What happens when you bring together Vermont’s favorite ski racing legacy child with Oregon’s prized speed racing sweetheart? You get the ultimate NASTAR Pacesetting dream team.

This season, NASTAR is proud to announce current U.S. Ski Team members, Laurenne Ross and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, to the esteemed team of NASTAR National Pacesetters.

... Read the Full Story at NASTAR.com

U.S. Snowboard and Freeski Team halfpipe athletes return to the friendly confines of the Copper Mountain’s 22-foot superpipe for the opening Toyota U.S. Grand Prix this week at the Colorado resort, and the networks of NBC will be there broadcast all the action. In fact, NBC is scheduled to stream and broadcast more than 50 hours of Olympic winter sports from Colorado, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Norway Dec. 7-10.

The finals of both Grand Prix events will be streamed and broadcast live on the networks of NBC, including NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Gold for Friday’s freeski finals and Saturday’s snowboard finals. This weekend’s Grand Prix events also serve as the opening FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Cup halfpipe events for the 2018-19 season and NBC will broadcast a pair of one-hour Grand Prix recap shows Saturday (freeski) and Sunday (snowboard) afternoons.

Fresh off her historic 46th career FIS Ski World Cup victory, which was also her first career World Cup super-G win, Sunday at Lake Louise, Alberta, Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) and teammates return to Europe for the remainder of the competition season. But American fans will only have to reach for their mobile device or remote control to watch this weekend’s super-G and parallel women’s World Cup events in St. Moritz, Switzerland. On the men's side, Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) leads the tech team in the second World Cup giant slalom and slalom events of the season in Val d’Isere, France. All alpine events this weekend will be streamed and broadcast on NBC Sports Network, the Olympic Channel and NBC Sports Gold.

Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.), Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.), Casey Andringa (Vail, Colo.) and Bradley Wilson (Park City, Utah) lead the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athletes as they kick off their World Cup season in Ruka, Finland, this weekend. Both the Olympic Channel and NBC Sports Gold will carry live coverage on Friday, starting at 9:20 a.m. EST.

Fresh of a string of three top-10 World Cup results, including a third-place sprint finish in Lillehammer, Norway, last weekend, Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) joins her U.S. Cross Country Ski Team teammate Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) to compete in a 15k freestyle Saturday and a 4x5k team relay in Beitostølen, Norway, Sunday. Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) are scheduled to participate in the men’s 30k freestyle and a 4x7.5k team relay. All events will be streamed/broadcast live on the Olympic Channel and NBC Sports Gold.

USA Nordic/U.S. Ski Team ski jumpers, unfortunately, will have to wait another week before the next FIS Ski Jumping World Cup event as this weekend's large hill competition in Titisee-Neustadt, Germany has been canceled due to unfavorable weather conditions.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

ALPINE
Saturday, Dec. 8
3:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel-TV

Sunday, Dec. 9
12:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN-TV**
3:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:15 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV
5:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - NBCSN-TV*

FREESKI
Friday, Dec. 7
1:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Copper Mountain, Colo. - NBCSN-TV, NBCSports.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Dec. 8
4:30 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Copper Mountain, Colo. - NBC**

FREESTYLE
Friday, Dec. 7
9:20 a.m. - Men and women’s moguls, Ruka, FIN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:00 p.m. - Men and women’s moguls, Ruka, FIN - Olympic Channel-TV*

CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Dec. 8
3:20 a.m. - Women’s 15k interval, Beitostølen, NOR - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:05 a.m. - Men’s 30k interval, Beitostølen, NOR - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:30 a.m. - Women’s 15k interval, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Dec. 9
4:20 a.m. - Women’s team relay, Beitostølen, NOR - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:20 a.m. - Men’s team relay, Beitostølen, NOR - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:00 p.m. - Women’s team relay, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel-TV*

SNOWBOARD
Saturday, Dec. 8
1:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Copper Mountain, Colo. - NBCSN-TV, NBCSports.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Dec. 9
12:30 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Copper Mountain, Colo. - NBC**

Fans can catch all the action in spectacular high definition via NBC Sports online at NBCSports.com/Live or through the NBC Sports app which is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow

PARK CITY, Utah - Those involved in the freeski and snowboard communities probably know that U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA) have been working together closely for years. What many do not know is the significant contribution to athletes, coaches, and judges that results from the cooperation between these two organizations.
 
U.S. Ski & Snowboard and USASA have been working together to support snowboarding for more than 20 years. Most recently USASA has also been the number one contributor to the regional freeski event market and is entering its 30th year as an integral piece of the event and development pipeline for both sports. One hundred percent of the regional snowboard events and 82 percent of the regional freeski events are produced by USASA. USASA produces more than 500 events at 120 resorts through their 32 unique series that engage the culture and community of both sports. In addition to the hosting of events, USASA also provides an education structure for the development of coaches, officials and judges in the U.S. hosted through in-person clinics and social outreach.
 
U.S. Ski & Snowboard and USASA both play an important part in the development of sport at every level. The U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Teams have had quite the track record over the last decade. In the past two Olympic Winter Games, the U.S. Freeski slopestyle and halfpipe athletes have earned 10 Olympic medals. Similarly, the U.S. Snowboard Team has amassed 31 Olympic medals dating back to the 1998 Olympics. It is easy to see why in 2012 Bill Marolt awarded the USASA the Russell Wilder Award stating, "without USASA, the U.S would not be able to dominate in the sport of snowboarding as we do today".
 
USASA not only provides opportunities for athletes to compete but also introduces a professional competition structure. As an illustration, USASA provides in excess of $50,000 each year in prize money at the USASA National Championships. Entering into its 30th year, it is the largest competition of its kind in the world. The USASA Nationals are part of a robust pipeline that carries athletes from the USASA Regional events all the way to Olympic level competition.

Athletes get started in one of two ways, by finding a coach or by competing in a USASA regional event. To move up the pipeline, athletes compete in regional USASA events where they vie for the opportunity to qualify for USASA Nationals every April. Athletes looking to continue to progress through the pipeline strive to place at the top of their age group or open class. Every year athletes who place at the top of their competitive group at USASA Nationals are invited to participate in Project Gold (an invite-only camp for the nation's top talent), the Revolution Tour and NorAm-level Elite Revolution Tour events (halfpipe and slopestyle), Holeshot Tour (skicross and snowboardcross), and Race to the Cup (alpine snowboard). Athletes who finish at the top of these events may qualify to attend the FIS Junior World Championships, the Youth Olympic Games, Grand Prix, and World Cup events. Olympic selections take place exclusively from World Cup events in Olympic qualifying years. In addition, Olympic team selection may also include results from World Cup events that are included in the selection criteria at the highest level of competition!

Not only does the organization provide athletic opportunity for advancement, but also education. The USASA foundation contributes $20,000 to 30,000 a year in direct scholarships and grants to USASA athletes. Furthermore, USASA’s contribution does not stop with athletes, they also support coaches to ensure a bright future for the sports of freeskiing and snowboarding - hosting numerous level 100 and 200 coaching clinics across the country annually. 

“The USASA and U.S. Ski & Snowboard partnership is critical to our collective future success in snowboarding and freeskiing on the international stage,” said U.S. Snowboard and Freeski Director Jeremy Forster. “It’s important to highlight that USASA is the competitive starting point for almost every snowboard and freeski athlete. Our organizations are working collaboratively to ensure the sport development pathway is well coordinated and communicated to all stakeholders.”

If you are a coach and are interested in finding a coaching clinic, if you are an athlete or parent looking for an Event Near You, USASA can help! 

Visit USASA.org for more information. 

U.S Ski & Snowboard Athletic Pipeline
Freeski Pipeline
Snowboard Pipeline

About USASA
The United States Snowboard and Freeski Association is the first step in the Olympic pipeline. USASA is represented by 32 regional series and made up of over 5000 athlete members, 1000 + coaches, officials, and judges and hosts over 500 snowboard and freeski events annually at over 120 resorts nationwide. The USASA National Championships are held annually at Copper Mountain, Colorado and span twelve days with over 1,800 participants making it the largest snowboard and freeskiing event in the world and is entering its 30th year. USASA aims to facilitate fun and fair events for all ages across the country, to attract snowboarders and freeskiers, promote their development, provide member education, and influence the future of our sports.

About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic National Governing Body for ski and snowboard sports in the USA. One of the oldest and most established sports organizations worldwide, directly tracing its roots back to 1905, the organization, based in Park City, UT, provides leadership and direction for elite athletes competing at the highest level worldwide and for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders in the USA, encouraging and supporting all its athletes in achieving excellence wherever they train and compete. By empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team. U.S. Ski & Snowboard receives no direct government support, operating solely through private donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations to fund athletic programs that directly assist athletes in reaching their dreams and achieving the shared goal of being Best In The World.

Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) led a reemerging U.S. Ski Team men’s tech squad, finishing eighth, at the Birds of Prey FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom as four American’s scored World Cup points Sunday.

“It was awesome,” said Ligety, a five-time giant slalom winner at Beaver Creek, about having four American’s in the second run. “I’m really close with this group of guys and it’s been fun incorporating Brian (McLaughlin) into our group and awesome to see him actually stepping it up on race day. He’s been skiing fast all summer in training … and I’m really excited to have another guy in there.”

Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) was 15th as McLaughlin (Waitsfield, Vt.), who made his World Cup debut at Birds of Prey last season, finished 18th to score his first World Cup points. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) continued his impressive skiing, finishing 22nd and scoring World Cup points in his third discipline so far this season.

“They have been awesome to me,” said McLaughlin of his recent training with the U.S. Ski Team, a Green Mountain Valley School graduate who is skiing independently this season after spending a few years on the U.S. Ski Team Development squad, then the National University Team, and Dartmouth, where he was NCAA giant slalom champion in 2018. Along with the NCAA giant slalom title, he also grabbed the NorAm giant slalom title with guaranteed World Cup starts for the 2018-19 season. “They have been treating me as part of the team and it’s worked out really well so far.”

Returning from a knee injury last season, Germany’s Stefan Luitz pulled a surprising upset victory over Austrian ace Marcel Hirscher for his first career World Cup giant slalom victory. Switzerland’s Thomas Tumler also picked up his first career World Cup podium, finishing third.

First-year U.S. Ski Team member and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail alumnus Kyle Negomir made his World Cup debut on familiar grounds as part of the seven-member U.S. Team to start in Sunday's race.

“It’s pretty sweet being able to do your first World Cup in your backyard, so I was pretty pumped on it,” said Negomir. “I grew up working this race; I was setting B-net and slipping. And I foreran the GS here last year. It’s cool. It’s tough running in the back, but there is not as much pressure because you just go out and ski as hard as you can because you have got nothing to lose.”

Up next, the men’s World Cup circuit moves back to Europe with giant slalom and slalom races in Val d’Isere, France. Both events will be broadcast and stream live on the networks of NBC, including the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - the NBC Sports Network, and the NBC Sports Gold app.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Sunday, Dec. 2
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G recap, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*
11:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel

Saturday, Dec. 8
3:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold (Streaming)
7:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel (Broadcast)

Saturday, Dec. 9
12:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBC Sports Network**
3:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
4:15 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold (Streaming)
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel (Broadcast)
5:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - NBC Sports Network*

Fans can catch all the action in spectacular high definition via NBC Sports online at NBCSports.com/Live or through the NBC Sports app which is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow

Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) has proven once again that she is the best athlete in the world with a historic FIS Ski World Cup super-G victory in Lake Louise, Alberta, Sunday as she became the first ski racer ever to win in all six World Cup disciplines - slalom, parallel slalom, combined, giant slalom, super-G, and downhill.

“It was one of my big goals to win in every discipline when I first started racing…one of those goals that you don’t think you’re ever going to achieve, and it’s incredible,” Shiffrin said. “This season I’m still going to race just some super-Gs, but here in Lake Louise, I have a really good feeling. I have to be in the right mindset, so I plan to ski the super-G in St. Moritz (Switzerland), but then it’s up in the air.”

With her 46th career World Cup victory - and her first super-G World Cup win - she moved into a fourth-place tie with Austria’s Renate Götschl on the all-time women’s World Cup win list. Only teammate Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) with 82 victories, Austria’s Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62, and Switzerland’s Vreni Schneider with 55 are ahead of her on the all-time victory list.

Sunday’s victory came in only her ninth career World Cup super-G start, and after trailing early leader Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany at the first interval by a slim 0.20 seconds, she turned on the aggressive afterburners, taking the "bad girl line."

“This morning when I woke up I thought ‘Well, let’s see what I can do!’” Shiffrin said. “I just skied very aggressively, I wanted to be aggressive. I wanted to find speed. And whatever line I was going to take, I was going to use it to find speed. It felt amazing. My set-up was absolutely perfect. Thank you to my team, my serviceman, and my sponsors. Amazing.”

Rebensburg eventually settled for third after Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinkel, who started 19th, crossed the line in second at 0.77 seconds off the pace set by Shiffrin.

With three top 10 results in the past three days, including eighth in Friday’s downhill and fourth in Saturday’s downhill, Shiffrin increased her overall World Cup lead to 238 points over Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin, who currently sits in second, and Austria's Nicole Schmidhofer in third.

Up next, the women’s tour moves back to Europe next weekend (Dec. 8-9) with super-G and parallel slalom events in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Both events will be broadcast and stream live on the networks of NBC, including the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - the NBC Sports Network, and the NBC Sports Gold app.

RESULTS
Women’s super-G
World Cup overall standings

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Sunday, Dec. 2
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G recap, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*
11:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel

Saturday, Dec. 8
3:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:45 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold (Streaming)
7:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel (Broadcast)

Saturday, Dec. 9
12:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G, St. Moritz, SUI - NBC Sports Network**
3:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 1 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
4:15 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom qualifying, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom, run 2 - Val d’Isere, FRA - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold (Streaming)
7:30 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - Olympic Channel (Broadcast)
5:00 a.m. - Women’s parallel slalom, St. Moritz, SUI - NBC Sports Network*
 

The time has come, the superpipe is taking shape, and Copper Mountain is welcoming freeski and snowboard halfpipe superstars from across the globe to compete at the 2018 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Dec. 5-8. This year the event holds special significance as it marks over a decade of partnership between Copper Mountain and U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Not to mention, early Colorado snow will make for excellent training and competition conditions.

“I am really excited for this season of events to start up,” said U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.). “Heading to Copper Mountain is the perfect way to kick it off. Mainly, I’m just excited to link up with all of my teammates to ride and have a good time.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is showing up with a stacked roster of Olympic medalists, FIS World Cup Champions and rising stars ready to put their skills to the test. The U.S. Freeski Halfpipe Team is arriving with a serious collection of accolades and experience. Double Olympic gold medalist David Wise (Reno, Nev.) will be leading the charge alongside Olympic silver medalist Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.) and two-time Olympian and 2017 FIS World Champion Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.). For the women, the star-studded cast of Olympic medalists includes Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.), Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.), and Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.). Also, PyeongChang Olympian Annalisa Drew (Andover, Mass.) will be looking to put down one of the more technical runs in women’s halfpipe freeskiing.

“Definitely excited to kick off the season and get back in the pipe,” said Sigourney. “It’s been a relaxing post-Olympic break and I’m mostly looking forward to focusing on having fun this year. My goal for Copper is to pick up where I left off last year, I would be really happy with that.”

PyeongChang Olympic gold medalist and 2017 FIS World Cup Champion Chloe Kim (Torrence, Calif.) will be looking to defend her Grand Prix title from 2016 and 2017. Look for Kim and Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.) as they take their new tricks to the competition scene. Both come into Copper Mountain as the only two women who have landed frontside double corks on snow. However, you can not count out Colorado local and Olympic bronze medalist Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.). After battling a shoulder injury in PyeongChang, she is healthy coming into the 2018-19 season. The women of the U.S. Snowboard Team will be looking to defend their podium sweep from 2017.

“I have had the privilege to work with our snowboard halfpipe riders for 12 seasons now,” said U.S. Halfpipe Pro Team Head Coach Rick Bower. “I can say that I have worked with some of the most talented snowboarders of all time and this current crew of riders are as motivated, hungry and skilled as anyone. Our riders are doing truly groundbreaking skills acquired at the Saas Fee camp and I think this season is shaping up to see some tricks that have never been done before in competition.”

Also, PyeongChang Olympians Pates, Chase Josey (Sun Valley, Idaho) as well as new U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Toby Miller (Mammoth, Calif.) will be looking to set the tone for the season at the inaugural FIS World Cup halfpipe competition.

“We are all very excited for our first competition,” said U.S. Freeski Halfpipe Pro Team Head Coach Andrew Woods. “With all the early season snow Copper has received, conditions will be excellent and will make for a great contest. Each year, Copper gives athletes the first opportunity to show off their hard work over the summer. For the first time, they will be taking skills they learned at training camps into full competition runs. Doing well here can really boost the confidence and help to set the tone for the remainder of the year.”

The freeskiers will kick things off on Dec. 5 and snowboarders on Dec. 6 with the qualification rounds. Finals will take place on Dec. 7 for the freeskiers and Dec. 8 for the snowboarders. Whether you plan to head out to Copper Mountain, Colo. and experience the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix up close and personal or are tuning in to the networks of NBC, you are guaranteed a spectacular show. Stay tuned for more coverage as competition unfolds this week.

HOW TO WATCH
*Subject to change
*All times EST

FREESKI
December 7, 2018
1:00 p.m. - U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC Sports & NBC Sports Gold

December 8
4:30 p.m. - U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC - Next-day broadcast

SNOWBOARD
December 8, 2018
1:00 p.m. - U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC Sports & NBC Sports Gold

December 9
12:30 p.m. - U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe, Copper Mountain - NBC - Next-day broadcast

EVENT SCHEDULE
*subject to change

Dec. 5:  8:30 a.m - 3:30 p.m (MST) - Freeski Qualifications
Dec. 6: 8:30 a.m - 3:30 p.m (MST) - Snowboard Qualifications
Dec. 7: 11:00 a.m. - 12:40 p.m. (MST) - Freeski Finals
Dec. 8: 11:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. (MST) - Snowboard Finals
 

Erik Bjornson (Winthrop, Wash.) had an outstanding race on the final day of the Lillehammer Triple, finishing third for the day in the 15k classic pursuit. Bjornsen finished the weekend in 32nd place for the mini-tour leading the U.S. men. Norway swept the men's mini-tour podium with Didrik Toenseth taking the win followed by Sjur Roethe in second and Emil Iversen in third.

“I'm really excited about the time of day result and hope that I can continue to build through the season,” said Erik Bjornsen. “The goal is to consistently be skiing in the points. The margins are so small that I know if I can ski top 30 every day, then the top 10 finishes start appearing.  I love the pursuit start classic races because there are always a bunch of skate specialists to pick off throughout the race. Nothing feels better than passing a guy with a super low number.”

Erik Bjornsen was clearly dissatisfied with his performance in Saturday’s skate race and came out charging Sunday. He and Jean-Marc Gaillard from France were able to work together to move up the standings significantly, and Jean-Marc went on to have the second fastest time of the day, one second ahead of Erik Bjornsen.

On the women’s side, Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) finished 10th overall in the three-day Lillehammer Triple on a very challenging wax day with a wintry mix of precipitation in the final stage 10k pursuit. Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) closely followed in 13th with Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah) finishing the weekend 15th overall.

“Today was particularly tough because I was kind of in "no man’s land" in the pursuit start,” Sadie Bjornsen said. “I was really struggling with not enough kick on my skis, so I had to really use some mental toughness to make it up the endless hills of the Lillehammer course. Early season races are good races to deal with this sort of stuff, because not only do you learn from ski waxing mistakes, but you also can take advantage of making your brain fight extra hard and get in good form along with your muscles.”

Norway’s Therese Johaug took the victory – her 55th World Cup win – with Ebba Andersson of Sweden second and Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg in third. It was a standout tour for Brennan who will move to the Beitostølen, Norway, World Cup Dec. 8-9 with a lot of confidence in her skating.

“The service team made some great skis although we had a couple women that were on the slick side, including Sadie,” U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover said. “Jessie skied with better energy today and was able to move up a spot and finish the race explosively. Now that she is healthier the next two weeks of racing should be steps forward for her.”

“I got to ski the race with Rosie, the birthday girl, today”, said Olympic gold medalist Diggins. “It was super awesome to be skiing with a teammate and it helped keep me in the game. I felt better than yesterday’s race, so I was happy with the progress my body is making, and now I’m looking forward to next week to make sure my body is rested and recovered…because we have relays coming up”

The FIS Cross Country World Cup season continues next weekend, Dec. 8-9 in Beitostølen, Norway, with a 15k freestyle for the women, 30k freestyle for the men Saturday, and a men and women’s team relay Sunday.

RESULTS
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit
Women’s overall Lillehammer Triple standings
Men’s overall Lillehammer Triple standings

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day broadcast

Saturday, Dec. 8
3:20 a.m. - Women’s 15k interval, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
6:05 a.m. - Men’s 30k interval, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
8:30 a.m. - Women’s 15k interval, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel*

Sunday, Dec. 9
4:20 a.m. - Women’s team relay, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
7:20 a.m. - Men’s team relay, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel & NBC Sports Gold
4:00 p.m. - Women’s team relay, Beitostølen, NOR - Olympic Channel*

Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.) led five of his teammates into the top 30, finishing 15th, in Saturday’s Birds of Prey FIS Ski World Cup super-G. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) was 17th; Steven Nyman (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 20th; Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) was 22nd; and Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y) was 26th.

“Today I was ready to push a little harder, turn my brain off and just enjoyed it,” said Ganong, who missed the 2018 Olympic Winter Games after suffering an ACL injury in Bormio, Italy, last season. “I’m getting to that point now where I’ve had a couple races under my belt and I’m starting to find that fire again, and just relax and enjoy it.”

Max Franz of Austria took the victory ahead of Switzerland’s Mauro Caviezel in second and Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal in third. For the second-straight day, weather forced race organizers to postpone the start time and to lower the start, which provided a short, fast course which saw five racers who started outside the top 30 finish in the top 15. However, the most impressive performance of the day belonged to Nyman, who started with bib 64 and finished 20th.

“This course crew did a pretty phenomenal job for the conditions and the weather that came in,” Cochran-Siegle said of the Talon Crew, who pulled an all-nighter clearing more than a foot of snow off the course.

Up next, the men’s will race giant slalom Sunday at Beaver Creek. The first run will be broadcast on the Olympic Channel, and stream on NBC Sports Gold. The second run will broadcast live on NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Gold.
 

Shiffrin Further Extends World Cup Lead

Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) further extended her overall World Cup lead after finishing fourth in Saturday’s FIS Ski World Cup downhill in Lake Louise, Alberta.

"I'm pretty psyched with today," Shiffrin said after her run. "Yesterday I felt a little bit disconnected and not really attacking as much as I'd like, but today I think it was a really big step in the right direction and I felt good on my skis, and felt like I made some really good turns so I'm psyched with that."

Shiffrin led through the first three intervals but lost a bit of time on the lower section of the course to just miss the podium in only her eighth career downhill. With her fourth-place finish though, she extended her overall World Cup lead to 156 points over Austria’s Nicole Schmidhofer, who won for the second straight day at Lake Louise. Austria’s Cornelia Huetter was second, followed by Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin, who posted her second-straight podium, finishing third Saturday.

Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) scored World Cup points for the second straight day, finishing 24th.

Now, Shiffrin will have to switch gears to super-G. "I'm going to try to go back and watch a little video from this summer when I was training super-G and switch gears and bring back my focus points from those training camps and see if I can bring that into tomorrow and attack a bit," Shiffrin said. "I haven't had any super-G training for a while, so it's kind of, like, winging it a little bit."

Up next, the women race super-G at Lake Louise, and will be broadcast live on the Olympic Channel and streamed on NBC Sports Gold.

RESULTS
Men’s super-G
Women’s downhill

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

Saturday, Dec. 1
6:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*
10:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s downhill, Lake Louise, CAN - Olympic Channel*

Sunday, Dec. 2
1:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 1, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
1:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G, Lake Louise, CAN - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
2:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G recap, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*
11:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*
 

Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wa.) led the U.S. Cross Country Team, finishing ninth at Saturday’s FIS Cross Country World Cup 10k freestyle in Lillehammer, Norway, as Rosie Brennan (Park City, Ut.) posted a career-best World Cup result in 11th. Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) was 12th.

“I am thrilled with my result and am looking forward to being in the mix tomorrow,”  Brennan said. “I had the confidence that I could have a good race after a really good summer of training and lots of improvements in my skating in particular.”

It was another day of solid results for the U.S. Cross Country Team in the second of the three-race mini tour competed on dirty snow due to the warm and wet weather. Therese Johaug of Norway won, followed by Sweden’s Edda Andersson second and Charlotte Kalla completing the podium in third.

“After climbing up the big long climb at 3.5k, I finally found my rhythm and my craving for the pain cave,” said Bjornsen, who posted her second-consecutive top 10-result after finishing third in Friday’s sprint. “From there I kept pushing myself and tried to cut some time off the leaders.  I was happy with my ninth place finish today. I think I have more in me, so I look forward to another try at distance skating next weekend. I think today was actually a step up from my distance race in Beito before the World Cup season started, so that is a step in the right direction.”

The Lillehammer Triple, as this mini-tour is referred to, concludes tomorrow with women’s 10k classic pursuit and a men’s 15k classic pursuit, both of which will be streamed live on NBC Sports Gold and the Olympic Channel.

“My body is in a weird place coming right off being sick, so although I know I’m still very much working towards my top form it was encouraging to be able to get out there and race today,” Diggins said. “I’m so proud of Rosie for her career best World Cup result, and excited to dig deep one last time in Lillehammer tomorrow!" from Jessie

In the men’s 15k Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) led the U.S. squad in 43rd. Norway’s Sjur Roethe won the race with teammate Didrik Toenseth second and Russia’s Denis Spitsov closing out the podium in third.

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

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

Sunday, Dec. 2
4:15 a.m. - World Cup women’s 10k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
5:45 a.m. - World Cup Men’s 15k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
2:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s 10k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - Olympic Channel*
9:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s 10k pursuit, Lillehammer, NOR - NBCSN*

In just her seventh career FIS Ski World Cup downhill start, Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) finished ninth to lead three Americans scoring World Cup points in Friday’s downhill at Lake Louise, Alberta. Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) was 26th, and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) picked up her first career World Cup top-30 downhill result in 27th.

Austria’s Nicole Schmidhofer won her first career World Cup race as Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin was second. Germany’s Kira Weidle posted her first career World Cup podium, finishing third.

"My overall feeling was pretty good today," Shiffrin reflected. "I was really feeling aggressive and prepared, but one thing I still have to work on is being able to still stay smooth and aggressive with flat light and bumps. For sure I felt the bumps quite aggressively today. Watching some of the other girls - especially the podium finishers - and see how they're able to ski through the bumps and still be smooth and supple and aggressive even though they couldn't see...that's a tricky thing I still have to learn."

A true and diligent student of the sport, you can bet Shiffrin will learn from Friday's race and implement her learnings in Saturday's downhill, as she fights for the podium.

"Today was actually a really good lesson and stepping stone towards that. It's probably going to be really similar conditions tomorrow and having the ability to trust that the surface is there, it's just going to be really rattly - and staying in a good position and fighting to stay forward and fighting to keep moving and fighting to be smooth is probably the biggest change that I'm going to shoot to make."

For two downhill sessions and three training runs since May, it was a solid result for Shiffrin, who increased her overall World Cup lead to 143 points over Slovenia’s Petra Vlhova, who is not competing in this weekend’s speed events at Lake Louise. Italy’s Federica Brignone, winner of last week’s World Cup giant slalom at Killington, Vt., finished 25th in Friday’s downhill and currently sits third in the overall World Cup standings, 153 points behind Shiffrin.

Up next, the women have another downhill Saturday, and a super-G Sunday. Both races will be streamed and broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Gold.

RESULTS
Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
*Same-day delayed broadcast

Saturday, Dec. 1
1:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
2:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s downhill, Lake Louise, CAN - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s super-G, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*
10:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s downhill, Lake Louise, CAN - Olympic Channel*

Sunday, Dec. 2
1:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 1, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
1:00 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G, Lake Louise, CAN - NBC Sports Gold & Olympic Channel
2:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC Sports Gold & NBCSN
5:00 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom recap, Beaver Creek, Colo. - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - World Cup women’s super-G recap, Lake Louise, CAN - NBCSN*
11:30 p.m. - World Cup men’s giant slalom, run 2, Beaver Creek, Colo. - Olympic Channel*