Ten Americans, including seven U.S. Freeski Team members, are en route to Font Romeu, France, for the first FIS Freeski Slopestyle World Cup of the season Thursday through Saturday. 

U.S. Freeski Pro Team athlete Kiernan Fagan will be leading the charge for the U.S. as the only American competing with a World Cup podium under his belt. Last year, during his first-ever season contesting in World Cup level competition, Kiernan earned two top-three finishes out the three slopestyle World Cups he entered.

"I’m definitely hyped to be in Font Romeu for my first time," said Kiernan. "The course looks sick and I’m feeling pretty strong going into this event. It would be awesome to earn another World Cup podium here and hopefully back up Alex Hall’s win from last year. I’m also hyped to have my twin brother Deven here. It would be a dream to have us both on the podium together."

Joining Kiernan are U.S. Freeski Rookie Team members Deven Fagan (twin-brother of Kiernan), Hunter Henderson, Marin Hamill, Rell Harwood, Grace Henderson, and Cody LaPlante. Font Romeu will be Cody’s first slopestyle competition as he returns from a knee injury suffered last season. Cody proved he has his legs back underneath him in the Beijing and Atlanta big air events and will be looking for his first podium result in World Cup competition. 

“After competing in both Beijing and Atlanta big airs, I feel pretty good about where I stand,” Cody reflected. “But at the same time, big air competition rarely translates into slopestyle. I know that I’m going into the competition mindset way more prepared after those two big airs, but it will be a whole different story when it comes to linking up a full run! I am super excited to finally be able to work on some other tricks that are more slopestyle oriented. I feel more creative and progressive in a slopestyle course compared to big air where I just wanted to put down a trick. I know that with all the hard work I put in this year, the event should be awesome.”

Although there are some large shoes to fill with Alex Hall winning last year’s event, Cody is only focussed on himself and continuing to improve. 

“I’d love to play a part in holding down the top spot on the podium in Font Romeu for the U.S. after A-Hall’s performance last year, but I’m more focused on being the best skier and athlete I can be”

Also set to compete in Font Romeu are Americans Ryan Stevenson, Tim Ryan, and Peter Raich. 

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

FREESKI
Saturday, Jan. 11
4:00 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle, Font Romeu, France, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle, Font Romeu, France, Olympic Channel*

All streams will be available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.
 

Luke Winters led the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in the Zagreb, Croatia night slalom on Sunday, finishing in 28th place.

Clément Noël of France took his fourth FIS Ski World Cup win and the esteemed Snow Queen Trophy. Ramon Zenhaeusern of Switzerland was second and young Alex Vinatzer of Italy stepped on his first World Cup podium, in third.

Proving that he has a place in the top 30, Luke put down two solid runs in his first attempt on the grippy Zagreb track to add to his collection of World Cup points. “My goal for the season was to just be in the mix—be in the top 30 as much as I can be,” said Luke, who is doing his first full World Cup season. “I’m happy with where I’m at right now. You can’t always be up in the top five.”

Just 22-year-olds, Luke exploded onto the circuit earlier this season when he finished second in the first run of the Val d’Isere slalom and threatened in the Levi slalom, showing that he’s someone to keep an eye on throughout the season and that the American men are in the slalom hunt, putting slalom back on the map in the United States once again.

“I know I have the speed to be up there,” said Luke. “But I know it takes a lot of experience to ski that consistently and that’s what I’m going to keep working on and working towards.”

River Radamus also started the Zagreb slalom but did not finish the first run.

Luke and River also represented the American men today as the ski racing world remembers Bryce Astle and Ronnie Berlack, the two U.S. skiers that passed away in an avalanche in Soelden, Austria on this day five years ago. Both Luke and River had BA+RB scribed on the back of their helmets today.

Next up, the men head to Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, for another night slalom on Wednesday before moving on to Adelboden, Switzerland, for a giant slalom and slalom over the weekend.

RESULTS
Men’s Slalom

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtag: #SQT

HOW TO WATCH 
All Times EST

Monday, Jan. 6
1:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom, Zagreb, CRO - NBCSN**
**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 

The Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team wrapped up the 14th Tour de Ski Sunday with three athletes in the top 15 overall, including Sadie Maubet Bjornsen with a career-best seventh, Jessie Diggins in ninth, and Rosie Brennan a career-best 15th.

The seven-stage Tour de Ski was spread out over nine days this year and featured the most grueling stage for the final showdown - a mass start 10k freestyle hill climb up the Olimpia Ill alpine ski trail at Alpe Cermis resort in Italy’s Val di Fiemme region.

“Wow, it felt good to make it to the top of that climb,” said Sadie, who finished 13th in the final stage. “I think it is safe to say, making it up that alpine slope after six hard days of racing is quite possibly the most physically painful thing I have ever experienced. Just crossing the line is such an achievement. This is only the third time I have made it, so it still feels just as exciting as the first one!”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some highs, some lows, some mistakes, some painful near misses- but most importantly, some of the best memories in sport come from this wild series of 7 races in 9 days, spanning across Europe. Reaching the top of that alpine slope on day 9 is an achievement in itself. Proud to have reached my best ever finish, even if the athlete in me was dreaming of more. Sometimes you have to take a step back from always reaching, and recognize what you have accomplished among the best in the world. After I sleep for a week, I promise to take time to celebrate! And lastly, thank you to every person behind the scenes that makes this insane circus function! The staff, the wax team (special thanks to @pereb71 ), the service industry squad, the organizing committees, FIS, the hotels dealing with our crazy demands, and all the people cheering and watching races for 9 days in a row. Although you aren’t wearing spandex and a bib, you are all champions! #puregrit #tourdeski2019 #wedidit

A post shared by Sadie Maubet Bjornsen (@sbjornsen) on Jan 5, 2020 at 12:28pm PST

Jessie led the way for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, finishing sixth in the final stage. "I was happy with my climb; I think I managed to pace it right so that I could keep moving up the hill steadily without blowing up - a line that is hard to find, but pretty crucial to get right," Jessie said. "I had good energy and it’s nice to know that my fitness is in a good place even at the end of the tour."

Rosie was just a few seconds back in seventh. "I love the climb and I love the feeling of finishing the tour," Rosie said. "I had some rough days and some good days, but to finish the tour on such a high note was really fantastic."

Katharine Ogden posted a career-best World Cup result, finishing 21st. Katharine also scored World Cup points, finishing 28th overall. 

From missed wax opportunities to podium results, the U.S. Team had its share of ups and downs throughout the seven-stage event. The highlights included not only four U.S. athletes finishing in the top 28 overall, but a podium result from Jessie in the classic sprint, two top-five results from Sadie in the freestyle and classic sprints, and a pair of top 10 results from Rosie.

"Overall, this tour has been challenging in that I had many races where my fitness and effort weren’t reflected in the results," Jessie said. "But I was proud of how I carried myself, contributed to having a positive team atmosphere and stayed positive without ever giving up, on the days when I had competitive skis but more important, on the days when I did not. It took a lot of positive energy, but now I can leave the Tour really proud of my mental toughness and ready to soak in all the hard work I put out there."

“This tour has had its ups, downs, and painfully near misses,” Sadie said. “Despite the rollercoaster, I feel like I gained confidence in my fitness and my skiing throughout the process. No doubt I will come away from this tour both physically and mentally tougher!”

On the men’s side, David Norris was 30th in the final stage and Logan Hanneman was 56th. David finished 35th overall, while Logan was 56th overall and came away from his first Tour de Ski with a career-best World Cup result, finishing 18th in the Stage 6 classic sprint.

Up next, the FIS Cross Country World Cup continues in Dresden, Germany, with freestyle sprint competition on Saturday, Jan. 11, and a team sprint on Sunday, Jan. 12.

RESULTS
Stage 7 Tour de Ski
Women’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb

Tour de Ski Standings (Final Standings)
Women
Men

World Cup 
Women’s overall
Men’s overall

Under a vibrant setting sun in the capital city of Croatia, Mikaela Shiffrin took yet another FIS Ski World Cup podium, finishing second in the Zagreb night slalom.

Petra Vlhova of Slovakia had a banner day, winning her sixth World Cup slalom and the Zagreb Snow Queen Trophy. Katharina Liensberger of Austria took third, 3.49 seconds off the pace. 

The day started off with a challenge for Mikaela, who had a bobble on her first run that set her back more than a second behind Petra. But Mikaela put the hammer down second run and came out over two seconds ahead to take the lead. During Mikaela's second run, the crowd was silent in the finish area...sustained silence with each split, as the crowd watched in awe and sheer wonderment. Would it be enough? As she crossed the finish line, the crowd erupted into cheers. Mikaela wondered too—she wondered if it could be enough to secure the win, but Petra's strength, aggression and perfect timing triumphed, as she built on her first-run advantage and smoked the field, taking the overall win by 1.31 seconds.

While Petra's victory broke Mikaela’s nearly year-long slalom win streak, Mikaela could only praise Petra’s performance and talked of her excitement about the competition. “She’s been building and building and getting better and stronger and her discipline is amazing,” said Mikaela. “I’ve said from the beginning that if she’s really on, I have to be skiing my best, perfect, fastest skiing in order to stay ahead of her. Today I was as strong as I could be—especially in the second run—but it wasn’t strong enough. I could see the difference.”

While the crowd often expects Mikaela to win all slalom World Cups, Mikaela reminded her fans that she never presumes first place. “I’m never going to a race expecting that I’m going to win—especially when I have competitors like Petra,” she said. “She doesn’t win these races from luck. She wins because she’s working really hard.”

Mikaela and Petra have combined to win the last 24 World Cup slaloms—19 for Mikaela and five for Petra. And although she was bummed to not take the win, Mikaela was excited about how she and Petra are elevating slalom skiing. “This is how competition is supposed to be,” said Mikaela. “She’s pushing the limits, so then I’m pushing the limits and it’s raising the level of slalom skiing. That’s really cool to be a part of.”

Paula Moltzan also started on Saturday, but she hit a rut off-balanced and got thrown off, DNFing. She is OK, and was able to get up and ski away. Mikaela still holds on to the overall World Cup with a 313-point lead over Petra and she also holds a 120-point lead over Petra in the race to the slalom title.

Next up, the men race the Zagreb night slalom on Sunday. The women head to Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria for a downhill and alpine combined beginning Saturday. Mikaela has yet to confirm whether or not she will participate in Altenmarkt-Zuachensee. 

RESULTS
Women’s Slalom

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Women’s Overall

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtag: #SQT

HOW TO WATCH 
All Times EST

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:45 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
11:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Jan. 6
1:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom, Zagreb, CRO - NBCSN**

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

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

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

Jessie Diggins and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen finished 3-4 in Stage 6 classic sprint at the 14th Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy, Saturday. The podium result was Jessie’s second career World Cup classic sprint podium, and 25th overall individual career World Cup podium.

"Hard to believe we can find sprinting muscles after so many days of racing, but somehow I felt amazing today," said Sadie, who qualified fourth. "Through my quarters and semis, I managed to place myself in a safe place, trying to conserve energy for the final, and feeling in total control. As the finals went off, I put myself in what felt like the 'right position.' Unfortunately, I wasn’t in the right place at the right time on the final stretch, getting blocked up and just missing the podium by half a second."

Rosie Brennan was 19th for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. Katharine Ogden just missed qualifying for the heats as she finished 32nd in the qualifying round. Jessie, who qualified No. 1, moved up to 11th in the overall Tour de Ski standings, two minutes, 53 seconds behind overall leader Therese Johaug of Norway. Sadie is eighth overall, 1:58 back. Rosie is 18th, 5:13 back and Katharine is 30th overall. 

In the men’s classic sprint, American Logan Hanneman posted a career-best individual World Cup result, finishing 18th.

Sunday’s final stage is a 10k freestyle climb up the ski slopes of Val di Fiemme.

"I can’t help but feel a bit frustrated, because I believe I could have won today if I could ski it again, but how can you be upset with a fourth-place?" Sadie said. "I’ll have to channel all that frustration into the final day tomorrow, up the big alpine slope."

RESULTS
Stage 5 Tour de Ski
Women’s classic sprint
Men’s classic sprint

Tour de Ski Standings (Through stage 4)
Women
Men

World Cup 
Women’s overall
Men’s overall

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold 

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

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

Hailey Swirbul (APU) and Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars) opened the 2020 L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championship in Houghton, Mich., with victories in the freestyle sprint Thursday.

Gus qualified second and won both his opening quarter-final and semi-final heats to roll into the finals. Gus skied a tactical race throughout, tucking into the middle of the pack in each race before unleashing a powerful acceleration to the finish line. In the finals, he outsprinted Ben Saxton (SMS) who finished second and Bill Harmeyer (University of Vermont) in third.

Hailey, who was the top qualifier, skied toward the front of each of her heats, winning both her quarterfinal and semifinal heats before exploding to a massive lead in the finals, where she was able to glide into the finish for her first U.S. Championship title. Alayna Sonnesyn (SMS) was second, followed by Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury) in third.

“I had a good day,” Hailey said. “I did try to get out front early to avoid trouble and get in a good position. The course was tough to pass on, so I wanted to try to avoid that!”

In Friday’s individual start freestyle, Caitlin finished second in the women’s 10k but took the U.S. title as the top-placed American. Finland’s Riitta-Liisa Roponen took the race victory, with Alayna finishing third.

In the men’s 15k individual start freestyle, Kyle Bratrud (SMS T2) took the U.S. title, Gus was once again on the podium in second, and Ian Torchia (SMS) was third.

Up next, athletes will compete in classic mass start events on Sunday, followed by the classic sprint on Tuesday. Both events will be streamed live thanks to CXC Skiing and U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Viewers are encouraged to purchase a XCOUNTRYLIVE Season Pass for $39.95 to view not only the L.L.Bean U.S. Championships, but also the Slumberland American Birkebeiner, and the U.S. Junior National Championships.

A Season Pass subscription to XCOUNTRYLIVE’s exclusive content provides live and on-demand coverage of all these premier events, but it also helps support the sport with prize money funds for the athletes. 

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle sprint
Men’s freestyle sprint
Women’s freestyle 10k individual start
Men’s freestyle 15k individual start

HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, Jan. 5
10:30 a.m. - L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships classic mass start, Houghton, Mich. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Live Streaming

Tuesday, Jan. 7
10:30 a.m. - L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships classic sprint, Houghton, Mich. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Live Streaming

The FIS Ski World Cup race in Zagreb, Croatia is known as the “Snow Queen Trophy”—for both Saturday’s women’s slalom race and Sunday’s men’s edition. It is a favorite stop of the women and men on the tour, where both tours collide in the unlikely, eclectic and bustling capital city of Croatia. 

All four (of the six) times Reigning Snow Queen Mikaela Shiffrin finished, she’s won on this Sljeme track in Zagreb. In fact, of those four wins—which came in in 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2019—Mikaela’s average margin of victory is 1.43 seconds. Take that in for a second. ONE POINT FOUR THREE SECONDS!! That’s an eternity in ski racing. She loves the typically icy conditions, and it’s these conditions—as ice like that is rarely seen on the women’s circuit outside of Killington, Vt.—where she excels and separates herself from the field (for example, the 2.29-second margin of victory in Killington). Ice is nice for this Snow Queen! 

Coming off a big, statement-making Lienz, Austria, series sweep, Mikaela (and teammate Paula Moltzan) got some training in at Obdach, Austria, over the new year. And just when Mikaela said, “Blame it on the BOOGIE” she meant it, with a fall in slalom training followed by a post on Instagram that said, “Boogie got me good today 🙄🙄 #2020ComingInHot”. Thankfully, apart from a bit of a sore hip, Mikaela is OK and will be starting in Saturday’s slalom. All hail the Snow Queen!! 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boogie got me good today 🙄🙄 #2020ComingInHot

A post shared by Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷💨 (@mikaelashiffrin) on Jan 2, 2020 at 10:16am PST

A lot has been said of the dominance of Mikaela—extremely rare in a sport where winners and non-podium finishers are separated by hundredths, rife with variables (wind, sun, snow, visibility, etc.). Here's a fun stat: since the start of the 2017-18 season, there have been 21 slalom races. Mikaela has won 18, gotten second twice, and DNFed just once. That's an 86% rate over a massive 2 1/2 season timespan. Take that in for a minute or two. With her slalom victory over Slovakia's Petra Vlhova in Lienz, Mikaela became the first alpine skier to claim 14 straight World Cup slalom podiums. 

Here’s the rundown of stats for the weekend:

• Mikaela Shiffrin has won an all-time record 43 World Cup slalom races. Only Ingemar Stenmark (46 in giant slalom) has won more than 43 World Cup races in a single discipline (Lindsey Vonn has also 43 wins in the downhill).  

• Mikaela has won 64 World Cup races, second place on the all-time women's list. Lindsey Vonn holds the women's record of 82 race wins.  

• The last 23 women's World Cup slalom races were either won by Mikaela (19) or Petra Vlhová (4), since retired Frida Hansdotter won in Flachau on 10 January 2017.  

• Mikaela has recorded a top-two finish in 22 of the last 23 women's World Cup slalom races, including in each of the last 14 since a 'DNF' in Lenzerheide on 28 January 2018.

• Mikaela has won the women's Zagreb slalom a joint-record four times in the World Cup, alongside childhood hero Marlies Schild. On the men's side, Marcel Hirscher has won the honor (yes, of "Snow Queen Trophy") five times. 

• Mikaela’s four wins in Zagreb came in the last five editions, with the exception of Veronika Velez-Zuzulová's win on 3 January 2017. Mikaela could win five World Cup slalom races in a single ski resort for the first time. She has now won four times in Zagreb, Levi, Åre, and Killington.

• Wendy Holdener has collected 23 World Cup podium finishes in the slalom but has yet to claim her first victory. This is currently the record for most World Cup podiums in a single discipline without winning, five more than the previous record by Hubert Strolz (18) in the men's giant slalom.

• Only three women have finished second in a World Cup slalom race more often than Wendy (12): Frida Hansdotter (17), Pernilla Wiberg (14) and Veronika Velez-Zuzulová (13). Three of these women—Wendy, Frida, and Veronika—all have raced in the era of Mikaela Shiffrin. 

Rounding out the women's roster for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team is slalom specialist Paula Moltzan, who was 12th in the first run in Zagreb last year before DNFing second run. She likes this track, and the usual hard-packed icy surface suits her aggressive style. It reminds her of her midwest upbringing at Buck Hill, Minn. and her east coast college days at the University of Vermont, where she skied for the Catamounts. Remember, ice is nice! Paula struggled in Lienz, Austria, DNFing in the top section of the course, but now that she’s got that out of her system she’s ready to rock on the Sljeme track. The rest of the team, including Nina O’Brien, are back stateside getting some NorAm starts—and confidence—in their arsenal for when they return to Europe soon. 

On the men’s side, Luke Winters, who was second behind eventual race winner Alexis Pinturault in the first run of the Val d’Isere, France slalom, and ended up grabbing his career-first World Cup points in 19th, will return to action. He and teammate River Radamus have been skiing fast in training, and they're looking forward to taking on this busy month of racing, possibly being joined by another team member, as Luke’s result in Val d’Isere scored the U.S. slalom men another start spot. Watch France's Clément Noël this weekend...think he's got some redemption up his sleeves this weekend. 

Check out all the details about who and how to watch below. 

STARTERS
Paula Moltzan
River Radamus
Mikaela Shiffrin
Luke Winters

START LIST
Women’s Slalom

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtag: #SQT

HOW TO WATCH 
All Times EST

Saturday, Jan. 4
6:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 2, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
2:00 p.m. - Women’s slalom, Zagreb, CRO - NBCSN*

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:45 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
11:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Zagreb, CRO - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Jan. 6
1:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom, Zagreb, CRO - NBCSN**

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

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

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

Through five stages of the 14th Tour de Ski, the fatigue is starting to pile on. But it's at this point of the race where athletes see the light at the end of the pain cave. Sadie Maubet Bjornsen dug deep Friday, finishing seventh, just 17 seconds off of the winning time of Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in the women’s 10k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

“At this point in the tour, you have to rely on your brain, because your muscles are so tired, they are screaming stop,” said Sadie, who remained calm and cool on the first lap of the two-lap race so she had “enough energy to attack in some of the working sections that others could have exploded on. The goal is to let your brain overpower that feeling, and just keep pushing.

“It was a super fun and amazing race out there today,” added Sadie, who remains in ninth in the overall Tour de Ski standings. “Seventeen seconds back from the win is one of the best races of the year, even if seventh place doesn't say that.”

Jessie Diggins finished 17th, and Rosie Brennan was 19th, racing for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team. American Katharine Ogden posted a career-best Stage World Cup result in 28th place. 

“After a really tough classic day in Toblach, I lost quite a bit of wind out of my sails and was certainly nervous about my skis and my fatigue and everything that can happen in a tour,” said Rosie, who currently sits 19th in the overall Tour de Ski standings. “As a result, I chose to ski a little conservative and ski within myself. I am pleased with the result and some very steady skiing, but certainly think I was a bit too conservative.”

In the 15k men’s classic mass start, David Norris was the top American in 38th, and Logan Hanneman was 59th.

Up next, the men and women compete in a classic sprint for stage 6 Saturday in Val di Fiemme.

“Tomorrow's classic sprint will be really funny,” Sadie said. “When people are so tired, I am sure it will look different than a normal sprint, but that sounds so fun! I can't wait. If I can find the same feelings I found today, I feel confident I can find my magic.”

“With two days left, it's time to let it all out!” Rosie added.

RESULTS
Stage 5 Tour de Ski
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

Tour de Ski Standings (Thought stage 4)
Women
Men

World Cup Standings
Women’s overall
Men’s overall

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Saturday, Jan. 4
5:25 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men and women’s sprint, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

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

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

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) today announced finalists for the Team USA Awards, Best of December, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Four U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are nominated: Tommy Ford, Chris Corning, Aaron Blunck and Mikaela Shiffrin. In addition, the women's cross country 4x5 kilometer relay team of Sophie Caldwell, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan and Jessie Diggins, was nominated.

Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight Tuesday, Jan. 7.  

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Nominations

Male Athlete of the Month

Aaron Blunck, Freestyle Skiing

Clinched the gold medal in halfpipe for the second straight year at the U.S. Grand Prix world cup in Copper Mountain, Colorado, and earned silver at the world cup in Secret Garden, China.

Chris Corning, Snowboarding

Clinched his seventh career season title by taking bronze in big air at the world cup in Beijing and additionally won gold at the world cup in Atlanta, delivering the first-ever quad cork 1800 on a scaffold big air jump.

Tommy Ford, Alpine Skiing

Won gold in giant slalom at the world cup in Beaver Creek, Colorado, clinching the first win by an American man in nearly three years.

Female Athlete of the Month

Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine Skiing

Won her fourth straight world cup on U.S. snow in slalom in Killington, Vt., by a margin of 2.29 seconds—her biggest victory gap in three years—and capped the month by sweeping two world cup races in Lienz, Austria, to bring her career total to 64 wins, matching Lindsey Vonn’s record for most women’s world cup victories in one discipline with 43 slalom wins.

Team of the Month

U.S. Women’s 4x5-kilometer Relay, Cross-Country Skiing
The relay squad of Sophie Caldwell, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan and Jessie Diggins took silver at the world cup in Lillehammer, Norway, matching the best world cup podium finish for Team USA in the event.

Selection Process
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per sport discipline. An internal nominating committee selects finalists to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50% of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.

VOTE NOW
 

Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was the top finisher for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in stage 4 of the 14th Tour De Ski in Toblach, Italy, Wednesday. Jessie Diggins was 14th, followed by Rosie Brennan in 21st, Sophie Caldwell in 27th and Katharine Ogden in 38th.

Norway swept the top three in Wednesday’s 10k classic pursuit with Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg taking the win ahead of current Tour de Ski leader Therese Johaug in second, and Heidi Weng in third. Sadie moved up ninth in the overall Tour de Ski standings, just 2 minutes, 9 seconds behind Therese. Jessie is 10th overall at 2 minutes, 16 seconds back.

In the 15k men’s classic pursuit, David Norris was the top American in 44th, followed by Kevin Bolger in 61st and Logan Haneman finishing 71st. 

Up next, the athletes will have a rest day Thursday, then the women will race a 10k classic mass start, and the men a 15k classic mass start Friday in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

RESULTS
Stage 4 Tour de Ski
Women’s 10k classic pursuit
Men’s 15k classic pursuit

Tour de Ski Standings (Thought stage 4)
Women
Men

World Cup 
Women’s overall
Men’s overall

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Friday, Jan. 3
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 4
5:25 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men and women’s sprint, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

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

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