The U.S. Snowboardcross Team continued their early-season success on Sunday with Faye Gulini earning her second podium in as many days finishing in second, and Hagen Kearney claiming third in the final race of the Chiesa in Valmalenco World Cup in Italy. 

While Gulini was confident from her podium performance on Saturday, she knew she would have to maintain the elements of her riding that have proved fruitful thus far. 

“I didn’t come into today thinking I had it in the bag and knew I would have to work for it, maybe even more so than yesterday,” said a thrilled Gulini. “After making it through the initial heat and quarters, that’s when I started to feel like I was going to finals. I tried to focus on getting a good holeshot, which I have done successfully on many of my runs this weekend. I’m really excited I was able to put that element of my riding together when many athletes were struggling with the start.”

Kearney attributes his success to learnings gained from two-consecutive days of competition. 

“I learned a lot from yesterday,” said Kearney. “There was a specific mistake I made in yesterday’s final going into the first turn that cost me a podium. I made sure to not do that again, especially because I trust in everything else I’m doing right now. Today was a fight and it feels good to be on the podium."

One consistent theme that came out of the snowboardcross World Cup season-opening weekend was the tremendous sense of camaraderie among the U.S. Snowboardcross Team athletes, coaches, and staff that, according to Kearney, has really created a competitive edge. 

“Our performance as a team this weekend is just an affirmation that everyone is clicking,” he said. “Our wax techs are in such a good groove and everyone’s boards are going crazy fast to the point where other nations are noticing. Our coaches don’t need to say much to us and are just offering little direction here and there because we are all tuned in to what we know we need to do. The U.S. is incredibly strong right now and it has been fun to be a part of.”

2018 Junior World Champion Jake Vedder just missed earning his second World Cup podium crossing the line behind Kearney in the big final to finish fourth. Although Vedder didn’t podium, his enthusiasm was contagious. Olympic bronze medalist Alex Deibold also had a great day on the course finishing in sixth place. Mick Dierdorfff finished in ninth and Senna Leith in 13th. 

2019-20 FIS Crystal Globe winner Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria won the event and Merlin Surget of France finished second. 

For the women, 2019 FIS World Champion Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic finished first and Julia Pereira De Sousa Mabileau of France rounded out the podium in third. U.S. riders Lindsey Jacobellis and Stacy Gaskill both finished 13th. 

Following the first two World Cup races of the season, the U.S. is looking solid in the FIS Snowboardcross Cup standings. For the women, Gulini is ranked second, only behind Samkova, and Gaskill is 12th. For the men, Kearney sits in fourth, Vedder in eighth, and Deibold in 11th. 

Next up, the U.S. Snowboardcross Team will head to Sweden’s Idre Fjäll Feb. 11-12 for the FIS Snowboardcross World Championships. 

WATCH THE REPLAY ON PEACOCK

RESULTS
Women’s Snowboardcross Finals
Men’s Snowboardcross Finals

HOW TO WATCH
All times in EST
Delayed Broadcast*

Sunday, Jan. 24
12:00 p.m. -  FIS Snowboardcross World Cup Finals - Chiesea in Valmalenco, Italy, Olympic Channel-TV*
10:00 p.m. - FIS Snowboardcross World Cup Finals - Chiesea in Valmalenco, Italy, NBCSN*

FOLLOW
Instagram - @ussnowboardteam
Facebook - @usskiandsnowboard
 

Interested in organization, athlete, and event related news?
Sign up for our Daily or Weekly Update

Learn more about how to support the U.S. Freeski & Snowboard Teams.
 

Young gun Bella Wright was the top Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team finisher in the super-G in Crans-Montana, Switzerland in 28th place—her fifth points-scoring result in as many races.

Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland took the big victory, winning the race by almost a full second. Tamara Tippler of Austria was second and Federica Brignone of Italy third.

Wright—who is skiing in her first full FIS World Cup season—couldn’t be more excited about the results that she’s been racking up so far this season. “I’m super pumped that I have been consistently in the points for the past five races,” she said. “That’s exciting and I feel like I have a lot of momentum going right now. I think that after my first downhill points in St. Anton, that really gave me the confidence to know that I can just do it. Every race since then I’ve been wanting more and more and more to just build on top of.”

The skier, who hails from Salt Lake City and has trained with both Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club and Snowbird Sports Education Foundation, loves the speed and air of super-Gs and downhills and hopes that she can continue her fast progression this year. And the next World Cup on the dark and bumpy Kandahar track in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany may be the perfect place to execute her plan. “I think myself and my coaches know what I’m capable of,” she said. “I’m really gunning for that next step in Garmisch and really want to put a full run together top to bottom. That’s my next step… Looking for that next step, the next jump.”

Land Rover U.S. Ski Team athlete Breezy Johnson—who was third and fifth in the first two races in Crans-Montana—had a fast start but missed a gate after soaring off a jump and did not finish. Tricia Mangan also DNFed, but is OK. Laurenne Ross was 35th.

Prior to the weekend, Ross announced that she will be doing an IG Live on Sunday at 20:00 CET (2:00 p.m. EST), and teammates Wiles, Wright, and Johnson will be "prominently featured, highlighted, and adored." Tune in on her Insta!

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Laurenne Ross (@lalalaurenne)

The women’s speed team heads to Garmisch next weekend, while the tech team has a giant slalom in Kronplatz, Italy on Tuesday.

RESULTS
Women’s super-G

HOW TO WATCH 
*All times EST.

Saturday, Jan. 23
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Downhill - same-day broadcast, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN
6:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - next day broadcast, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Jan. 24
4:20 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Streaming Peacock
6:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
6:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Crans Montana, SUI, Streaming Peacock
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - same-day broadcast, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Monday, Jan. 25
4:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Super-G - LIVE, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Jan. 26
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Chanel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Streaming Peacock
11:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Schladming, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Schladming, AUT, Streaming Peacock
11:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill (Sunday), Kitzbuehel, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN
12:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Kronplatz, ITA, Broadcast NBCSN

Travis Ganong was again the top Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team member in the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbuehel, Austria, taking 12th place. Jared Goldberg also finished in the points in 24th.

After the second downhill was postponed on Saturday due to weather conditions, Sunday’s sun stayed behind the clouds, making it feel like the lights were off for the men on the storied Strief track. But the race got off with only a short delay to see Beat Feuz of Switzerland take his second win of the weekend. He joined a small crew of men that have won two Hahnenkamm downhills on the same weekend—Frenchman Luc Alphand last accomplished the feat in 1995. At 40-years-old (the oldest World Cup podium finisher), Johan Clarey of France was second, and Matthias Mayer third.

Ganong was once again the top American man in Kitzbuehel, having scored 11th place in Friday’s downhill and 12th on Sunday. He was happy with the result but had a small mistake that kept him from finishing higher in the ranks. “It was super dark today, so that was very difficult,” said Ganong. “I had a really good run going and then on the bottom on the traverse—I’ve been nailing that every day—I went in and pushed into the compression and didn’t see the compression or the takeoff or the landing on the Hausbergkante and I had a little mistake there... Super close to having a really good day, but I’m still happy with my results. Two solid results down the Streif and I’m looking forward to super-G.”

The Hahnenkamm—the most lauded race on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit—is normally packed shoulder-to-shoulder with boisterous fans from across the world. However, given COVID-19 restrictions, it was quiet this year with no spectators allowed at the finish. It made the environment tough to read and the men questioned whether they liked it better than a normal year. “The atmosphere was definitely different,” said Ganong. “It was actually easier, I think. It was easier to focus on the skiing and not get too over-excited. It was pretty interesting having a quiet peaceful setting at the start and in the finish. But it was also a little awkward with how quiet it was at the bottom—a little eerie. It was definitely losing some of the energy. But as an athlete, I like performing when there’s less stress and it was definitely a little less stressful this year.”

Rounding out the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Jared Goldberg finished within the points in 24th. Bryce Bennett was 41st. Sam Morse—who wasn’t able to start in the first downhill due to the race being called early because of wind—was originally scheduled to start, but with the schedule changes, had to travel to the next Europa Cup races.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who crashed in Friday's downhill and has been sidelined with a minor cervical spine fracture, came to the finish on Sunday to catch up with media and competitors and cheer on his teammates. When asked about his return, Cochran-Siegle shared that he is heading back to the U.S. on Monday to consult with a specialist and that there is no timeline yet. 

“I don’t know, we haven’t talked about a timeline yet,” said Cochran-Siegle, wearing a neck brace in the finish. “I do hope to be back before the end of the season. But I need to be smart about this." Everything that I’ve seen so far and from what I’ve heard from the doctors is that it’s stable. There is still more information to be gathered but, all in all, I think it’s OK. Most of my body is fine, it’s just my neck,” said Cochran-Siegle, adding he was “really not in pain” but had “just a slight discomfort” in his neck.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by U.S. Ski Team (@usskiteam)

With the weekend’s schedule shifting a day due to Saturday’s postponed race, the men now race super-G on Monday.

RESULTS
Men’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
*All times EST

Saturday, Jan. 23
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Downhill - same-day broadcast, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN
6:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - next day broadcast, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Jan. 24
4:20 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Streaming Peacock
6:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
6:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Crans Montana, SUI, Streaming Peacock
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - same-day broadcast, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Monday, Jan. 25
4:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Super-G - LIVE, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Jan. 26
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Chanel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Streaming Peacock
11:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Schladming, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Schladming, AUT, Streaming Peacock
11:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill (Sunday), Kitzbuehel, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN
12:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Kronplatz, ITA, Broadcast NBCSN
 

It was a glitter, face paint, and team socks kind of day as the FIS Cross Country World Cup season continued with the team relays Sunday in Lahti, Finland. Although Norway once again swept the men and women’s races, the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team’s spirit won the day.

“Really proud of this team (the men and women’s) for giving it our all this morning,” said Jessie Diggins. “The highlight of my day was, of course, getting to hand out the socks and put the USA face paint on our guys and gals. I love the team spirit of relay day and it keeps racing fun!”

The women’s 4x5k event and the men’s 4x7.5k event featured the first two athletes of each team skiing classic technique and the second two skiing freestyle technique. For the U.S. teams, new faces and new techniques were the order of the day. The women’s team included Rosie Brennan skiing the opening 5k classic, Diggins the second classic leg, then Sophia Laukli skiing freestyle in the third leg, and Caitlin Patterson skiing the anchor freestyle leg. All four U.S. women were skiing a team relay together for the first time. For Laukli, it was only her second World Cup race following her debut in Saturday’s skiathlon.

The U.S. men enjoyed some unique familiarity as all four teammates are from Alaska, including three from the same club team - Alaska Pacific University (APU). David Norris kicked off the race, skiing the first 7.5k classic leg, Gus Schumacher skied the second classic leg with Scott Patterson skiing the third leg freestyle, and Hunter Wonders, who also made his World Cup debut in Saturday’s skiathlon, skiing the anchor freestyle leg. Norris, Wonder, and Patterson all ski for APU, while Schumacher skis for Alaska Winter Stars.

With the 2021 FIS Nordic World Championships coming up next month in Oberstdorf, Germany, Sunday’s event provided a unique opportunity for athletes to not only gain World Cup and international experience but continue to build fitness for World Champs and try something different along the way.

“After a decade (literally - and wow that makes me feel old) of anchoring the U.S. relay team, I was very excited to try something a little different,” Diggins said. “For the first time in my life I asked to ski a classic leg and it was really fun to try something new. I think skating will always be my first love, but I’m finding a better and better relationship with my classic skiing over the years and this was a great place to work on improving it!”

Sunday’s distance team relay is the only one on the World Cup schedule this season. There are, however, two freestyle team sprints - which feature two athletes per team - on this year’s schedule. The first one took place in Dresden, Germany, last month, and the second one is scheduled for Feb. 6 in Ulricehamn, Sweden. The only other distance team relay this season will take place on March 4, a 4x5k event for the women, and March 5, a 4x10k event for the men, at the World Championships.

Up next, the FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour moves to Falun, Sweden, Jan. 29-31 with both freestyle and classic distance events, and a classic sprint. Heading into next weekend’s events, Diggins and Brennan are currently 1-2 in the overall World Cup standings, and World Cup distance standings.

RESULTS
Women’s 4x5k relay
Men’s 4x7.5k relay

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

Chloe Kim is back! After a 22 month hiatus from competition, Kim has not skipped a beat. Reminiscent of Jamie Anderson’s performance in slopestyle one day prior, the defending Olympic and World Champion came in clutch on Saturday in her final run to take the win and earn her third Laax Open title. 

“I’m so excited,” said Kim. “The 30-minute wait in between runs was so nerve racking, but I just tried to visualize over and over and talk to my coaches. I was able to stay positive the whole time, which I think really helped me. I couldn’t ask for more.”

After an uncharacteristic fall in the first run, Kim decided to tone it down for her second run and not unleash a new trick, as well as the famed back-to-back 1080 combination displayed at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

“Tonight I wanted to try a new trick on my second run, but at the end of the day, winning is more important,” said a relieved Kim. “I wanted to put something down and told myself I didn’t need to go as big as I did on my first run. I just wanted to slow things down a bit.”

Not only has Kim topping the podium once again, but she’s showing wisdom beyond her years with her approach and competitive strategy. This win marks Kim’s eighth World Cup halfpipe win in 12 starts. Japan’s Mitsuka Ono and Sena Tomita rounded out the podium in second and third place respectively. 

For the men, Olympian Taylor Gold rode very well, but couldn’t put it all together with a complete top to bottom run and finished ninth. Although 18-year-old and new U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Joey Okesson struggled on his opening tricks in the pipe, there is arguably no better place to gain valuable elite-level competition experience than at a legendary event like the Laax Open. 

Japan’s Yuto Totsuka and Ruka Hirano took first and third place respectively, while Australia's Scotty James finished second. 

The U.S. Snowboard Team will head to Buttermilk, Colo., for X Games Aspen Jan. 29-31, where Kim will look to repossess another title dropping in as the defending champion from 2019. U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe Pro Team Head Coach Rick Bower is confident heading into next week. 

“Looking forward to X Games, we have a strong crew ready to compete,” said Bower. “Chloe and Maddie [Mastro] are at the tip of the spear in women’s halfpipe snowboarding progression and I know that Laax will only be fuel for the fire next week.”

WATCH THE REPLAY ON PEACOCK

RESULTS:
Women’s snowboard halfpipe finals
Men’s snowboard halfpipe finals

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Delayed Broadcast*

Saturday, Jan. 23
FIS Snowboard World Cup Halfpipe Finals - REPLAY - Laax, Switzerland, Streaming Peacock, Olympic Channel-TV
7:00 p.m. - FIS Snowboard World Cup Slopestyle Finals - Laax, Switzerland, NBCSN*
11:00 p.m. - FIS Snowboard World Cup Halfpipe Finals - Laax, Switzerland, NBCSN*

FOLLOW
Instagram - @ussnowboardteam
Facebook - @usskiandsnowboard

Interested in organization, athlete, and event related news?
Sign up for our Daily or Weekly Update

Learn more about how to support the U.S. Freeski & Snowboard Teams.
 

Under the lights in downtown Moscow, Russia, Winter Vinecki topped the podium at the FIS Aerials World Cup for her first career podium. Vinecki stomped her new double-full full to score 94.11 points, beating current World Cup leader Australia’s Laura Peel, who came in second, and Canada’s Marion Thenault, who came in third. 

Vinecki’s podium has been hard-fought and a long time coming. During summer training in 2017 Vinecki fractured the right side of her face and had to have two titanium plates inserted to recover. Three weeks later she was back to ramping and focused on making Team USA for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. However, injury prevented her from pursuing that qualification process. Vinecki, no stranger to hard work and perseverance, continues to be dedicated to the aerial skiing Olympic Dream. She won Saturday’s event with a trick she only brought to snow during the World Cup Opener in Ruka on Dec. 4. Executing it at a winning level is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication to her sport. 

"I just can't believe it," said Vinecki. "I am so excited! It’s been a long road coming back from injuries and being so close to podiums so many times. I don’t know how many top sixes I have had and so to finally have that podium moment, let alone that first place is incredible."

"The biggest thing was just getting my double-in and doing a nice one to my feet," Vinecki reflected on how the night came together. "It has always been a bit of a struggle for me getting that last jump in the last run. I did my usual full full for qualies. I did another really nice full full to get me into the top six. I sealed the deal with that double-in. At the end of the night, it was just waiting to see if I was first or second, I'm beyond stoked."

Vinecki has been a professional athlete from a young age, starting out in marathon running and triathlons before finding aerial skiing. She competes in memory of her late father, who passed away from cancer, and seeks to bring awareness to her causes through her athletic endeavors. "A lot of what I've done in my athletic career, whether it be running or skiing, has always been in honor of my dad in some way. To get out on the podium, let alone a win, just increases my platform with more awareness to my causes. It was a super memorable moment out here tonight."

"Winter finally nailed her first podium, she crushed it," said head Aerials Coach Vladimir (Vlad) Lebedev. "Her jump was beautiful, she did amazing, I'm very proud of her."

It was a perfectly clear night with impressive views from the iconic scaffold jump at the 11th edition of the classic Moscow city World Cup. 10 Americans represented the U.S. and six qualified for finals.

The women had a strong showing with Vinecki, Ashley Caldwell, Dani Loeb and Megan Smallhouse all jumping in the round of 12. Loeb finished 11th in her first finals appearance in a two-final World Cup format. Smallhouse placed ninth. Caldwell landed both of her finals jumps under her feet and ended the night in fifth.

After a slow start to the 2020-21 competition season, Chris Lillis proved his skill with his first podium of the season in second place. This is Lillis’ fourth career World Cup podium. Lillis had a strong showing all night, qualifying in third for finals and consistently jumped tall and straight. His last double-full full full earned him a score of 116.74 points, blowing everyone out of the water, except for the night’s winner and current World Cup leader, Russia’s Maxim Burov. Switzerland’s Noe Roth rounded out the men’s podium in third. 

Lillis' path to the podium was hard-fought as well. He crashed during training in Yaroslavl, preventing him from competing those events. He credits Peter Toohey for rehabbing him well enough to be competitive this weekend.  "It felt great to be on the podium," Lillis said. "This week was a tough week for me because of that crash last week. It was questionable whether I would be able to compete this week. I was already jumping from behind and with fewer numbers, it was probably the least amount of training I've done going into a World Cup. I kind of can't believe it based on the week and a half I've had."

"Chris finally back!" said Vlad. "He had a hard couple of weeks since his crash. I'm excited to see him back on the podium."

Justin Schoenefeld also represented the U.S. in finals. His full double-full full in the first round started him off strong. However, he tripped up in the landing, breaking one of his ski bindings and losing the ski in the process. Luckily, Schoenefeld is an adept skier and was able to ski away to end the night in 10th place. "Justin landed and I don’t know what happened," commented Vlad. "His jump was beautiful. All this week he performed so well. It was a bummer to have that equipment malfunction, but happy that he skied away and is okay."

Kaila Kuhn finished 13th, Megan Nick 22nd, Eric Loughran 13th and Quinn Dehlinger 26th. 

"I'm looking forward to getting healthy and juping with a normal amount of training," said Lillis. "I'm happy to have a result I'm proud of. We have a great vibe going on with the team right now. This trip has been challenging but seems like everyone keeps on fighting. We're dealing with a lot of extra challenges with travel but happy to have this crew I'm with."

Aerials heads next to Raubichi, Minsk, for their final international World Cup stop of this leg of the tour, scheduled for Jan. 30.

RESULTS
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

Three-time Olympian Faye Gulini earned her third World Cup podium on Saturday with a second-place finish at the Chiesea in Valmalenco snowboardcross season opener in Italy. In her 14th season competing on the World Cup, Gulini credits her performance to experience. 

“I knew it would be difficult to jump back into competition after such a long break, but I have been doing this for a long time,” said Gulini at 28-years-old. “As you get older, you get smarter, and every season you are a few steps ahead of where you were before. I feel I know more about myself as an athlete and was able to find a really strong headspace for today’s race. I knew it would be more challenging this season with fewer training opportunities available due to COVID, but I did my best to put that behind me and focus on what I know I can do.”

The women’s big final was stacked with 2018 Olympic Champion Michela Moioli winning the event and 2019 FIS World Champion Eva Samkova finishing third. U.S. Development Group athlete Stacy Gaskill earned her career-best World Cup result finishing 10th.

Gulini was not the only U.S. rider to make a run at the podium. U.S. Snowboardcross Pro Team members Hagen Kearney and Jake Vedder both broke the top-10 finishing fourth and eighth respectively. Glenn De Blois of the Netherlands topped the podium followed by Eliot Grondin of Canada in second and Lorenzo Sommariva of Italy in third.

Gulini spoke to the team motivation that has been the catalyst to their early success. 

“We know the future of the sport depends on all of us earning results and promoting snowboardcross,” she said. “Even though it’s an individual sport, we are all quite supportive of each other. Today the U.S. was definitely the most vocal team out there cheering relentlessly. Knowing we have the support of our team and staff gives us the extra confidence and boost that we all need. We want it as bad for each other as we do for ourselves.”

While a difficult off-season could tear many teams apart, the U.S. Snowboardcross Team seems to be finding their groove among athletes, coaches, and staff. 

“All around we have been able to maintain a super high level of training despite everything that’s going on,” said U.S. Snowboardcross Team Head Coach Peter Foley. “All the athletes maintained their physical fitness, everyone has been very diligent regarding health and safety precautions, and our wax program has been truly amazing. All these elements combined with positive attitudes across the board contributed to our success today.”

U.S. riders will take to the course at Chiesea in Valmalenco again on Sunday, Jan. 24, for the second and final race of the program. Tune in on NBC’s broadcast and streaming platforms to catch all the action. 

REPLAY

RESULTS
Women’s Snowboardcross Finals
Men’s Snowboardcross Finals
 

HOW TO WATCH
All times in EST
Delayed Broadcast*

Sunday, Jan. 24
8:00 a.m. - FIS Snowboardcross World Cup Finals - LIVE - Chiesea in Valmalenco, Italy, Streaming Peacock
12:00 p.m. -  FIS Snowboardcross World Cup Finals - Chiesea in Valmalenco, Italy, Olympic Channel-TV*
10:00 p.m. - FIS Snowboardcross World Cup Finals - Chiesea in Valmalenco, Italy, NBCSN*

FOLLOW
Instagram - @ussnowboardteam
Facebook - @usskiandsnowboard

Interested in organization, athlete, and event related news?
Sign up for our Daily or Weekly Update

Learn more about how to support the U.S. Freeski & Snowboard Teams.
 

Jessie Diggins finished fifth to lead the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in Saturday’s skiathlon as the FIS Cross Country World Cup circuit resumed in Lahti, Finland.

Norway swept the top three in the women’s 15k race which featured 7.5k of classic, and 7.5k of freestyle with Therese Johaug earning her fourth World Cup victory of the season by 28 seconds over Helene Marie Fossesholm, who took a four-up sprint to the line for second, with Heidi Weng crossing in third. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson was fourth, just ahead of Diggins in fifth. Rosie Brennan was 11th and moved up to second in the overall World Cup standings behind Diggins.

“Today I dared greatly and tried to stay with Johaug for as long as I could in the classic half, and that was definitely my best classic effort on the World Cup so far!” Diggins said. “In the skate half I had to keep adjusting my strategy, but I was proud of myself for giving it my all and doing the best I had. In the end, you can only control your own race effort and I was proud of that.”

In the men’s 30k, Gus Schumacher led the way for the U.S. Team, finishing 18th in his first World Cup skiathlon. Scott Patterson posted an impressive result in 21st - his best World Cup result so far this season. David Norris was 32nd in his first World Cup race of the season, while Adam Martin was 45th and Hunter Wonders was 46th in his first career World Cup race. Norway also swept the men’s podium, with Emil Iverson taking the victory, followed by Sjur Roethe in second and Paal Goldberg in third. 

"It was nice to have a good one today after wanting a little more throughout the Tour de Ski," Scott Patterson said. "I was looking forward to today as one of the relatively few opportunities where we got to race more than 15k. The classic portion felt fairly chaotic and fast, but I was feeling quite good for the skate. I’m a little regretful that our pack couldn’t work together slightly better and pull up a few more places, but overall I am quite happy with today and looking forward to more fast racing in the weeks to come."

Sophia Laukli made her World Cup debut and finished an impressive 33rd. Her father Bjorn, grew up in Norway and she has dual citizenship and has been spending the past few weeks living, training, and racing in Norway while taking classes online for her sophomore year at Vermont’s Middlebury College.

“It was a lot of fun, pretty chaotic first race to have for sure,” said Laukli, who finished 13th in the skiathlon at the Norweigan National Championships last week. “I felt pretty good though!”

Chaotic indeed! Just two minutes into the race, Laukli avoided a pile-up on a fast downhill left-hand corner that scattered almost half the field. Unfortunately, her teammates were not as fortunate as Caitlin Patterson, Julia Kern, and Alayna Sonnesyn were all caught up in the melee. Patterson finished 37th, Kern was 40th and Sonnesyn was 43rd.

For Diggins, Brennan, Kern, Schumacher, and Scott Patterson, Saturday’s race was the first since the Tour de Ski ended on Jan. 10. Following the Tour de Ski, members of the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team retreated to Seiser Alm, Italy, for 10 days of rest and recovery. Jumping back into racing, the athletes are always left to wonder how their body will respond to race pace efforts. 

“It's always hard to know how the body is going to bounce back from an event like the Tour de Ski,” Brennan said. “As a result, I decided to start controlled and then see what I had when I switched to skating. I felt much stronger in classic than I have all season and as a result, maybe should have been more aggressive in the classic leg, but hindsight is always 20/20. After the transition to skate, my muscles struggled a bit, but I found better movements and strength as the skate portion went on. There wasn't much space to move in the skate portion and I feel I missed some moves that I shouldn't have but had a strong final climb to move up a bit.”

Up next, the women race a 4x5k relay for the women with Brennan, Diggins, Laukli, and Caitlin Patterson, and a 4x7.5k relay for the men with Norris, Schumacher, Scott Patterson, and Wonders representing the USA.

RESULTS
Women’s 15k skiathlon
Men’s 30k skiathlon

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

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Sunday, Jan. 24
3:30 a.m. FIS Cross-Country World Cup Women's 4x5km Relay - LIVE, Lahti, FIN, Streaming Peacock
4:30 a.m. FIS Cross-Country World Cup Men's 4x5km Relay - LIVE, Lahti, FIN, Streaming Peacock

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Breezy Johnson grabbed yet another top-five result in Saturday’s FIS Ski World Cup downhill at Crans-Montana, Switzerland—her fifth-straight top five in downhill this season. Bella Wright continued the points-scoring momentum, landing in 25th. 

Snow fell overnight once again, but the Swiss Army came to the rescue at Crans-Montana, clearing the track and enabling a fair and safe race to take place, despite the fact that it was a bit soft. Italy’s Sofia Goggia won her fourth-straight downhill race and was joined on the podium by Switzerland’s Lara Gut (+.27), followed by Italy’s Elena Curtoni (+.60). 

Coming into Saturday, Johnson had scored four consecutive third-place finishes in downhill races during the 2020-21 season, and for a moment it looked like she’d break that trend, as she skied into second place behind Goggia. Then, Gut skied a clean and solid run into second, bumping Johnson to third place. For another moment, it appeared she’d once again grab a third. However, Curtoni snuck in there, as well as teammate Laura Pirovano, pushing Johnson back to fifth and breaking her third-place streak. 

“I came down and I thought, ‘there’s no way this is going to be a podium run, and then I was in second and I was like wooooo...maybe I broke the streak in a good direction,’ and then I broke the streak in the not-as-good direction,” Johnson said after the race. “But, I’m still happy with fifth place, it’s a great step forward for me and I’ll keep building and keeping moving up.”

After five downhill races and heading into Garmisch, Johnson sits in second in the downhill standings, behind Goggia. Johnson had a previous career-best fourth at Garmisch in the downhill in 2018—a race that former teammate Lindsey Vonn won. “I’m really excited for Garmisch—it’s one of my favorite tracks—it’s where I scored my first points, and moving on to that race is very exciting,” Johnson added. “And, obviously, super-G tomorrow—I really love the super-G slope here.”

Bella Wright continued her momentum, finishing in 25th, her fourth-straight points-scoring race. Rounding out the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Laurenne Ross—in just her fourth race back from injury—was 37th. Jackie Wiles, who returned to competition this weekend after being sidelined for a broken clavicle, was 41st. 

Speaking of Vonn, she joined Dan Hicks to make her debut in announcing on Saturday, and will also call Sunday’s super-G alongside Hicks. 

The women will wrap up the speed weekend with a super-G Sunday before the women’s tech crew heads to Kronplatz, Italy for a giant slalom on Tuesday. 

RESULTS
Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Saturday, Jan. 23
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Downhill - same-day broadcast, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN
6:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - next day broadcast, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Jan. 24
4:20 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Streaming Peacock
6:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
6:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Crans Montana, SUI, Streaming Peacock
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - same-day broadcast, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Monday, Jan. 25
4:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Super-G - LIVE, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Jan. 26
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Chanel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Streaming Peacock
11:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Schladming, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Schladming, AUT, Streaming Peacock
11:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill (Sunday), Kitzbuehel, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN
12:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Kronplatz, ITA, Broadcast NBCSN

After snowfall at Kitzbuehel, Austria on Friday night through Saturday morning, the second of two men's downhill races have been rescheduled for Sunday, Jan. 24th. The super-G, originally scheduled for Sunday, will now be held on Monday, Jan. 25th. 

The new program for the famous Hahnenkamm races at Kitzbuehel will be the following:

Sunday 24th January: Hahnenkamm Downhill at 10.20 CET
Monday 25th January: Hahnenkamm Super-G at 10.45 CET

Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes Bryce Bennett, Travis Ganong, and Jared Goldberg, will start on Sunday for the men. Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who crashed during Friday's downhill and sustained a minor cervical spine (neck) fracture, is staying positive and doing well. He will watch his teammates take on the Streif from the finish area on Sunday. At the team meeting on Friday night, Ryan told his teammates, "Skiing is skiing...just go out there and have fun with it. Push yourselves. I definitely want to see you guys sending it tomorrow."

Two thumbs up and a lot of positivity from Ryan Cochran-Siegle after his crash yesterday. He's back at the team hotel and will watch his teammates tomorrow. 🙏👍👍@fisalpine #hahnenkamm pic.twitter.com/YzK7Zzt6a4

— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) January 23, 2021

Both races will be available via live streaming on Peacock Premium. Updated NBC broadcast information will be forthcoming.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Saturday, Jan. 23
4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Downhill - same-day broadcast, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN
6:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - next day broadcast, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Jan. 24
4:20 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Streaming Peacock
6:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
6:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Crans Montana, SUI, Streaming Peacock
6:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - same-day broadcast, Crans Montana, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Monday, Jan. 25
4:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Super-G - LIVE, Kitzbuehel, AUT, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Jan. 26
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Broadcast Olympic Chanel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Kronplatz, ITA, Streaming Peacock
11:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Schladming, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Schladming, AUT, Streaming Peacock
11:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill (Sunday), Kitzbuehel, AUT, Broadcast NBCSN
12:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Kronplatz, ITA, Broadcast NBCSN