JC Schoonmaker, Ben Ogden, and Luke Jager posted career-best results to lead six Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athletes into the classic sprint heats in the opening FIS World Cup Cross Country race of the season in Ruka, Finland, Friday.

Schoonmaker advanced to the semifinals to finish seventh, Ben Ogden scored his first World Cup points, finishing 13th, and Luke Jager scored his first World Cup points in only his second-ever World Cup race, finishing 18th.

“It felt amazing to make those semis,” said Schoonmaker, whose previous career-best result was 18th in Dresden, Germany, last season. “Last year, I struggled to get through the quarters, so today was kinda a breakthrough moment, and it was fun to get into some uncharted territory. I felt great today, mentally and physically, and I’m really happy to be in this position starting the season.”

After posting the fifth-fastest qualifying time, Schoonmaker advanced through his quarterfinal heat, finishing second. In the semifinals, Schoonmaker charged forward from the back of the pack, throwing himself into the mix of the top three on the final climb. Things got interesting coming around the last corner when Sweden’s Markus Grate clipped teammate Anton Persson, bringing both athletes down.

“It all happened pretty fast, but the guy next to me just kinda skied into my ski and luckily I was able to keep my balance,” Schoonmaker said. “I went over to those Swedish guys after and said ‘good race and sorry that it happened.’ I don’t think it was anyone’s fault, just ski racing.”

Ogden and Jager, skiing in the fifth and final quarterfinal heat, looked strong as well but did not advance to the semifinals - finishing third and fourth, respectively. “It was a lot of fun,” Ogden said. “Feels damn good, but I’m hungry for more! Excited for more racing!" 

Russia’s Alexander Terentev, the 2021 Classic Sprint Junior World Champion, won his first-career World Cup race, edging Norwegians Johannes Klaebo in second and Erik Valnes in third. Logan Hanneman just missed qualifying for the heats in 33rd; Gus Schumacher was 56th in qualifying, and Kevin Bolger was 57th.

“We’ve all been watching this swell come in for several years,” noted Davis U.S. Cross Country Team WHead Coach Matt Whitcomb. “Today a few waves hit the shores, and our men’s squad is now starting to turn some heads on the world cup. JC, Ben, and Luke were having some fun today, and Logan (Hanneman) was damn close. Considering that today is our first race of the season, and we’ve only been on the snow in Europe skiing for one week, we can classify the day as great.”

In the women’s race, Jessie Diggins open her season stronger than ever, while donning the yellow World Cup leader’s bib. Diggins posted the day’s fastest qualifying time to advance to the heats along with Rosie Brennan and Julia Kern. “To win a classic sprint qualifier... I was not expecting that at all,” said Diggins. “Nobody was expecting that, so it was a fun surprise and an exciting little way to kick off the season.” 

Brennan led the women, finishing 15th, with Diggins right behind in 16th, and Kern 18th. “I think this was my best result in Ruka, even though I always want more,” Brennan said. “I felt I was missing a little top-end speed today, but I feel that I am on track and moving in the right direction. I’m excited to do some distance racing and to continue working out the kinks this weekend.” 

All three U.S. women looked strong throughout their quarterfinal heats, proving that the hard work this summer will start to pay dividends with more days on snow. “I felt like I had a lot of energy out there today, and our skis felt really fast,” Kern said. “I am proud of how I skied, and figuring out the last part of that final climb will hopefully come with more days skiing on snow!”

Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist won her second career World Cup classic sprint, edging teammate Johanna Hagstroem in second, with Norway’s Maiken Falla in third. Hailey Swirbul was 37th in qualifying; Katharine Ogden was 52nd; Hannah Halvorsen was 53rd; Movie McCabe was 61st, and Sydney Palmer-Leger was 66th.

To complement the top-level fitness the athletes brought into the first race of the season, the U.S. Service Team also brought their A-Game to Ruka, nailing the wax on a cold, challenging snow day. “I was really, really proud of our tech team,” Diggins said. “We had excellent skis. They have been working really hard, and they nailed it.”

Racing continues Saturday in Ruka with a 15k classic for men and a 10k classic for women. Sunday features a 15k freestyle pursuit for the men and a 10k freestyle pursuit for the women. 

RESULTS
Women’s Classic Sprint
Men’s Classic Sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup sprint
Men’s World Cup sprint

FIS Cross Country World Cup
Ruka, Finland
Schedule/U.S. Starters

Saturday, Nov. 27
Men’s 15k classic

• Gus Schumacher
• Hunter Wonders
• Zanden McMullen
• Ben Ogden
• David Norris
• Luke Jager

Women’s 10 Classic

• Jessie Diggins
• Rosie Brennan
• Hailey Swirbul
• Katharine Ogden
• Sophia Laukli
• Julia Kern
• Novie McCabe
• Caitlin Patterson

Sunday, Nov. 28
Men’s 15k freestyle pursuit

• Gus Schumacher
• Hunter Wonders
• Zanden McMullen
• Ben Ogden
• David Norris
• Luke Jager

Women’s 10k freestyle pursuit

• Jessie Diggins
• Rosie Brennan
• Hailey Swirbul
• Katharine Ogden
• Sophia Laukli
• Julia Kern
• Novie McCabe
• Caitlin Patterson

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EDT

Saturday, Nov. 27
4:15 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Men’s 15k - LIVE,  Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock, Ski and Snowboard Live
7:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Women’s 10k - LIVE,  Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock, Ski and Snowboard Live

Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021
4:20 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Women’s 10k Pursuit - LIVE,  Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock, Ski and Snowboard Live
6:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Men’s 15k Pursuit - LIVE,  Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock, Ski and Snowboard Live

Current television broadcast and streaming schedules for all sports are available here. 

Sport-specific broadcast and streaming schedules are available below:

• Alpine
• Cross Country
• Freeski
• Freestyle
• Ski Jumping
• Nordic Combined
• Snowboard

Broadcast and streaming will be updated on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard website throughout the season.

2021-22 FIS World Cup Schedule
2022 Olympic Winter Games Schedule

Follow the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team:
Instagram: @usskiteam
Facebook: @usskiandsnowboard
TikTok: @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter: @usskiteam

This Olympic season, fans worldwide are chomping at the bit to follow their favorite World Cup athletes on the road to Beijing. For American fans, in particular, tuning in to international, and even domestic competitions can seem like a daunting task given the myriad of streaming options to choose from. Add on the complication of TV rights between host countries, and finding the event that you want to watch, when you want to watch it, gets even more confusing. 

But please, don’t fret. Our team has broken down your options, based on your viewing preferences and schedule. Consider it your trusty handbook for when too many options seem to lead to no good options.

To start, what exactly do we mean when we say, NBC Universal? 
NBC Universal is a parent company home to NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and PeacockTV.com. Through the number of channels at their disclosure, NBC Universal promises to provide live and same-day event coverage of alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, and snowboard events throughout the 2021/22 season, in addition to broadcasting the 2022 Olympic Winter Games from Feb. 4-20.

If you prefer watching the full broadcast… 
Tune into the live and/or same-day coverage of the event of your choosing on either NBC, NBCSN, or the Olympic Channel. To catch the events live, as they happen, set your alarm and tune in. Otherwise, if you have DVR capacities on your home television, be sure to hop on the night before an event and make sure to record said event to catch all the real-time action, full commentary, and more, at a time that is convenient for you. Unfortunately, not all events are available via broadcast, but if this is your preferred method of view, double-check our schedule to see if it's an option before peeling through your at-home TV schedule.

*Please note – U.S. Ski and Snowboard has a duty to report results as they happen on our social media channels. We also publish articles at the conclusion of substantial events that offer a brief recap of event happenings. If you’re a die-hard fan and don’t want to know the who, what, when, and where before you watch your event recording, please avoid our social media channels. 

If you don’t have access to broadcast television or want on-demand coverage of all FIS-sanctioned World Cup events, look no further than PeacockTV.com.  
With NBC’s PeacockTV.com, live streaming and on-demand viewing are both an option for each and every World Cup event happening throughout the season. Alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, ski jumping, and nordic combined World Cups, are all available to stream on Peacock. 

To customize your viewing experience, add specific events to your Peacock watchlist to easily find live streams the day of, and if you can’t burn the midnight oil, find the replays at a convenient time for you. 

But wait, how do you find events on Peacock? 
First, create an account. FIS World Cups are only available for viewing with a paid Peacock Premium subscription. At $4.99/month for sports with commercials and $9.99/month for sports without commercials, it’s worth the price of an oat-milk latte to never miss a moment this Olympic season. By subscribing now, it helps make the case for wider event coverage of our sports in the future. Plus, it's a great way to show your support for the sports you care about, the athletes, and all the folks that work hard to put on these events.

Once logged in, you can find FIS World Cup events by clicking on the sports tab, and scrolling down the page until you find the section titled Skiing & Snowboarding. By hovering your mouse over the scheduled broadcasts, two small arrows to the left and right will appear. If you don’t see your desired event immediately, click through the streaming list until you find the event you would like to watch (there are quite a few events happening each weekend, so don’t give up too quickly!) Once you get there, by clicking on the event, you can dive into the show live, or add it to your watchlist to easily find an on-demand replay for your viewing pleasure at a time that is convenient for you. Bonus, you can easily find your watchlist (including replays) under your account to skip all the scrolling farther down the line.

If you are having trouble with your Peacock account, please contact Peacock at https://www.peacocktv.com/help/.

*Please note – streaming on PeacockTV.com DOES NOT include live event commentary on the vast majority of events. To hear full breakdowns from the likes of Steve Porino, Steve Schlanger, Ted Ligety, and more, you’ll have to tune in or record the broadcast, if it is available for your event.

If you want to stream the event, with English commentary, Ski and Snowboard Live makes that option available. 160 live FIS World Cup events will be available for fans to watch with English commentary at Ski and Snowboard Live. Each event does require that you purchase a pass to tune in. So rather than subscribing for a month to receive access to all FIS World Cup Events, you pay per event. 

New this season, all Austrian World Cup events will be available for U.S. fans to watch on the Ski World Cup Live app. For those of you that have followed the ongoing TV rights saga over the years, this is big news. Catch full event coverage with English commentary of all your favorite Austria-based events, including highlights, and on-demand replays, free with your account. Never miss out on the drama of the Hahnenkamm downhill again. 

How do I keep track of all this? 
Current television broadcast and streaming schedules for all sports are available on our website, here. Sport-specific broadcast and streaming schedules are available below:

• Alpine
• Cross Country
• Freeski
• Freestyle
• Ski Jumping
• Nordic Combined
• Snowboard

Broadcast and streaming schedules for the Networks of NBCUniversal, Ski and Snowboard Live, and World Cup Live will be updated weekly on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard website throughout the season. Check-in regularly for the latest updates!

Thank you, as always, for your support. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

Following a productive summer of training, 19 Americans are ready to kick off the FIS Cross Country World Cup season with the traditional season-opener in Ruka, Finland, featuring three races - classic sprint, classic distance, and freestyle pursuit events starting Friday.

Due to Covid restrictions in place to keep the athletes safe throughout the season, a number of the athletes departed the U.S. last week and said goodbye to their family and friends for the next four months as they embark on their World Cup journey and march toward the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. But thanks to the return of team camps this past summer, including many athletes participating in their club camps throughout the training season, the athletes enjoyed the opportunity to build a stronger bond with each other, which will pay huge dividends on the road this season.

“I'd say the number one thing is the team that we have on the road, both men's and women's teams have created a hospitable environment, an inviting environment,” noted Davis U.S. Cross Country Team Head Coach Matt Whitcomb. “One of the tickets to success is to build a successful team. But you don't really get the full understanding of what it does until you go through some times of adversity,” which the team experienced last season Whitcomb said. “We were constantly having to deal with changes to the schedule, trying to fit in Covid tests here and there; sometimes before races, which is happening this week. It's a constant logistical mess.”

Last season the team conquered so much adversity, but many athletes posted personal bests, their first World Cup victories, or podiums, and of course Jessie Diggins won the Tour de Ski and the overall and distance World Cup Titles. So heading into this season, everyone on the team has risen to the challenge of competing under the “new” normal. “It's not one person pulling the team,” said Diggins. “Is every single person showing everyday how they can make this team better!”

For a team that competes the entire season in Europe, the athletes have adapted well to life on the road with limited opportunities, outside of FaceTime, to see their family and friends. Heading into the 2022 Olympics, every team will face the same challenges with family and friends banned from the Games in China. But American cross country athletes will have a significant advantage.

“There's no team that travels internationally better than ours,” Whitcomb said. ‘“The Europeans are clearly at a disadvantage. Beyond that, what's unique about China is that we will be in the cold, and there is, you know, a 10th of an inch of precipitation in the month of February or something like that. So we know approximately what the weather is going to be like. And fortunately, with Swix, and L.L.Bean, we've been able to dial in some very warm options for clothing, and athletes will be prepared.”

Heading into Ruka this weekend, members of the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team will bring a mixed bag of expectations into the event, from reacquainting themselves with snow and skiing into race fitness to charging for the podium and World Cup points.

“Ruka has historically been a really tough course and a tough season opener,” said Hailey Swirbul, who brings a couple weeks of on-snow training into Finland, thanks to early-season snowfall in Alaska that offered her and her Alaska Pacific University Club teammates early season on-snow opportunities. “This year I'm just trying to stay positive, gain some race experience and hopefully hit the races later in (period 1) pretty hard.”

The team will have a mix of World Cup-experienced athletes and newbies this weekend, with three athletes making their World Cup debut, including Novie McCabe, Sydney Palmer-Leger and Zanden McMullen. Palmer-Leger is scheduled to start Friday’s classic sprint. McCabe will race in all events. McMulllen will compete in the men’s 15 classic Saturday, and the 15k freestyle pursuit Sunday.

One team member notable missing will be Scott Patterson, who plans to join the team next week in Lillehammer Norway. “We had Scott pull out just several days earlier because of a wrist that is healing,” Whitcomb said. 

FIS Cross Country World Cup
Ruka, Finland
Schedule/U.S. Starters

Friday, Nov. 26
Classic Sprint
Men

• Gus Schumacher
• JC Schoonmaker
• Kevin Bolger
• Logan Hanneman
• Luke Jager
• Ben Ogden

Women

• Jessie Diggins
• Rosie Brennan
• Hailey Swirbul
• Katharine Ogden
• Sydney Palmer-Leger
• Julia Kern
• Hannah Halvorsen
• Novie McCabe

Saturday, Nov. 27
Men’s 15k classic

• Gus Schumacher
• Hunter Wonders
• Zanden McMullen
• Ben Ogden
• David Norris
• Luke Jager

Women’s 10 Classic

• Jessie Diggins
• Rosie Brennan
• Hailey Swirbul
• Katharine Ogden
• Sophia Laukli
• Julia Kern
• Novie McCabe
• Caitlin Patterson

Sunday, Nov. 28
Men’s 15k freestyle pursuit

• Gus Schumacher
• Hunter Wonders
• Zanden McMullen
• Ben Ogden
• David Norris
• Luke Jager

Women’s 10k freestyle pursuit

• Jessie Diggins
• Rosie Brennan
• Hailey Swirbul
• Katharine Ogden
• Sophia Laukli
• Julia Kern
• Novie McCabe
• Caitlin Patterson

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EDT

Friday, Nov. 26
6:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Men and Women’s Freestyle Sprint - LIVE,  Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock, Ski and Snowboard Live

Saturday, Nov. 27
4:15 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Men’s 15k - LIVE,  Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock, Ski and Snowboard Live
7:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Women’s 10k - LIVE,  Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock, Ski and Snowboard Live

Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021
4:20 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Women’s 10k Pursuit - LIVE,  Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock, Ski and Snowboard Live
6:30 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Men’s 15k Pursuit - LIVE,  Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock, Ski and Snowboard Live

Current television broadcast and streaming schedules for all sports are available here. 

Sport-specific broadcast and streaming schedules are available below:

• Alpine
• Cross Country
• Freeski
• Freestyle
• Ski Jumping
• Nordic Combined
• Snowboard

Broadcast and streaming are updated on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard website throughout the season.
 

2021-22 FIS World Cup Schedule
2022 Olympic Winter Games Schedule

Follow the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team:
Instagram: @usskiteam
Facebook: @usskiandsnowboard
TikTok: @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter: @usskiteam

Sophie Laukli went into 15th place on Saturday's 10-kilometer classic during the season opener at Beitostølen and put several of the Norwegian national team runners in place on their own home track. 

Cross-country skiing.com met the 21-year-old after the opening distance at Beitostølen on Saturday afternoon. 

"It is very fun to do so well in such a company, and very fun also because my path into cross-country skiing is quite different than for most other elite runners," says the American national team member.  

Laukli is originally from Maine in the far north of the American east coast, and it was only a couple of years ago that she started to focus seriously on cross-country skiing. Until then, she had practiced versatility with a number of different sports, and bet for a long time, including a long time on football.  Cross-country skiing was more of a hobby I did in the winter. And in Maine, the winter conditions were not always very good, so it was not always tempting. But then I lived in Switzerland for a year, and that was when I started investing in cross-country skiing, Laukli says. 

Read the Full Story at Langren.com

The winter competition season for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes kick into high gear this weekend, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard is excited to announce multiple opportunities for U.S. fans to watch every FIS World Cup event this season live, or on-demand, leading up to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

In addition to broadcasting the 2022 Olympic Winter Games Feb. 4-20, the networks of NBCUniversal will provide live and same-day World Cup coverage of alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, and snowboard events on NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and Peacock.  

Plus, fans in the United States can now access live streams from numerous World Cup alpine, snowboard, freestyle, freeski, and cross country events, all of them with English commentary on the new Ski and Snowboard Live platform. The platform will stream 160 live events during the 2021-22 season, starting with this weekend’s FIS Alpine Ski World Cup slalom in Levi, Finland. Live streaming will be available on an all-inclusive season subscription and pay-per-view package basis. In addition to live events, Ski and Snowboard Live will include on-demand content, highlights, interviews, event replays, and other behind-the-scenes footage.

“We are very excited to offer U.S. fans many opportunities to watch our athletes compete all around the world this season as they prepare for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. 

NBC Sports will present nearly 70 hours of broadcast and streaming coverage of U.S.-based events this season, starting the weekend of Nov. 27-28 with women’s slalom and giant slalom at the HomeLight Killington Cup, on NBC, NBCSN, and Peacock. Peacock will also live stream every minute of 2021-22 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup coverage, including events held in Austria. All coverage on NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA will also be available to stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

In addition, Peacock will offer live streaming of FIS World Cup events this season, including some with English commentary. Select events will also be broadcasted on the Olympic Channel, NBCSN, and CNBC this season. 

New this season, all Austrian World Cup events will be available for U.S. fans on the Ski World Cup Live app. This weekend’s FIS World Cup freeski slopestyle will stream live on both Peacock, and World Cup Live from Stubai, Austria.

Current television broadcast and streaming schedules for all sports are available here. Sport-specific broadcast and streaming schedules are available below:

• Alpine
• Cross Country
• Freeski
• Freestyle
• Ski Jumping
• Nordic Combined
• Snowboard

Broadcast and streaming schedules for the Networks of NBCUniversal, Ski and Snowboard Live, and World Cup Live will be updated weekly on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard website throughout the season.