend on Vail, Colo. Feb 24-29 to battle it out for the coveted Burton U.S.Open halfpipe and slopestyle titles and the $373,000 overall prize purse. Don’t miss your chance to see it in person or tune it below to catch all the action live. 

SPECTATORS

COURSE DESIGN

JAKE’S SPECIAL EVENTS
Thursday, Feb. 27
4:30 - 6:00 p.m. - Ride On Jake Snowboard Exhibit - Burton Lionshead Store

Friday, Feb. 28
8:00 a.m. - Ride For Jake - Celebratory top-to-bottom run down - Gondola One 

Saturday, Feb. 29
7:30 p.m. - Fireworks for Jake - Solaris Concert Stage

HOW TO WATCH
Broadcast Live on Red Bull TV and BurtonUSOpen.com
Subject to change
All times EST

Wednesday, Feb. 26
12:00 p.m. - Women’s Slopestyle Semi-Finals - Vail, Colo 
2:30 p.m. - Men’s Slopestyle Semi-Finals - Vail, Colo 

Thursday, Feb. 27 
12:00 p.m. - Women’s Halfpipe Semi-Finals - Vail, Colo 
2:30 p.m. - Men’s Halfpipe Semi-Finals - Vail, Colo 

Friday, Feb. 28
1:00 p.m. - Women’s Slopestyle Finals - Vail, Colo 
4:00 p.m. - Men’s Slopestyle Finals - Vail, Colo 

Saturday, Feb. 29
1:00 p.m. - Women’s Halfpipe Finals - Vail, Colo 
4:00 p.m. - Men’s Halfpipe Finals - Vail, Colo 
 

Another city, another circus. Going straight from the 2020 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International to competition in Moscow, the U.S. Aerial Ski Team found some time to pause and recharge in Minsk ahead of their next World Cup event on Saturday, including attending their second circus of the season. For just 35 rubles, athletes were treated to high flying acrobatic entertainment and got to enjoy others launching themselves in the air rather than themselves for a change.

Springtime temperatures in Minsk forced the organizers to cancel the first day of training on Wednesday. “This competition in Minsk will be challenging for everyone out there with the weather conditions,” said Justin Schoenefeld. In order to preserve the snow at the site, athletes were only given three jumps the other two training days Thursday and Friday. Head Aerials Coach Vladimir Lebedev cites the importance of preserving the knoll from overuse as a major factor in restricting training. 

Although three days off from training and competing was a welcome reprieve, athletes are anxious to get back out on the jumps and continue their World Cup tour. 

“Last year I missed the podium [here] with a fourth-place finish and I am hoping for a better result this year,” reflected Justin. “Saturday, I won’t be thinking about my result from last season during the competition. All I will be focused on is putting down my best jumps when they need to be done, just as if it were another training jump. Finding the right mindset for competition is different for everyone and it is very important for success in every sport.”

Competition is set to go off at the Raubichi sports complex, just outside of Minsk’s city center. Twelve Americans will represent the United States under the lights on Saturday. In addition to the World Cup, athletes will also participate in a synchro event on Sunday. Not a World Cup contest, Synchronized Aerials consists of a team of two athletes of the same gender jumping off of the kickers in unison. Teams have one qualifying jump and the top six teams advance to a one-jump final. 

U.S. STARTERS
Women
Ashley Caldwell
Megan Nick
Winter Vinecki
Madison Varmette
Megan Smallhouse
Kaila Kuhn 

Men
Eric Loughran
Chris Lillis
Jon Lillis
Justin Schoenefeld
Quinn Dehlinger
Alex Bowen

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Saturday, Feb. 22
11:00 a.m. - Men and women’s aerials, Minsk, BLR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team heads to Crans-Montana, Switzerland for the women's speed crew and Yuzawa Naeba, Japan for the mens' tech team this weekend.

The women will tackle a rescheduled downhill from Rosa Khutor (Sochi), Russia, along with another downhill and an alpine combined at the Swiss venue, which appears to be in the best shape it's been in years. Breezy Johnson and Alice McKennis will lead the way for the women on a track that's flowy and "totally sendable," as Head Women's Speed Coach Chip White said in Thursday evening's team meeting. "It's not like Garmisch glass or Bansko rattle," he continued. "We've had one training run and you realize that now. Game time to send it. This is a downhiller's downhill."

That said, there's some weather coming in that could affect Friday's downhill, but Chip made sure to remind the women that Mother Nature is outside of our control. "Regardless of what Mother Nature sends us, we have to send it," he added. Conditions are better than ever, and though the women's speed team has struggled to find their groove this season with many athletes returning from significant injuries, with two downhills this weekend is a big opportunity for the women to make a statement. 

On the men's side, the tech athletes return to Yuzawa Naeba for the first time since 2016, and though conditions are not ideal, the men's giant slalom and slalom skiers will look to make their mark, led by Olympic champion Ted Ligety and 2019 Birds of Prey victor Tommy Ford. Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who has had his best career season, will also look to throw it in there. 

Despite sitting the last five races out (one downhill, two super-Gs, a giant slalom, and a slalom), Mikaela continues to hold the lead in the overall standings, by 113 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone (who was in 25th after the first run, but DNFed second run of Sunday's slalom) and 154 points ahead of Petra Vlhova. In the slalom standings, Petra has now surpassed Mikaela by 20 points, with 460 points, followed by Mikaela with 440.  In hopes of grabbing some valuable points towards the overall chase, both Federica and Petra will start in this weekend's races. At this point, the current overall leader Mikaela's return to Europe and return to competition is unknown. 

Check out how and who to watch below. 

MEN’S STARTERS
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Tommy Ford
Ted Ligety 
River Radamus
Luke Winters

WOMEN’S STARTERS
Breezy Johnson
Alice McKennis
Alice Merryweather
Jackie Wiles

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill Training Run

START LISTS
Women’s Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Friday, Feb. 21
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:45 p.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
11:00 p.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 2, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 22
4:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:45 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
11:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 23
12:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*
4:15 a.m. - Women’s combined super-G, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s combined slalom, Crans-Montana, SUI- Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Feb. 24
1:00 a.m. - Women’s combined, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*

*Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow. 

Jessie Diggins finished seventh and led a strong push by the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team with six athletes finishing in the top 30 in Thursday’s 34k freestyle Queen Stage of Ski Tour 2020. 

“That was really fun, and really hard,” Jessie said. “It was an all-out effort, and I’m really proud of that since it was one of my big goals for this tour - to go all out every single race!”

Rosie Brennan was 10th, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was 11th, Julia Kern finished 19th and Rosie Frankowski was 29th. Therese Johaug led a podium sweep for Norway, with Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg in second and Heidi Weng in third.

“I was in a great group with Krista (Parmakoski of Finland) and Therese, and we worked together to make a gap, and I had so much fun skiing with them while pushing as hard as possible,” Jessie added.

With the strong wind throughout the race, athletes were focused on staying in a group as much as possible.

"It was really windy still making it challenging to ski alone out there," Rosie said. "Knowing that I did all I could to stay in my group. There were a few kilometers that I was dangling and unsure if I could hang, but I was, fortunately, able to find another gear climbing and work my way back up to my group."

"It was windy as heck, which made the course super tough, but still beautiful," Sadie added. "I didn’t look around a ton, because I was so focused, but in the few chances we went down a hill, and I got a glimpse, I just felt so lucky to be part of this fun experience. It is so different than any race I have ever done, and the total 'unknown' put the cherry on top."

In the men’s 34k race, David Norris was 26th. The race, which was originally scheduled as a 38k point to point between Storlien in Sweden and Meråker in Norway, was shortened to 34k and as an out-and-back from Meråker stadium to Fjergen and then back to Meråker stadium due to strong winds.

“Toughest race of the season,” David said. “From 3k to the finish, the pace rarely got easy. The strong head and crosswinds made even the gentle terrain really challenging. But I’m pleased with my effort and now I’m looking forward to the final stage of the tour- another 30k.”

Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov won the race, followed by Norway’s Johannes Klaebo in second and Emil Iversen in third.

Jessie sits sixth in the overall standings through four stages, followed by Rosie in ninth and Sadie in 12th. Julia moved up to 27th overall following her strong result in Stage 4. In the men’s standings, David is 29th overall with two stages remaining, a classic sprint for Stage 5, followed by the final stage classic pursuit, 15k for the women and 30k for the men.

RESULTS
Stage 4 
Women’s 34k freestyle
Men’s 34k freestyle

STANDINGS (Through Stage 4)
Women
Men

Friday, Feb. 21
Travel day

Saturday, Feb. 22
Stage 5 Trondheim, NOR
Classic sprint

Sunday, Feb. 23
Stage 6 Trondheim, NOR
Classic pursuit, 15k women, 30k men

HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, Feb. 22
7:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men and women’s classic sprint, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb 23
5:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:05 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m.. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*
1:00 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*

*Same-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.

It was February 1st, 2020—an unusually warm day in Alpe Cimbra, Trentino, Italy, home of the official European training base for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team. Olympic and World Champion and FIS Ski World Cup overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin was there to begin a training block, but she was also there to achieve yet another career-first: become the first Olympic athlete in this sport era to receive a solo Sports Illustrated cover outside of an Olympic year.

Mikaela was fresh off a two-for-three-win race weekend—a downhill and a super-G—and was fourth in the third event (downhill) in Bansko, Bulgaria. As was often the case, her father, Jeff, was there to watch his daughter, and to photograph Mikaela and other racers—a passion of his. Her mother, Eileen, was there to coach and be that constant companion who has been there for Mikaela for her entire career. Mikaela’s teammates on the women’s speed team mentioned how happy Jeff was in Bansko—not just because Mikaela was skiing well there, but that he just seemed “warm and happy in general.” He was incredibly proud of his children, both Mikaela and her older brother Taylor—who was a member of the two-time NCAA Champion University of Denver Ski Team. 

Often moving from one location to another in a hurry to get to the next training venue or race venue, the team does not have a chance to sit down post-race weekend, reflect, and celebrate. On a rare occasion on that Sunday evening after the Bansko super-G, the entire women’s speed team and staff—including Jeff and Eileen—went to a team dinner on Sunday evening after Bansko to celebrate the weekend’s successes. 

On Saturday at the World Cup in Bansko, Bulgaria, after Mikaela was fourth and teammate Breezy Johnson was fifth in the second of two downhills, Jeff sent images of Mikaela and Breezy to me, as he often did. On Sunday, after Mikaela won the super-G, he sent me a team picture and a few podium pictures of Mikaela. Always behind the camera and never in the spotlight, Jeff was described by NBC’s Tim Layden in a touching tribute as “the quiet, constant rock in Mikaela Shiffrin's life.” In an Instagram post on February 3rd, Mikaela described her father as “the firm foundation” of their family, adding that he was “Our mountains, our ocean, our sunrise, our heart, our soul, our everything.” 

Following the 24-year-old’s 65th and 66th victories (bringing her win tally to just one shy of Marcel Hirscher’s 67) in Bansko, she took an uncharacteristic break in World Cup competition to rest and recharge for the remainder of the season. As one of the few multi-event skiers on the World Cup (and the only athlete to win in all six currently contested disciplines), it is vital for Mikaela and her team to find balance in the near-impossible FIS World Cup schedule—which is tailored to athletes who specialize in one or two disciplines. During that break, she spent valuable time with her parents and her team. From there, she traveled to Alpe Cimbra, Trentino, Italy, for the cover shoot of Sports Illustrated’s March 2020 issue.  

Though it wouldn’t be Mikaela’s first solo Sports Illustrated cover, it would be her first cover outside of coverage of the Olympic Games. In fact, Mikaela would become the first Olympic athlete in this sport era to receive a solo Sports Illustrated cover outside of an Olympic year—yet another first for the young phenom. Certainly, after the dominance Mikaela has had in the sport she is more than deserving of mainstream media attention, but the media landscape in the United States is heavily focused on the big four: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL). 

Then, every four years, all eyes turn to ski racing...an “Olympic sport.” In fact, most people are not aware that World Championships happen every two years, let alone that World Cup competition happens every year, starting in October and lasting through March. If an athlete competes in every discipline, they’re competing almost every single weekend in the winter, and attempting to sneak in training in between for every discipline—from downhill to slalom. That’s akin to a track athlete attempting to maintain the endurance needed for the 1500m run, while also having the quickness and strength to compete in the 100m. And then win in all of them. It’s rare. And merits celebration. 

Mikaela has grown accustomed to the fact that each time she steps into the start gate, it’s another opportunity to rewrite history—the journalists won’t let her forget that, and she’s been known to playfully comment about all of the records that exist in this sport. Winning 17 World Cup races in a single season is something no one had ever achieved. By doing so in 2019, Mikaela broke a 30+ year record, which was previously held by Switzerland’s Vreni Schneider. Vreni had won 14 races. It’s unlikely (though Mikaela would be the first one to admit that it’s not impossible), that Mikaela’s record of 17 will ever be broken. 

In 2019, Mikaela won across four disciplines (super-G, giant slalom, slalom, parallel slalom). Inclusive of World Championships, she started in 29 races and had 24 podiums and 19 victories. There was an 83% chance she’d podium a race she entered and a 66% chance she’d win it. Given the number of races, these percentages show next-level dominance. Yet, Mikaela still grapples with this success and the notion that she’s “the most dominant athlete in Sport.” As the subheadline of the Sports Illustrated piece reads, "No athlete in the world dominates their sport—or grapples with success—like Shiffrin, whose season of ‘transition’ became even more challenging with the death of her father.”

And so, on February 1st, as she was being interviewed by Sports Illustrated, it was not surprising that she was still stunned about the honor of being March’s cover girl, “It’s such a cool thing to be at the point in my career where this is even possible, but I never imagined I’d actually be on Sports Illustrated not surrounding the Olympics...but just surrounding my own career separate from the Olympics is amazing,” she said, in her trademark unassuming and authentically humble disposition. 

It’s been admittedly tough for Mikaela to follow up and make sense of her historic 2019 season, which began with news that her beloved grandmother had passed away in October just before the World Cup opener in Soelden, Austria. After the Sports Illustrated shoot, the unthinkable happened when she received the phone call that her father Jeff had suffered a grave injury from an accident sustained at their Colorado home. Then, as Greg Bishop, a writer for Sports Illustrated said, “nothing made sense again.” 

“There’s one word that bothers Shiffrin: human. She hates when people say that about her, because it’s usually meant as an insult. She’ll barrel down some mountain, a blur on two skis, lose by hundredths of seconds in almost perfect races, only to hear some internet yahoo say it proves she’s human, as opposed to some sort of ski-racing cyborg. In the right context, though, Shiffrin is more human than most star athletes. She’s admittedly awkward, blissfully honest, yet introspective and open about her own vulnerability.”

Greg Bishop, a sportswriter for Sports Illustrated, wrote a beautiful piece that would both honor Jeff’s legacy, while at the same time perfectly portrays to the world how unique and special Mikaela Shiffrin—"the most dominant athlete on the planet"—is not only as an athlete but as a human being. And that, most certainly, comes from how she was raised by Jeff and Eileen.

“That Shiffrin can process what it feels like to control two skis attached to her feet while moving at 80 miles per hour, and not only analyze what that’s like but explain it to mere mortals, says something about her, too. Like: that maybe all the times she gets inside her own head are good for her. It’s a tricky balance, sure, but this is Mikaela Shiffrin, who can pull off the rarest of feats: She’s the most dominant athlete on the planet and doesn’t quite realize it.”

And, yet again, Jeff would be proud. 

Read Greg Bishop’s full article in Sports Illustrated, entitled “Mikaela Shiffrin’s View from the Top.”

Ten-time X Games Gold Medalist, four-time Olympian, and U.S. Snowboardcross Team member Lindsey Jacobellis is set to host the 2020 Super Girl Snow Pro at Bear Mountain in Big Bear, Calif. Feb. 22-23. Lindsey is psyched about this year’s improvements to the only all women’s snowboard competition in the world. 

“I’m really happy that we have been able to expand the space we are working with this year,” said Lindsey. “We have more real estate for boardercross than ever before and we were able to spread out where big air jump is going to be. Essentially, this means that wherever spectators are located on the deck at Bear Mountain, they’ll have a great viewing experience. In addition, I’m excited to share that we have more World Cup riders participating this year including a good percentage of the Canadian National Team. We definitely stepped up the big players attending the event.”

The event will serve as a showcase for the best of women’s snowboarding in a contest completely designed by the riders, including top-level snowboardcross and big air competitions. The event also serves as a developmental contest to help encourage, nurture, and mentor the next generation of aspiring female snowboarding pros. More than 100 top amateurs will compete alongside their heroes. This year the amateur contest will serve as the final qualifier into the USASA National Championships March 27 - April 2 at Copper Mountain, Colo. 

The Super Girl Series is about much more than landing on the podium. The event supports sustainability efforts through the Southern California Mountains Foundation and breast cancer prevention through Boarding for Breast Cancer. Furthermore, the mission of the event is also designed around the honorable sentiment of providing opportunities for women to be front and center in sports, entertainment, education, business, and popular culture.

“This is an event that I am extremely passionate about," said Lindsey. "It’s incredibly important to lay the foundation for the future of women’s snowboarding, and this event does an amazing job of empowering women and putting pros and amateurs together in a unique environment so we can pass along our experiences to the next generation.” 

In addition to the high-level snowboarding competition, the event features live concerts with Stephanie Poetri, New Hope Club and Ally Brooke, female DJs, panel discussions, autographs, giveaways, sponsor booths, and more. Don’t miss your chance to see pros like Lindsey and her U.S. Snowboardcross teammates Meghan Tierney and Faye Gulini. Admission is free for spectators. If you can’t make it out in person, be sure to tune in below to the live webcast. 

To connect with the event via social media, follow @SupergirlPro on Instagram and Twitter, visit Facebook.com/SupergirlPro. 

SCHEDULE

WATCH LIVE WEBCAST 
Saturday, Feb. 22
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. PST
Tune in below

Six members of the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team advanced to the heats in the Stage 3 freestyle sprint held on the lower slopes of Sweden’s National Ski Area in Åre, with Jessie Diggins leading the way in 11th on Tuesday.

Racing through soft snow conditions, the athletes faced an interesting course profile with a stiff climb to the finish at the unique venue. In fact, the climb was at the base of the World Alpine Ski Championships track in Åre—the same track that FIS Ski alpine athletes will descend in just a couple of weeks. Sophie Caldwell finished in 12th, followed by Sadie Mauabet Bjornsen in 20th and Julia Kern in 27th. In the men’s race, Simi Hamilton was the lone U.S. men’s qualifier, finishing 14th.

“Well, it was quite the surprise to lay eyes on this course for the first time,” Sadie said. “Unlike any other race I have done before, it was a small little 'skier cross' course on the bottom, followed by 700 meters straight up the alpine slope. While that number sounds small, the real-life vision was severely intimidating!

“While I would have liked to chase some precious seconds back in a standard sprint race today, I walked away from the day with a smile on my face from such a unique experience. I will have to go on a mission on this next 38k race, and try to pick away that time,” she added.

With three stages remaining, including Thursday’s 38k point-to-point freestyle race, Jessie sits seventh overall, Rosie is 12th and Sadie is 18th. Thursday’s race features the legendary crossing of the international border between Storlien in Sweden (start) and Meråker in Norway (finish) and will surely shake up the overall standings as the stage will require athletes to carry their own nutrition as no feeding zones or coaching will be allowed on the majority of the course. 

Upon arrival in Meråker, the athletes continue by train to Trondheim, Norway, the final destination of the Tour, where Stages 5 and 6 will take place. The organizers behind the Ski Tour 2020 want to set an example for future organizers by making Ski Tour 2020 as sustainable as possible. In minimizing the use of fossil-fuel operated transportation, all participating athletes and staff will travel by train between the venues, no team cars will be allowed, with the exception of wax trucks.

RESULTS
Stage 3 
Women’s freestyle sprint
Men’s freestyle sprint

STANDINGS (Through Stage 3)
Women
Men

Wednesday, Feb. 19
Travel day

Thursday, Feb. 20
Stage 4 Storlien, SWE (start) to Meråker, NOR (finish)
Freestyle 38k both men and women

Friday, Feb. 21
Travel day

Saturday, Feb. 22
Stage 5 Trondheim, NOR
Classic sprint

Sunday, Feb. 23
Stage 6 Trondheim, NOR
Classic pursuit, 15k women, 30k men

HOW TO WATCH
Thursday, Feb. 19
4:45 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 38k mass start, Storlien, SWE - Meråker, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 38k mass start, Storlien, SWE - Meråker, NOR - 5:00 a.m. - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 22
7:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men and women’s classic sprint, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb 23
5:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:05 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m.. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*
1:00 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*

*Same-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.

Chloe Kim won her second straight Action Sports Sportsperson of the Year Award at the 20th Anniversary of the Laureus World Sports Awards on Monday, Feb. 17 in Berlin, Germany. Chloe took a break from studying and pulled her head out of her books to share her gratitude. 

The Laureus World Sports Awards are the premier global sporting awards. First held in 2000, the annual event honors the greatest and most inspirational sporting triumphs of the year and showcases the work of Laureus Sport for Good. The event was hosted by actor Hugh Grant and featured entertainment from British singer-songwriter and former member of One Direction, Liam Payne. Nominees were determined by a vote of more than 1000 sports journalists, broadcaster and influencers from around the world, while the winners were voted for by the living sporting legends who collectively make up the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Chloe’s nomination and victory come as no surprise after having an amazing 2018-19 season. Kim topped the podium at five out of six events she entered, winning at a rate of 83%. Kim did not just win at elite level events against the best riders in the world, but she did it consistently, winning every major competition she entered from the 2018 X games to the 2019 FIS World Championships, completing over a full year of victories. This season Chloe has taken a break from competition to study at the prestigious Princeton University. 

Chloe is in good company with a long list of world-class athletes taking home hardware. One highlight included Simone Biles, who continued her domination of the Laureus World Sports Awards where she was announced as the winner of her third Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award in four years, at the age of just 22. 

For highlights, reaction and more information on the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards, visit laureus.com/world-sports-awards.

WINNERS
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: Lewis Hamilton and Lionel Messi
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year: Simone Biles
Laureus World Team of the Year: South Africa Men’s Rugby Team
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year: Egan Bernal
Laureus World Comeback of the Year: Sophia Flörsch
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Oksana Masters
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Chloe Kim
Laureus Best Sporting Moment: ‘Carried on the shoulders of a nation’ – Sachin Tendulkar
Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award: Dirk Nowitzki
Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award: Spanish Basketball Federation
Laureus Sport for Good Award: South Bronx United