Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) skied to an impressive - and career-best - 17th-place finish in the 15k classic individual start at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Austria, Wednesday.

Bjornsen, in the mix with the other three U.S. starters, was 21st at the first split time at 2.3k, and steadily gained time throughout the race.

“It was a really hot, tough course with super soft conditions in the sunny sections,” said Bjornsen. “I decided to go for speedy skis today instead of good kick, so I didn’t feel good on the hills, but was trying to work the flats and use my double pole to my advantage. I was feeling really good yesterday and had high hopes today and was wanting to get a top 15 or 20 today.”

Norwegian Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway won the gold, with Alexander Bessmertnykh of Russia taking the silver, and Ivo Niskanen of Finland winning the bronze. The entire U.S. men’s team skied well in the race with Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska) finishing 30th, Kyle Bratrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) just missing the top 30, finishing 31st, with Ben Lustgarten (Burlington, Vt.) in 45th.

“I am definitely proud of the efforts of all four of the guys out there, they were absolutely giving it all,” said U.S. Cross Country Head Coach Chris Grover. “I am also really proud of the service team as today was one of the more challenging days for them as half the course was in the sun and half was in the shade creating widely variable conditions. Erik was fighting for a top-15 result and just missed it by a bit at the end, but a really great result.”

The World Championships continue Thursday with the women’s relay. U.S. starters are Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.), Sadie Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska), Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah), and Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.).

RESULTS
Men’s 15k classic

HOW TO WATCH
*Same-day broadcast

Thursday, Feb. 28
1:00 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 15k - Seefeld, AUT - NBCSN**
7:00 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 4x5k relay - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Friday, March 1
7:15 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 4x10k relay - Seefeld, AUT - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 4x10k relay - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV*

Saturday, March 2
6:15 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 30k - Seefeld, AUT - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 30k - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, March 3
5:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 50k - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

The FIS Junior World Ski Championships wrapped up with women's downhill on Wednesday, and the Americans landing in third in the Marc Hodler Trophy standings - an award given out for overall team performance throughout the series. 

Switzerland won the Marc Hodler Trophy, with 107 points, followed by Norway with 86 points, and USA rounding out the podium with 80 points. The U.S. has been steadily working towards the podium, getting fifth in the standings in Åre, Sweden in 2017, and fourth in Davos, Switzerland in 2018. U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Development Director Chip Knight noted that "being in the top three was a stretch goal, so it's a tremendous result for us!"

The importance of the Marc Hodler Trophy was evident across the team, and definitely on their mind throughout the week. As double gold winner River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.) said after his giant slalom gold on Monday, "I was hyped up by my teammates today. We had six in the top 30 - way more than any other nation - so to have that sort of strong showing is amazing. I was just feeding off of their energy and they were feeding off of mine, and we were just trying to shoot for top-10s and get that Hodler Cup podium.  We’ve been shut out of the Hodler Cup the last two years that I’ve been racing, so it was a really big goal of mine to try to get us on the podium this year. We had another strong showing today, and we’re sitting in third looking good, trying to close it out the last couple of races.”

Though AJ Hurt (Squaw Valley, Calif.) had been under the weather the last few days, she was tenth in Wednesday's downhill, while Keely Cashman (Strawberry, Calif.) was 11th. Cashman posted the fastest second training run time on Tuesday, but her high start number on Wednesday provided challenges, as the temperatures were warm and the track was deteriorating. She walked away with two top-5 results - fourth in the alpine combined, and fifth in the super-G, respectively. 

Team USA will walk away from Val di Fassa, Italy with their heads held high, and look to continue to carry that momentum towards the future. Congratulations, once again, to this team for their outstanding performances. 

2019 FIS ALPINE JUNIOR WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM
Name, Hometown; Team Affiliation; Club (Birthdate)

Women

• Keely Cashman, Strawberry, Calif; Squaw Valley Ski Team (4/4/1999)
• Katie Hensien, Redmond, Wash.; Rowmark Ski Academy and University of Denver (12/1/1999)
• AJ Hurt, Carnelian Bay, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team (12/5/2000)
• Nellie-Rose Talbot, Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (8/24/1999)
• Claire Thomas, Salt Lake City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard and Dartmouth College (3/11/1998)
• Alix Wilkinson, Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team (8/2/2000)

Men

• Cooper Cornelius, Glenwood Springs, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski Club (2/20/1999)
• Jacob Dilling, Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (10/19/1999)
• Bridger Gile, Aspen, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski Club and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail(10/15/1999)
• Jimmy Krupka, Waitsfield, Vt.; Green Mountain Valley School and Dartmouth College (7/15/1998)
• Kyle Negomir, Littleton, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (10/03/1998)
• River Radamus, Edwards, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (2/12/1998)
• Ben Ritchie, Waitsfield, Vt.; Green Mountain Valley School (9/5/2000)
• Jett Seymour, Steamboat, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and University of Denver (11/5/1998)

2019 MEDAL TALLY
Gold, Super-G, River Radamus
Silver, Team Event, Katie Hensien, AJ Hurt, River Radamus and Ben Ritchie 
Gold, Giant Slalom, River Radamus
Silver, Slalom, Ben Ritchie
Bronze, Marc Hodler Trophy, Team

OTHER TOP TEN RESULTS
4th, Alpine Combined, Keely Cashman
4th, Alpine Combined, River Radamus
5th, Super-G, Keely Cashman
6th, Slalom, Jimmy Krupka
6th, Downhill, Kyle Negomir
7th, Giant Slalom, AJ Hurt
8th, Downhill, River Radamus
8th, Alpine Combined, Kyle Negomir
10th, Slalom, Jett Seymour
10th, Slalom, Katie Hensien
10th, Downhill, AJ Hurt

RESULTS
Marc Hodler Trophy
Women's downhill 

Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) was the top U.S. finisher in a challenging 10k classic individual start at the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Austria, Tuesday.

Bjornsen was sixth after the first split and was feeling strong at the top of the first long climb five minutes into the race. But warm conditions proved challenging for both athletes and wax technicians.

“I felt good, I pushed the hills, but it was a really challenging race in the fact that I knew there was so much time that could be made or lost on those flat sections,” said Bjornson. “There is nothing I regret out there, I went as hard as I could, and it will be interesting to see where I lost all the time as I felt like I was in a fighting position after the first long uphill splits.”

Bjornsen finished 23rd to lead Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah) in 24th, Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) in 25th, and Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) in 29th.

“I had some concrete technique goals which I felt like I did well with, but I am a winter athlete for a reason and I had some serious overheating issues out there today,” said Diggins. “Anytime you feel like your going to puke on every downhill and you taste blood during a race, you know you are pushing yourself and you did your best, and I am proud of that. It felt good to really go after it and regardless of the result, that was a good effort for me.”

Norway’s Therese Johaug won, her second gold medal of the 2019 World Championships.  She was followed by Frida Karlsson of Sweden with the silver, and Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg of Norway with the bronze.

“Definitely a tough day out there today,” said U.S. World Cup Coach Matt Whitcomb.  “Results-wise it was not what we expected, and I know is not what we can accomplish in the races to come. At this point, we are not sure if we had some problems with skis, haven’t really had a chance to evaluate the race yet. The girls looked like they were skiing with high energy, I liked what I saw, I liked the preparation, people felt fast. It just didn’t line up with the results at the end of the day.

The Championships continue Wednesday with the Men’s 10k classic individual start.

RESULTS
Women’s 10k classic

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast

Wednesday, Feb. 27
8:00 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 15k - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Thursday, Feb. 28
1:00 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 15k - Seefeld, AUT - NBCSN**
7:00 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 4x5k relay - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Friday, March 1
7:15 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 4x10k relay - Seefeld, AUT - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 4x10k relay - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV*

Saturday, March 2
6:15 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 30k - Seefeld, AUT - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 30k - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, March 3
5:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 50k - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.
 

Ben Ritchie (Waitsfield, Vt.) picked up his second (after grabbing silver in Friday’s team event) career FIS Junior World Ski Championships medal at Val di Fassa, Italy, with a silver in Tuesday’s slalom, leading three Americans into the top 10. 

Italy's Alex Vinatzer, who has had numerous FIS Ski World Cup top-20 slalom results and Europa Cup victories, was victorious on Tuesday, winning by a margin of 1.38 seconds, while Belgium's Sam Maes once again rounded out the podium in third, 1.46 seconds back. 

"I can not say I had podium expectations or not, my only goal was to be ready to do my best and I think I did it," said Ritchie after his race. "I can say I gained confidence from the team event, where I had gotten the fastest run time. The medal last week motivated me even more, has created a good energy for the U.S. Team, which - thanks to the medals of River Radamus - has made a great World Juniors. For me, it was a fantastic experience, in a magnificent location, and it being my first Worlds, I still have room to grow."

After grabbing his first NorAm slalom win in early January at Camp Fortune, Canada, Ritchie has been gaining momentum and showing strong progression with a focus on the fundamentals.

“Huge day for Ben today!” reflected U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Development Director Chip Knight. “He’s been coming on in slalom for a few years now, so this is a confirmation of that process. Sasha (Rearick) and the other coaches have worked hard with him this year, both on his fundamental skiing and on his ability to perform at big events. Today was obviously a big event, but it was also a tough, steep hill with challenging snow conditions. Ben skied smart and stable and generated speed where he could. He had a lot of poise today.”

It was a strong team result once again, as Ritchie led three Americans into the top 10 - once again, more than any other nation - and four into the top 20. What was really encouraging for the depth of the group, was to have three new athletes in the top-10 today. Prior to today, River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.) and Kyle Negomir (Littleton, Colo.) were the only guys with top-10 results in individual events. Today, teammate Jimmy Krupka (Waitsfield, Vt.) tied for sixth, while Jett Seymour (Steamboat, Colo.) was 10th and Jacob Dilling (Vail, Colo.) was 20th. Double 2019 World Juniors gold medalist Radamus was sitting in 12th after his first run and skiing fast in the second run, but went out at the bottom and did not finish. 

"I’m really proud of the whole team today," said Knight. "Jimmy had a fantastic result in sixth. He has been working his tail off in all areas - he was even in the ski room late last night learning tuning tips from Skube (his technician) - and he’s a phenomenal teammate who really pulls the group together, so everyone was really pumped for him. And Jett was solid in 10th, despite a mistake on the bottom flat second run. All in all, we showed that we have good depth in the technical events the last two days, which is a great foundation to build on in the years ahead."

Ritchie echoed Knight's comments as far as the team result goes. "Today was a tough fight, good conditions, but a tough hill with tough sets," Ritchie commented, "It was a lot of fun with good competition. I'm really stoked the team came out and executed the plan, and got three in the top 10."

Up next at Junior World Championships is the women’s downhill, which will be the final event of Junior World Ski Championships, on Wednesday.

RESULTS
Men’s slalom

COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Feb. 27 – Women’s downhill

MORE INFORMATION
Val di Fassa 2019

U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are preparing for the 2019 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California March 6-9. The Grand Prix will feature both snowboard and freeski slopestyle and halfpipe FIS World Cup competition. With over 200 inches of snow in February alone, there is plenty of it for the Mammoth Unbound Terrain Park crew to create elite level courses.

“Mammoth Mountain is once again excited to host the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in our Unbound Terrain Parks next month, “ said Director of Unbound Terrain Parks TJ Dawoud. “We value our relationship with all of the athletes involved as well as with U.S. Ski & Snowboard and look forward to building a venue for the world’s best freeskiers and snowboarders to compete to the best of their abilities.”

The U.S. Grand Prix has been the U.S. Olympic qualifying series since 1998 and Mammoth has hosted previous Olympic qualifying events, including the final qualifying event before the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games. In addition, the long standing cooperation and partnership between U.S. Ski & Snowboard and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area has been going on for more than a decade, delivering world class competition on an annual basis. The 2019 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix will be no exception.

“Our partnership with Mammoth Mountain is one of our key resort relationships, providing a unique, world-class training venue for our snowboard, freeski and alpine teams, and athletes throughout the pipeline, including many of whom were developed in Mammoth and call it home,” said Luke Bodensteiner, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Chief of Sport. “Mammoth is rightly celebrated as one of the country’s greatest snow sports venues, providing us not only with incredible training, but also world-class competition venues, which host one of our primary annual events, the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team is core to the culture of Mammoth Mountain, making it no surprise that Mammoth is a key partner of our organization.”

Check out the action live at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, or tune in live on NBC to catch all the action.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andrew Gauthier
Marketing and Communications Manager
U.S. Ski & Snowboard
+1.775.342.7056
andrew.gauthier@usskiandsnowboard.org

FOR ACCREDITED MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Lauren Burke
Communications Director
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area
+1.858.775.5803
lburke@mammothresorts.com

SCHEDULE
All times PST (local time)

Thursday, March 7.
9:10 a.m. -  Men’s and women’s snowboard halfpipe qualifIers - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
12:00 p.m. - Men’s snowboard slopestyle qualifiers - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
1:10 p.m. - Men’s and women’s freeski halfpipe qualifIers - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
3:00 p.m. - Women's snowboard slopestyle qualifiers - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.

Friday, March 8.
9:30 a.m. - Men’s snowboard slopestyle finals - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
1:00 p.m. - Men’s and women’s freeski halfpipe finals - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.

Saturday, March  9.
1:00 p.m. -  Men’s and women’s snowboard halfpipe finals - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.

Sunday, March 10. 
9:30 a.m. -  Men’s and women’s freeski slopestyle finals - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
 

Many of the U.S. Snowboard Team’s top riders are set to compete at the 37th annual Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships February 25 - March 2 at Colorado’s Vail Mountain Resort. U.S. riders will face off against the world’s best at the longest-running snowboard event in the world with $373,000 of overall prize money on the line.

2018 Olympic halfpipe gold medalist and 2019 FIS World Champion Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.), as well as double Olympic slopestyle gold medalist Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) return to defend their U.S. Open titles. Also competing is the 2018 Olympic slopestyle gold medalist Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.), 2018 U.S. Open slopestyle bronze medalist Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.) and 2018 U.S. Open halfpipe silver medalist Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.).

“I always look forward to U.S. Open because it's a really fun atmosphere and vibe when all the riders and spectators come together,” said Marino. “Every year they put together a very creative course and I think we get to see some of the best snowboard runs from the best riders out there today.”

Olympian Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.) also commented on the good feelings throughout the U.S. Open. 

"I am super excited and looking forward to the US Open," said Pates. "It's probably one of the best events of the year. Everyone is just stoked to be hanging out and it’s just a great vibe.  Can't wait!"

In addition, 2018 U.S. Open silver medalist Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) and Lyon Farrell (Haiku, Hawaii) will compete. Corning and Farrell are currently first and second respectively in the FIS World Cup slopestyle rankings.

“I am really looking forward to the U.S. Open, said Corning. “It is always a really fun contest with a good setup. I hope the rails are a little more technical than last year, but it will be a fun contest no matter what! To be invited back for a chance to podium again is wonderful, I really hope to put down a solid run. I like that the contest is here in Vail and close to home. Also, I like how you know everyone is going to put down the best runs they can.”

Other U.S slopestyle athletes competing include 2018 Olympic silver medalist Kyle Mack (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska), Luke Winkelmann (Blowing Rock, N.C.)  as well as 17-year-old and winner of the 2016 Junior Jam Judd Henkes (La Jolla, Calif.). For the women, Hailey Langland (San Clemente, Calif.) and Ty Schnorrbusch (Monroe Township, N.J.) are also set to ride.

U.S. halfpipe athletes include Olympian Chase Josey (Hailey, Idaho), Gabe Ferguson (Bend, Ore.), Chase Blackwell (Longmont, Colo.) Ryan Wachendorfer (Edwards, Colo.), and 2018 Junior World Champion Toby Miller (Truckee, Calif.). In addition, U.S. Rookie Team athletes Jason Wolle (Winter Park, Colo.) and Jack Coyne (Edwards, Colo.) are ready to ride. For the women, Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and U.S. Rookie Team athletes, Tessa Maud (Carlsbad, Calif.) will join the defending gold and silver medalists Kim and Mastro in the halfpipe against an impressive international field.

Eight-time Burton U.S. Open champion Kelly Clark (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) will also be in attendance following her transition away from competitive snowboarding. Fans will have a chance to ride with Clark on Friday, March 1, meeting at the Burton pop-up shop in the sponsor village at 10:00 a.m.

The U.S. Open always offers up a great show with continued milestones for the sport of snowboarding. For example, you don’t need to go back too far to when Kim raised the bar with her inaugural 2016 U.S. Open win at only 15-years-old; then, she won the Open in 2017 and again in 2018 right after her gold medal run at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games where she landed back-to-back 1080s.

If that wasn’t enough to get fans excited, riders will also have a shot at the enhanced prize purse in several new categories including the men’s and women’s Toyota Rookie of the Year titles with an additional $5,000 prize each, plus flights to and accommodation at the 2020 Burton U.S. Open. With the U.S. roster including a strong contingent of young athletes, look for these riders to gun for the Rookie of the year title!

Tune in live at BurtonUSOpen.com and Red Bull TV.

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

SNOWBOARD
Tuesday, February 26
12:00 p.m. - Men’s and Women’s Junior Halfpipe Jam - Vail, Colo.

Wednesday, February 27
12:00 p.m. - Women’s slopestyle semi-finals - Vail, Colo.
2:30 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle semi-finals - Vail, Colo.

Thursday, February 28
12:00 p.m. - Women’s halfpipe semi-finals - Vail, Colo.
2:30 p.m. - Men’s halfpipe semi-finals - Vail, Colo.

Friday, March 1
1:00 p.m. - Women’s slopestyle finals - Vail, Colo.
4:00 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle finals - Vail, Colo.

Saturday, March 2
1:00 p.m. - Women’s halfpipe finals - Vail, Colo.
4:00 p.m. - Men’s halfpipe finals - Vail, Colo.
 

For the second time in less than a week, River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.) was victorious at FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Val di Fassa, Italy. On Monday, Radamus won by nearly a second, and was crowned World Juniors Giant Slalom Champion.

After winning last Thursday’s super-G, grabbing the silver in the team event, and then finishing just off the podium in fourth in Saturday’s alpine combined, Radamus found the fire and brought it into Monday’s giant slalom. A deep and talented giant slalom field took on a challenging - though relatively short - new giant slalom track with a lot of terrain and a fallaway pitch. The field included some notable athlete who have scored FIS Ski World Cup points and those who had ben on the Europa Cup podium this year. "Both course sets had a lot of turn-shape in them, requiring a mix of tactical and attacking skiing," said Alpine Development Director Chip Knight. 

Radamus took the lead over Norway’s Lucas Braathen by just .01 seconds in the first run. In the second run, Braathen extended his lead over Italian Tobias Kastlunger by nearly 1.2 seconds at the first split, but then did not finish. Leaving the start gate with an advantage of .77 seconds, Radamus built on his lead, finishing a whopping .84 seconds over Italy’s Kastlunger. Belgium’s Sam Maes rounded out the podium in third, .93 seconds back.

“The giant slalom title is the one I’ve really been craving,” Radamus said after his big win. “I’ve been working on GS most this season, and I really wanted to have a strong showing here. This is a really tough field - there are a lot of good young guys right now - so I knew it was going to b be a fight and I had to send it as hard as I could. I really executed my line on both runs and feel really proud of it.”

It was, once again, a team effort, as six Americans made it into the top 27 in Monday’s giant slalom. Kyle Negomir (Littleton, Colo.) was 13th, Jett Seymour (Steamboat, Colo.) 17th, Jimmy Krupka (Waitsfield, Vt.) 25th, Cooper Cornelius (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) 26th, and Bridger Gile (Aspen, Colo.) 27th. “I was hyped up by my teammates today,” reflected Radamus. “We had six in the top 30 - way more than any other nation - so to have that sort of strong showing is amazing.” Radamus is hoping that the team’s showing today will further propel them forward in the overall team performance standings. The “Marc Hodler” trophy is awarded for overall team performance.

“I was just feeding off of their energy and they were feeding off of mine, and we were just trying to shoot for top-10s and get that Hodler Cup podium,” noted Radamus. “We’ve been shut out of the Hodler Cup the last two years that I’ve been racing, so it was a really big goal of mine to try to get us on the podium this year. We had another strong showing today, and we’re sitting in third looking good, trying to close it out the last couple of races.”

"Outstanding day for River!" exclaimed Knight. "He executed two great runs, which is a testament to his ability as a skier and a competitor. The rest of the guys all competed well today. We had all six in the top-30, which is a good sign of our depth as a team. Some of them were unsatisfied with the outcome, but they’ll learn from the experience of competing on this stage and move forward.”

Up next at Junior World Championships is the men’s slalom on Tuesday, which will air live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Feb. 26  – Men’s slalom and women’s downhill training
Feb. 27  – Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Tuesday, Feb. 26
3:30 a.m. - Junior World Championships men’s slalom run 1 - Val di Fassa, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - Junior World Championships men’s slalom run 2 - Val di Fassa, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

MORE INFORMATION
Val di Fassa 2019

Keely Cashman (Strawberry, Calif.) led the way for the U.S. women Sunday at FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Val di Fassa, Italy with two top-five performances.

The originally scheduled super-G was canceled on Friday due to high winds, moved to Sunday. The super-G counted towards both super-G and the alpine combined for the women. Cashman was fifth in the super-G, and then skied a solid run of slalom to move up and place fourth in the combined, landing just off the podium. World Cup regular and current super-G and overall NorAm Cup standings runner-up AJ Hurt (Squaw Valley, Calif.) went too straight in the super-G and skied out. Unfortunately, with the way the calendar worked out, the super-G portion of the alpine combined counted for both the standalone super-G and the super-G portion of the combined. 

"Keely skied well in super-G. Kris Shampeny (U.S. Ski & Snowboard coach) set the course, and Keely was clean and hit the line the whole way," said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Development Director Chip Knight. Cashman's slalom run was solid, but not enough to pull off the podium, just missing the medals. 

Up next at Junior World Championships is the men's giant slalom on Monday, which will air live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold. 

RESULTS
Women's super-G
Women's alpine combined

COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Feb. 25  – Men’s giant slalom and women’s downhill training
Feb. 26  – Men’s slalom and women’s downhill training
Feb. 27  – Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Monday, Feb. 25
3:30 a.m. - Junior World Championships men’s giant slalom run 1 - Val di Fassa, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - Junior World Championships men’s giant slalom run 2 - Val di Fassa, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

MORE INFORMATION
Val di Fassa 2019

Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) skied to a hard-fought fifth-place finish in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship classic team sprint in Seefeld, Austria, Sunday.

“My goal was to be in a good position on the first lap and then push the pace on the next two laps to try to give some room for Jessie, but off the start I was in the back row and it was super hard to get to the front,” said Bjornsen, who was the lead-off skier for six-lap race on the 1.2km course. “At the start of my final lap I was a little separated and tried to use the downhill to get back with the group, but it was so high speed it was really hard to make any distance out there.”

“It wasn’t a course that suits our strengths, it wasn’t very long or overly challenging and we did the very best we could,” said Diggins. “It was hard because we both found ourselves stuck without a window to move so we weren’t able to use our best assets. You won’t find a team who wanted it or worked harder for it more than we did. It didn’t work out for us this time but it has in the past and it can again in the future. We are moving forward with a lot of positivity and preparing for the rest of the races.”

The race was won by Sweden, followed by the surprise Slovenia team in second, with Norway completing the podium in third.

“There were a couple of challenges out there, one was the curvature of the climbs so if you were on the inside line it was really hard to have enough speed to go outside and pass,” said U.S. Cross Country Head Coach Chris Grover. “The other was there were no big climbs and that makes it challenging for Jessie and Sadie, who have big engines, to find the space let it run.”

The U.S. men’s team of Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) and Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) finished eight in the strong World Championship field. Hamilton was the lead skier tagging off to Bjornsen on the six-lap, 1.6k course.

“It was tough out there, but we had great skis,” said Hamilton. “The pace was pushed out of the start and I was just thinking I didn’t want to burn up the match, I know I had a few more legs to ski.”

“I felt a bit better in the semis and in the finals, I let a little gap open up on the second lap thinking some of these guys are going to blow up, but they didn’t, so that was unfortunate,” said Bjornsen. “I didn’t have a very good corner on the second lap and went from a gap of a few meters to a gap of about 10 meters.”

“The big climb was so big and the course was so hard when you add six of those together it is very taxing,” said Grover.  “The guys were getting a little tired and we got gapped while the front group was turning up the heat and there is just not that many people that can stay with them at a World Championship level.

“I am really proud of the efforts of everyone,” Grover added. “The service team pushed really hard and made great skis with a great plan. The athletes pushed as hard as they absolutely could all day. Both teams easily qualified for the finals and put themselves in the right place, it just wasn’t our day in the end.”

The men’s race was won by Norway with Russia second, and Italy in third.

The World Championships continue Tuesday with the women’s 10k classic.

RESULTS
Men’s Team Sprint
Women’s Team Sprint

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Tuesday, Feb. 26
9:00 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 10k - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 10k - Seefeld, AUT - NBCSN*

Wednesday, Feb. 27
8:00 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 15k - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Thursday, Feb. 28
1:00 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 15k - Seefeld, AUT - NBCSN**
7:00 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 4x5k relay - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Friday, March 1
7:15 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 4x10k relay - Seefeld, AUT - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 4x10k relay - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV*

Saturday, March 2
6:15 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 30k - Seefeld, AUT - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s 30k - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, March 3
5:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men’s 50k - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) led three Americans into the second run, finishing ninth in Sunday's FIS Ski World Cup in Bansko, Bulgaria. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) was 16th, and Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) was 29th.

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen took the victory, his first World Cup GS win of the season, as Austria's Marcel Hirscher was second, followed by Thomas Fanara in third. 

Up next, the men race downhill and super-G in Kvitfjell, Norway, including a make-up downhill on Friday, March 1 from the canceled race in Garmisch, Germany earlier this season.
 

Merryweather 29th in Alpine Combined

Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) finished 12th in the opening run downhill, then charged the best she could in the afternoon slalom to finish 29th overall. Italy's Frederica Brignone won. Canada's Roni Remme picked up her first career World Cup podium in second, followed by Switzerland's Wendy Holdener in third.

Up next, the women compete in another speed series on the 2014 Olympic courses in Sochi, Russia, March 2-3.

RESULTS
Men's giant slalom
Women's alpine combined

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Monday, Feb. 25
3:30 a.m. - Junior World Championships men’s giant slalom run 1 - Val di Fassa, ITA  - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - Junior World Championships men’s giant slalom run 2 - Val di Fassa, ITA  - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Tuesday, Feb. 26
3:30 a.m. - Junior World Championships men’s slalom run 1 - Val di Fassa, ITA  - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - Junior World Championships men’s slalom run 2 - Val di Fassa, ITA  - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Friday, March 1
5:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill - Kvitfjell, NOR - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, March 2
2:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill - Sochi, RUS - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill - Kvitfjell, NOR - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, March 3
1:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill - Sochi, RUS - NBCSN**
2:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G- Sochi, RUS - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Men’s super-G - Kvitfjell, NOR - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G - Sochi, RUS - NBCSN*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.