Racing through deep, sugary snow in her first race since finishing the Tour de Ski earlier this month, Jessie Diggins led four Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athletes into the top 30, finishing fourth in Saturday’s 10k FIS Cross Country World Cup freestyle in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

Rosie Brennan was 17th, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was 25th and Julia Kern was 30th. Caitlin Patterson finished 39th and Alayna Sonnesyn, racing in her first World Cup event of the season following a three podium performance at the recent L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships, was 46th. Norway’s Therese Johaug won Saturday’s race with a time of 23 minutes, 51 seconds. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva was second at 32.7 seconds off Johaug’s time and Norway’s Heidi Weng in third at 40.3 seconds back. 

“Today was a good race for me, although it was kind of funny because, with the super deep, sugary snow, it never felt like I was moving very fast, especially stepping through the sugar on the uphills,” said Jessie, who was 48.5 seconds off the winning time. “But overall I’m happy with where my body is after the Tour de Ski, and I’m working on training as smart as I can to find that balance between racing and training hard, and finding good recovery after such a big effort.”

The weekend schedule at Nove Mesto was swapped in order to take advantage of the limited snow coverage, with freestyle technique on Saturday, classic on Sunday. With limited natural snow and overnight temperatures hovering just below the freezing mark, the vast majority of snow used to build the course was either machine-made or snow trucked in to build the course. 

“We faced some challenging conditions today,” Rosie said, “...it was deep sugary and dirty.

“I wasn't sure how I would feel after the Tour de Ski but tried to stay optimistic that my break was good and I would be back where I left off,” added Rosie, who finished 15th overall at the Tour de Ski. “I started well and was happy with my first lap. But I faded much more than I had hoped in the end, and think I am still feeling a bit of fatigue from the Tour. Overall, it was a solid day and I hope I can find another gear tomorrow.”

Sunday’s race for the women will be a 10k classic pursuit, with the start order based on Saturday’s results. “Tomorrow should be an exciting pursuit start and I’m excited to ski with so many speedy ladies,” Jessie said. 

In the men’s 15k freestyle Saturday, David Norris was the top American in 27th. Ian Torchia, competing in his first career World Cup, finished 67th. 

RESULTS
Women’s 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle

Overall World Cup Standings
Women
Men

Distance World Cup Standings
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Jan. 19
5:00 a.m. - Women’s 10k classic pursuit, Nove Mesto, CZE - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s 15k classic pursuit, Nove Mesto, CZE -Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - Women’s 10k classic pursuit, Nove Mesto, CZE - 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.
 

U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Julia Marino topped the podium at the 2020 Laax Open in Switzerland at the first of five FIS Snowboard slopestyle World Cups set to take place over the remainder of the season.

“It feels so good just to break what feels like the ‘just outside of the podium curse’ here in Laax,” said a very relieved Julia. “It’s been so fun. The course and the weather have been amazing. I don’t think I have ever had so much fun at slope contest.”

After finishing fourth two years in a row, Julia put down a beautiful first run that would hold for the top spot. Slopestyle and Big Air Pro Team Head Coach Dave Reynolds was extremely happy about Julia’s performance. 

“Julia has been riding better than ever,” said Dave. “She is focussed and has the best attitude. I can’t wait to see what’s next. She learned the back 900 in our Park City Camp just before this event and it’s awesome to see her put it down in her winning run.”

For the men, 2018 Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard, and Judd Henkes earned second and third respectively. 

“What a crazy first event,” said Red. “Having the first major slopestyle event of year be in mid-January is much different. The entire crew was fully dialed and riding at the highest level. I’m stoked I could put one down to land on the podium and I look forward to X Games next week.”

Red was able to land a new trick in his run with the switch backside triple cork 1440 as part of his highest-scoring first run. In addition, Judd earned his second World Cup podium with two 1440s and proved he will likely be no stranger to the podium this season. 

The vibe between the whole U.S. Snowboard Team was incredibly supportive and positive throughout the entire Laax Open slopestyle program. Combined, the nine U.S. riders competing in finals put on a show for the Swiss crowd. 

Catch the full slopestyle show on NBCSN at 8 p.m. EST Friday. Competition in Laax will continue Saturday with halfpipe finals. 

RESULTS
Men’s snowboard slopestyle
Women’s snowboard slopestyle

HOW TO WATCH
Subject to change
All times EST
*Same-day delayed broadcast

SNOWBOARD
Friday, Jan. 17
8:00 p.m. - FIS Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup - Laax, Switzerland - NBCSN-TV

Saturday, Jan. 18
11:30 a.m. - FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup - Laax, Switzerland - Olympic Channel-TV and NBC Sports Gold

Races got underway on the famed Lauberhorn downhill track in Wengen, Switzerland, with an alpine combined—one run of downhill followed by one run of slalom. Bryce Bennett led three of his Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team teammates into the points in 14th place with Ryan Cochran-Siegle finishing 19th and Jared Goldberg 24th.

Austrian speed skier Matthias Mayer won the FIS Ski World Cup-winning the downhill and taking an impressive fourth place in the slalom. Pre-race favorite Alexis Pinturault of France was second—while he won the slalom by almost a second, his downhill run wasn’t quite fast enough to take the top step on the podium. Frenchman Victor Muffat-Jeandet, a tech specialist, was third.

It was a fast downhill under sunny Swiss skies with the downhillers flying off of the jumps on the longest and fastest track on the World Cup circuit. Bryce, Ryan, and Jared stacked it in, finishing 15th, 16th and 18th in the downhill portion before heading to the slalom. With a recent change in the combined rules, the racers started the slalom in order based on the downhill results instead of doing a flip-30, allowing for downhillers to get a better advantage in the usually heavy tech skier-favored combined event. Bryce had the best slalom finish of the Americans, taking 15th, while Ryan was 19th and Jared 29th. Sam Morse also competed, finishing 38th in the downhill and 34th in the slalom to take 34th overall.

With Pinturault’s second-place finish, he retook the overall World Cup lead from Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway, who did not race the combined.

The U.S. men now set their sights on the downhill, which kicks off on Saturday. They all have good confidence going in after putting down some strong results in downhill training this week.

“I love Wengen—it’s such a cool experience,” said Bryce. “The snow this year is perfect—all the way down, top to bottom. I just love this downhill because you need all the pieces in your skiing to be competitive here. Anything you think of is in the downhill.”

RESULTS
Men’s Alpine Combined

STANDINGS
Overall
Alpine Combined

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Official event hashtag: #lauberhorn

HOW TO WATCH
All Times EST

Saturday, Jan. 18
6:25 a.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com
8:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - NBCSN*

Sunday, Jan. 19
4:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - NBC**
9:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Wengen, SUI - NBCSN*

*Same-day broadcast
**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. 

Olympic champions Mikaela Shiffrin and Chloe Kim have been nominated for the landmark 20th anniversary Laureus World Sports Awards. The world's sports media cast their votes and the greatest sportsmen, sportswomen and teams now have just over a month to wait to see if they have won a prestigious Laureus Statuette at the world's pre-eminent international sports Awards Ceremony in Berlin, Germany on February 17th. 

In the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year category, Mikaela is up against a stacked field of GOATs, including FIFA Women's World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner Megan Rapinoe, gymnastic great Simone Biles, track and field stars Allyson Felix and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and the first Asian tennis player to be ranked No. 1 in the world, Naomi Osaka. 

In the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year category, 2019 Action Sportsperson winner and snowboarding world champion Chloe Kim, is joined by world surfing champions Italo Ferreira and Carissa Moore, and 11-year-old Brazilian skateboarder Rayssa Leal, the youngest Nominee for the 2020 Laureus Awards. Also in contention for the Action Award are US skateboarding world champion Nyjah Huston and Canadian snowboarding star and slopestyle X-Games gold medallist Mark McMorris.

Sports fans can also have a say in the 20th anniversary Laureus World Sports Awards through the Laureus Sporting Moment: 2000-2020 public vote, which will celebrate the transformational power of sport and reinforce Laureus' 20th-anniversary message that 'Sport Unites Us'. The Laureus Sporting Moment Award shortlists 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world, exemplifying sporting values such as fair play, sportsmanship, humanity, overcoming adversity, dedication, and the power to unite through sport—all key values of the Laureus movement. Fans can vote for their favorite of the 20 shortlisted moments now at laureus.com/vote.

The Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognise sporting achievement during 2019, are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners, as voted for by the 68 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, will be unveiled at the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin on February 17th.

It was at the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000 that Laureus Patron, Nelson Mandela, spoke the words which sparked the creation of the worldwide Sport for Good movement. 20 years on, these words still guide Laureus today—'Sport has the power to change the world; to unite people in a way little else does'. From sports stars to sports fans and the young people in Laureus Sport for Good programmes around the world: Sport Unites Us.

For more information on the Nominees and to stay updated in the build-up to the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards, visit laureus.com/world-sports-awards and follow #Laureus20 on social platforms. 

Release courtesy of Laureus. 

Wintersteiger, official supplier to U.S. Ski & Snowboard since 2001, and exclusive tuning partner for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, set up a pop-up shop at the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain this past November. 

Wintersteiger’s World Cup pedigree and support of the U.S. Ski Team make them the obvious machine tuning choice for both the U.S. Ski Team and other U.S. Ski & Snowboard club programs training at Copper Mountain. For the U.S. Ski Team, the goal was to launch a ski education platform that would allow coaches to address equipment problems quickly, visually. The idea is that properly tuned equipment makes it easier for the athlete to execute technique, and well-maintained equipment turns better and glides faster, thus, simply, increasing the athletes’ performance. 

For this event, Wintersteiger race technicians partnered with Swix and former U.S. Ski Team Serviceman, Graham Lonetto, to offer a full complement of services: ski evaluation, new ski prep, stone grinding, ceramic disc edging, and Wax Future cycling. Wintersteiger’s race technicians had a complete range of race tuning equipment, including a Scout. The Wintersteiger Scout offers the highest caliber ceramic disc finishing for precise tuning of side and base edges as well as World Cup proven grinds to ensure the smoothest, fastest base possible.

The ski tuning clinic program included in-depth training about ski tuning safety, a ski audit, ski flattening and structure, and identifying the missing piece—for instance, asking the questions: Is the binding position correct? Is the base bevel correct? Is the base structure correct? Are we using the correct side edge bevel? Is the wax correct? This initiative proved to be a significant help to the U.S. Ski Team, and development level athletes, in particular.  

“Winterstieger and Swix teamed up to provide a tuning center at the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain during the month of November,” commented Land Rover U.S. Ski Team Alpine Director Jesse Hunt. “With its state-of-the-art equipment and well-educated service personnel, this tuning center was a game-changer for the development athletes attending Copper Mountain camps. Hundreds of skis were evaluated and, as a result, many of those skis were tuned by professional technicians onsite. It was an amazing service for our up-and-coming athletes, many of whom have not received this type of ski preparation before. Big props, specifically, to serviceman Michael Beer, who did the lion’s share of the work.”

Initially, these services were exclusive to the U.S. Ski Team but were then made available to other athletes around November 10th. The temporary shop in Copper acted as a supplement to Wintersteiger’s established partner locations in Colorado that use the same machinery and processes found in factory race rooms around the world. With the ultimate goal of minimizing equipment as a variable, it is critical that the machines your local shops utilize are as serious as you are. 

The hope is that U.S. Ski Team will take the lead internationally with projects like the “in-house” tuning shop/lab and concept center at the Center of Excellence, the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain, Colo., the spring coach’s training at Mammoth, Calif. (Level 100, 200, 300 and 400 coaching training), and sponsored regional training seminars with associated accreditation—for example, Green Mountain Valley School’s (GMVS) service center with proper machines/training techniques and wax/tools support. 

Check out the article Todd Carroll wrote for Ski Racing Media, entitled “Backshop Stonegrinding Illustrated” for more information.  

###

About  Wintersteiger
With four decades of experience and more than 30,000 ski tuning machines including 1350 automated ski tuning machines sold worldwide, Wintersteiger is the global market leader in racing service solutions. The Austrian, German, and US Ski Teams, as well as ski manufacturers Atomic, Fischer, Head, Rossignol, and Salomon, rely on the highest-quality results provided by Wintersteiger ski tuning machines.

About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, based in Park City, Utah. Tracing its roots directly back to 1905, the organization represents nearly 200 elite skiers and snowboarders in 2019, competing in seven teams; alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, nordic combined and ski jumping. In addition to the elite teams, U.S. Ski & Snowboard also provides leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders across the USA, encouraging and supporting them in achieving excellence. By empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team. For more information, visit www.usskiandsnowboard.org. 

It’s a big weekend for alpine ski racing, with the men heading to the 90th edition of the classic FIS Ski World Cup Lauberhorn in Wengen, Switzerland, and the women returning to the site of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Sestriere, Italy. 

Wengen kicks off with an alpine combined—one run of downhill and one run of slalom—on Friday, but the highlight of the three-day race series in Wengen is undoubtedly Saturday’s classic downhill. At 2.78 miles long (about 2 minutes, 30 seconds), the Lauberhornrennen is the longest track on the World Cup circuit. It’s the fastest track, too. On January 19, 2013, France’s Johan Clarey clocked the fastest time through the Haneggschuss, the fastest section of the Lauberhorn slope, at 161.9 km/100.6 mph—a record that still stands today. 

With two solid downhill training runs under their belts, the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team boys are ready to rock. In the first of two downhill training runs on Tuesday, Ryan Cochran-Siegle led the Americans with the second-fastest time, just one-tenth off the pace, set by Swiss Mauro Caviezel. Bryce Bennett followed in seventh, and Jared Goldberg in 15th. Of course, as Ryan has said before, training runs are nothing more than “fool’s gold”—however, he backed that fast training run up with the fifth-fastest run in Thursday’s second and final downhill training run, followed by Bryce in ninth, Steven in 11th, and Jared in 16th. Training runs don’t count, but they certainly can be a harbinger of what’s to come. Cross your fingers, hold your thumbs, and let’s get ready to rumble! 

The weekend will close with men’s slalom, where Luke Winters—who has scored in three of five World Cup slaloms this season, rife with flashes of brilliance—will lead the Americans Sunday. Luke continues to show that he belongs among the best in the world, in an extremely competitive and stacked men’s slalom field. 

The women will return to Sestriere, Italy—a place filled with fond memories for the Americans, where Julia Mancuso won her giant slalom gold at the 2006 Olympics. A giant slalom on Saturday will be followed by a debut event for the women—a parallel giant slalom, on Sunday. Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin is coming off a rough couple of races but will look forward to changing the tempo and stepping in the giant slalom start gate this weekend. In the last World Cup giant slalom, Mikaela won by an impressive 1.36 seconds in Lienz, Austria, when she swept the tech series at the end of December. Mikaela will head into the weekend with a healthy 273-point lead in the overall World Cup standings, and trails Italy’s Federica Brignone in the giant slalom standings by just 21 points, in second. 

To travel from Flachau to Sestriere, Mikaela brought teammates Keely Cashman, AJ Hurt, Paula Moltzan, and Nina O’Brien along with her on a helicopter ride as a squad. The whole crew will look forward to throwing down some giant slalom turns this weekend! 

You'll be able to watch on the Olympic Channel, NBCSN AND NBC this weekend, so make sure to check out all the details about who and how to watch below. 

MEN’S STARTERS
Bryce Bennett
Tommy Biesemeyer*
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Travis Ganong
Jared Goldberg
Sam Morse
Kyle Negomir
Steven Nyman
River Radamus
Ben Ritchie
Luke Winters

*Injured in the second DH training run and will not start this weekend. 

WOMEN’S STARTERS
Keely Cashman
AJ Hurt
Paula Moltzan
Nina O’Brien
Mikaela Shiffrin

RESULTS
Men’s Downhill Training Run 1
Men’s Downhill Training Run 2

START LIST
Men’s Alpine Combined

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
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Official event hashtags: #lauberhorn, #worldcupsestriere

HOW TO WATCH
All Times EST

Friday, Jan. 17
4:00 a.m. - Men’s combined downhill, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s combined slalom, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 18
5:00 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 1, Sestriere, ITA - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
6:25 a.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com
8:00 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 2, Sestriere, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Sestriere, ITA - NBC*
8:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - NBCSN*
9:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Sestriere, ITA - NBCSN*

Sunday, Jan. 19
3:45 a.m. - Women’s parallel giant slalom qualifying, Sestriere, ITA - NBC Sports Gold
4:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel giant slalom, Sestriere, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Wengen, SUI - NBC**
8:00 p.m. - Women’s parallel giant slalom, Sestriere, ITA - NBCSN*
9:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Wengen, SUI - NBCSN*

*Same-day broadcast
**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. 

With the conclusion of the 2020 L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named three teams to represent the United States at the 2020 U23 and Junior FIS Cross Country World Championships, and the U18 Scandinavian Championships.

The 2020 FIS Nordic Junior and U23 Cross-Country World Ski Championships take place February 28 - March 8 in Oberwiesenthal, Germany, while the U18 Scandinavian Championships will be held Jan 24-26 in Falun, Sweden. 

Julia Kern and Hailey Swirbul lead the way for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team at the upcoming U23 and Junior World Championships. Julia picked up her first career World Cup podium, finished third in the freestyle sprint in Planica, Slovenia, this season. She has also posted seven top-20 World Cup results so far this season. Hailey picked up her first career World Cup points in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this season before taking her first U.S. titles in Classic sprint, freestyle sprint, and 20k classic at the recent L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships.

“USA cross country has strong momentum right now,” noted U.S. Ski & Snowboard Cross Country Program Manager Bryan Fish. “Our clubs, colleges, and university programs are doing a great job preparing our athletes. Our juniors and under-23 athletes performed very well at the recent L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships in Houghton.  It was encouraging to see the number of young athletes performing so well in the overall field. For example, Hailey Swirbul won three of the four races and Gus Schumacher was first, second, and fourth in the three events he competed in.”

For the Junior World Championships team, 12 athletes will be representing the United States.

“The depth of our junior women and men is particularly impressive,” Bryan added. “We should have strong relay teams. We return our entire gold medal junior men’s relay team (from the 1999 World Championships) and we add further depth with athletes like JC, who just scored World Cup points in his first-ever World Cup appearance last weekend in Dresden, Germany.”

U23 World Championship Team
Women:

• Julia Kern (SMS T2/Waltham, Mass.)
• Hailey Swirbul (APU Nordic Ski Center/El Jebel, Colo.)
• Amanda Kautzer (Michigan Tech University/Houghton, Mich.)
• Alex Lawson (Middlebury College/West Burke, Vt.)
• Sarah Goble (Michigan Tech University/Marquette, Mich.) 

Men:

• Zak Ketterson (Northern Michigan University/Bloomington, Minn.)
• Finn O’Connell (University of Vermont/Steamboat Springs, Colo.)
• Hunter Wonders (APU Nordic Ski Center/Anchorage, Alaska)
• Zane Fields (Lyme Elite Team/White River Junction, Vt.)
• Logan Diekmann (University of Utah/Bozeman, Mont.)

Junior World Championship Team
Women:

• Sydney Palmer-Leger (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation/Park City, Utah)
• Sophia Laukli (Middlebury College/Yarmouth, Maine)
• Kendall Kramer (Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks/Fairbanks, Alaska)
• Novie McCabe (Methow Valley Nordic/Winthrop, Wash.)
• Callie Young (Dartmouth College/Jay, Vt.)
• Mara McCollor (Dartmouth College/Plymouth, Minn.)

Men:

• Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars/Anchorage, Alaska)
• Johnny Hagenbuch (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation/Ketchum, Idaho)
• Luke Jager (University of Utah/Anchorage, Alaska)
• JC Schoonmaker (University of Alaska Anchorage/Tahoe City, Calif.)
• Zanden McMullen (Montana State University/Anchorage, Alaska)
• Benjamin Ogden (Stratton Mountain School/Landgrove, Vt.)

U18 Nordic Nation’s Championships Team
Women:

• Sydney Palmer-Leger (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation/Park City, Utah)
• Kendall Kramer (Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks/Fairbanks, Alaska)
• Ava Thurston (Mansfield Nordic/Waterbury, Vt.)
• Nina Seemann (Stratton Mountain School/Bondville, Vt.)
• Haley Brewster (Ski and Snowboard Club Vail/Avon, Colo.)
• Garvee Tobin (APU Nordic Ski Center/Anchorage, Alaska)

Men: 

• Peter Hinds (APU Nordic Ski Center/Anchorage, Alaska)
• Brian Bushey (Green Mountain Valley School/Montpelier, Vt.)
• Alexander Maurer (Alaska Winter Stars/Anchorage, Alaska)
• Will Koch (Stratton Mountain School/Peru, Vt.)
• Wally Magill (Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club/Steamboat Springs, Colo.)
• Michael Earnhart (Alaska Nordic Racing/Eagle River, Alaska)

On a chilly night in Flachau, Austria, Mikaela Shiffrin captured her 16th-straight FIS Ski World Cup slalom podium—a World Cup record—finishing in third place under the lights.

Proving a worthy adversary to Mikaela, Petra Vlhova of Slovakia won her second World Cup slalom in a row and captured the title of Snow Space Salzburg Princess and the biggest prize purse on the FIS World Cup women’s tour. Anna Swenn Larsson of Sweden surprised the crowd and herself by finishing second with a blazing fast second run—a redeeming race for her after last year when she thought she had secured third place before realizing she had straddled. 

In front of an Austrian crowd packed with a hefty and loud Slovakian fan club, Petra put down a flying first run to take the lead by .60 seconds over Mikaela. And even with a fast second run by Mikaela and a course set by her coach Mike Day, Petra couldn’t be caught.

One thing that Mikaela wanted to make evident was that her coach did not set the second run course for Mikaela’s benefit or to trip up Petra. “I think everybody was thinking that he would set a course against Petra,” Mikaela said in the press conference after the race. “I wanted to be clear about this and maybe the most important thing: We don’t do that; we don’t play those games. I think it’s bad karma.”

This was Petra’s second win in Flachau—having beat Mikaela in last year’s night race, as well. “When you look at Petra, she’s skiing just perfect right now,” said Mikaela. “Even if she makes some mistakes, her mistakes are smaller than everyone else and her better turns are better than everyone else. That includes me.”

For a long time, Mikaela went unbeaten on the World Cup. But she has done her job in raising the bar, and now that the competition has stepped up, it’s making for a thrilling fight on the highest level in skiing. There are still four World Cup slaloms left on the tour and it’s going to be a battle for the overall globe between the many female powerhouses on the FIS World Cup tour. “The way I’ve been on top with my skiing for all these years is because I did more work, harder work and stronger work than everyone else,” said Mikaela. “I worked smarter. I could come to the races and I had to push, I knew that, but I worked hard enough that confidence wasn’t a factor. I could ski even when I wasn’t confident and my good skiing would be enough. Right now, it’s difficult to balance everything—to balance what I want to accomplish in the sport with everything and still be able to stay on top going against girls who are working really hard.”

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes Paula Moltzan and Nina O’Brien snagged points in the race, as well, taking 23rd and 29th, respectively. Paula, who compared Flachau to her home turf of Buck Hill, said it was like skiing in her backyard. “It’s what I grew up on—skiing at night,” she said. “That’s all I really knew growing up, so it’s like a like piece of my heart is here. The only thing missing—and it's a vital component—is Erich Sailer.”

As far as her results, Paula was happy to have her first World Cup points of the new year, even with a few mistakes. “Obviously the major mistake on the 10th gate on the second run was not it, but I made up time on the way down, so I know the speed is there,” she said. “I’m looking forward to some time at home and then some more slalom racing later this year.”

Nina felt similarly about the race being a good confidence-boost, even with a hip check on the second run. “Overall, I’m really happy about the day,” she said. “I feel like I showed myself on the first run that I can be in there and that my good skiing is fast, which is nice to see because it’s been a bit of a struggle with slalom on the World Cup this year. I still have a lot to learn. My second run wasn’t it, but we’ll get there.”

In only her fifth World Cup start, Katie Hensien did not qualify for a second run but is looking strong and ready for more opportunities.

Mikaela was quick to commend her Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team teammates, as well. “Solid team result and I’m really happy for the other girls—Nina and Paula fought hard tonight to make it in there,” she said. “Three in the top 30 is awesome. We’re all heading to Sestriere together tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to switching gears and skiing some giant slalom.”

Mikaela’s third-place finish in Flachau kept her strongly in first place in the overall hunt over Petra with 886 points to Petra’s 613 points. She also leads the slalom hunt over Petra by 80 points.

Next up, the women's tech crew will travel together in a helicopter over to Sestriere, Italy for a giant slalom on Saturday and a parallel giant slalom Sunday.

RESULTS
Women’s Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Slalom

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Emily Cook never let go of her dream to compete in the Winter Olympics. Days after making the 2002 Olympic Team, Emily broke both of her feet and had to watch her hometown Olympics from a wheelchair. She missed the next three World Cup seasons rehabbing to return to competition and eventually make the 2006 Olympic Winter Team. Emily is a three-time Olympian and six-time National Aerials Champion. After retiring from competition Emily coached for the U.S. Aerial Ski Team and this season marks her first away from the jump site in many years. Her absence will create a new chapter for the Team she has been so ingrained in as athletes work toward their own Olympic dreams for 2022. Before leaving, one of Emily's final marks was planting a seed to grow and nurture the Team's culture, sparked by an intense day of team-building with the renowned performance experts at Liminal Collective. In this next installment of our "Coach's Column," Emily shares the importance of Team in an individual sport. 

We’re bringing you stories from the ground through the lens of our coaching staff who know our athletes best. These staff members spend countless hours traveling from point A to point B in the winter with athletes, eating dinner as a team, training in the gym and on the mountain, often celebrating Thanksgiving away from home and instead with their athletes and fellow staff members, and the list goes on. They’re more than a team…they’re a second family – a winter family. It’s not easy to be away from home. The days are long and the load is heavy, and it’s sometimes thankless work for these behind-the-scenes heroes. We hope that by sharing their stories, in their words, it will give you all some understanding and appreciation for what it takes to create an environment in which our athletes can thrive.

Enjoy the journey,

Lara Carlton

Freestyle Communications Manager

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U.S. Ski & Snowboard has put an emphasis on exploring team culture across each of its disciplines. In an individual sport like freestyle aerials, team cohesion is not always an obvious focal point. However, in addition to everyday training, skill-building, strength & conditioning, nutrition, mental strength and more, working towards being an amazing team that works well together is often the factor that will accelerate an athlete towards success. I recall watching the U.S. Women’s Cross-Country team develop over the past few years and experiencing the exhilaration of witnessing Kikkan Randall and Jesse Diggins win Gold in PyeongChang and I can’t help but believe that their amazing and infectious team dynamic was one of their building blocks to success.

When the aerials athletes were asked if they would like to see more of a focus on team culture, they responded with overwhelming enthusiasm. So, we all started taking it on… as a team.

In addition to coaches and athletes adding some fun activities throughout the summer, the coaching staff invited some of the best in the business to support the team in this exploration. We had the privilege of working with Dr. Andy Walshe, Jurgen Heitman, Hoby Darling and their team at Liminal Collective. Prior to Liminal, Dr. Andy Walshe was the high-performance director for Red Bull and at U.S. Ski & Snowboard, and he brought with him a team of military, tech and culture leaders. With Liminal, the aerials team spent the day exploring what is currently working within the team, pushing their boundaries both physically and mentally, and engaging in conversations around how to up their game as a cohesive team.

We kicked off the day with a breath control exercise which would require the athletes to both push past their comfort zone and work together to support each other when things got hectic. On an aerial hill, things can get extra challenging, or even scary. Whether it’s learning a new trick or staying calm during a windy session or bad weather, staying in the ideal mindset and keeping your heart rate low and mind calm is key to performing a skill well. We can support each other in getting to this ideal state.

I’m not a scientist by any means, but from what I understand from the Liminal Team, the way the breath-hold activity (and an athlete’s performance on the hill) works is this: The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is a part of the nervous system that influences the function of our internal organs. It operates in two modes: 1) sympathetic, which is fight or flight or 2) parasympathetic, which is rest and digest. In an exercise like the breath-hold, where we generally have some level of fear or discomfort, we can learn how to move into our parasympathetic state in order to lower heart rate and other bodily functions, and in turn perform at a higher level on the jump hill, or hold our breath for longer underwater.

After a few hours in the pool, the team was invited to engage in a conversation around how the challenge felt individually and how that differed when working with a teammate for extra support. We explored our own performance-arousal curve, digging into which mindset was ideal when performing this challenge and how that could translate to our sport. We learned that we could develop a new skill by following a process and that many of us underestimated what we could accomplish (I know I did).

I personally found that calming my mind (cooling down my ANS) and knowing that I was supported by the team around me was key to breaking through the barriers that I thought existed at the beginning of the day, like holding my breath for 3.5 minutes underwater! What?

Throughout the team’s time with Liminal, we explored conversations around what each teammate brought to the table (or jump site) and the most effective ways to communicate with each other. Each athlete had the chance to be a leader and to be supported.

We learned from Jurgen some of the key aspects to military success: having defined roles and responsibilities, the importance of debriefing and the value of having a team Ethos, or character that describes the guiding beliefs or ideals of the team, a theme that spanned each activity. As an athlete this piece was extremely important to me, and I truly believe as a coach that creating this as a team is even more powerful. We had some fun and laughs doing partner yoga to wind down the last session and overall learned a lot about ourselves and each other. I have to admit, I got a little emotional at the end of the day, but think it has to do with the fact that for the first time in many years, I won’t be standing with them at the top of the hill all season.

In November I left the team in the very capable hands of two amazing coaches and Olympic medalists, Head Coach Vladimir Lebedev and World Cup and Development Coach, Eric Bergoust. As I move on, I hope to have left the team with the tools to continue to develop their own version of amazing team dynamic. We can all gain inspiration from other teams who are known for amazing team culture, like the New Zealand All Blacks and the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, but we won’t look the same with their Haka or glitter and pink hair. This team culture will be their own, and will always be changing, flowing, developing and growing and knowing how to navigate this is key.

As I step away from coaching, I will continue to be around the team and support them in any way that I can. For now I am proud to move on to support athletes and kids in a different way as I start a position with a non-profit very close to my heart, Classroom Champions. Classroom Champions matches athlete mentors with underserved schools across North America to teach kids grades K-8 the social-emotional skills needed to be successful in and out of the classroom. As I know from many years of working with the U.S. Aerials Team, athletes are perfectly equipped to pass on life lessons such as perseverance, teamwork, courage, diversity, community engagement goal setting and healthy living. I was a mentor with Classroom Champions, and it made all the difference in the world to me to connect with kids and pass on the lessons I learned.

I love this U.S. Aerial Ski Team and know that they have every ounce of potential to be the very best team in the world. Though I will greatly miss being on the hill every day, I cannot wait to cheer each and every one of them on throughout the upcoming seasons.
 

Comcast NBCUniversal today announced the launch of SportsTech, a global accelerator for sports technology startups. SportsTech will feature an unprecedented partnership of three of Comcast NBCUniversal’s sports brands – NBC Sports, Sky Sports and Golf Channel – alongside NASCAR and two US Olympic sports organizations: U.S. Ski & Snowboard and USA Swimming. Comcast Ventures, the company’s San Francisco-based venture capital arm, will round out the partnership.  Each partner will serve on an advisory committee that influences the innovation priorities of SportsTech, and each will provide startups with direct access to strategic industry relationships, mentorship, and partnership opportunities.

Early stage startups from around the world are encouraged to apply for the inaugural class, which will begin in August, at www.comcastsportstech.com. 

Based in The Battery Atlanta/SunTrust Park, where Comcast Cable’s Central Division headquarters are located, the new accelerator is designed to provide sports tech startups with the resources and relationships to succeed by giving them access to a broad international consortium of advisors, a custom sports tech curriculum shaped by industry experts, and investment capital.  Partners will have early exposure to emerging sports tech trends and technologies that cross multiple sports, gaining insight into how these technologies can potentially reshape and benefit their businesses.

SportsTech is the third accelerator created by Comcast NBCUniversal in the last three years, joining LIFT Labs Accelerator, powered by TechStars, based out of the company’s global headquarters at the Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia, and The Farm, powered by Boomtown, located in Atlanta.

“We are delighted to introduce SportsTech to our suite of accelerators to help founders build sports technology and products, refine their business models, tell their stories, and benefit from the unique assets and talent of Comcast NBCUniversal,” said Sam Schwartz, Chief Business Development Officer, Comcast Cable.  “Comcast NBCUniversal has some of the most prominent sports brands and we are excited to partner with founders through SportsTech.”

“The demand for sports technology across the globe has never been greater, yet most sports startups don’t have access to the resources they need to succeed nor an ability to develop relationships with the right people inside the industry,” said Jenna Kurath, Vice President of Startup Partner Development, Comcast Cable.  “SportsTech will provide the curriculum and platform for founders to develop their ideas while obtaining mentorship from leaders in multiple sports, enabling them to further deploy their technologies to dramatically improve sports experiences for athletes and audiences alike.”

“Being nimble and pushing boundaries are key elements of our sports and familiar territory for entrepreneurs,” said Troy Taylor, Director of High Performance, U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Several months ago, we approached Comcast and Boomtown seeking their help to explore, research and validate the ways in which wearable technology and artificial intelligence could enhance our athletes’ performance. The output of this exercise helped refine technology that will be implemented to improve the training regimen of U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes ahead of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. We’re thrilled with the results of our relationship and welcome continued proposals from startups seeking to help our athletes be more resourceful in their pursuit of podiums.”

Beginning in August 2020, SportsTech will offer a three-month custom-tailored program for up to 10 startups.  Initial focus areas will include technologies and products in several key categories:

• Media & Entertainment
• Fan & Player Engagement
• Athlete & Player Performance
• Team & Coach Success
• Sports Venue & Event Innovation
• Fantasy Sports & Sports Wagering
• esports
• Business of Sports

The deadline to submit an application for SportsTech is May 15.  The selected startups will reside in Atlanta for the duration of the program, operating out of SportsTech’s flagship location at The Battery at SunTrust Park, where Comcast’s The Farm accelerator is also based.  It will be directed by Boomtown Accelerators, a leading accelerator program headquartered in Boulder, CO.  Boomtown operates The Farm for Comcast NBCUniversal and has established itself as a preeminent home for early-stage startups. 

Comcast NBCUniversal has a proud history of supporting founders and startup communities, dating back to its own founder Ralph Roberts, who had the vision to see how a small cable startup in 1963 could transform into one of the most innovative global media and technology companies.  In addition to SportsTech and The Farm, run at the Central Division in Atlanta, the company also offers the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator.  Both accelerators are currently accepting applications for startups from around the world to build and refine their business. To learn about the 2020 focus areas and apply, visit www.ComcastNBCULIFT.com and www.TheFarmATL.com.