Despite weather delays and a lowered start due to fog rolling in and out in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, Breezy Johnson returned to FIS Ski World Cup action for the first time in 667 days to land in 25th place, leading three Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes into the points. 

Switzerland’s Corinne Suter set the pace for the day, with Italy’s Nicol Delago finishing second, .29 back and Swiss skier Michelle Gisin rounding out the podium in third, .98 off Corinne’s pace. With her victory, Corinne steals the red leader bib from Czech gold medalist skier and snowboarder Ester Ledecka.  

Breezy was relieved to get back into the start gate and is looking forward to building on Saturday’s results through the next couple of months. “It was a tough day out there. The light was not-so-great for some—especially Merryweather when she came down,” Breezy reflected after her run. 

Alice McKennis and Jackie Wiles—who both recently returned from significant injuries that had them sidelined for the entire 2018-19 season—were 26th and 27th, respectively, on Saturday. “I think we’re feeling good, and we’re training well—we just haven’t put all of the pieces together," continued Breezy. "I’m obviously very excited to lead the team and be back in the points and just to be back racing and doing what I love and what I’ve done my whole life. It’s a great start, and I think we’ll start to put it together over the next few weeks here.”

On March 14, 2018, in the World Cup Finals downhill in Åre, Sweden, teammates Lindsey Vonn and Alice McKennis went 1-3 with Breezy in eighth. During the 2017-18 season, the women’s speed team was the fastest downhill team in the world. 

But the following season, the women were plagued with injury, with Lindsey, Alice McKennis, Jackie and Breezy out with injury at the start of the 2018-19 season. Later that season, Laurenne Ross sustained an injury at World Championships. The team has been building and working hard to return to snow, and now—apart from Laurenne—the team is back together on the mountain again. And they couldn’t be more excited. 

“We are all part of each other’s successes and we have been there for each other," said Breezy. "I think Laurenne is going to come train with us next week, so we are all going to be back to being a crew together again, and that’s really exciting. We just need to keep building and everyone’s success will just keep feeding off of each other. We’ll just keep rolling.”

Alice Merryweather and Bella Wright both started in Saturday’s downhill but finished outside of the top 30. While Corinne Suter takes the lead in the downhill standings, Mikaela Shiffrin maintains a strong lead over Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova in the overall standings by 313 points (826-513). Italy's Federica Brignone sits in third in the overall standings (465), followed by Swiss multidiscipline threat Michelle Gisin in fourth (361).

Next up, the women have an alpine combined, which features one run of super-G and one run of slalom, on Sunday. Mikaela and Alice Merryweather are expected to start for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team. 

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

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Official event hashtag: #zauchensee

HOW TO WATCH
All Times EST

Sunday, Jan. 12
3:15 a.m. - Women’s combined super-G, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
4:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:45 a.m. - Women’s combined slalom, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
*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. 

Why isn’t Altenmarkt-Zauchensee available on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Altenmarkt-Zauchensee is available via Gold Pass rather than NBCSN or Olympic Channel is that World Cup events held in Austria are not part of the TV agreement that NBC Sports has with FIS. They are controlled and sold by a different rights holder and were purchased by NBC Sports Gold for exclusive use within “Snow Pass.” If you have any further questions, please reach out to NBC Sports Gold's help desk at support@nbcsports.com. 

Why doesn’t “Snow Pass” have commentary?
In order to provide 900+ hours of content at an affordable price, we rely on the world feed (a video feed provided by the rights holder), which often does not include English commentary. Commentary is available on all television coverage provided by NBC, NBCSN and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, and live streaming via authentication at NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

This weekend, the FIS Ski World Cup heads to Adelboden, Switzerland for the Land Rover U.S. Ski Team men with a tech series, while the women head to Altenmarkt-Zauchensee for a downhill and super-G alpine combined. 

Last season, Tommy Ford was sixth in Adelboden—his best result at the venue in his career. After a tough series with challenging conditions in Alta Badia, Italy, where he ended up 20th, Tommy will look to capitalize on the stellar conditions at Adelboden. Ryan Cochran-Siegle—who has scored in 11 of 12 World Cup starts this season, across five disciplines—will look to build upon his already strong and consistent season. 

Luke Winters, who has scored in two of four World Cup slaloms this season, will look forward to having a full men’s slalom squad join him on Sunday. After a tough night at Madonna di Campiglio, slalom coach Ryan Wilson made it clear that there has been a purposeful progression for the men’s slalom team, and it’s just the start of a long month of slalom racing. On the same day, Ben Ritchie won a NorAm in Stowe, Vt. by .77 seconds, stamping his ticket to Europe to join Luke, along with teammates Kyle Negomir and River Radamus to field a men’s slalom team of four on Sunday. 

On the women’s side, downhiller Breezy Johnson will be returning to World Cup action in Saturday’s downhill for the first time in 667 days, following back-to-back knee injuries sustained during training camps. On March 14, 2018, in the World Cup Finals’ downhill in Åre, Sweden, teammates Lindsey Vonn and Alice McKennis went 1-3 and Breezy was eighth. During the 2017-18 season, the women’s speed team was the fastest downhill team in the world. 

The next season, the women’s speed team was plagued with injury, with Lindsey, Alice McKennis, Jackie Wiles and Breezy out with injury for the start of the 2018-19 season. Later that season, Laurenne Ross sustained an injury at World Championships. The team has been building and working hard to return to snow, and now—apart from Laurenne—the team is back together on the mountain again. And, they couldn’t be more excited. When Breezy came through the finish in after the second and final downhill training run, she looked into the camera with a big smile and said, “I’M BAAAAACK!” 

Though current World Cup overall and slalom leader Mikaela Shiffrin has not skied an alpine combined since the PyeongChang Olympics, where she earned a silver medal, she comes into Sunday’s alpine combined as a clear favorite. In an ongoing effort to find balance in her six-discipline schedule, Mikaela has opted out of Saturday’s downhill to focus on the alpine combined—which features one run of super-G and one run of slalom—as well as Tuesday’s night slalom in Flachau. 

"I don't really have any expectations for Sunday's alpine combined," Mikaela said with a laugh on Friday. "Mostly because I haven't been on this hill before, and I haven't trained much super-G since St. Moritz. So, it's really just going in and having some fun. I feel good on my skis, and I did get one day of super-G training recently—just gliding turns and got up to speed a little bit, so that felt good. Obviously, my slalom is always fairly solid, so I am excited for Sunday but I don't really have expectations. I didn't get downhill training runs in, but I don't think that will make a huge difference for the super-G because I think the super-G will feel a lot different than the downhill is looking." 

Mikaela was able to get some good super-G training under her belt with the Norwegian Attacking Vikings—Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. These guys are two of the best skiers in the world. What was that like? "It was so cool to see those guys in action in training. Especially watching Alex in speed was incredible—obviously because he's one of the best in the world, but he's also the most powerful skier on the men's circuit—even just his starts. I feel so klutzy in the start, with the speed skis on, I feel like I'm tangling my legs together and I'm about to fall on my face. And I'm like, 'Geez—do you have any tips for me?!'"

Not only did Mikaela learn a ton from them, but she was also impressed with the respect they showed her in return. "The coolest thing for me is that they were both talking to me about the track and how I felt too. They weren't just like, 'Oh, you're just a girl skiing with us...they were asking, what do you feel? I have so much respect for them, but I felt the respect from them as well—which made it a really cool environment."

Stats for the weekend:

• Tommy Ford can become the fifth skier from the United States to win multiple men's World Cup giant slalom events, after Ted Ligety (24), Bode Miller (9), Phil Mahre (7) and Steven Mahre (2). 

• Three US men have claimed a World Cup podium in the Adelboden giant slalom: Ted Ligety (1st) in 2013, Bode Miller (2nd) in 2005 and Phil Mahre (2nd) in 1982. 

• Ted has won 24 giant slalom events in the World Cup, third-most among men behind Ingemar Stenmark (46) and Marcel Hirscher (31). His last win came in Sölden, Austria on 25 October 2015, while his last podium in this discipline was a third place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on 28 January 2018. 

• Ted (35 years and 133 days on 11 January) can become the oldest man to win a World Cup giant slalom race, breaking the record set by Didier Cucher (35 years, 70 days) in Sölden on 25 October 2009.

• Mikaela Shiffrin won one World Cup alpine combined (super-G slalom combo) event, in Crans Montana, Switzerland on 26 February 2017. Outside of the alpine combined (downhill/slalom combo) at the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018 (where she was sandwiched between Swiss combo Michelle Gisin and Wendy Holdener), that was her last alpine combined start. 

• The last time Breezy Johnson stood in a World Cup start gate was 666 days ago, on March 14, 2018, in Åre, Sweden. On that day, teammates Lindsey Vonn and Alice McKennis went 1-3 and Breezy was eighth. During the 2017-18 season, the women’s speed team was the fastest downhill team in the world. 

Check out all the details about who and how to watch below. 

MEN’S STARTERS
Ryan Cochran-Siegle - GS
Tommy Ford - GS
Brian McLaughlin - GS
Ted Ligety - GS
Kyle Negomir - SL
Ben Ritchie - SL
River Radamus - GS, SL
Luke Winters - SL

WOMEN’S STARTERS
Breezy Johnson - DH
Alice McKennis - DH
Alice Merryweather - DH, AC
Mikaela Shiffrin - AC
Jackie Wiles - DH
Isabella Wright - DH 

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

START LISTS
Men's Giant Slalom
​​​​​​​Women's Downhill

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Official event hashtags: #worldcupadelboden, #zauchensee

HOW TO WATCH
All Times EST

Saturday, Jan. 11
4:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1, Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:45 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 2, Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 12
3:15 a.m. - Women’s combined super-G, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
4:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:45 a.m. - Women’s combined slalom, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

*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. 

Why isn’t Altenmarkt-Zauchensee available on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Altenmarkt-Zauchensee is available via Gold Pass rather than NBCSN or Olympic Channel is that World Cup events held in Austria are not part of the TV agreement that NBC Sports has with FIS. They are controlled and sold by a different rights holder and were purchased by NBC Sports Gold for exclusive use within “Snow Pass.” If you have any further questions, please reach out to NBC Sports Gold's help desk at support@nbcsports.com. 

Why doesn’t “Snow Pass” have commentary?
In order to provide 900+ hours of content at an affordable price, we rely on the world feed (a video feed provided by the rights holder), which often does not include English commentary. Commentary is available on all television coverage provided by NBC, NBCSN and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, and live streaming via authentication at NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

Five years ago, two promising young U.S. Ski Team athletes were killed in an avalanche, not fully realizing the dangers they faced skiing off piste in Austria. Since then, the mission of the Bryce and Ronnie Athlete Snow Safety Foundation (BRASS) has been to promote greater awareness of avalanche safety through education and advocacy initiatives.

On the fifth anniversary of the tragedy, U.S. Ski & Snowboard and BRASS have released a groundbreaking online Avalanche Awareness eLearning module designed to expand education to U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes, coaches and local clubs nationwide. The first-of-its-kind educational tool was created by the Utah Avalanche Center.

Bryce Astle, 19, and Ronnie Berlack, 20, died January 5, 2015 in Sölden, Austria when they were caught in a massive slide in an off piste area, within the boundary of the resort but not regularly controlled for avalanche danger. BRASS was formed after the accident and has been instrumental in raising awareness globally, with a primary focus in reaching competitive athletes and coaches.

“BRASS sees a real need to reach the tens of thousands of athletes and coaches in America who are simply not aware of the dangers they face when skiing off a race course,” said BRASS Chairman Jamie Astle. “This online tool will greatly expand our reach, providing basic awareness education and encouraging athletes and coaches to also get on-snow for more expansive education.”

The online module integrates video and presentation content into both a short and longer,  90-minute program that includes online testing to validate the impact of the education. It covers a wide range of avalanche safety awareness, utilizing the basics of the popular Know Before You Go program developed by Utah Avalanche Center and now being presented in workshops nationwide. It also expands into the basics of avalanche safety science. The content includes personal messages from Olympic champions Mikaela Shiffrin and Ted Ligety.

“It’s pretty obvious that avalanches are really dangerous,” said Shiffrin in the opening video of the module. “Eventually, you’ll be lured into the backcountry.  We can learn to reduce our risks by learning about avalanches.” 

The online module is available on BRASSFoundation.org and usskiandsnowboard.org. The primary targets for the initial module are ski and snowboard coaches and local clubs. It is also available to all U.S. Ski & Snowboard members through their My.USSA.org dashboard under Courses.

“Club coaches, volunteers, administrators and officials are vital as they are the ones who have day-to-day contact with athletes,” added Astle. “They need the knowledge to expand their leadership and management of athlete safety.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard helped pioneer and fund the program and will make completion of the short course mandatory for all members beginning in May. The courses will be integrated into U.S. Ski & Snowboard sport education’s curriculum.

“Athlete safety is paramount to our organization,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “This online learning module will help all learn more about the importance of avalanche safety and awareness.”

The content was developed by Paul Diegel and Trent Meissenheimer of the Utah Avalanche Center, along with U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s sport education team led by Gar Trayner and education specialist Chris Packert.

"Utah Avalanche Center was able to bring utilize its expertise to help BRASS and U.S. Ski & Snowboard to develop an avalanche eLearning program that will be used to provide avalanche awareness to coaches and athletes," said Utah Avalanche Center Executive Director Chad Brackelsberg. "This program will also help the Utah Avalanche Center achieve its goal of reaching as many people as possible with an avalanche awareness message in an effort to prevent avalanche accidents.”

The online Avalanche Awareness module initiative with U.S. Ski & Snowboard is another step in a series of programs pioneered by BRASS. The BRASS 13-minute Off-Piste video, featuring a re-creation of the accident, has now been seen by over a million worldwide. It remains a valuable tool for clubs to educate athletes and coaches. A turnkey BRASS 101 club presentation workshop has reached over a thousand individuals this season alone. And a partnership between BRASS and U.S. Ski & Snowboard has brought AIARE Level 1 (American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education) training to over a hundred national team coaches and athletes in the past three years.

BRASS will also take its message to national ski resorts, participating in the upcoming National Ski Areas Association winter workshops at Squaw Valley, Calif. and Killington, Vt.

Avalanche Awareness 101

It was a beautiful night for slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy with Daniel Yule of Switzerland taking his second-ever FIS Ski World Cup win on his evidently favorite track, having also won his first World Cup on the same track last season. Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway was second, and young Frenchman Clément Noël continued his excellent season with a third-place finish.

The Americans did not have a notable evening, with Luke Winters and River Radamus failing to qualify for the second run. However, the men are using the event as a learning tool as they continue through ‘slalom month’ and beyond on the World Cup tour.

“Luke overskied it,” said Ryan Wilson, the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team World Cup slalom coach. “He was rewarded for having a more conservative line at Levi and Val d’Isere, but today the snow was grippier and easier. It looked tough, but ended up running easy. That plan for Luke didn’t work.”

And even though there was a tactical error, it can all be looked at as progress toward the overall goal: being competitive in World Cup slalom once again.

“Yeah, I’m a little frustrated we didn’t score points today,” said Ryan. “But as a unit, we’ve been pretty well-grounded in the future, in the culture, in hopefully exciting people and inspiring a little bit of change. These guys have a very long-term goal. It’s great if we’re scoring points right now and that’s a good road, but we’re continuously focused on taking advantage of the situation and learning.”

The slalom team continues to grow, as well. With a NorAm win in Stowe, Vermont on Wednesday, Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Ben Ritchie secured himself a start on the World Cup this coming weekend in Adelboden, Switzerland. He started one World Cup last year and has been working to hone his craft and get faster. “To speak on the stableness and maturity in Luke and Ben—these guys are wise beyond their years and motivated and focused on what we’re doing,” said Ryan. “They know the team is making a long-term change.”

“It’s all about progression,” continued Ryan. “All offseason, we started with a major reworking of what we believed to be the truths in our current modern world of slalom. We looked at what the fundamentals were that we weren’t accomplishing that other nations were. We really went back to very basic fundamentals—ground zero.”

Building on those fundamentals has clearly worked this season—out of the four slalom World Cups, the men’s team has scored twice. Luke has even threatened the podium. The U.S. fans are starting to notice the men’s slalom team again.

“The guys are fired up about it,” said Ryan. “The coaching staff is fired up about it. I hope the country is starting to get fired up about it. It’s a learning process and we’re psyched on it.”

The men’s tech team continues on to Adelboden, Switzerland for a giant slalom Saturday and slalom Sunday.

RESULTS
Men's Slalom

STANDINGS
Men's Overall
Men's Slalom

On a gusty day in Houghton, Mich., Hailey Swirbul (Alaska Pacific University/U.S. Ski Team) put her nose into the wind and skied away with another victory—her third title at the 2020 L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championship—in Tuesday’s classic sprint, the final event of the championships.

Utilizing the same tactics she used to win the freestyle title last week, Hailey qualified No.1 and skied at the front of both her quarterfinal and semifinal heats, despite gusty winds blowing throughout the day, and continued snow squalls that constantly changed the course conditions. That same strategy served her well in the finals too.

“It’s easier for me to be in the front because I can stride how I want and ski corners how I like too, and sometimes that saves more energy than maybe drafting,” she said after edging fellow Davis U.S. Cross Country Team teammate Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury/U.S. Ski Team) at the line for the title. “It’s a give and take, and I guess I kind of waited to see what happened out there on the course and try to respond.”

Hailey, who also won the 20k classic on Sunday, made the most of her trip back to the U.S. after opening the season on the World Cup circuit, where she scored her first career World Cup points in Davos, Switzerland, last month, finishing 30th in a freestyle sprint and 21st in a freestyle 10k. “I’m really glad I came back and had the opportunity to race on home soil,” added Hailey, who now heads to Alaska for a training block before returning to Europe and the World Cup in February.

Caitlin also wrapped up a successful trip back home with four podium performances at the U.S. Championships after opening the season on the World Cup tour. She finished third in the freestyle sprint, second in the 10k freestyle, and as the top American, was awarded the national title - her ninth career U.S. title. In the 20k classic Sunday, she was second, and again second in the classic sprint Tuesday.

“It’s been a really good week,” she said. “In Anchorage a few years ago at Nationals, I won every (race), so maybe I had a high standard. But podiuming in every race is great too.”

In the men’s classic sprint, Hunter Wonders (Alaska Pacific University) created opportunities throughout the day after qualifying 29th and came away on the final day of competition with a surprise classic sprint title.

“It was a roller coaster out there,” Hunter said. “I qualified 29th, and somehow just kept going through (each heat). I was hoping to do better than I did in the 30k earlier this week...so I’m glad I could come back and represent here.”

Smart skiing and luck were on his side! In the finals, Luke Jager (University of Utah/U.S. Ski Team) was meters away from grabbing his first national title when his left ski slipped, causing him to fall, which handed the national title to Hunter, who finished second to Canada’s Julien Locke. Luke was able to get up and he crossed the line for third.

In the men’s 30k classic on Sunday, Erik Bjornsen (Alaska Pacific University/U.S. Ski Team) won his sixth U.S. title. Kyle Bratrud (Stratton Mountain School T2) was second and Ian Torchia (Stratton Mountain School) was third.

RESULTS
Women’s classic sprint
Men’s classic sprint
Women’s 20k classic mass start
Men’s 30k classic mass start

The final stop of the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix will be held at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California’s Eastern Sierra Jan. 29-Feb. 1. The event will host men and women’s FIS World Cup halfpipe and slopestyle competition. 

Mammoth Mountain has proved its ability to breed talent and foster a culture of athletic development that almost seems embedded in the mountain’s DNA. Mixed with a healthy amount of natural snowfall and the world-class Unbound Terrain Parks, it’s the perfect formula to set athletes up for success. Over the years, you can see evidence of these elements coming to fruition through groundbreaking athletic performances and milestone moments. 

Mammoth’s ties to U.S. Olympic Freeski and Snowboard Team selections are second to none. Mammoth has hosted the Grand Prix more than 10 times, and has been fortunate enough to name our Olympic athletes three times including in 1998—the first year the Olympics hosted snowboard halfpipe as an official event. Mammoth also hosted the final qualifying event before the 2014 and 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Furthermore, the U.S. Snowboard Team has been utilizing Mammoth’s amazing terrain and facilities since early 2001, when halfpipe coach Pete del Giudice took Ross Powers and Kelly Clark to Mammoth to train prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. It’s evident Mammoth had something to offer as both Ross and Kelly went on to win Olympic halfpipe gold medals.

Kelly’s journey with Mammoth came full circle when she qualified for her fifth and final Olympic team in 2018 at her home resort, under the lights, complete with fireworks and an amazing high-energy crowd. Joining Kelly that night to celebrate their Olympic nominations was Shaun White and Chloe Kim, who both went on to take home gold medals in Pyeongchang. Chloe and Shaun both call Mammoth Mountain their home resort, so it was fitting that their training and official nominations took place under the shadow of the 11,053 ft peak. 

There are countless athlete achievements that have taken place at Mammoth Mountain by U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes thanks to over a decade long training and event partnership with Mammoth Mountain. Chloe, who is the only woman to ever land back-to-back 1080’s in the halfpipe, revealed she learned a 1260 at Mammoth along with most of her other big tricks. U.S. Snowboard Pro team athlete Maddie Mastro put the double crippler to her feet for the first time at a spring training camp at Mammoth in 2018. Maddie went on to land this trick at the Burton U.S. Open the following year to make history landing the first-ever double crippler by a female snowboarder in competition and win the event. In June of 2018, three-time Olympic medalist Jamie Anderson landed her first double-cork 900 with the safety net of the airbag. This trick has since contributed to Jamie adding another Winter X Games gold medal to her collection in 2018 in Aspen, Colo. 

The men also have no shortage of progression and career firsts at Mammoth Mountain. Over the past few years amazing moments have unfolded, including American freeskier Kyle Smaine earning his first-ever World Cup victory in the last competition of his career at the 2018 Mammoth Grand Prix, narrowly missing qualifying for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games. In 2019, U.S. Freeski Pro Team members Birk Irving and Mac Forehand earned their first-ever World Cup victories at the Mammoth U.S. Grand Prix. 

On the snowboard side, Judd Henkes also earned himself his first-ever World Cup podium, finishing second behind Gerard in 2019. This past spring, U.S. Snowboard Team veteran Taylor Gold was able to find the rotation on a Michalchuck 1080 into the airbag. Since then, Gold is the first rider to ever land it in the halfpipe, but has yet to attempt the trick in competition. 

The progression at the Mammoth Mountain Grand Prix is not limited to athlete performances, but also in their willingness and ability to host pinnacle events. During the 2016-17 season, U.S. Ski & Snowboard broke the mold of the Olympic qualification process by hosting an Olympic selection event the season prior to the 2018 Pyeongchang Games as a result of athlete feedback following the 2014 Sochi Games. Essentially, this made Mammoth the first and last stop on the road to Pyeongchang for U.S. Freeski and Snowboard athletes. 

These key moments only brush the surface of the rich history and culture surrounding Mammoth Mountain and the U.S. Grand Prix. Mammoth Mountain and U.S. Ski & Snowboard invite you to join us Jan. 29 - Feb. 1 for four days of snowboard and freeski slopestyle and halfpipe competition. If you can make it to Mammoth, be sure to tune in on NBC to catch all the action.

EVENT SCHEDULE

FREESKI
Wednesday, Jan. 29 - Slopestyle Qualifiers
Thursday, Jan. 30 - Halfpipe Qualifiers 
Friday,  Jan. 31 - Slopestyle Finals
Saturday, Feb. 1 - Halfpipe Finals

SNOWBOARD
Wednesday, Jan. 29 - Halfpipe Qualifiers
Thursday, Jan. 30 - Slopestyle Qualifiers 
Friday,  Jan. 31 - Halfpipe Finals
Saturday, Feb. 1 - Slopestyle Finals

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

FREESKI
Friday, Jan. 31
12:30 p.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle, Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, Mammoth, Calif. - NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Gold.

Saturday, Feb. 1
6:35 a.m. - Men and women’s skicross, Megeve, FRA - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
4:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, Mammoth, Calif. - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 2
3:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, Mammoth, Calif. - NBC**

SNOWBOARD
Friday, Jan. 31
4:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, Mammoth, Calif. - NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 1
1:00 p.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle, Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, Mammoth, Calif. - NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Gold
5:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, Mammoth, Calif. - NBC**
11:30 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, Mammoth, Calif. - NBCSN**

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.

MEDIA APPLICATION
 

The holiday food comas have passed and with the New Year’s snowfall, Deer Valley Resort is firing on all cylinders preparing for the Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International FIS Freestyle World Cup. February 6-8 the world’s greatest freestyle skiers will descend on Deer Valley for what will be the resort’s 22nd year of elite ski competition. 

The Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International at Deer Valley is the only domestic stop on the freestyle FIS World Cup tour. For the athletes of the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team, a majority of whom call Park City and Utah home, this is a true homecoming event in a long string of competitions that have them skiing on three continents from December to March. Skiing on home snow has boded well for U.S. athletes who have earned 20 podiums in the past five Deer Valley events, including three medals at the 2019 Dual Moguls World Championships with Tess Johnson, Brad Wilson and Jaelin Kauf’s performances in what was a thrilling night of head-to-head moguls competition.

“Deer Valley is a really tough course. It’s long, steep and challenging and I think that always brings out the best skiing in competitions. The crowd and the energy of the event is so incredible and it always gets me pumped up in the start gate. You can literally feel the energy and excitement of the crowd when you’re skiing and it feels like everyone in the world is cheering for me! I think that’s part of it being a U.S., home-field event. People from the area are coming to watch and cheer on the U.S. Team. It’s just a really fun event to be a part of, in the crowd or on course!” - Jaelin Kauf, U.S. Moguls Team

Moguls competition kicks off Thursday, Feb 6 under the lights on Champion Ski Run, known as the Champion-maker. One of the longest and steepest courses on the FIS moguls World Cup circuit, athletes who podium on Champion are a good indicator for those that will be on the next Olympic podium. Dual moguls World Championship medalists Jaelin and Tess will look to repeat last season’s success and share the podium once more. Park City local and new rookie member, Nick Page, is hungry for success and the hometown crowd’s energy might just be the hype he needs for a break-out performance. Crowd-favorite dual moguls will round out the three nights of competition for what is the greatest show on snow. The U.S. Team loves a good dual, and with the support of over 7,000 fans, they’ll bring the heat and push the international field to their limits. 

The aerials skiers will launch Friday, Feb. 7 on White Owl Ski Run, the same venue used during the 2002 Olympic Games and the 2003, 2011 and 2019 FIS World Championships. Veteran Ashley Caldwell has found her groove this prep period and will look to build on that success for the World Cup. Several athletes returned from injury last year to end their seasons ranked in the top-10, including Chris Lillis (10) and Winter Vinecki (7) - the crowd’s cheers could give them an added boost to end up on the podium. The aerials’ World Cup tour takes these athletes to far-flung locations, including Siberia this season, so showing family and friends what they’re made of is especially meaningful for the team that trains the most locally of any U.S. Ski & Snowboard discipline.

“Deer Valley is always the best event of the year, regardless if I’m doing new tricks, crashing or landing on the podium. The aerials team is based in Park City so this is home base and Deer Valley treats us like family. I’m so excited to have my friends and family cheering me on this year. I can’t wait for this years’ Deer Valley World Cup.” - Ashley Caldwell, U.S. Aerials Team

It takes over 150 volunteers giving countless hours of their time working alongside resort staff in the upcoming weeks to pull everything off. The Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International FIS World Cup at Deer Valley has become a hallmark event and annual tradition for thousands of fans. Events are free to the public and easy to access with Park City’s robust and free public transit system. If you are a Utah local, or planning to be in town, there is no better way to end your ski day than by supporting athletes of the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team. The more cowbell, the better!

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Schedule of Events
*subject to change

Tuesday, Feb. 4
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Press Room Open, Northside Room, Snow Park Lodge
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Aerials Training Group 1, White Owl Ski Run
10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Moguls Training, Champion Ski Run
1:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. Aerials Training Group 2, White Owl Ski Run

Wednesday, Feb. 5
9:00 a.m. - 5:45 p.m. Press Room Open, Northside Room, Snow Park Lodge
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Aerials Training Group 1, White Owl Ski Run
10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Moguls Training, Champion Ski Run
1:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. Aerials Training Group 2, White Owl Ski Run
4:45 - 5:15 p.m. Opening Press Conference, Bald Eagle Room, Snow Park Lodge

Thursday, Feb. 6
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Press Room Open, Northside Room, Snow Park Lodge
12:40 - 1:25 p.m. Women’s Moguls Training, Champion Ski Run
1:40 - 2:50 p.m. Women’s Moguls Qualifications, Champion Ski Run
3:00 - 3:45 p.m. Men’s Moguls Training, Champion Ski Run
4:00 - 5:20 p.m. Men’s Moguls Qualifications, Champion Ski Run
7:30 - 7:55 p.m. Women’s Moguls Finals, Champion Ski Run
7:55 - 8:20 p.m. Men’s Moguls Finals, Champion Ski Run
8:20 - 8:32 p.m. Women’s Moguls Super Finals, Champion Ski Run 
8:32 - 8:45 p.m. Men’s Moguls Super Finals, Champion Ski Run
8:50 - 9:05 p.m. Awards
9:00 p.m. Fireworks

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Aerials Training Group 1, White Owl Ski Run
1:15 - 4:15 p.m. Aerials Training Group 2, White Owl Ski Run

Friday, Feb. 7
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Press Room Open, Northside Room, Snow Park Lodge
12:45 - 2:00 p.m. Women’s Aerials Training, White Owl Ski Run
2:15 - 2:55 p.m. Women’s Aerials Qualifications, White Owl Ski Run
3:10 - 4:30 p.m. Men’s Aerials Training, White Owl Ski Run
4:45 - 5:30 p.m. Men’s Aerials Qualifications, White Owl Ski Run
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Men and Women’s Aerials Finalist Training, White Owl Ski Run
7:30 - 7:45 p.m. Women’s Aerials Finals, White Owl Ski Run
7:45 - 8:00 p.m. Men’s Aerials Finals, White Owl Ski Run
8:00 - 8:10 p.m. Women’s Aerials Super Final, White Owl Ski Run
8:10 - 8:20 p.m. Men’s Aerials Super Final, White Owl Ski Run
8:30 - 8:40 p.m. Awards
9:15 p.m. Fireworks

5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Dual Moguls Training, Champion Ski Run

Saturday, Feb. 8
12:00 - 11:00 p.m. Press Room Open, Northside Room, Snow Park Lodge
2:55 - 4:25 p.m. Men’s and Women’s Dual Moguls Training, Champion Ski Run
4:45 - 6:30 p.m. Men’s and Women’s Dual Moguls Preliminary Rounds, Champion Ski Run
6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Men’s and Women’s Dual Moguls Training, Champion Ski Run
7:30 - 8:50 p.m. Men’s and Women’s Dual Moguls Finals, Champion Ski Run
8:55 - 9:10 p.m. Awards
9:00 Fireworks

HOW TO WATCH 

All times EST

Thursday
9:30 p.m. - Moguls, Deer Valley, USA - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Feb. 7
12:30 a.m. - Moguls, Deer Valley, USA - NBCSN*
9:30 p.m. - Aerials, Deer Valley, USA - NBCSN

Saturday, Feb. 8
3:00 p.m. - Moguls, Deer Valley, USA - NBC**
9:30 p.m. - Dual Moguls, Deer Valley, USA - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 9
3:00 p.m. - Dual Moguls, Deer Valley, USA - NBC**

*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.

Ten Americans, including seven U.S. Freeski Team members, are en route to Font Romeu, France, for the first FIS Freeski Slopestyle World Cup of the season Thursday through Saturday. 

U.S. Freeski Pro Team athlete Kiernan Fagan will be leading the charge for the U.S. as the only American competing with a World Cup podium under his belt. Last year, during his first-ever season contesting in World Cup level competition, Kiernan earned two top-three finishes out the three slopestyle World Cups he entered.

"I’m definitely hyped to be in Font Romeu for my first time," said Kiernan. "The course looks sick and I’m feeling pretty strong going into this event. It would be awesome to earn another World Cup podium here and hopefully back up Alex Hall’s win from last year. I’m also hyped to have my twin brother Deven here. It would be a dream to have us both on the podium together."

Joining Kiernan are U.S. Freeski Rookie Team members Deven Fagan (twin-brother of Kiernan), Hunter Henderson, Marin Hamill, Rell Harwood, Grace Henderson, and Cody LaPlante. Font Romeu will be Cody’s first slopestyle competition as he returns from a knee injury suffered last season. Cody proved he has his legs back underneath him in the Beijing and Atlanta big air events and will be looking for his first podium result in World Cup competition. 

“After competing in both Beijing and Atlanta big airs, I feel pretty good about where I stand,” Cody reflected. “But at the same time, big air competition rarely translates into slopestyle. I know that I’m going into the competition mindset way more prepared after those two big airs, but it will be a whole different story when it comes to linking up a full run! I am super excited to finally be able to work on some other tricks that are more slopestyle oriented. I feel more creative and progressive in a slopestyle course compared to big air where I just wanted to put down a trick. I know that with all the hard work I put in this year, the event should be awesome.”

Although there are some large shoes to fill with Alex Hall winning last year’s event, Cody is only focussed on himself and continuing to improve. 

“I’d love to play a part in holding down the top spot on the podium in Font Romeu for the U.S. after A-Hall’s performance last year, but I’m more focused on being the best skier and athlete I can be”

Also set to compete in Font Romeu are Americans Ryan Stevenson, Tim Ryan, and Peter Raich. 

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

FREESKI
Saturday, Jan. 11
4:00 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle, Font Romeu, France, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle, Font Romeu, France, Olympic Channel*

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

Luke Winters led the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in the Zagreb, Croatia night slalom on Sunday, finishing in 28th place.

Clément Noël of France took his fourth FIS Ski World Cup win and the esteemed Snow Queen Trophy. Ramon Zenhaeusern of Switzerland was second and young Alex Vinatzer of Italy stepped on his first World Cup podium, in third.

Proving that he has a place in the top 30, Luke put down two solid runs in his first attempt on the grippy Zagreb track to add to his collection of World Cup points. “My goal for the season was to just be in the mix—be in the top 30 as much as I can be,” said Luke, who is doing his first full World Cup season. “I’m happy with where I’m at right now. You can’t always be up in the top five.”

Just 22-year-olds, Luke exploded onto the circuit earlier this season when he finished second in the first run of the Val d’Isere slalom and threatened in the Levi slalom, showing that he’s someone to keep an eye on throughout the season and that the American men are in the slalom hunt, putting slalom back on the map in the United States once again.

“I know I have the speed to be up there,” said Luke. “But I know it takes a lot of experience to ski that consistently and that’s what I’m going to keep working on and working towards.”

River Radamus also started the Zagreb slalom but did not finish the first run.

Luke and River also represented the American men today as the ski racing world remembers Bryce Astle and Ronnie Berlack, the two U.S. skiers that passed away in an avalanche in Soelden, Austria on this day five years ago. Both Luke and River had BA+RB scribed on the back of their helmets today.

Next up, the men head to Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, for another night slalom on Wednesday before moving on to Adelboden, Switzerland, for a giant slalom and slalom over the weekend.

RESULTS
Men’s Slalom

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HOW TO WATCH 
All Times EST

Monday, Jan. 6
1:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom, Zagreb, CRO - NBCSN**
**Next-day broadcast

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

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

The Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team wrapped up the 14th Tour de Ski Sunday with three athletes in the top 15 overall, including Sadie Maubet Bjornsen with a career-best seventh, Jessie Diggins in ninth, and Rosie Brennan a career-best 15th.

The seven-stage Tour de Ski was spread out over nine days this year and featured the most grueling stage for the final showdown - a mass start 10k freestyle hill climb up the Olimpia Ill alpine ski trail at Alpe Cermis resort in Italy’s Val di Fiemme region.

“Wow, it felt good to make it to the top of that climb,” said Sadie, who finished 13th in the final stage. “I think it is safe to say, making it up that alpine slope after six hard days of racing is quite possibly the most physically painful thing I have ever experienced. Just crossing the line is such an achievement. This is only the third time I have made it, so it still feels just as exciting as the first one!”

 

 

 

 

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Some highs, some lows, some mistakes, some painful near misses- but most importantly, some of the best memories in sport come from this wild series of 7 races in 9 days, spanning across Europe. Reaching the top of that alpine slope on day 9 is an achievement in itself. Proud to have reached my best ever finish, even if the athlete in me was dreaming of more. Sometimes you have to take a step back from always reaching, and recognize what you have accomplished among the best in the world. After I sleep for a week, I promise to take time to celebrate! And lastly, thank you to every person behind the scenes that makes this insane circus function! The staff, the wax team (special thanks to @pereb71 ), the service industry squad, the organizing committees, FIS, the hotels dealing with our crazy demands, and all the people cheering and watching races for 9 days in a row. Although you aren’t wearing spandex and a bib, you are all champions! #puregrit #tourdeski2019 #wedidit

A post shared by Sadie Maubet Bjornsen (@sbjornsen) on Jan 5, 2020 at 12:28pm PST

Jessie led the way for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, finishing sixth in the final stage. "I was happy with my climb; I think I managed to pace it right so that I could keep moving up the hill steadily without blowing up - a line that is hard to find, but pretty crucial to get right," Jessie said. "I had good energy and it’s nice to know that my fitness is in a good place even at the end of the tour."

Rosie was just a few seconds back in seventh. "I love the climb and I love the feeling of finishing the tour," Rosie said. "I had some rough days and some good days, but to finish the tour on such a high note was really fantastic."

Katharine Ogden posted a career-best World Cup result, finishing 21st. Katharine also scored World Cup points, finishing 28th overall. 

From missed wax opportunities to podium results, the U.S. Team had its share of ups and downs throughout the seven-stage event. The highlights included not only four U.S. athletes finishing in the top 28 overall, but a podium result from Jessie in the classic sprint, two top-five results from Sadie in the freestyle and classic sprints, and a pair of top 10 results from Rosie.

"Overall, this tour has been challenging in that I had many races where my fitness and effort weren’t reflected in the results," Jessie said. "But I was proud of how I carried myself, contributed to having a positive team atmosphere and stayed positive without ever giving up, on the days when I had competitive skis but more important, on the days when I did not. It took a lot of positive energy, but now I can leave the Tour really proud of my mental toughness and ready to soak in all the hard work I put out there."

“This tour has had its ups, downs, and painfully near misses,” Sadie said. “Despite the rollercoaster, I feel like I gained confidence in my fitness and my skiing throughout the process. No doubt I will come away from this tour both physically and mentally tougher!”

On the men’s side, David Norris was 30th in the final stage and Logan Hanneman was 56th. David finished 35th overall, while Logan was 56th overall and came away from his first Tour de Ski with a career-best World Cup result, finishing 18th in the Stage 6 classic sprint.

Up next, the FIS Cross Country World Cup continues in Dresden, Germany, with freestyle sprint competition on Saturday, Jan. 11, and a team sprint on Sunday, Jan. 12.

RESULTS
Stage 7 Tour de Ski
Women’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb

Tour de Ski Standings (Final Standings)
Women
Men

World Cup 
Women’s overall
Men’s overall