U.S. Freeski Pro Team member Alex Hall finished eighth in Friday’s heated FIS Big Air World Cup season opener in Kreischberg Austria. 

Men’s qualifiers kicked off an insane day of competition in a competitive environment that seemed too good to be true for an outdoor sporting event. Event organizers at Kreischberg did an amazing job building a perfect 70-foot jump complete with a steep landing and strong lighting. The only variable left was the weather, but Mother Nature came in clutch with clear skies and no wind. The scene was set for a stunning day of competition and the 2015 World Championships venue did not disappoint.

Hall was the sole American that made it through to the final round of the competition. However, making the top-five in one of two men’s qualification heats, each consisting of 32 hungry freeskiers, was no easy task. 

“That was probably the heaviest qualifying round in a big air competition that I have ever witnessed,” said U.S. Freeski Team Head Coach Skogen Sprang. “Athletes needed two jumps scoring in the mid-90s just to advance and it came down to the last skier in the heat for Alex to make it safely into finals.”

The finals immediately followed qualifications where the level of progression and consistency continued. Athletes put on a display of technicality and creativity including nose butter, carving, and pre-grab take-offs, as well as multiple triple corks, 1800’s, and double grabs. It became clear that any rust that may have developed over the almost two month World Cup hiatus was long gone by the time the finalists dropped in for the big show.

Hall had a strong showing landing a left side double cork 1620 on his first run and a switch left double cork 1800 on his third run, both with his signature Buick grab. Despite two scores in the 90’s, the rest of the field was firing on all cylinders and he was unable to break into the top three. 

Defending FIS Big Air Crystal Globe Winner Birk Ruud from Norway earned the top spot, followed by Antoine Adelisse of France in second-place, and Oliwer Magnusson of Sweden in third. For the women, another defending FIS Big Air Champion topped the podium as Giulia Tanno of Switzerland took the win. Tess Ledeux of France finished second and Estonian Kelly Sildaru finished third. 

Elite level freeski competition will continue Jan. 29-31 at X Games Aspen at Buttermilk Mountain, Colo. 

WATCH REPLAY

RESULTS
Men’s Freeski Big Air
Women’s Freeski Big Air

FOLLOW
Instagram - @usfreeskiteam
Facebook - @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter - @usskiteam
 

Gus Schumacher led the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team with a career-best eighth place in Friday’s stage 6 of the 15th Tour de Ski, a 15k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy. In the women’s race, Jessie Diggins maintained her overall Tour lead with a ninth-place finish in the 10k classic.

Coming into the latter stages of a tour, racers usually have two different mindsets. The first is to protect their lead or place in the overall standings without going too deep into the red zone. The second, to move up in the overall standings or simply go for individual stage glory. These situations create a race within the race, and this is exactly why organizers offer multiple leader bibs, such as points, and the Audi e-Tron Bonus Trophy, in addition to the yellow race leader’s bib.

Most racers also gain a bump in fitness as a stage race wears on. However, that area between going fast or going too hard into the red zone and blowing up becomes increasingly smaller. Fatigue from efforts in previous stages can also sneak up. Thus, it is very important for an athlete to “listen to their body” down the stretch.

All these different mindsets and scenarios played out for U.S. athletes Friday. For Jessie Diggins, she kept the pace high for the first two laps of the race, then settled in to protected her overall race lead, finishing ninth. Diggins holds a 55-second advantage over Russia’s Yulia Stupak in the overall standings, with Sweden’s Frida Karlsson in third overall at 1:42 back. With her victory Friday, Andersson moved up to fourth overall at 1:45 back. Katharine Ogden put in another top-20 finish, crossing the line in 19th, to move up to 22nd in the overall standings. 

“Today was a big day for me in terms of mental toughness - my body was numb from the waist down for the entire last lap but I just kept digging deep because I knew every second counted and I had a job to do,” Diggins said. “I managed to hold on to the leader bib and with a classic sprint and the hill climb coming up, I’m really excited for both these stages and focused on getting all the little details of recovery right! I was proud of the grit I had out there today but way more proud of the amazing Salomon skis our techs made me! Wow, that was key in today’s race.”

For Rosie Brennan, bad luck and fatigue snuck up on her in Friday’s race as she finished 31st, more than two minutes behind race winner Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia, and she fell to seventh in the overall standings. Germany’s Katrina Hennig was second, and Sweden’s Ebba Andersson finished third. 

"I was ready for a tough battle and had the confidence to do well today," said Brennan, who got tripped up on the second climb and skied over by a number of racers before she could get up. "Because it was so early, we were all still in a big pack and I worked really hard to try to pass people and get back to the front. I think I wasted a lot of energy doing that when my body didn't have much extra left in the tank. I truly fought with all I had and I am very disappointed that I couldn't do more out there. Tour racing always brings big up and big downs so I will do my best to pick up the pieces and continue to fight hard the next two days."

In Schumacher’s case, his fitness continues to improve as the races grind on. The 2020 Junior World Champion has adapted well to the faster World Cup pace and continues to climb up the overall Tour de Ski standings, moving up to 18th overall with two stages remaining. 

“The strategy today was to relax as much as possible in the pack and make sure I was skiing well technically to conserve as much energy as possible,” Schumacher said after dropping back on the first couple of laps while the leaders gassed the pace while going for bonus sprint points. Schumacher then started making his way through the pack and eventually found himself in fifth with 2.5k to go. Down the stretch, he lost a few places but glided across the line just 11 seconds back of race winner Alexander Bolshunov of Russia. Maurice Manificat of France was second, followed by Ivan Yakimushkin of Russi in third.

Racing his first full season on the World Cup Tour, Schumacher has received a ton of advice from the coaching staff and other athletes. But most importantly, the team atmosphere has provided a huge advantage for not only Schumacher but the entire team. 

“With 2 races to go, I’m feeling physically medium to good, but very excited with the end in sight,” he said. “And I’ve received good pieces of advice from a lot of people on the team. I love hearing everyone’s perspective on each course and race, coaches too. It’s been a really fun team atmosphere and I’m excited to finish this thing off!”

Saturday’s penultimate stage features a classic sprint for both men and women. Sunday’s final stage is a freestyle mass start hill climb up the alpine slopes Val Di Fiemme that averages 12% gradient, with stretches up to 30%, over the last 3.5k. 

Heading into Saturday’s classic sprint, the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team has four women in the top 25 overall, with Diggins holding the yellow leader’s bib. Brennan in seventh, Hailey Swirbul 19th, and Ogden in 22nd. Caitlin Patterson was 29th Friday and sits 35th overall. Julia Kern was 42nd Friday and sits 39th overall. For the men, Schumacher sits 18th overall, Scott Patterson is 37th, and Kevin Bolger is 49th. 

RESULTS
Stage 6
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

STANDINGS
Women’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 6)
Men’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 6)
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall

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

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

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

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

Tommy Ford led the way for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team men on a stunning day in Adelboden, Switzerland, finishing 10th in the FIS World Cup giant slalom. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was right on Tommy’s tails in 12th, with River Radamus collecting his best GS finish in 18th.

While hard snow and sunshine made for a picture-perfect ski racing day, Adelboden felt a bit strange and quiet without the usually raucous 30,000-40,000-person fanbase hollering at the finish due to COVID-19 restrictions. But that didn’t stop Alexis Pinturault of France from putting on a master class in the tricky second run set and taking the win by over a second. Filip Zubcic of Croatia was second and Marco Odermatt third.

Both Tommy and Ryan threatened the podium after their first runs, sitting in fourth and sixth place respectively, but a few errors in the difficult second run tripped them up and set them back a few places. However, both were still happy to put another good result under their belts. This was Tommy’s fourth top-10 GS finish in a row, with his second-place podium finish in Santa Caterina yet to be bested in 2020-21 season.

Ryan, who was once nicknamed a giant slalom specialist, has been cleaning up in the speed events this season—winning the Bormio super-G and podiuming in the Val Gardena downhill to wrap up 2020. Adelboden was Ryan’s best giant slalom result since he was 11th in Soelden last season.

But the most exciting story of the day was River Radamus, who missed the flip in the Adelboden GS by .01 seconds in 2020 and used that disappointing result to propel him to his best GS result in his career in Friday’s race.

“The day after the race last year, I took a screenshot of the results page and had it as my phone background for the last year,” said River. “It was probably one of the toughest days of my skiing career and so I used it as motivation all summer and coming into this season. To get in and find some points and have my personal best here a year later means a lot to me… Not feeling like I had my best skiing and having a personal best means I’m on the right track and the things I’ve been doing all summer are paying off.”

Having won two World Juniors gold medals in 2019, River has had the pressure on him to show that he could be competitive on the World Cup—and he’s been succeeding, scoring points in three races so far this season. His 18th place finish bested his 20th place finish in Alta Badia at the end of December, but he’s hungry for more.

“I feel like I left a lot on the table today,” added River. “So having the confidence to know that I can do it—taking it for everything that it’s worth and pushing the line, pushing the pace and skiing more aggressively tomorrow is my goal.”

Rounding out the U.S. men, Ted Ligety, Bridger Gile and George Steffey did not qualify for a second run.

The men get a second go at giant slalom in Adelboden on Saturday, before finishing the weekend with a slalom on Sunday.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
Jan. 6-13, 2021

Saturday, Jan 9
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
5:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Downhill - LIVE, St. Anton, AUT, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
8:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Jan. 10
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, St. Anton, AUT, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
2:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 12
12:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock

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

The Alpine Precisions have been posted for the 2020-21 season.  Please click through to read important updated policies on gate judges, hand timing, officials’ certification, and athletes competing in another country.  Additionally, the meeting minutes from the fall Alpine Sport Committee video conference call have also been posted to the website.

Warm temperatures made for challenging conditions for the higher bibs once again, at the annual FIS Alpine Snow Queen Trophy World Cup slalom at Sljeme in Zagreb, Croatia, with no Americans making the second run. 

A little over a week after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck central Croatia, Germany's Linus Strasser grabbed a sensational career-first slalom victory, with the Austrian duo of Manny Feller and Marco Schwarz rounding out the podium in second and third. 

The organizing committee worked tirelessly to make the Snow Queen Trophy slalom races happen, despite an earthquake and warm temperatures. The course crew watered and salted the track, but the soft conditions and big ruts made it a challenge for the highter bibs, including the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, who all started between bibs 45 and 50. Luke Winters, Ben Ritchie, and Jett Seymour—are one of, if not the, youngest men's slalom team on the Tour with an average age of just under 22-years-old. 

Winters and Ritchie finished just outside the top-30, in 36th and 39th, respectively, while Seymour did not finish first run. 

The men’s tech team now will jump on a flight to travel to Adelboden, Switzerland for a giant slalom and slalom series this weekend. 

RESULTS
Men’s slalom

HOW TO WATCH
Jan. 6-13, 2021

Friday, Jan. 8
4:15 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
7:15 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:15 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock

Saturday, Jan 9
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
5:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Downhill - LIVE, St. Anton, AUT, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
8:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Jan. 10
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, St. Anton, AUT, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
2:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 12
12:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock

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

Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan went deep into the pain cave in Wednesday’s 10k Classic pursuit in Toblach, Italy, to maintain their stronghold in the overall FIS Tour de Ski standings. Diggins rallied to finish third, and Brennan glided across the line in fourth.

"Wow, that was a tough fight out there," Diggins said, once again crediting the Davis U.S. Cross Country Service Team for providing fast skis for the warm, tricky conditions. "I was really proud of myself for hanging tough and just gritting it out until the end! It was a good test of mental toughness for me after a little fall and getting caught to be able to refocus, stay calm and ski as smart and smooth as I could!

Russia’s Yulia Stupak won Wednesday’s race in the sprint to the line, her first World Cup victory in more than two years after taking last season off for the birth of her first child. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson was second in a photo finish with Diggins.

“Today was a very tough fight,” Brennan said. “My goal was to lose as little time as possible and then see what I had in me. I fought with all I had today and am proud of that and happy to maintain second in the overall tour.”

It was another solid day of results for the Davis U. S. Cross Country Ski Team as Diggins not only kept her podium streak alive at five, but Brennan maintained her lead in the World Cup overall and distance standings; Katharine Ogden finished 20th; Hailey Swirbul was 22nd. For the American men, Gus Schumacher continues to impress on his first full season on the World Cup Tour, finishing 15th in the 15k classic to move up to 23rd in the overall standings. 

Thanks to his 14th-place result from Tuesday, Schumacher is now nicely positioned for a top 30-overall FIS Tour de Ski finish, something only achieved four times in the history of the race by an American male. Noah Hoffman was 26th in 2017; 22nd in 2016 (best American result); and 24th in 2014; Kris Freeman was 28th in 2011. 

With three stages remaining in the 15th FIS Tour de Ski, Diggins holds the overall lead by 22 seconds over Brennan and 58 seconds over Stupak. Swirbul is 18th overall and Ogden is 22nd overall. Caitlin Patterson was 39th Wednesday and sits 37th overall; Julia Kern finished 41st Wednesday and sits 39th overall. 

Russia once again swept the podium Wednesday with Alexander Bolshunov taking a commanding 55-second win over countrymen Ivan Yakimushkin and Evgeniy Belov who finished second and third respectively. Scott Patterson was 36th, and Kevin Bolger was 46th. Bolshunov holds a massive 2:06 lead in the overall standings with three stages remaining.

Up next, the athletes will enjoy a rest day Thursday while relocating to Val di Fiemme, Italy, for the remaining stages. Stage 6 on Friday features a 10k classic mass start for the women and a 15k classic mass start for the men.

RESULTS
Stage 5
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit

STANDINGS
Women’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 5)
Men’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 5)
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall

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

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

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

HOW TO WATCH

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

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

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

For the second-straight race, the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team made history with Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan finished 1-2 again and leading five American women into the top 25, this time in the fourth stage of the FIS Tour de Ski 10k freestyle in Toblach, Italy. Gus Schumacher skied an impressive race, leading the U.S. men in the 15k freestyle and finishing a World Cup career-best 14th.

Katharine Ogden posted a career-best World Cup freestyle result, finishing 18th. Hailey Swirbul was 20th and Julia Kern 25th. Caitlin Patterson was 39th. For the men, Scott Patterson was 32nd, Kevin Bolger 40th.

Tuesday’s victory was the third win in Toblach for Diggins and her eighth career World Cup victory. She also surpassed Kikkan Randall with her 30th career World Cup podium, the most for any American cross country skier. 

“Getting a win here in Toblach is so special to me because this is where my first (individual victory) came during the (2016) Tour de Ski,” Diggins said. “It was also special for me to have this be my 30th (World Cup individual) podium because it feels like a full-circle moment. Just like a super cheesy Netflix show!”  

Wearing the yellow Tour de Ski leader’s bib, Diggins started last in the only interval start event of this year’s Tour. However, she had a huge advantage chasing her teammates with Kern starting 30 seconds ahead, Brennan one minute, and Ogden one minute, 30 seconds. Racing under sunny skies over fast snow, Diggins powered from the start, catching Kern at the 2.1k mark and keeping both Brennan and Ogden in her sights. 

“I loved getting to ski with Julia and having the four of us girls starting right in a row made the start pen such a psyched-up vibe!” Diggins said, adding that “I smiled and had fun and kept the pressure off, just saying to myself ‘this is my favorite course and I'm going to go out there and see how fast I can ski it!’”

“The course here is challenging with lots of climbing in the beginning and then lots of downhills that require a lot of work and aren't terribly restful coming back into the stadium,” Brennan said, adding that the individual start is her preferred event format. “Knowing that I wanted to make sure I didn't waste time getting down to business but also wanted to be sure I had enough in me to push all the way to the finish. I felt I did this well and skied a very consistent race, but it was not enough to not lose time to Jessie, especially on the working downhills which I consider her to be best in the world at.”

Diggins posted the fastest time at every interval, with Brennan moving into second at the 3k mark and holding that advantage all the way into the stadium to finish second at 14.8 seconds off Diggins’ winning time. Sweden’s Frida Karlsson was third at 1:02 back.

“I left it all out there and am happy with the way I skied,” Brennan said. “If I'm going to lose a race, losing it to a teammate is not a bad way to go! More importantly, I gained some time in the overall standings on everyone except Jessie, so for the long game, it was a good day. I feel that I am holding up well at the halfway mark of the Tour and really hope I can continue to fight hard in the second half. We made it another day with America 1-2 and that in itself is something to celebrate!”

So far this season, four U.S. women have racked up 10 World Cup podiums, including four victories. Plus, Brennan continues to lead the overall FIS Cross Country World Cup standings, with Diggins in third. Brennan also leads the overall World Cup distance standings. In the overall Tour de Ski standings, Diggins holds a 20-second advantage over Brennan in second, and 1:02 over Sweden's Frida Karlsson in third.

“So proud of Rosie and how she’s been crushing it all year, and loving every podium we get to share together,” Diggins said. “Also, so pumped for Gus for his breakthrough race today! It’s so cool to see this team on fire.”

Schumacher’s result Tuesday moved him up to 25th in the overall Tour de Ski standings. Scott Patterson is 37th overall and Bolger is 51st. "It feels good to have that validation, and fun to have it midway through the tour," Schumacher said. "Definitely starting to feel the fatigue, but I’ve got a lot of energy left to finish this out with hopefully a few more good races."

Up next, stage 5 in Toblach features a 10k classic pursuit for the women and a 15k classic pursuit for the men.

RESULTS
Stage 4
Women’s 10k freestyle
Men’s 15k freestyle

STANDINGS
Women’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 4)
Men’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 4)
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall

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

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

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

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

HOW TO WATCH
Wednesday, Jan. 6
7:30 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Women's 10k Pursuit - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock
8:40 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski Men's 15k Pursuit - LIVE, Toblach, ITA, Streaming Peacock

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

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

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

With the new year comes the return of the FIS Park & Pipe World Cup season! Big air competition set to go down Jan. 7-9 at the 2015 World Championships venue in Kreischberg, Austria. Three women and 13 men will represent the U.S. in the second freeski and the first snowboard World Cup of the season.

Due to the cancellation of the Beijing, China, and Copper Mountain, Colo., World Cups scheduled for November and December, respectively, competition has been a long time coming and the athletes are yearning to get back on course.

U.S. Freeski Pro Team member and Stratton Mountain School graduate Mac Forehand is set to compete in his first competition following ACL surgery in January of 2020. Forehand has been working relentlessly throughout his recovery to get back on top after earning the 2019 FIS Slopestyle Crystal Globe. 

“It’s crazy to think all that stands between me and Kreischberg is back-to-competition testing for my knee at the COE (USANA Center of Excellence),” said a thrilled Forehand ahead of his flight to Park City, Utah. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this and can’t wait to get back in the gate! After skiing in Park City and back in Vermont a little bit, it became very clear I missed just having fun on the hill.”

U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Rell Harwood is in a slightly different boat, competing in only the third FIS World Cup big air competition of her career. 

“I think this will be a great big air,” said Harwood. “I’ve never skied at Kreischberg before, but I have heard great things. Between Park City Mountain and the Utah Olympic Park, I have had the ability to get some training on big jumps, which makes me feel prepared going into my first big air of the season. I am hoping to land some jumps I feel proud of and have a lot of fun!”

For the snowboarders, Olympic big air silver medalist Kyle Mack, who earned double-bronze in slopestyle and big air at the 2015 FIS World Championships held in Kreischberg, is feeling thankful to have the opportunity to compete again.

“During these times, I’m just glad to get back to competition mode,” said Mack. “What better place to do that than somewhere I have previously found success like Kreischberg.”

Joining Mack is a teammate and 2020 FIS Big Air Crystal Globe winner Chris Corning. Corning won his second big air crystal globe in the last three seasons (he also finished second in 2018-19) following a stunning victory at the Visa Big Air in Atlanta, Ga. Corning’s win at SunTrust Park also earned him his seventh crystal globe to sit behind only Cai Xuetong of China on the all-time Park & Pipe list.

Both women's snowboard and freeski qualifiers will take place on Jan. 7. Men's snowboard qualifiers and finals will take place on Jan. 8, and freeski qualifiers and finals on Jan. 9. Be sure to follow U.S. Ski & Snowboard on social media and tune in on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock to catch all the action. 
 

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Friday, Jan. 8
12:00 p.m. - FIS Freeski World Cup Big Air Finals - LIVE, Kreischberg, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Saturday, Jan. 9
12:00 p.m. - FIS Snowboard World Cup Big Air Finals - LIVE, Kreischberg, AUT, Streaming Peacock

START LIST
Freeski Men
Mac Forehand
Alex Hall
Nick Goepper
Willie Borm
Tim Ryan 

Freeski Women
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Julia Marino
Ty Schnorrbusch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All Times EST

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SCHEDULE
Monday, Jan. 4
Rest day

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

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

Thursday, Jan. 7
Rest day

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

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

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

HOW TO WATCH

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

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

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

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

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