It started long before she crossed the finish line to win the first-ever Olympic gold medal in cross country for her and Kikkan Randall in the team relay at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. The drive. The determination. The suffering. The joy and the pain.

Jessie Diggins always dreamed of winning an Olympic medal, but the road to achieving her dream was not always smooth. Like many young athletes, she faced challenges, including an eating disorder that almost derailed her career, but has had a lasting effect on her life. And in her new book Brave Enough, she openly shares her harrowing struggle with bulimia, recounting both the adversity and how she healed from it in order to bring hope and understanding to others experiencing eating disorders.

Jessie reveals the true story of her journey in Brave Enough, from the American Midwest into sports history. With candid charm and characteristic grit, she connects the dots from her free-spirited upbringing in the woods of Minnesota to racing in the bright spotlights of racing on the World Cup Tour, World Championships, the Olympics, and beyond.

Brave Enough is on sale March 10 and available on Jessie's website, through Amazon, or your favorite book store.

Riders across the globe are registered and set to shred one of the 13 participating resorts on Friday, March 13th for A Day For Jake. Burton Snowboards has organized A Day For Jake to serve as a global day of snowboarding to honor the life of Jake Burton Carpenter by bringing people together to do what he loved most, snowboarding. 

Participating resorts offered free passes for those who registered by Sunday, March 8th, and will be provided branded armbands as a unifying symbol for the celebration. Although registration is closed for a free lift ticket at participating resorts, that doesn’t mean you can’t do your part to honor Jake’s legacy.

Create your own armband by cutting off a sleeve of a shirt, grab a paint pen, and get creative. Then make a plan and make it your own. Whether it’s your favorite backcountry trip, your local mountain, or your own backyard, just get out and ride for Jake. A Day for Jake is about snowboarding wherever you can, no matter where you are.

"Jake’s vision was to bring snowboarding to all. His dream, his perseverance, and his generosity were his gift to the world. As an industry, and as a community we come together for this day to remember, reflect and ride. Together we open our doors and open our hearts to carry Jake’s spirit forward; to share our love of the mountains and the joy of a perfect turn. Because snowboarding makes us happy. Snowboarding makes us hopeful. Snowboarding makes us free."
    - Burton Snowboards

If you are looking to join more riders excited to celebrate A Day For Jake, join the community at one of the participating resorts below. 

https://www.adayforjake.com

PARTICIPATING RESORTS
Absolut Park
Avoriaz
Big Bear Mountain Resort
Big Sky Montana
Big Snow American Dream
Woodward Tahoe
Boyne Mountain
Copper Mountain / Woodward Copper
Cypress Mountain
Laax 
Ursus Snow Park
Stratton Mountain
The Summit At Snoqualmie
 

Keely Cashman grabbed her career-first FIS Junior World Ski Championships medal with a bronze in Monday's alpine combined in Narvik, Norway, to lead the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team. 

For the third-consecutive event at Narvik, the seemingly unbeatable Austrian duo of Magdalena Egger and Lisa Grill went 1-2. Magdalena finished just ahead of countrywoman Lisa in the super-G portion of the combined with a time of 59.24 seconds, while Lisa posted a time of 59.28. After getting fifth-place in Sunday's super-G, Keely proved she once again could hang with the Austrians, finishing just .31 seconds off Magdalena's pace in the super-G. All three ladies held their own in the slalom portion of the combined, and Keely secured her career-first World Juniors medal. 

Alpine Development Director Chip Knight noted that Monday's super-G was a more open super-G set, and less technical and turny. There was a lot more speed coming down that pitch, which resulted in a lot of DNFs. "Keely skied really, really strong in the super-G and put herself in a nice position and had a very solid, stable slalom run. These Austrian girls are very good skiers across the board...they have very fast skis. They get to the flats and they just motor at the bottom of the hill. They're a formidable duo with fast skis, but they were certainly capable slalom skiers as well, so I'm sure they'll be in contention in the last two races. It was great to sneak in there and get a medal today."

Keely said the conditions were challenging, but they reminded her of home, "it was super windy, so the start was moved down a bit, and the snow wasn't super wet, but it was really mushy, so it was pretty soft. It was kind of like skiing at Squaw, so it was familiar to me. I'm pretty happy with the result." Hopefully, she added, her result will help build the momentum for the rest of the group. "I think the boys are pretty happy with their slalom run, so hopefully it will help them do well in the super-G," Keely said. Chip agreed, saying that this medal was important for the team, and it will hopefully stoke the fire. 

She's feeling pretty good about her skiing in the tech disciplines and will look forward to the giant slalom and slalom events, though she knows the Austrians will be tough to beat. "I know they mainly ski speed events, so for me—as someone who doesn't solely ski speed—to be able to be up there with them is pretty cool. I was telling AJ that one of us needs to dethrone them because they've been winning every day," Keely said with a giggle (she and AJ grew up skiing together at Squaw Valley, Calif. and are best friends). 

Katie Twible, U.S. Ski Team Women’s World Cup and Europa Cup Assistant Coach was stoked about the progress Keely has made as well as her ability to keep it cool despite numerous delays. "Keely stepped up and skied awesome today!" Katie shared. "She has just been building all week. There were a ton, of course, holds and start/stops due to weather and crazy wind, and Keely came out of the start ready to roll. She skied well and nailed all the tough sections. It was a long day, with a ton of changes, so I'm really proud of her."

She added that AJ Hurt, who did not finish in the super-G portion of the alpine combined, carried a lot of speed and skied the top section well, but she came in with that speed and couldn't hold it. "She will be ready for the GS," said Katie. Olivia Holm also started for the U.S. but did not finish the super-G portion of the alpine combined. 

(Updated March 10th)
The men were originally supposed to ski both the slalom and the super-G portions of the alpine combined on Tuesday, but with weather coming in, the organizers modified the program. They were able to successfully run the slalom portion of the combined on Monday. The Americans put themselves in a solid position to strike after the slalom and heading into the super-G portion of the combined, with Bridger Gile in seventh, Isaiah Nelson eighth, Matthew Macaluso 12th, Jacob Dilling 18th, Bradshaw Underhill 19th, and Jack Smith in 27th.

Unfortunately, it rained overnight on Monday and the surface didn't refreeze, forcing the cancellation of the super-G and thus the cancellation of the alpine combined entirely. Up next, the women will take on the tech events, with the giant slalom on Wednesday. You can watch it live via Narvik's YouTube channel. 

RESULTS
Women's Alpine Combined
Men's Alpine Combined - Slalom (incomplete results)

WATCH IT LIVE
Catch all of the action via Narvik's YouTube channel

NARVIK 2020 JUNIOR WORLDS AMERICAN TEAM
Team Announcement

NARVIK 2020 COMPETITION SCHEDULE
March 10  – Men's alpine combined (CANCELLED)
March 11  – Women’s giant slalom
March 12  – Men’s giant slalom 
March 13  – Women's and men's slalom 
March 14  – Mixed Parallel Team Event

MORE INFORMATION
Narvik 2020 Official Website
Narvik 2020 Promotional Video

Keely Cashman led the way for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team on Sunday at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Narvik, Norway, finishing fifth in super-G, while teammate AJ Hurt finished sixth. 

Nobody could catch Austria's Magdalena Egger, who finished first, while countrywoman Lisa Grill was second, just .28 seconds back. France's Karen Smadja Clement was third, just one one-hundredth off of Lisa. On the men's side, Stefan Riser of Austria grabbed the victory, while teammate Armin Dornauer was second, .51 back. Switzerland's Yannick Chabloz finished rounded out the podium in third, .54 seconds off of Stefan. 

Four American men made it into the top 20, with Bradshaw Underhill skiing into ninth-place, while Isaiah Nelson was 13th, Matthew Macaluso 15th, and Jack Smith 19th. Unfortunately, Bridger Gile—who was a favorite in super-G—got a little low and late, which resulted in a DNF. 

Nevertheless, Alpine Development Director Chip Knight was proud of the athletes and their progress, especially considering 36 athletes in the men's field did not finish. "We had a good day today in super-G today...great results from Keely and AJ, both finishing in the top-6, and some really positive finishes from our first-timers Bradshaw and Isaiah in ninth and 13th," reflected Chip. "The course set was very challenging in the middle section, with high-speed technical turns down the pitch and through the terrain, which caused a high DNF rate. The staff was proud of the way our athletes attacked the hill and skied strong when it counted."

Up next, the women and men will take on the alpine combined on Monday. The men were originally supposed to ski the alpine combined on Tuesday, but with weather coming in, the organizers changed the program in an effort to squeeze at least the slalom portion of the combined into Monday's program. Last year in Val di Fassa, Italy, Keely finished just off the podium in fourth. You can watch it live via Narvik's YouTube channel. 

RESULTS
Women’s Super-G
Men’s Super-G

WATCH IT LIVE
Catch all of the action via Narvik's YouTube channel

NARVIK 2020 JUNIOR WORLDS AMERICAN TEAM
Team Announcement

NARVIK 2020 COMPETITION SCHEDULE
March 9  – Women’s and men's alpine combined
March 10  – TBD
March 11  – Women’s giant slalom
March 12  – Men’s giant slalom 
March 13  – Women's and men's slalom 
March 14  – Mixed Parallel Team Event

MORE INFORMATION
Narvik 2020 Official Website
Narvik 2020 Promotional Video

U.S. Freeski Team member Maggie Voisin won X Games Norway slopestyle gold at Hafjell Resort on Sunday to collect her third X Games medal of the season and her second slopestyle gold. 

“I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am for this weekend here in Norway,” said Maggie brimming with pure joy. “Taking home a silver medal in big air, and especially the gold in slopestyle, was a dream come true. This season has been very special to me and I haven’t had this much fun with my skiing in a long time. I’m so excited to keep pushing my limits and to see where the future of women’s skiing goes!”

In Maggie’s podium interview, she was quick to point out that it was Women’s International Day and showed some love for the rest of the field. 

“I want to shout out to all the lady freeskiers as well as the snowboarders who dropped earlier in the day and inspired us on the slope course,” she said. “I’m just so stoked to be one of the females in action sports.”

Swiss Freeski Teammates Mathilde Gremaud and Giulia Tanno finished second and third, respectively. 

Maggie’s success to close out the 2019-20 season comes as no surprise to those who have watched her ACL rehabilitation process following last season. Her work ethic and drive to be back at the top of the sport have never faltered. Despite coming out victorious in Sunday’s slopestyle finals, she still was pinpointing areas of improvement, continuing to strive for her best level of skiing. 

“I almost had the double cork 1260 today,” she said as she reflected on the day. “I’m a little bummed I didn’t get to put that down in slopestyle, but obviously I’m still super happy.”

Maggie landed a gorgeous double cork 1260 safety on her second run in Saturday’s big air finals, which significantly contributed to her silver medal performance. Although Maggie didn’t land her double in slopestyle, she showed incredible consistency putting down clean rails, a beautifully executed rodeo 900, switch 900, and multiple 720’s.  

She has gradually improved in every X Games competition since her return from ACL surgery earning bronze in Aspen slopestyle, silver in Norway’s big air, and gold in Norway’s slopestyle. However, Maggie’s post-recovery success is not limited to X Games. She’s also collected podiums at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix and Dew Tour. 

The remainder of Maggie’s contest season consists of the Absolut Park Spring Battle (filming based contest), Audi Nines (jam-session), as well as the FIS Slopestyle World Cup finals in Silvaplana, Switzerland. 

The freeski men took to the slopestyle course to wrap up the X Games Norway 2020 program and Alex Hall, like Maggie, took home his second medal of the weekend earning the silver and his fourth X Games medal of his career. 

"I'm so hyped on how this weekend unfolded," said Alex. "Knuckle huck last night was an all-time blast and today was insane too. Despite the rain, the course was really nice and everyone was having fun. That's what it's all about."

Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli and Fabian Boesch took home the gold and bronze, respectively. 

Alex, the 2020 Newschoolers Skier of the Year, has had a season for the record books. He’s found success in big air, slopestyle, rail-jams, film, and even the new X Games knuckle huck event. His ability to excel in every aspect of the sport is a quality that earns him incredible respect amongst his peers and sets him apart from the rest of the field. Not to mention, his unique style and creativity can not be replicated, such as the two consecutive Tokyo Drifts throughout the rail section on his last run to help secure his podium position (see video below).

Combined, Maggie, Alex, and the 2020 X Games double-gold medalist Colby Stevenson took home eight X Games medals this winter. In addition to an array of young U.S. Freeski Team athletes finding success across the FIS World Cup and NorAm circuit this season, the U.S. Freeski Team is on track to set the tone for big air and slopestyle moving into the 2022 Beijing Olympic season. 

RESULTS
Women’s freeski slopestyle
Men’s freeski slopestyle
 

Ashley Caldwell led the Americans at the Aerials’ FIS World Cup Finals in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, with a third-place finish. This is Ashley’s first World Cup podium of the 2019-2020 season and 15th of her career.

In a sport that requires precision from not only the athletes but the elements, the Siberian wind posed a challenge all night. “It wasn’t too strong,” explained World Cup Coach Eric Bergoust. “Just starting, stopping and changing directions. Every team struggled with it. It was very difficult at times to hit the jump with the right speed and some athletes, from every country, were just unlucky at times.”

Four American women qualified for finals: Ashley, Megan Nick, Kaila Kuhn and Madison Varmette. After the first final round, Ashley was the only to advance into Super Finals. She stomped out a full double full and was all smiles in the finish area as she waited for her score of 88.83 to land her in the third-place position. Ashley shared the podium with Australia’s Laura Peel, who came in first and clinched the FIS crystal globe, and China’s Sicun Xu, who came in second. 

Megan finished in 7th, Kaila in 11th, Madison in 12th, Winter Vinecki in 14th and Megan Smallhouse in 16th. 

On the men’s side, three Americans qualified for finals: Jon Lillis, Eric Loughran and Alex Bowen. None advanced to the super final round. Jon finished 7th, Alex in 9th and Eric in 10th. Chris Lillis finished 14th, Quinn Dehlinger in 18th and Justin Schoenefeld in 24th. Switzerland's Noe Roth won the event and the FIS crystal globe, Russia’s own Pavel Krotov came in second and Canada’s Lewis Irving in third. 

Krasnoyarsk marks the end of the U.S. Aerial Ski Team’s FIS World Cup season and three women and three men finished top-15 in the world. Megan had a breakout season earning two second-place podiums and ended the 2019-2020 ranked 4th overall. Winter continued to wrack up Super Finals experience, earned a career-best fourth-place finish at Deer Valley and ended the season ranked 10th overall. Kaila, in her first year named to the U.S. Ski Team finished ranked 12th. Chris Lillis continued to climb the ladder and improved from his 8th place to 6th year over year. Justin Schoenefeld matched his 10th place ranking from last season and Jon Lillis finished ranked 14th. 

"I had a rough season," said Ashley. "And I feel like podiums were attainable for our whole team this year but I felt like I kept missing good opportunities. It was nice to finally compete like I've been training and land quality jumps. It was a nice ending for the season but I have huge expectations for myself and this team for the next few seasons."

"It feels great to build on the previous season and work on consistency with new DD this year but I still have a lot to work on so I’m ready to get back at it and keep improving this summer to be ready for next season," said Megan.

“We were to happy to see Bowen, Loughran and Jon all jump well this week,” said Eric of the night as he reflected on the season. “It’s great that Justin and Chris got a couple wins, and great for Bowen, Justin, and Jon to finish on a high note. Of course, we are all very happy for Caldwell to get on the podium and finish strong. She jumped great! She makes it look easy.”

The Aerials Team will return to home snow to compete in the 2020 U.S. Freestyle Aerials National Championships at Bristol Mountain, N.Y., on March 14.

RESULTS
Women’s aerials
Men’s aerials
Women’s 2019-2020 aerials discipline standings
Men’s 2019-2020 aerials discipline standings

Due to the rain and snow mix, as well as fog in Kvitfjell, Norway on Sunday morning, the jury together with the organizing committee, decided to cancel the final super-G of the 2019-20 FIS Ski World Cup season. 

In a somewhat anticlimactic finish to an already challenging season, rife with weather issues and the Novel Coronavirus outbreak, Switzerland's Mauro Caviezel took the super-G globe with 365 points, with Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr in second with 362 points, and Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in third with 336 points. 

The Americans had two athletes in the top 25 in the super-G standings, with Travis Ganong in 12th and Ryan Cochran-Siegle in 20th. Steven Nyman finished just one point outside the top 25, finishing ranked 26th. 

The Crystal Globe chase continues, with Aleksander regaining the lead in the overall with 1,202 points over French tech savant Alexis Pinturault with 1,148 points after failing to finish in the top 30 in Saturday’s downhill. Unfortunately for Aleksander, super-G was one of his best events, and this will be a disadvantage for him heading into the final tech series of the season, where Alexis excels. Alexis was second in the last slalom, in Schladming, Austria and won the giant slalom in Hinterstoder, Austria, while Aleksander was sixth in the giant slalom.

Up next for the men is a giant slalom and slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia on March 14-15. With the cancellation of World Cup Finals in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the Kranjska Gora races will be the final races of the season. 

U.S. Freeski Team member Maggie Voisin earned her best X Games big air finish on Saturday, claiming the silver medal in Hafjell, Norway. This is Maggie’s second X Games medal since her return to competition from ACL surgery. 

“I can’t even begin to explain how happy I am after today,” said Maggie. “It’s so exciting to grab my fourth podium of the season and my second ever big air medal. More than anything, I am just so proud of my skiing from today and how healthy my body feels. I didn’t expect to feel and ski this well after my knee surgery in April and for that, I am super grateful.”

Maggie’s performance is sure to set aside any potential lingering doubt that her knee is ready for competition. Fresh off of a heli-skiing trip with U.S. Freeski alumnus and legend Tom Wallisch, she quickly transitioned from the powder to the park. Maggie stomped massive tricks with consistency including a left-side double cork 1260 safety, a left-side rodeo 900 with a unique rotation, and a right-side 900 tail. Maggie’s podium today marks her sixth career X Games medal. 

Megan Oldham of Canada won the event on the last run landing a beautiful double cork 1260 on her final jump of the competition to secure her first X Games medal. Norway’s own Johanne Killi rounded out the podium in third. Johanne also delivered in the final moments of the competition to move into podium contention. 

Alex Hall took the second medal of the day for the U.S. Freeski Team as well as his second X Games Norway medal of the season by winning knuckle huck gold. Alex jumped from the bottom of the pack to first place by landing a switch tail butter 1440 to cap off his round. Announcer Tom Wallisch called it the most difficult trick of the day. 

"This is 100% my favorite competition," said Alex. "We are all out here to have a good time. They groomed the landing so it was nice and soft and we are able to go as big as we wanted to. I was super nervous for my last trick, but I’m hyped to put it down. What a fun night."

In men's freeski big air,  Alex and 2020 X Games Aspen slopestyle gold medalist Colby Stevenson took to the massive kicker in Hafjell. Although they did not reach the podium, they put on a show landing 1440’s, 1620’s, and 1800’s complete with unique grab combinations. 

Antoine Adelisse earned his first X Games medal taking the gold. Norway’s Birk Ruud took silver and Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli took the bronze. 

In women’s snowboard big air, Jamie Anderson, who has gone undefeated in slopestyle competition this season, finished just outside the podium in fourth place. Jamie landed a cab double 900 and a frontside 1080 with her classic effortless style. 

Austria’s Anna Gasser took gold, Japan’s Miyabi Onitsuka took silver, and Canada’s Laurie Blouin closed out the podium with the bronze. 

RESULTS
Women’s snowboard big air
Women’s freeski big air
Men’s snowboard big air
Men’s freeski big air
Men’s snowboard knuckle huck
Men’s freeski knuckle huck
 

The Americans brought the heat to Siberia with Jaelin Kauf and Brad Wilson both finishing on the podium in third place at the FIS Dual Moguls World Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The women of the U.S. Moguls Team continue to show their might as Jaelin led three into the top six under the lights, Hannah Soar finished fourth and Tess Johnson in sixth.

“[Today] was awesome!” said Jaelin. “I was definitely struggling a bit in training so stoked to come out for comp day and put down my runs!"

The #PowHERHouse of Jaelin, Hannah and Tess all skied in the quarter-final round. Tess met Australia’s Jakara Anthony there and although skied a tight course the entire way, did not advance to the semi-final rounds. Jaelin, who was on point all night skiing strong, clean middle sections, then met Jakara in the semi-finals and although skied the faster run, she did not advance to the Big Final. Hannah bested Canada’s Justine Dufour-Lapointe in the quarter-final round, providing some redemption from their Big Final dual at the Deer Valley event where Justine took the win. “You could kind of see in Hannah’s eyes she really wanted that one,” said Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. Hannah then dueled against current World Cup leader France’s Perrine Laffont in the semi-final round, giving Perrine a run for her money, and finishing just behind to advance to the Small Final.

It was a round of American friendly fire in the women’s Small Final as Jaelin and Hannah battled it out for the third-place finish. The two Americans skied a tight duel the entire course and crossed the finish line together, tying for time. Jaelin had the edge in airs and turns and claimed the podium. “The battle between Jaelin and Hannah was pretty epic, they tied for speed on that one, pretty cool to see,” commented Matt.

Jaelin shared the podium with Perrine, who took the victory, and Jakara, who came in second.

“It’s always fun going in the gate against a teammate, fun to put on a show,” said Jaelin. “We duel each other a lot out in training to push each other so it’s fun to do it in a comp and just have fun with it. Stoked to be standing on the podium by two teammates today, that always makes it that much better!”

“I worked really hard to push my speed through my entire run today,” said Hannah. “I didn’t realize I was dialing Jaelin until we got in the gate and I knew it was going to be tough. We’ve gone back and forth all season so it’s always challenging. Next weekend I will keep working towards more podiums, skiing fast and going bigger."

The night was cold, around -11F, but Brad was on fire. He made good moves in the early rounds to build momentum as the duals went on and worked his way all the way to the podium. “Brad skied amazing all night through the middle section,” said Matt. “He was able to really use his veteran knowledge on a challenging night weather-wise. It was a good night to see him back on the podium.”

"It’s pretty amazing to be back on the podium after the incredible mental struggles I had to overcome the last few months," reflected Brad. "I didn’t think I would be able to ski again let alone be able to compete. So although it was only a bronze, it was a victory for me in a lot of other ways. Today was special because it marked a come back from some of the darkest times I’ve ever had to go through. My focus is to keep enjoying it and to push myself further."

After beating Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Reikherd in the quarter-final, Brad met winningest moguls skier of all time Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury in the semi-final round. One of the few skiers to be able to beat Mikael down a duals course, Brad kept Mikael on his skis but finished just behind him to advance to the Small Final. It was USA versus France for the men’s Small Final and Brad took the podium over Benjamin Cavet. Brad shared the podium with Mikael, who won, and Great Britain's Thomas Gerken Schofield, who came in second.

This is Brad’s first podium of the season, his fifteenth overall. Dylan Walczyk finished 12th, Nick Page 34th and Kalman Heims in 39th.

Up next for moguls is their final World Cup weekend in Sweden.

RESULTS
Women’s Dual Moguls
Men’s Dual Moguls
 

Travis Ganong led the way for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Saturday’s FIS Ski World Cup downhill at Kvitfjell, Norway, landing in fifth-place to match his season-best—a mere 18 one-hundredths of a second from the podium. 

Under the sunshine, blue skies, and crisp, Norwegian air, all indications were leading towards a victory on home soil for the Attacking Vikings. That is, however, until Austrian Matthias Mayer laid down a beautiful, near-perfect run to take home the win and pull off the upset victory over hometown hero Aleksander Aamodt Kilde by just .14 seconds. Switzerland’s Carlo Janka came down bib 17 to sneak ahead of countryman Beat Feuz, pushing him off the podium and giving Carlo third to round out the podium. This was Aleksander's first podium in Kvitfjell in front of his home crowd. 

With seven podiums in nine World Cup starts, Beat once again had the consistency it takes to bring home his third-consecutive downhill globe. Germany’s Thomas Dressen ended up second in the downhill standings, followed by Austria’s Matthias Mayer in third.

With the Norwegians (who were the clear favorites coming into Saturday's downhill), Kjetil Jansrud and Aleksander running early, each coming down with solid runs, Travis came down bib six stoked to ski into second-place with a solid run that was (again) fastest from the last split to the finish. “Everyone loves a strong finish,” Travis laughed after his run. With fast and solid skiing, Swiss duo Carlo and Beat came down and squeezed into third and fourth, pushing Travis to fifth and less than two tenths from the podium. 

Travis, who has enjoyed success on this track with four-career top-five results, feels at home here in Kvitfjell. As a result of the Land Rover U.S. Alpine downhillers' established partnership with the Norwegian speed team, the Americans have enjoyed and benefited from training opportunities here in Kvitfjell in the spring. Though he’s happy with a solid top-five result, he’s hungry for the podium—a feat the men’s speed team hasn’t achieved since Travis last won in Garmisch, in January 2017. 

“I love this track, I’ve had a lot of success on this hill...I just really like this hill, and the snow,” reflected Travis. “I have a really good feeling on it. I’m skiing really well, and I’m stoked with where the season wrapped up in downhill. I really want to get back on the downhill podium—that’s definitely my ultimate goal, but it’s nice to be close and competitive, and consistently skiing well. Also, it’s great to feel super healthy, having no pain in my knees, or back, or anything. It’s really nice, so tomorrow is one last chance in the super-G and then, yeah, we’ll have to wait again until next year.”

Due to the cancellation of World Cup Finals in Cortina d’Ampezzo as a result of the Novel Coronavirus, this marked the final downhill of the season. “I really wanted to race in Cortina, to get on that hill before World Champs (2021)...it’s going to be interesting now because the Italian team is going to be the only team that will have trained on that hill and they’re going to have a huge advantage going into World Champs,” said Travis. “I was really bummed that it got cancelled, but it is what it is. It’ll be weird going home now, a couple of weeks early...we always want to race more and mentally we’re ready to race more, so it sucks to have the season end abruptly like that.”

Bryce Bennett and Ryan Cochran-Siegle tied for 17th-place, with Jared Goldberg grabbing 20th and his second top-20 of the season. Unfortunately, Steven Nyman, who had two solid training runs and was feeling the good vibes coming into Saturday, leaned in and DNFed on the top section of the course before he could even get into a good flow. He is thankfully OK and skied down. Sam Morse also started on Saturday, finishing in 45th. 

It was a solid year for the downhillers, with Travis ending up ranked 13th, Ryan 14th, Bryce 16th, and Steven 20th. The top 25 athletes in each discipline in the world are invited to World Cup Finals, so the downhillers would have had a solid showing at Finals had it not been cancelled.

The Crystal Globe chase continues, with Aleksander regaining the lead in the overall with 1,202 points over French tech savant Alexis Pinturault with 1,148 points after failing to finish in the top 30 in Saturday’s downhill. 

Up next is the final super-G of the 2019-20 season, on Sunday. 

RESULTS
Men’s Downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Saturday, March 7
10:30 p.m. - Men’s downhill, Kvitfjell, NOR - NBCSN*

Sunday, March 8
5:30 a.m. - Men’s super-G, Kvitfjell, NOR - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Monday, March. 9
1:00 a.m. - Men’s super-G, Kvitfjell, NOR - NBCSN**

*Same-day delayed 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.