Sophie Caldwell landed another podium performance for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, finishing third in the FIS Cross Country World Cup freestyle sprint in Davos, Switzerland, Saturday. On the men’s side, Simi Hamilton, who was in the podium hunt in the finals, posted the best result of the season in sixth.

‘It’s nice to get a good day in this early in the season,” Simi said. “It gives me a lot of confidence in my fitness, speed and race hunger going forward into this long and busy season. I was pretty tanked after those fast quarter and semifinals, but I’m psyched with a solid sixth.”

The U.S. Team qualified seven athletes for the sprint heats Saturday. In addition to Sophie and Simi, Jessie Diggins, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Julia Kern, Hailey Swirbul and Kevin Bolger qualified. Kevin and Logan Hanneman tied for 30th in qualifying. However, Kevin won the tiebreaker to advance to the heats by way of being ranked higher in the World Cup standings. For Hailey, it was the first time in her career she has qualified for the sprint heats and scored World Cup points.

“It was a really exciting day, and extra special to have the team and coaches with me and celebrating this small victory,” Hailey said. “The level sure is high here, but I think I'm slowly closing the gap, and have teammates to show me how it's done.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I scored my first World Cup point ever today!!!! But you know what was the greatest part of this day? How dang STOKED my team was for me. I swear, I’ll never find a group of people more caring, encouraging, and all around inspiring. Thank you team (coaches and techs included of course) for all that you do. These small victories wouldn’t be possible without you ❤️ 📸 @sbjornsen #bestteam

A post shared by Hailey Swirbul (@hai.swirl) on Dec 14, 2019 at 8:06am PST

In the women’s quarterfinals, Sophie was the lone U.S. athlete to move on to the semifinals, and then on to the finals. In the finals, she worked to grab the outside line on the second of two laps heading into the final climb, but Sweden’s Linn Svann moved into the line, forcing Sadie up the final climb behind Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Fallen, who had a slight stumble, which broke Sophie’s momentum. In the final 100 meters, Svann skied away for her first World Cup victory. Sophie and Maiken sprinted to a photo finish, with Maiken just getting ahead of Sophie for second place. Sophie is now the third American to score an individual podium finish this season.

“I was really happy with the day,” Sophie said. “I felt strong throughout the whole day, had very fast skis, and any day ending up on the podium is a great day! It was also really cool to see Simi in the final, have Hailey score her first World Cup points, and see Julia post a really strong top 15 result!”

In the men’s race, Simi, who qualified eighth, and looked strong throughout the heats. In the opening quarterfinal, Simi finished third but advanced as the lucky loser as he was in the fastest heat. Similar story in the semifinals, as Simi was again in the fastest heat, finishing third to advance to the finals. In the finals, he was hunting for a podium position, but on the second of two laps, he got caught up in the second to last corner and dropped back to sixth.

In the World Cup standings, Jessie moved up to third overall, Sadie is fifth, Rosie Brennan is 11th, and Sophie is 22nd. For the men, Simi is the top American in 27th.

Up next, the women compete in a 10k freestyle, and the men in a 15k freestyle Sunday in Davos.

RESULTS
Women’s sprint
Men’s sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup
Men’s World Cup

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 15
4:35 a.m. - Women’s 10k, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
8:45 a.m. - Men’s 15k, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - Women’s 10k, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel*

*Same-day broadcast

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

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

U.S. Snowboard Team member Chris Corning retained the yellow leader bib at the Air+Style FIS Snowboard World Cup with a third-place finish in Beijing, China. 

“I had a great time here in Beijing,” said Chris. "It’s great to see everyone ride really well and I am stoked to be apart of this crazy contest. Thanks to China for building a great jump and hosting an awesome event.”

Although the beautiful jump structure in Beijing can not be considered a scaffold jump, this is the first time Chris has landed his signature quad cork 1800 in a city big air! It paid dividends as he only finished behind Candian Max Parrot in first and ahead of Swedish snowboarder Sven Thorgren in third.  

The competition certainly did not lack excitement, suspense, or competitive spirit. 

"This event will go down as one of the most heated big air competitions ever," said U.S Freeski and Snowboard Halfpipe, Slopestyle and Big Air Head Coach Mike Jankowski. "The men's competition was incredibly fierce and I'm very happy with how Sean and Chris performed."

U.S. rider Sean FitzSimons landed two solid runs to finish seventh overall. Sean landed both a backside and frontside triple cork. This is a solid result to build his confidence leading into his start at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover next week.

For the women, U.S. Snowboard Team member and 2018 Olympic big air silver medalist Jamie Anderson finished seventh followed by teammate Julia Marino in eighth. Both Jamie and Julia were both going for their most difficult tricks, but couldn't quite stick the landing. They will look to dial in these runs for next week's final big air World Cup.  Miyabi Onitsuka of Japan won the event, Austrian phenom Anna Gasser was second, and Laure Blouin of Canada finished in third place. 

With only one more stop left on the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup Tour, Chris remains the overall World Cup leader. However, Nicolas Laframboise from Canada is not far beyond him in second and is confirmed to compete at the final stop at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Ga. Competition in Atlanta is sure to be exciting with the FIS Big Air Crystal Globe on the line!

Join us at SunTrust Park or tune in on NBC to catch all the action. 
 

 
 Tickets on sale now at Braves.com/visabigair  

RESULTS
Men’s Snowboard Big Air
Women’s Snowboard Big Air

CUP STANDINGS
Men’s Snowboard Big Air
Women’s Snowboard Big Air

EVENT SCHEDULE
Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover
SunTrust Park, Atlanta, Ga., USA
Snowboard & Freeski Big Air FIS World Cup
December 18-21, 2019
*Subject to change

Friday, Dec 20
12:00 - 10:00 p.m. - Sponsor Village/Entertainment - The Battery
5:30 p.m. - Gates Open
6:00 - 6:45 p.m. - Men's and women's snowboard big air finals practice
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. - Men's and women's snowboard big air finals          

Saturday, Dec 21
12:00 - 10:00 p.m. - Sponsor Village/Entertainment - The Battery
5:00 p.m. - Gates Open
5:30 p.m. - Teton Gravity Research Premiere - “Fire on the Mountain” 
6:00 - 6:45 p.m. - Men's and women's freeski big air finals practice
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. - Men's and women's freeski big air finals

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

SNOWBOARD
Friday, December 20
7:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air World Cup - SunTrust Park, Atlanta, Ga. - NBCSN

Saturday, December 21
4:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air World Cup - SunTrust Park, Atlanta, Ga. - NBC Sports**

FREESKI
Saturday, December 21
7:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air World Cup - SunTrust Park, Atlanta, Ga. - NBCSN

Sunday, December 22
3:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air World Cup - SunTrust Park, Atlanta, Ga. - NBC Sports**

After a week of questionable weather reports, both the classic unpredictability of St. Moritz, Switzerland and the sunshine shone through on Saturday during a super-G where Mikaela Shiffrin led three women into the points for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team with a third-place finish. 

Prior to Saturday's race, Mikaela told NBC, "It doesn't matter what the conditions are or what the weather is, the most aggressive, cleanest skier is going to end up on top." On Saturday, that honor went to Italy's Sofia Goggia. 

With St. Moritz's typically technical super-G, featuring a fair amount of terrain, it was no surprise that Italy's fiery and fast Federica Brignone - who was bib 9 - was the early leader. Mikaela stood in the start gate, the clouds parted and the sun came out. She came out of the start - guns blazing - bib lucky number 13 and though it appeared she'd take the lead, a couple of small mistakes in the mid-section of the course cost her some time and she skied into second behind Federica, by a mere .12 seconds. She saw the time, stuck out her tongue playfully and thanked the crowd. All eyes on Sofia, bib 16. After struggling with a DNF in the season super-G opener in Lake Louise, Canada, Sofia stayed true to her wild style, always keeping fans on the edge of their seats, cutting line and even losing a pole along the way, to sneak ahead of Federica by .01 and take the lead.

As often is the case in St. Moritz, the weather can be tricky, and no one never knows when the dreaded "Maloja Snake" will rear its ugly head. The forecast called for wind and potential snowfall for Saturday, though the weather gods were kind to the FIS Ski World Cup this year, parting the clouds and allowing the sun to shine through on the women for a perfect day of super-G. It was an American course set, by women's speed Head Coach Chip White. With the venue hosting the recent Europa Cup, the track was awesome, buff - like Colorado snow. In other words, it was a complete 180 from last weekend's soft surface at Lake Louise, and much like what the women had been training on at U.S. Ski Team Speed Center at Copper Mountain, Colo. in November. 

At Friday evening's team meeting, Head Coach Paul Kristofic told the women that the snow was "super familiar, Colorado-type snow." "You've had the best training in the world [at Copper Mountain], so translate that into the best skiing you've ever done. Do not worry about the weather, rise above it. Wherever the start is, accept it and go, go go." The word on the mountain was that wind gusts would be strong, so it was likely that at least one of the reserve starts would be utilized. On Saturday morning, there was some light snow and clouds were coming in and out, but the weather was relatively clear despite some wind out of the start gate.

"It was really, really nice to ski today, and the surface was very good," reflected Mikaela in the post-race press conference. There was slightly more air time off the jump than the women thought. "Sofia was really aggressive on the pitch going into the jump, so she carried a lot of speed, and I did a similar thing and I felt like when I was in the air I was like, 'Hmm, maybe I'm not going to land on the ground before the next gate,' so I was trying to rush to get back to the ground so I could actually make the next turn, but it was building up a lot and for a moment I thought I'd maybe not finish," Mikaela continued. 

It was a great collective team showing for the Americans, with both Alice Merryweather and Alice McKennis (29th) in the points for the fourth straight race, and Alice Merryweather coming from bib 44 to 20th. Jackie Wiles also started for the Americans, but finished outside of the points. In just her second World Cup race series back from an injury that had her sidelined for 22 months, Jackie will look to take what she learned from Saturday into the next speed series in Val d'Isere, France⁠—a favorite stop of the American women. 

Mikaela now leads the overall standings by 271 points, with 532 points to Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg's 261 points. Up next is a parallel event on Sunday, an event that Mikaela has excelled in previously but she has opted to sit out on Sunday, so she can manage energy levels and focus. Mikaela, who is one of the few athletes to compete in all disciplines (and the only athlete to win in all six currently contested FIS World Cup disciplines), is heading into a busy next couple of weeks on the World Cup tour that includes five races across four disciplines in the next 15 days. She announced the news in an Instagram post on Saturday after the super-G race:

Today was so much fun and the surface was perfect!! Congrats to Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone, and to my teammates for an awesome collective result. I’ve been asked a couple times if I’m skiing the parallel tomorrow - obviously it’s not an *easy* decision, but I’m opting out of the race tomorrow. There are quite a few reasons for this but at the top of the list is that for several years I have been longing to race Val d’Isere but have never been able to because the @fisalpine schedule is always too tough (for those who race in all disciplines), but one of my goals this season is to get on that track and to race a little more speed in general so I’m trying to manage energy and focus accordingly! It’s always a day to day process, and tough to make these decisions but I’m looking forward to Courchevel! And good luck to the girls tomorrow especially USA 💪💪🤗

 

Balancing all of the events in what proves to be a challenging and busy FIS schedule is still something Mikaela is working on, but she's finding enjoyment across all of the events—and she continues to prove she is a podium contender every time she steps into the start gate. "I don't really have a favorite event anymore, but for sure in slalom it's still where I'm the most comfortable or I have the most experience or the best feeling, so I don't need as much training to feel 100% anymore," reflected Mikaela. But, this time of year is probably the biggest push—from Copper to Levi to Killington to Lake Louise to here—and trying to feel like I can really push for a podium every time, with no training basically. So that's the most difficult thing. But it's also really nice to race like that, because you build your momentum and just keep going."

Nina O'Brien and Alice Merryweather will start in Sunday's parallel for the Americans. From there, the women will travel to Courchevel for a giant slalom on Tuesday and then Val d'Isere, France—a favorite stop on the tour for the women's speed team—for a downhill and alpine combined on Dec. 21-22. Mikaela is slated to compete in all three upcoming French venue events. 

RESULTS
Women's Super-G

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Overall
Super-G 

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
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Facebook
Twitter

Official event hashtag: #worldcupstmoritz

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 14
2:00 p.m. - NBC Special "Mikaela's Masterpiece" - NBCSN
9:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN*

Saturday, Dec. 15
3:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 4 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
3:45 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 10:30 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
8:00 p.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN*

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

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

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

Due to a weather pattern that came in to Val d'Isere, France, producing snowfall and strong winds, the men's slalom race was cancelled on Saturday. 

After discussions with the organizing committee, French Ski Federation, and InFront (the broadcast rights holder), the jury decided to reschedule Saturday's men's slalom race to Sunday. As such, the men's giant slalom will be rescheduled to a later date, and will be communicated as soon as the International Ski Federation (FIS) can confirm a new date and location. 

With knowledge of the weather pattern coming in, the jury - with the support of the organizing committee, French Ski Federation and InFont, had decided on Wednesday to alter the program, with slalom on Saturday and giant slalom on Sunday. On Friday evening, the winds were so strong that the organizing committee decided - for safety reasons - to cancel the public bib draw. After numerous delays on Saturday, including a move to the reserve start, the final decision was made. 

Young rising stars River Radamus and Luke Winters will be starting for the Americans on Sunday. Luke has had some solid slalom training in Val d'Isere prior to the race, and both men are looking forward to throwing it down on Sunday. 

More details about the rescheduled giant slalom will be forthcoming. 

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Official event hashtags: #worldcupvaldisere

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 14
2:00 p.m. - NBC Special "Mikaela's Masterpiece" - NBCSN
9:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN*

Sunday, Dec. 15
3:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 4 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
3:45 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel.com - delayed until 10:30 a.m., NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Val d‘Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
8:00 p.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN*

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

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

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

Hannah Soar led the U.S. at the FIS Moguls World Cup event, finishing in 10th – her third-career top-10 – in Thaiwoo, China, Saturday. Jaelin Kauf finished 18th, Tess Johnson in 25th and Olivia Giaccio was 27th.

“I skied a little bit slow and a bit too conservative, but you know I’m moving in the right direction and learning from each day and each mistake in order to better myself for tomorrow and days going forward,” reflected Hannah. “For duals tomorrow I plan to do a full to back truck again and push the speed a little more in the middle section and just let it run. Basically, just stick to what I’ve been doing, extending off the top air running the neutral in the middle section and throwing a big bottom air. I think that will get me pretty far through the day.”

France’s Perrine Laffont claimed her second 2020 season victory and shared the podium with Kazakhstan’s Yulia Galysheva in second and Canada’s Justine Dufour-Lapointe.

In a surprise twist, Japan’s Ikuma Hiroshima finished in first in the men's event, knocking Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury to second. France’s Benjamin Cavet rounded out the men’s podium in third. Dylan Walczyk was the top American finishing in 16th. In their second World Cup appearances, Nick Page and Alex Lewis had career-bests, finishing in 17th and 18th respectively, just missing finals by two places. Both earned World Cup points and continued to gain experience on the world’s elite moguls stage. Jesse Andringa climbed back from where he left off in Ruka with a 23rd place finish.

Tomorrow is a new day, and with it comes every American moguls skiers favorite event: duals. The U.S. Team thrives on duals, and it will be a good opportunity to shake off those early season cobwebs.

“This course is fun, tight and challenging, kind of like the East Coast,” explained Alex. “My goal tomorrow is to make my first finals in the World Cup, I’m going to shred it up in duals.”

RESULTS
Men's moguls
Women's moguls

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 15
12:30 a.m. - Men and women’s dual moguls, Thaiwoo - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

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.

Under heavy snowfall and after a few powder runs, Aaron Blunck was victorious Friday for the second-consecutive year at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix FIS Freeski World Cup at Copper Mountain, Colo.

“I woke up this morning around 5:45, looked outside, and saw it was dumping,” said Aaron. “I told myself I need to get to the hill ASAP.  I ended up getting to Copper in time to go up with the official crew at 7:30 a.m., but I got denied,” he said with a playful smirk. “I ended up sitting around waiting until about 9 a.m. and was on the first chair. It was definitely worth it because I got a few really decent pow laps before the competition, so I can’t complain.”

This isn’t the first time members of the U.S. Freeski Team prepared for the competition with powder runs. Prior to the PyeongChang Olympic games, where David Wise and Alex Ferreira earned the gold and silver respectively, the team enjoyed fresh snow in Aomori Spring Ski Resort in Japan. Although Aaron was clearly excited about skiing powder, it was apparent he was happy to be back in the pipe with his friends. 

“I’m am definitely stoked to be able to go back-to-back at Copper,” He said. “They continue to host a great event. It’s a great start the season on a positive note and to share the podium with David and Noah. It was a hard event, but all the boys were able to put it down.”
 

U.S. Freeski Team members David Wise and Brita Sigourney both earned second-place. In addition, both David and Brita are each returning from serious injuries and expressed how thankful they were to not only be skiing again, but also feeling like they picked right back where they left off last season - on the podium.

“I could not be more thankful to be out here skiing,” said David. “Even through practice and qualifiers, we had amazing conditions and I was just out here having fun. I tried to be super calculated with how many hard tricks I did. If I’m being honest, I got lucky with the weather, because I still have many tricks I don’t have dialed yet this year given I’m still coming back from a broken femur. I just embraced the conditions, had fun out there, and once I saw guys landing tricks, I knew it would be a good day.”
 

With both Brita and David boasting a good amount of internal metal rods following significant surgeries, they still found a way to overcome the soreness and pain that comes with the territory when recovering from injuries. 

“I’m so grateful to be able to ski today,” Brita said. “I am almost seven months out from a tib fib spiral fracture, which has not been the longest recovery for me, but definitely one of the hardest. I’ve been in a lot of pain and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be skiing here in the competition or at all. I’m really happy that I was able to participate today and pick up where I left off seven months ago. Halfpipe still makes me smile and makes me happy so it’s great to be here.”

For the men, Canadian Noah Bowman closed out the podium in third-place, somehow maintaining speed in a run full of stylish switch tricks. Also, U.S. Pro Freeski Team member Birk Irving put down two impressive runs, but ended his streak of two-consecutive World Cup victories. However, BIrk did not lack support from his teammates. 

"I was definitely rooting for Birk out there today,” said Brita. “The 1440 he does is insane and when he puts it down, It’s so cool to watch. Although he wasn’t able to put the full run together with that trick, I was still impressed.”

Taylor Seaton strung together a great run to finish fifth, Alex Ferreira finished sixth, and U.S. Rookie Team member Jaxin Hoerter finished seventh. For the women, Zoe Atkin of Great Britain earned her first world cup victory and Rachel Karker of Canada finished third, skiing with consistent amplitude throughout the competition. U.S. Freeski Team member Devin Logan finished sixth and showed great consistency landing all three of her runs. 

TRICK LIST
Men

1. Aaron Blunck: Switch left double 900 Japan, switch right 1080 Tail, left flat 540 Safety, right 900 Tail, Left 1080 Tail. 

2. David Wise: Left double 1260 Mute, right 1080 Tail, switch left 720 Japan, right 900 Tail,  left 900 Cuban. 

3. Noah Bowman: Right 360 Stale, switch left 540 High Safety, switch left alley-oop double 900 Safety, switch left 720 Tail, right 1080 Tail. 

Women

1. Zoe Atkin: Left 720 Mute, switch right 540 Safety, switch left 540 Mute, switch right 360,  Straight Air Double Seatbelt, right 720 Safety, switch left 360 Octo.

2. Brita Sigourney: Left alley-oop Japan, left 900 Tail, left alley-oop 540, left 540 Mute, right 720.  

3. Rachel Karker: Right 720 Mute, switch left 540 Safety, switch right 540, switch left 360,  Straight Air Mute, left 720. 

RESULTS
Men’s Freeski Halfpipe
Women’s Freeski Halfpipe 

Post Event Press Conference - Video
 

The FIS Cross Country World Cup moves to Davos, Switzerland, this weekend for a pair of events, including the highly-anticipated first freestyle sprint of the season Saturday. Over the past few years, the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team has excelled in this format, which provides fast-paced racing in an exciting head-to-head format.

In addition, the freestyle sprint is the one event that will be contested on March 17, 2020, when the FIS Cross Country World Cup returns to the U.S. for the first time in 19 years, taking place at Minnesota’s Theodore Wirth Park, just five miles west of downtown Minneapolis. Perhaps no other American racer has embraced the sprint as much as 10-year U.S. Cross Country Team member Simi Hamilton, who has participated in more than 80 World Cup sprint events. 

Now dabbling in some of the longer distance races, Simi is fired up for this weekend’s freestyle sprint, despite a nagging hamstring injury that plagued him at the start of the season. 

“My hamstring is definitely making big improvements and I think it should be 100% good to go for the weekend,” said Simi, who has four World Cup sprint podiums, including one victory from 2013 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. “I’m for sure feeling very fit right now, probably the most fit I’ve ever been at this point in the year. So I have a lot of confidence going into the weekend. I’ve made the semifinals a few times here in Davos in the past, and so I think it would be really cool and well within my potential to make the finals here.”

The women’s U.S. Cross Country Team has been racking up podiums and headlines in the first two weekends of the World Cup season with Sadie Masubet Bjornsen taking second in the opening classic sprint in Ruka, Finland, and wearing the yellow World Cup leader’s bib; Jessie Diggins grabbing two individual podiums already this season, and the U.S. Women finishing second in the team relay last weekend in Lillehammer. Meanwhile, the men’s team is making strides toward the top of the results sheet against a very deep World Cup field.

“We’ve had some solid results from the guys so far this season with Erik (Bjornsen) scoring points in Ruka, and Kevin (Bolger), Dave Norris and me just outside of the points in Ruka and Lillehammer,” Simi said. “The margins are incredibly small in men’s World Cup racing, so when you’re not racing at 100% because of an injury, illness, or by training design, it really shows. 

“It’s a very long season and this team’s collective goal is to keep skiing faster and faster as the season progresses, so we’re looking forward to doing that,” Simi added. “I’m confident that this men’s team will put together some results that will turn heads this year, but the name of the game in cross-country ski racing is patience.”

In addition to Saturday’s freestyle sprint, the athletes will compete in a 10k freestyle for the women and a 15k freestyle for the men on Sunday. On Dec. 21-22, the sprinters will have the opportunity to shine once again as the World Cup moves to Planica, Slovenia, for another freestyle sprint, followed by the first team sprint of the season.

U.S. Starters:
Freestyle sprint
Sadie Maubet Bjornsen
Jessie Diggins
Sophie Caldwell
Rosie Brennan
Julia Kern
Hailey Swirbul
Simi Hamilton
Kevin Bolger
Logan Hanneman

Women’s 10k freestyle
Sadie Maubet Bjornsen
Jessie Diggins
Caitlin Patterson
Rosie Brennan
Julia Kern
Hailey Swirbul
Rosie Frankowski

Men’s 15k freestyle
Kyle Bratrud
Scott Patterson
David Norris
Simi Hamilton 

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 14
8:00 a.m. - Men and women’s sprint, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Dec. 15
4:35 a.m. - Women’s 10k, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
8:45 a.m. - Men’s 15k, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - Women’s 10k, Davos, SUI - Olympic Channel*

*Same-day broadcast
Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app
Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.

The double-World Cup weekend in Thaiwoo, China, is the light at the end of a six-week tunnel for the U.S. Moguls Team. Having spent the month of November and part of December in the polar night, skiing under sunshine and bluebird skies in Thaiwoo is a very welcome sight.

The Team has two shots at podiums this weekend with a Moguls World Cup on Saturday and a Dual Moguls World Cup on Sunday. There is a 15-hour time difference for friends and family back home in the Rockies, so that means you can catch all of the bumpin’ action Friday and Saturday nights.

Crisp days and clear nights have made the fresh man-made snow Thaiwoo course a beauty. It’s firm, but edge-able, and will favor those who are quick and direct in their skiing. A steep reentry from the top air to the middle moguls section could be the deciding factor between those who podium and those left off. “This event could easily be determined by miscalculations on that top air,” explains U.S. Ski & Snowboard Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza.

The team is in good spirits after two days of training and the much-needed refill of Vitamin D. Jesse Andringa is looking for redemption from Ruka and has been focused on keeping his feet underneath him and completing his runs. “The course is terrifying, but firm, which makes for a good competition,” he said. Alex Lewis, who grew up skiing Killington on moguls like these ones, is well-suited to the Thaiwoo course. His quickness works well here, watch for him as he hunts to keep cutting down his bib number. Nick Page has been working to take his jumps a bit bigger to make his presence known. “He’s setting the tone with a large top air, it’s looking really nice,” said Matt.

On the women’s side, the Queen of Thaiwoo, Jaelin Kauf, will look to defend her title. She’s podiumed four out of four times here in the past two seasons, three of which are wins – she won back to back in 2018. She’s attacking where others are backing off and is all systems ready. “I’m super excited, I love this venue and I love the course,” she said. Tess Johnson has been breaking down her run and building it back up over the two days of training. Her smile at the bottom of the course means she’s confident, and when Tess is confident, she gets results. Hannah Soar has two awesome days of training behind her. “She just needs to go out there and be the Hannah Soar that skis over 100 days at Killington,” said Matt. “As soon as she asks her skis to do something they do since she’s such a natural skier.” As usual, Olivia Giaccio has been grinding out the work, focusing on getting a lot of lift but not distance in her airs and stomping her landings.

It's shaping up to be a picture-perfect weekend and the Team is fired up. Thaiwoo marks the last stop in an over six-week travel period for the moguls crew and they look forward to coming home for the holidays. But not before they take on two competitions, including the first dual event of the season. 

U.S. Starters
Jesse Andringa
Olivia Giaccio
Tess Johnson
Jaelin Kauf
Alex Lewis
George McQuinn
Nick Page
Hannah Soar
Dylan Walczyk

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HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 14
12:30 a.m. - Men and women’s moguls, Thaiwoo - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Dec. 15
12:30 a.m. - Men and women’s dual moguls, Thaiwoo - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team rising star Brian McLaughlin remembers the day well when his friend Ronnie Berlack died in an avalanche. Five years ago this January two promising U.S. Ski Team athletes, Berlack and Bryce Astle, were killed during a training camp in Sölden, Austria. The Bryce and Ronnie Athlete Snow Safety (BRASS) Foundation has named Brian as an ambassador, helping bring greater awareness to other ski racers and clubs of the dangers outside the race course.

McLaughlin, who won the 2018 National Collegiate Athletic Association national giant slalom title skiing for Dartmouth College, will be in the starting gate when the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup tour comes to Beaver Creek, Colo. in early December. 

“Ronnie and Bryce didn’t know the risks they were facing that day when they were taking a break from training to make a few turns in the fresh snow,” said McLaughlin. “It’s important that athletes and coaches are well versed on avalanche safety and understand that skiing off piste carries dangers we don’t experience on race courses.”

BRASS was formed to raise awareness across the ski racing community on the dangers of avalanches and the need for education, as well as athlete management by club and team coaches. Since its inception the organization has made an impact globally on the avalanche safety community, and has now begun an educational system in concert with U.S. Ski & Snowboard. BRASS has supported costs of on-snow training for athletes and coaches and is pioneering a new online education system with U.S. Ski & Snowboard that will be released this winter.

Brian grew up ski racing at Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont. He went on to race at Dartmouth College where he was a three-time NCAA All America First Team athlete and three-time National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team member, earning eight collegiate victories. He springboarded from college to win the 2018 NorAm Cup giant slalom title. Last December he scored his first World Cup points in both Beaver Creek and Alta Badia, Italy.

“Brian is a remarkable young athlete and a role model for the next generation of ski racers,” said Steve Berlack, a BRASS board member and father of Ronnie. “He will help BRASS raise awareness of the need for athletes and coaches to be aware of the dangers and to actively engage in ongoing education to keep them safe.”

This season Brian will display the BRASS logo on his racing helmet and serve as an ambassador for avalanche safety.

“Most of all, I want clubs, coaches and athletes to recognize the BRASS sticker on my helmet and think about how important it is that they engage in avalanche safety education,” said Brian. “This is education that can save lives.”

This fall, BRASS 101 clinics around New England have educated hundreds of young racers. The new online modules from BRASS and U.S. Ski & Snowboard will be designed to impact every coach and athlete. All around the country, local avalanche safety workshops provide skiers and snowboards with the basics they need to better understand the dangers.

For more information on BRASS, check out its website at www.brassfoundation.org.

Release courtesy of BRASS. 

Four U.S. Snowboard Team Athletes overcame early-season nerves and rode their way into the final round of the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, Colo. on Thursday. Maddie Mastro led the way, and qualified first for the women.

“I’m pretty happy and it feels good to lay two runs down at the first contest of the year,” said Maddie. “There is a lot of anticipation and nerves that build up throughout the off-season, but finally, things are moving and it feels great. We had a great set of training camps leading into the grand prix and I feel that work paid off today with some fresh snow causing some challenging conditions.”
 

For the men, Toby Miller arrived at the pipe with his standard smile and a positive attitude, and laced his first run to secure his position in finals. Toby would finish fourth in the qualifying round of grand prix competition.  

“The conditions out here today were definitely a little challenging, but luckily the pipe is amazing, which made things a bit easier, Toby commented. “We had some fresh snow, but it’s an outdoor sport, so what can you expect? I wanted to put down my first run and was incredibly excited to be able to do that. I was definitely was a little nervous coming into this contest with it being the first of the season. When I landed my run, I saw I was sitting pretty high coming into my final run and knew I was dropping late in the start order, so I decided to keep it safe on my second run, get down the pipe, and save my energy for Saturday.”
 

Teammate Chase Josey also had a successful day, putting down his first run complete with multiple switch hits to comfortably secure his spot in finals and finish seventh. Also, Chase Blackwell landed in an impressive first run to lock down ninth place. Toby could not say enough about the level of riding from his U.S. Snowboard compatriots. 

“I really enjoyed watching my teammates today, said Toby, “Especially Chase Blackwell, his first run was incredible, and I would have loved to see him land that second run because I’m sure the score would have been through the roof. Unfortunately, he didn’t, but that’s part of the game. Chase Josey, Taylor Gold, and Ryan Wachendorfer all were out there ripping out there and it was amazing to watch."

Although he didn’t make it to finals, Lucas Foster had a successful day progressing his riding in the pipe. 

“I feel great, Lucas said reflecting on his day. “I landed a lot of new tricks I have never done in a contest and I made it out safe, so I can’t really complain. I’m excited to get on to the next contest and watch all my teammates kill it in finals. Moving forward, I plan on competing at the Rev Tour next week and then we have the Laax open.”

Toby, Chase J., Chase B., and Maddie are set to compete in Saturday’s Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Finals. Come see the action live at Copper Mountain, Colo. or tune in on NBC to see the action live. 

RESULTS
Women’s snowboard halfpipe 
Men’s snowboard halfpipe

START LISTS
Women’s snowboard halfpipe
Men’s snowboard halfpipe

LAND ROVER U.S. GRAND PRIX - COPPER MOUNTAIN
Event Schedule
*Subject to change

Dec. 13: Freeski Halfpipe Finals
Dec. 14: Snowboard Halfpipe Finals

HOW TO WATCH
Subject to change
All times EST
*Delayed broadcast

FREESKI
December 13, 2019
1:30 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBCSN, NBCSN.com, and NBC Sports Gold.

December 21, 2019
4:00 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC*

SNOWBOARD
December 14, 2019
2:30 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBCSN, NBCSN.com, and NBC Sports Gold.

December 21, 2019
4:00 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC*

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.