It was a busy weekend for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team at the World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden - a far cry from where things were a decade ago for the USA.

First it was Sophie Caldwell standing on the podium after finishing third in the season-long World Cup sprint standings - only the second American ever. Then there was Sadie Bjornsen, third in the pursuit finale and bumping herself up to sixth in the overall World Cup. Alongside Bjornsen was Olympic champion Jessie Diggins, second in the final race and boosting herself up to runner-up in the overall standings - a mere 40 points behind winner Heidi Weng of Norway.

In sport, it’s important to look back. If you want to get somewhere, you need to know where you’ve been. Amidst the celebration in Falun, there was also a touch of sadness. Finals are a time to honor the champions, but also to say farewell.

Over the past decade, the women’s cross country team has had plenty of inspiration. Two of those pioneers - Liz Stephen and Kikkan Randall - were calling it a career, donning costumes and skiing one more lap with a host of international friends also skiing their last races.

Kikkan’s story has become well known. The Anchorage native switched from cross country running to skiing in high school. As a teen, she came to the Salt Lake City Olympics with wide eyes. She finished 44th but was still motivated by the experience. It would be six years before she would win her first of 14 World Cups - a freestyle sprint race in the far away outpost of Rybinsk, Russia.

Along the way, she began inspiring a generation of young girls. She took a leadership role in her sport, pioneering new rights for athletes while serving on the International Ski Federation’s Athlete Commission and now with the International Olympic Committee. She masked the pain when things didn’t go as hoped in Sochi. And her heart leapt with joy as she hugged teammate Jessie Diggins when they won Olympic gold last month.

Most of all, she built a team. She learned that value in high school. And she carried it with her to revolutionize her sport in America.

Vermont’s Liz Stephen is a truly gifted athlete. She has the aerobic capacity to take on the best in the world on the flanks of Alpe Cermis in the finale of the annual Tour de Ski. As the U.S. Ski Team took baby steps taking part in the two-week stage race each January, Stephen showed her prowess across every event finishing as high as fifth in 2015.

“I remember watching Charlotte Kalla make a pass on an uphill corner near the top of Alpe Cermis,” said Stephen. “It was the most amazing thing I had seen - such a feat of mental and physical strength. Immediately - I wanted to do this event.”

Stephen latched onto the Tour de Ski in 2012. For seven seasons, she and Randall paved the way every January. On World Cup relay days, they pulled on their matching red, white and blue socks and formed the core of a team on which athletes cherished their selection to ski. They watched a team grow from within - knocking on doors that were unheard of just a few years ago.

After Sunday’s finale where it was a Norwegian and two Americans on the podium, Kikkan Randall scooped up two-year-old son Breck joining Liz for that final victory lap. Together they skied, their souls content on the role they had played in helping catapult their sport to new heights - comfortable with the legacy they were leaving behind.

“This is an astounding group of people we have here,” said Stephen. “This is a special bunch. The legacy that we leave will sustain this feeling and ability of others to perform at a high level in the future.”

Legacy is a powerful thing.

PARK CITY, Utah - U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced today that Sasha Rearick has been appointed to the role of head men's development coach for alpine ski racing for the national governing body of Olympic ski and snowboard sports in the USA.

Rearick, a 16-year veteran of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, is one of the most respected and experienced coaches working in snowsports worldwide. He moves to his new position of head men's development coach from his previous role as head coach of the men's alpine team, a position he held for 10 years.

"I am very excited about bringing my 16 years of World Cup and Europa Cup experience, my knowledge and my enthusiasm to this new role," said Rearick, ahead of the 2018 Toyota U.S. Alpine Championships in Sun Valley. "We have a very clear focus on helping our nation's young athletes develop their skills for future long term success, and to be part of that in my new role is a tremendous opportunity.

"In America, we have a number of clear advantages over our competition worldwide which we must capitalize on by working together in a clear direction. Success will come from many sources, but it will take everyone in the racing community to be focused on the process to ensure that we achieve what we are setting out to do. I am looking forward to working with the athletes, their parents, the coaches and clubs to create this process which will give everyone the best opportunity to achieve their goals and see their dreams come true, now and for many years to come.

"I personally love big challenges and I hope the American ski racing community will join me with the same enthusiasm I have for 100% effort, athletic skill development and commitment to excellence."

"Sasha has been one of the most successful head coaches in our team's history and this appointment reinforces our core commitment to developing the very best young athletes in the world," said Luke Bodensteiner, U.S. Ski & Snowboard's chief of sport. "Sasha has worked at every level of the development pipeline, and the fact that he sees such an opportunity, right now, to work with our talented young athletes and their clubs across the country, speaks volumes about his conviction in making the U.S. Ski Team the best in the world, on a long-term, sustainable basis. 

"Sasha will be working very closely with Chip Knight, our alpine development director. We are thrilled that we can add Sasha's knowledge and experience to the excellent work Chip and his team does, bringing one of our all-time most successful coaches to our development program. Together, Chip and Sasha will be working directly with our young athletes and their parents, and with our clubs as extra resources and as leaders.  This will also help us achieve our goal of enhancing the positive impact of our focus on development, not only with the identification of talent and improved selections, but by enabling more athletes to progress through each successive level of the U.S. Ski Team. We are tremendously excited to see what Sasha and Chip can do to build a sustainable pipeline of young champions well into the future."

"It is fantastic news that someone like Sasha, with as much experience, passion and knowledge as he has, is moving into this critical new role. Our focus on developing young talent has always been a core element of the work we do at U.S. Ski & Snowboard, and Sasha will add even more value into our team as we seek to magnify the impact of our junior-level programming with the next generation," said Chip Knight, alpine development director.

"In Spring 2016 we began a comprehensive study of our own alpine development system and those of other major nations in our sport. As a result of that study, we created 'Project 26' which is an evolutionary change in how U.S. Ski & Snowboard, along with our regional and club network, now approaches national team selection and development programming in the future, specifically looking ahead to results at the 2022 and 2026 Olympics, and beyond.

"This program, to which Sasha will now be adding his immense experience and knowledge, has formed our new foundation of criteria for naming annual A-B-C Teams, as well as introducing an innovative methodology for inviting and managing athletes into the alpine development program. Future elements will dive down even further into age groups, as well as applying these initial learnings to other sports in which U.S. Ski & Snowboard works."

"Sasha's appointment is a significant step forward in implementing Project 2026, and fundamentally changing the way that alpine development is structured and managed in the USA," added Bodensteiner. "Many nations talk the talk of having their "best coaches at the foundation" but few commit to it, and with Sasha joining our development team, we are walking the talk. 

"We are not stopping there. In addition to Sasha, we will also be hiring a highly experienced women's development coach, and an equally capable coach education expert to work with Jon Casson, our Director of Sport Education, to add significant extra experience and knowledge into the excellent work our sport education team are already doing.

"Our aim is to target our strongest leadership and expertise at our biggest opportunities, and alpine athlete and coach development is one of our major priorities and where we know we can see major improvements. Everyone at U.S. Ski & Snowboard is excited about these new developments and we anticipate that the investments we are making now will pay off by making us the best team in the world in 2026 and for years beyond."

Adding his thoughts is U.S. Ski & Snowboard's CEO Tiger Shaw who said, "Sasha has been a  key, successful member of our team for many years, and now we are able to leverage his tremendous experience and knowledge which will drive the development of the next generation of alpine ski racing talent.

"Athletes and their success is our primary focus. U.S. Ski & Snowboard is 100% dedicated to the hundreds of athletes we work with, and to their becoming the best in the world. Sasha is going to have an immediate and positive impact on the development of young athletes in our men's alpine team. These are exciting times for alpine racing as we build out our program spanning all levels in the USA."

Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) was officially awarded the crystal globe for her second-straight overall World Cup title Sunday following the cancellation of the last race of the season due to weather conditions.

“It’s incredible,” Shiffrin said of her second World Cup title. “This season was just so incredible for me. I really felt like it was a statement to say ‘I’m here, I’m really one of the best skiers in the world and I deserve to have this!’

“It’s so nice to stand up there on the podium with the big globe and just take in that moment,” she added.

Shiffrin won 12 World cup races this season, including seven slalom victories, two giant slalom victories and one downhill, and one city event victory. She scored 1,773 World Cup points, 605 more than second-place finisher Wendy Holdener of Switzerland.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Shiffrin is ready to start prepping for the 2018-19 season.

“We’re going to start training pretty much immediately,” Shiffrin said. “But I’m going to have a little bit of a break. I’m going to see my Nana. I’m going to go home. Yeah, the next season starts immediately, but I’m going to make sure to enjoy it a bit.”

Following the cancellation of the women’s giant slalom Sunday, Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg was awarded the crystal globe for the giant slalom title. Shiffrin finished third in the giant slalom standings. The men’s slalom race was also canceled due to weather conditions. Austria’s Marcel Hirscher had already clinched the overall, slalom and giant slalom titles.

FINAL WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Women’s overall
Men’s overall
Women’s giant slalom
Men’s slalom

Olympian Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) closed out a strong season with a dual moguls win at Sunday’s World Cup finals in Megeve, France. It was Kauf’s third victory of the season, helping propel her to finish second in the overall World Cup standings. Brad Wilson (Butte, Mont.) also had a great finish, landing third place in the men’s competition. Casey Andringa (Boulder, Colo.) was recognized for his strong performances this season with the FIS Rookie of the Year Award.

Kauf came into the weekend with a chance to claim the World Cup title, but that scenario required France’s Perrine Laffont to miss making the final rounds. As expected, Laffont skied strong on her home soil and it came down to her and Kauf in the women’s big final. Kauf edged out Laffont with a score of 30 to 5 to take the win and post the best moguls World Cup overall finish for the U.S. women since Hannah Kearney’s title in 2015.

"This is an amazing way to end the season," said Kauf. "I am really happy with how far I came this year and what I was able to accomplish. I’m hungry for more now but I couldn’t be more stoked with my season and where my skiing had come! I know I have a lot of work to do this summer to improve my skiing and jumping but it really helps the confidence leaving the season on such a high note."

Wilson skied strong through a myriad of tough duals to land his second podium of the season. He narrowly fell to Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury in the semi-final rounds but found redemption in the small final with a 33 to 2 victory over Ludvig Fjallstrom of Sweden. Kingsbury took the win with France’s Benjamin Cavet in second.

Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) and Mikaela Matthews (Frisco, Colo.) were the other top finishers for the U.S. women in eighth and 10th respectively. Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo) and McCargo finished their seasons ranked seventh and eighth in the World Cup standings, giving the U.S. three athletes in the top 10. Laffont took the World Cup title, followed by Kauf in second and Australia’s Britteny Cox in third.

On the men’s side, Emerson Smith (West Dover, Vt.) posted his second top-10 result of the season with an eighth-place finish. Wilson was the top-ranked U.S. man in the World Cup standings, finishing eighth. Kingsbury took home his seventh moguls World Cup title. Kazakstan’s Dmitriy Reikherd and Japan’s Ikuma Horishima were second and third in the standings.

Andringa, who burst onto the World Cup scene in January, was awarded the Rookie of the Year award following a pair of top-10 World Cup finishes and a fifth-place finish at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Canada’s Valerie Gilbert took home the award for the women.

Overall it was a strong season for the U.S. Ski Team moguls athletes, particularly on the women’s side where U.S. athletes landed nine of the 12 total podiums this season. Prep work will now begin for the 2018-19 season which features the 2019 FIS Freestyle, Freeski and Snowboard World Championships on home soil in Park City, Utah.

RESULTS
Men’s Dual Moguls
Women’s Dual Moguls
Men’s Moguls World Cup Standings
Women’s Moguls World Cup Standings

Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) wrapped up the FIS Cross Country World Cup in sensational style, landing second and third in the women’s 10k freestyle pursuit finale in Falun, Sweden. The finish moved Diggins into the second spot in the season-long World Cup overall standings - a mere 40 points behind winner Heidi Weng of Norway.

Norway’s Marit Bjoergen took the win in the pursuit. Diggins took the Winner of the Day title with the fastest individual time in the pursuit race.

Her second in the overall is the best American finish since Bill Koch won the globe in 1982. Diggins is only the second American woman to finish in the top three, joining Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) who was third in 2012. She had been third coming into the day, but surpassed Norway’s Ingvild Flagstaff Østberg.

“Today was a dream come true,” said Diggins. “I knew I needed a good day to hold my position, but I didn’t know that I would come within 40 points of the overall globe. What an awesome end to the year.” 

Bjornsen’s podium netted her a boost up to sixth in the overall standings and eighth in distance - career bests and among the best U.S. rankings of all time.

“It is amazing to finish the season on that note,” Bjornsen said. “I did not know that would be possible today. When I saw the other girls and how quickly the race went, I decided I was going to fight for the podium.”

Diggins started third in the pursuit, 43 seconds behind Bjoergen, carving 27 seconds out of the Norwegian’s lead - just 16.7 seconds back at the finish for the fastest time of the day. She started out in a group with Østberg just ahead of her and Finland’s Krista Parmakoski right behind. The trio skied together as a chase pack for three kilometers before Diggins decided to up the pace and broke away. She began knocking down the gap by huge chunks and by the 5k mark had put over 30 seconds on the chase group and had Bjoergen in sight. She continued to carve time on Bjoergen, but didn’t have enough race left to catch her.

Pursuit races can create packs that work within to generate energy. But it can also leave individual athletes stranded. “I actually love getting to just go hammer by myself, skiing the downhills exactly how I want to. So I was happy to be out there looking for every second I could get.”

Bjornsen, who started 57 seconds back along with Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla, had to bridge up to the Østberg-Parmakoski group. With Diggins out alone, a chase pack developed by mid-race establishing a battle for third. Bjornsen held her spot in heavy traffic then seized an opportunity to break free in the final stretch to the finish to take third over Norway’s Ragnhild Haga.

“Going to the home stretch I was just thinking that this was the last sprint of the season and I better make it count,” Bjornsen said.

Both Bjornsen and Diggins were aided by fast skis. Week in and week out, the U.S. Ski Team technicians - now aided by their own waxing truck - have been provided rocket-fast skis to athletes all season long. "Our awesome techs nailed the skis and we had the boards to go out there and lay down a fast race," said Diggins.

In the series of post race podium presentations for both the race and the crystal globes, it was all Norway and the USA starting with Diggins and Bjornsen sharing the podium with Bjoergen. "Seeing Sadie have an incredible day was the icing on the cake," said Diggins. "I’m just so proud of her and how mentally strong she’s been all season. She has been racing so well the entire year and I can’t wait to see what she does next year." 

The race was a farewell for a host of athletes including Americans Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) and Liz Stephen (E. Montpelier, Vt.). Randall was celebrated after the finish, taking a victory lap with son Breck in her arms in front of the thousands in Falun for the World Cup Finals.

Randall leaves with a strong legacy starting with her World Cup sprint win at Rybinsk in December, 2007. She ended up winning 14 World Cup races and three sprint crystal globes. She and Diggins combined for a team sprint World Championship in 2013 and the recent Olympic gold.

Stephen left her mark on the flanks of Alpe Cermis, establishing herself as one of the most dominant hill climbers in the sport. A regular podium finisher on the final hill climb of the Tour de Ski, she recorded one of the best tour finishes in history with her fifth in 2015.

The team now heads back to the USA for the first time since November, heading to Craftsbury Common, Vt. for the SuperTour Finals and the long distance races of the L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships.

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

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Women’s overall
Women’s distance
Men's overall
Men's distance

Nate Holland (Sandpoint, Idaho) and Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) finished first and second respectively in the final FIS World Cup snowboardcross of the season Saturday in Veysonnaz, Switzerland.

The victory as Holland’s seventh career World Cup win and his first in more than two years. Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich.) was 14th; Jake Vedder (Pinckney, Mich.) was 22nd; Hagen Kearney (Telluride, Colo.) was 32nd; and Jonathan Cheever (Seagus, Mass.) was 33rd.

The World Cup snowboardcross season wraps up Sunday in Veysonnaz with a team event.

RESULTS
Men’s snowboardcross
Men's World Cup snowboardcross final standings
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard, in partnership with Toyota, will offer live streaming of the Supergirl Pro Series snowboardcross and halfpipe competition March 17-18 at Bear Mountain, Calif.

The event is designed to not only showcase the best female snowboarders on the planet, but also to also serve as a developmental contest to help locate, nurture, mentor and encourage the next generation of aspiring snowboarding pros.

The snowboardcross event will be led by 10-time X Games Gold Medalist and four-time U.S. Olympian, Lindsey Jacobellis, as the voice of the event and its inspirational leader.

The half-pipe competition will be hosted by three-time U.S. Olympian and Olympic Gold Medalist, Hannah Teter.

Live Stream Supergirl Pro Series

Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) took the victory and led three Americans into the top six in Saturday’s final FIS Snowboard World Cup slopestyle of the season in Seiseralm, Italy. With his fourth career World Cup victory, Corning also wrapped up the World Cup slopestyle title. Lyon Ferrell (Haika, Hawaii) picked up his first career World Cup podium in third.

Corning dominated the men’s event with a superb first run including a solid rail line featuring a backside 270 in 270 out, a switch backblunt to 50-50 to backside 360 out, frontside 180 to switch backside 360 out, followed by an equally impressive kicker game with a switch backside 900, a backside triple cork 1440 and a frontside 1080 to finish things off.

“I’m super stoked,” said Corning, who squeaked past Olympic Champion Red Gerard by 50 points to win the slopestyle crystal globe. “That’s why I came to Italy: to get this globe. I had to win today to make it happen, and I did. I’m also happy that Lyon (Farrell) stomped his run, and I’m stoked to share the podium with him.”

"I’ve been coming to Seiseralm for the last three years, and I just really enjoy it here," said Ferrell. "I was nervous for sure before dropping in, because I really wanted to put down a run here so ending up on the podium here is amazing, and I’m really happy now."

Judd Henkes (La Jolla, Calif.) was sixth; Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska) was 14th and Chandler Hunt (Park City, Utah) was 16th.

Corning also leads the World Cup big air standings heading into next weekend's final big air World Cup of the season in Quebec City. 

RESULTS
Men’s slopestyle
Men's World Cup slopestyle final standings 

Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) put on another dominating performance to win her seventh FIS Ski World Cup slalom race of the season Saturday in Are, Sweden.

Shiffrin build almost a half-second first run lead, then absolutely ripped down the second run to win by 1.58-seconds over Wendy Holdener of Switzerland, who finished second, and Olympic slalom champion Frida Hansdotter of Sweden in third.

“To finish with a run like that was just super special,” Shiffrin said after capturing her fifth World Cup slalom crystal globe, and her second-consecutive overall World Cup title this season.

“That’s just a dream,” Shiffrin said of her second overall title. “It’s so unbelievable in a way. But first I have a race to do tomorrow and I’m really excited for that, and after today, I’m really looking forward to going to the start one last time this season and hammering down.”

In winning the World Cup overall title last season, Shiffrin utilized her strong tech skills. However, this season she expanded her skill set to include select downhill and super-G events, which included winning her first World Cup downhill at Lake Louise in December. But as the season wore on, she re-focused her energy back to the tech events.

“It’s always difficult, there are always so many challenges during the season, and throughout the year all the girls kept picking up the pace and I felt like I had to step back from speed in order to stay on top,” she said. “But it’s so nice to be at this part of the season and feel like I still put out some of my best skiing.”

Up next, Shiffrin shoots for her 44th career World Cup win in giant slalom Sunday in Are.

RESULTS
Women’s slalom
Women’s World Cup slalom final standings

Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) posted his second top-10 World Cup result of the season, a career-best eight-place finish, at the FIS Ski World Cup Finals giant slalom in Are, Sweden Saturday.

“I was training well in the summer and carried it over into Beaver Creek and the skiing stuck throughout the year,” Ford said, whose previous career-best was ninth in giant slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia two weeks ago. “I kind of had a couple hic-ups here and there, but I’m glad to finish it on that note.”

Marcel Hirscher of Austria took his 13th World Cup victory of the season Saturday. Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen finished second for the 11th time this season. Victor Muffat-Jeandet was third.

Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) struggled with his set up in the first run, but found his groove in the second, posting the fifth-fastest second-run time.

“First run I skied on the old 35-meter skis; I trained on them a little bit this year and it was kind of stupid of me not to try them earlier in the year,” said Ligety, who finished 17th Saturday. “But today they set it more like a normal GS, whereas the rest of the year it’s been dead, dead straight – no turn shape anywhere.

“It was way, way turny, so that was a difficult task that first run,” Ligety said. “Second run I went on a different pair of skis, and I’m just trying to figure out the answer.

“It’s been a pretty tough one, that’s for sure. I’m glad it’s over,” Ligety said of the season. “It’s good to finish this one off, regroup and figure it out from there.”

With the World Cup season wrapping up Sunday in Are with men’s slalom and women’s giant slalom, Ford is looking forward to adding another national title to his trophy case next week.

“The season is not over,” Ford said. “We have Nationals coming up in Sun Valley, so I’ll be there soon.”

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom
Men’s World Cup giant slalom final standings