Luke Winters scored his first FIS Ski World Cup points of the 2020-21 season in the Adelboden slalom, finishing in 22nd.

On another sunny day in Switzerland, the tough Chuenisbärgli hill tripped up man after man, with many athletes skiing out or hiking to finish. Marco Schwarz of Austria was the winner of the day with Linus Strasser of Germany in second. British skier Dave Ryding took his third career podium in third place.

Winters had a solid first run showing and sat in 20th going into second run. But like so many men in the race, Luke went down on his hip on the pitch. However, he stayed cool and didn’t let the mistake affect his skiing, continuing to race and make it to the finish. This was the first time Luke scored World Cup points since the Adelboden slalom last year where he finished 26th, and was his fourth career points score.

"It was a good day for me," said Winters. "I was fast here last year on the first run as well and so I knew where I needed to take the speed and where I need to be smart. I thought I executed my plan well that first run. What I’ve been focusing on in training is being athletic and loose and that’s how I skied first run."

Ryan Wilson, the men's World Cup slalom coach agreed with Luke that it was a good day and that this is a step in the right direction for the slalom team. "Big win today for U.S. slalom," said Wilson. "We have a belief that we are coming to more results that we haven’t had yet. This definitely helps."

Rounding out the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Jett Seymour just missed second run, finishing in 34th. Ben Ritchie also did not qualify for second run. But the guys are getting closer. "Jett and Ben have both been skiing incredibly fast in training," said Winters. "It’s just a matter of time before they do it. Looking forward to that. It happened to be me today, but it’s going to happen soon with all of us."

The results are starting to come in because of how hard this team is working—both physically and mentally. And fans should start expecting to see more second runs from this crew.

"We had an absolute reset in the approach to racing and the way that we were training coming into this from Zagreb," said Wilson. "We changed the mentality of going fast and letting your athletic ability come out. These guys are three freakshow athletes, so if they’re trying to go as fast as they can and making recoveries, that’s way better than trying to control everything that doesn’t play to their strengths."

The men’s World Cup stays in Switzerland for the classic Lauberhorn downhill on Friday and Saturday and slalom on Sunday in Wengen.

RESULTS
Men’s slalom

Sunday, Jan. 10
2:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 12
12:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock

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

Jessie Diggins started the final stage of the 15th FIS Tour de Ski with two goals: to win the overall, and to absolutely bury herself on the final climb. Proudly, she accomplished both, finishing second in the final stage to become the first American to win the Tour de Ski overall title.

“Wow!” Diggins said after completing her eighth Tour de Ski, with her previous best result being third in the 2018 Tour. “This is a lifelong goal...it really means a lot. We have had an amazing team atmosphere this whole time, amazing support, and help, and so many cheers from all around the world, so that really gave me wings up the hill today.”

Diggins led another solid day for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team on what has become an incredible season with 13 podiums so far. In the men’s race Sunday, Gus Schumacher finished 19th in the final stage, to finish 18th overall - the best Tour de Ski finish ever for an American man. He also moved up to 27th in the overall World Cup standings.

Rosie Brennan attacked all the way to the finish after suffering a setback on stage 6, and then another mishap on the final stage.

"Unfortunately, I stuck a tip in the powder on the side of the trail leading into the climb and took another digger," said Brennan, who battled back to finish seventh on the stage to move up to sixth in the final overall standings, a career-best Tour de Ski result. "I worked really hard to make up the places that I could and then really went for it when we reached the climb to try to get into the leading group. I was able to recollect myself and hold strong but frustratingly missed the top five (overall) by a mere four seconds. Sixth place is absolutely a career-best and I am proud of my effort of fighting back after the disaster that was stage 6, but I always want more of myself and those four seconds certainly sting a bit."

Competing in her first Tour de Ski, Hailey Swirbul finished 15th in the final stage and 18th overall. Katharine Ogden was 24th Sunday to finish a career-best 23rd overall. Scott Patterson was 38th in Sunday’s stage and finished 37th overall, while Kevin Bolger was 48th Sunday and 48th overall in his first Tour de Ski.

Sunday’s final stage, a 10k freestyle mass start featured 6.5k of rolling terrain and two bonus point sprints before getting down to business on the final 3.5k climb up the alpine slopes Val Di Fiemme that averaged a 12% gradient, with stretches up to 44%. Sweden set the early pace for Linn Svahn to score maximum bonus points, but also set up Ebba Andersson to launch an attack at the base of the climb in hopes of landing on the overall podium.

Andersson started the day sixth overall, more than 2:00 behind Diggins, but just 19 seconds off the podium. She built a 10-second lead over Diggins and Russia’s Yulia Stupak on the lower slopes. With 1k to go, Andersson held her advantage over Diggins as Stupak fell off the pace, but the Russian kept Andersson in her sight to protect her second place in the overall standing. Andersson crossed the finish line nine seconds ahead of Diggins to take the stage win - her first career World Cup victory. France’s Delphine Claudel was third at 20-seconds back, and Stupak finished fourth at 24-seconds back to seal her second-place in the overall.

The overall victory caps off a very successful Tour de Ski for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team. Over the 10-day,  eight-stage race, Diggins and Brennan landed on the podium nine times, with not one, but two historic 1-2 finishes for Diggins and Brennan in stages 3 and 4, and four U.S. women in the top 30 overall for the third time in the 15-year history of the event. With her victory, Diggins overtakes Brennan for the overall World Cup lead. Brennan still leads the overall World Cup distance standing.

"It was inspiring to watch Jessie put so much fight in every day and that certainly inspires me to find more," Brennen said of her teammate. "I couldn't think of a better person to take the yellow (World Cup Leader's) bib off my back. I am also really excited to hold onto the red distance bib!"

RESULTS
Stage 7
Women’s 10k freestyle final hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle final hill climb

STANDINGS
Final Women’s Tour de Ski overall
Final Men’s Tour de Ski overall
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall
 

The U.S. Aerials Freestyle Ski Team rang in 2021 with three competitions to cap off a domestic training block at Official Training Site Utah Olympic Park (UOP). The team took advantage of two NorAms on Jan. 5-6 before the U.S. Aerials Freestyle National Championships on Jan. 9. Although it is unusual for the team to compete in NorAms, it is important for athletes to get as much under their skis during a season that has been anything but ordinary. Athletes enjoyed a world-class jump site and several classic, beautiful Utah bluebird days to prepare for the remainder of their season. 

"We ran a very successful training camp at the UOP these past few weeks," said Head Coach Vladimir (Vad) Lebedev. "We've been training since Dec. 15 and the team has been performing well. The goal for us was to train and compete as much as possible ahead of the next leg of our World Cup tour. Seems like we're ready."

Due to high wind, Tuesday’s NorAm did not run in its entirety and the men were unable to compete off of the triple. Quinn Dehlinger was the sole National Team athlete to compete and the qualification rounds’ results were used as final results. Megan Smallhouse claimed the top spot for the women, Kaila Kuhn placed second and Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Tasia Tanner took third. On the men’s side, Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Derek Kreuger won, Dehlinger came in second and Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Nick Novak rounded out the podium in third. 

Wednesday provided perfect conditions and against a deep blue sky, America’s top and up and coming aerial skiers laid down some amazing tricks for a stunning second day of competition. Ashley Caldwell, Chris Lillis and Eric Loughran opted not to compete to save their bodies for Saturday’s main event. Megan Nick took the win for the women, Kuhn earned another second place and Smallhouse took third. On the men’s side, Justin Schoenefeld won the event, Dehlinger came in second for the second-straight day, and Kreuger came in third. 

Saturday was another stunning Utah day and the team was in excellent spirits to close out their domestic preparation period. Caldwell claimed her fifth U.S. National title. “It feels great to win another Nationals,” she said. “I’ve been struggling with a knee injury so to come out today and put all of my jumps to my feet is really awesome. It’s good motivation going into the next couple of World Cups.”

Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Karenna Elliott claimed second and Kuhn picked up a third-place. 

On the men’s side, Lillis reigned the day and claimed the top spot with a beautiful double full full full off of the triple. This is Lillis’ second National title. “[It is] definitely a confidence booster going forward,” he said. “I had a little bit of a rough event [in Ruka] to start the competition season. But I definitely expect big things out of myself going into these next World Cups. I know any one of us [on the team] can put down a sweet jump. It was definitely fun to land on the top of the podium”

Last year’s National Champion Eric Loughran took second and Schoenefeld rounded out the podium in third. 

Junior National Championships ran parallel to the event. On the women’s side, Kuhn claimed victory (her fourth podium in as many competitions), Tanner came in second, and Smallouse in third. On the men’s side, Kreuger won, Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Connor Curran came in second, and Dehlinger in third. 

The Aerials Team has just enough time to wash their clothes and pack their bags before they board a plane Sunday morning for three weeks on the road. The team will compete in back to back World Cup competitions, including a double event weekend Jan. 16-17 featuring the season’s first Mixed Team Aerials World Cup.

RESULTS

Jan. 5 NorAm
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

Jan. 6 NorAm
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

Jan. 9 National Championships
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

Jan. 9 Junior National Championships
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

On a sunny day with a perfect surface, Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Breezy Johnson put the hammer down, grabbing her third (third-place) podium in as many downhill races at stunning St. Anton, Austria.

Coming into Saturday, women from the U.S. had won the last two World Cup downhill events in this ski resort: Lindsey Vonn in 2007 and Alice Mckennis Duran in 2013. But, it was a pedal-to-the-metal—or shall we say “medal”—run for Italy’s Sofia Goggia with her signature, wild skiing that keeps fans on the edge of their seats and Goggia on the top of the podium. She was pushing it to the absolute limit, and no one could catch her, as she took the victory by 96 hundredths of a second. Austria’s Tamara Tippler finished just ahead of Johnson in second, while Johnson rounded out the podium in third—a mere eight hundredths off of Tippler’s pace. 

Of Goggia's performance, Johnson said, “I think that Sofia’s run was incredible...she skied with a lot of courage and she sometimes isn’t so good at always pulling that off, but she did an amazing job today and skied really spectacularly. Hats off to her.”

With a bulletproof surface, blue skies, and all of the positive vibes (including a text exchange from former teammate Lindsey Vonn, who said "Try to keep St. Anton in America's hands, ok?"), Johnson sent it down the technical—though classic, true—Arlberg Kandahar Rennen downhill to ski into third—her third third-place in a row in downhill. Following the race, Johnson credited Official Training Site Copper Mountain, Colorado, for the solid prep period in November that set the speed team up for success coming into Europe. 

“We struggled to get training in the spring, but our coaches worked really hard to find good training opportunities...we went to Saas-Fee (Switzerland), and then we were the only team besides the German men who went to Copper Mountain,” noted Johnson. “We worked really hard there, we had great conditions, we trained with our men’s team...and had a lot of really good training there. That was great to get full-length downhill training in November—I honestly don’t know if anyone else got that, but it was really amazing to have. I think that helped a lot in order to get ready, because you come to Val d’Isere and here (at St. Anton), and it almost feels a little bit slow.”

The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team continues to show its depth, with first-year U.S. Ski Team member Isabella “Bella” Wright scoring her career-first World Cup points. After a competitor had a bad crash in the finish and Wright was “iced” (long hold) in the start, Wright calmed her mind and focused on the task at hand, moving from bib 45 to 27th and grabbing her first World Cup points. In the finish, she was greeted by teammates and hugs and was overcome with emotion as she shed some happy tears. 

Olympian and speed veteran Laurenne Ross, who sustained back-to-back knee injuries that kept her sidelined for the entire 2019-20 season, returned to the start gate in a courageous fashion on Saturday. After watching her partner Tommy Ford’s horrific crash in Adelboden, Switzerland, just before her race, Ross found the courage to step into the World Cup start gate for the first time in a massive 704-day break. Ross finished in 39th. 

Olympian Alice McKennis, who won at St. Anton in 2013 and recently broke her ankle (in Val d'Isere), said of teammate Ross, "I don't think I've ever watched a women's speed race from home, injured. But seeing her finish was worth it." 

The St. Anton World Cup weekend wraps on Sunday with a super-G before the tech women head to Flachau, Austria for the classic night slalom on Tuesday. 

RESULTS
Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
Jan. 6-13, 2021

Saturday, Jan 9
8:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Jan. 10
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, St. Anton, AUT, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
2:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 12
12:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock

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

Jessie Diggins maintained her overall Tour de Ski lead heading into the final stage, finishing 10th in Saturday’s Stage 7 classic sprint in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Rosie Brennan finished 12th and maintained her overall World Cup lead.

"That was a good day today," Diggins said, adding that the staff once again provided amazing skis.  "I did exactly what I needed to out there today in terms of the overall tour. I would have loved to make the finals since my body was feeling great, but that’s just a little extra energy in the bank for tomorrow!"

Sweden swept the women’s podium with Linn Svahn winning her third Tour de Ski stage. Maja Dahlqvist was second and Emma Ribom was third. Diggins leads the overall Tour de Ski standings by 54 seconds over Russia’s Yulia Stupak in second and Finland’s Krista Parmakowski in third.

In addition to Diggins and Brennan, four additional members of the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team advanced to the classic sprint heats, including Hailey Swirbul, Julia Kern, Gus Schumacher, and Kevin Bolger.

In the women’s quarterfinal round, Swirbul finished fourth in the first heat. Brennan was second in heat 3 to advance to the semifinals while Diggins won heat 4 to advance, and Kern was third in the fifth heat. Bolger, skiing in the fastest of the five quarterfinal heats, finished fifth in heat 2. Schumacher also finished fifth in his quarterfinal in heat 3. 

In the second heat of the women’s semifinals, Diggings was fifth and Brennan was sixth in a six-up sprint to the line.

"In the quarterfinal, I finally found a little bit snap and was very happy to move on to the semifinal," Brennan said. "Jessie and I were in a very fast semifinal heat which certainly gives you the best chance of Lucky Loser, but I just didn't have the power I need to get those few extra places. This was the first time I have made it to the semis in a classic sprint so I'm happy to have crossed that barrier."

Sweden’s Oskar Svensson won the men’s sprint, followed by Russia’s Kleb Retivykh in second and Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov in third. Bolger finished 23rd and Schumacher was 24th. 

Schumacher sits 18th overall, Scott Patterson 38th, and Kevin Bolger is 49th heading into the final stage. Schumacher is positioned to produce not only the fifth top 30-overall FIS Tour de Ski finish for an American male - something only achieved four times in the history of the race with Noah Hoffman 26th in 2017; 22nd in 2016 (best American result); and 24th in 2014; Kris Freeman was 28th in 2011 - but he is also positioned to achieve the best American overall finish.

Swirbul is 18th in the overall standings, while Katharine Ogden finished 36th Saturday and sits 22nd overall, and Caitlin Patterson was 39th Saturday and sits 34th overall. Scott Patterson was 51st Saturday and sits 38th overall. Brennan is seventh overall, 2:19 back, but just 28 seconds back of Parmakowski for the final podium spot. "I am still in the fight for a strong overall and am looking forward to duking it out the hill tomorrow," Brennan said. 

Sunday’s final stage is a freestyle mass start hill climb up the alpine slopes Val Di Fiemme that averages 12% gradient, with stretches up to 30%, over the last 3.5k. Diggins knows this climb well, having finished sixth on the final climb in last year's Tour de Ski.

"(I am) ready to absolutely destroy myself on that hill climb tomorrow," Diggins said. "The only thing I know for sure is that I’ll be crossing that finish line with absolutely nothing left! I’m proud of this team and what we’ve accomplished together, and excited to go charging one last time."
 

RESULTS
Stage 7
Women’s classic sprint
Men’s classic sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 7)
Men’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 7)
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall

SCHEDULE
Sunday, Jan. 10, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb

HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, Jan. 10
6:45 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Women's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Men's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Injury Update - Jan. 9, 2:30 p.m. MST: Tommy Ford's head and neck injuries are minor and resolving nicely. He has a knee injury that is undergoing further evaluation.

---------

It was a tough day two of giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland for the Americans, headlined by a massive crash from Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team giant slalom star Tommy Ford. Ryan Cochran-Siegle led the way for the men in 19th place with River Radamus in 20th.

Tommy was putting down an aggressive first run before he high-sided a few gates before the finish, sending him head over heels to eventually slide into the net before the finish. Prior to loading in the helicopter, Tommy was conscious and speaking to emergency responders. He was taken to the hospital for evaluation—more details will be forthcoming.  

Tommy has had a banner 2020-21 season so far, nailing four World Cup top-10 results, including a podium in Santa Caterina. This season had followed up a strong, albeit shortened, 2019-20 season with two GS podiums.

The U.S. men remained worried about their teammate and friend, but Ryan and River qualified for second run and skied the terrain-riddled and dark GS aggressively with a couple of small mistakes. Ryan took 19th overall, just ahead of River in 20th. River finished his second run and waved at the camera and said, “Love you, Tommy.”

This was River's third top-20 result in a row—another excellent result for the improving young athlete who snagged his career-best GS result in Friday's race. He's continuing to ski aggressively and accumulate more World Cup miles to focus on building throughout the season.

Alexis Pinturault of France put down a nearly flawless run on the Chuenisbärgli track to win by over a second for the second day in a row. The victory catapulted him to the front of the giant slalom standings as he continues to build his lead for the overall standings. Filip Zubcic of Croatia was second and Loic Meillard of Switzerland third. This was the last giant slalom before the FIS Ski World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy in February.

Rounding out the U.S. men, Ted Ligety did not qualify for a second run, while George Steffey and Bridger Gile both skied out and did not finish.

The Adelboden weekend wraps on Sunday with a slalom.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
Jan. 6-13, 2021

Saturday, Jan 9
8:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Jan. 10
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, St. Anton, AUT, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
2:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 12
12:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock

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

U.S. Freeski Pro Team member Alex Hall finished eighth in Friday’s heated FIS Big Air World Cup season opener in Kreischberg Austria. 

Men’s qualifiers kicked off an insane day of competition in a competitive environment that seemed too good to be true for an outdoor sporting event. Event organizers at Kreischberg did an amazing job building a perfect 70-foot jump complete with a steep landing and strong lighting. The only variable left was the weather, but Mother Nature came in clutch with clear skies and no wind. The scene was set for a stunning day of competition and the 2015 World Championships venue did not disappoint.

Hall was the sole American that made it through to the final round of the competition. However, making the top-five in one of two men’s qualification heats, each consisting of 32 hungry freeskiers, was no easy task. 

“That was probably the heaviest qualifying round in a big air competition that I have ever witnessed,” said U.S. Freeski Team Head Coach Skogen Sprang. “Athletes needed two jumps scoring in the mid-90s just to advance and it came down to the last skier in the heat for Alex to make it safely into finals.”

The finals immediately followed qualifications where the level of progression and consistency continued. Athletes put on a display of technicality and creativity including nose butter, carving, and pre-grab take-offs, as well as multiple triple corks, 1800’s, and double grabs. It became clear that any rust that may have developed over the almost two month World Cup hiatus was long gone by the time the finalists dropped in for the big show.

Hall had a strong showing landing a left side double cork 1620 on his first run and a switch left double cork 1800 on his third run, both with his signature Buick grab. Despite two scores in the 90’s, the rest of the field was firing on all cylinders and he was unable to break into the top three. 

Defending FIS Big Air Crystal Globe Winner Birk Ruud from Norway earned the top spot, followed by Antoine Adelisse of France in second-place, and Oliwer Magnusson of Sweden in third. For the women, another defending FIS Big Air Champion topped the podium as Giulia Tanno of Switzerland took the win. Tess Ledeux of France finished second and Estonian Kelly Sildaru finished third. 

Elite level freeski competition will continue Jan. 29-31 at X Games Aspen at Buttermilk Mountain, Colo. 

WATCH REPLAY

RESULTS
Men’s Freeski Big Air
Women’s Freeski Big Air

FOLLOW
Instagram - @usfreeskiteam
Facebook - @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter - @usskiteam
 

Gus Schumacher led the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team with a career-best eighth place in Friday’s stage 6 of the 15th Tour de Ski, a 15k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy. In the women’s race, Jessie Diggins maintained her overall Tour lead with a ninth-place finish in the 10k classic.

Coming into the latter stages of a tour, racers usually have two different mindsets. The first is to protect their lead or place in the overall standings without going too deep into the red zone. The second, to move up in the overall standings or simply go for individual stage glory. These situations create a race within the race, and this is exactly why organizers offer multiple leader bibs, such as points, and the Audi e-Tron Bonus Trophy, in addition to the yellow race leader’s bib.

Most racers also gain a bump in fitness as a stage race wears on. However, that area between going fast or going too hard into the red zone and blowing up becomes increasingly smaller. Fatigue from efforts in previous stages can also sneak up. Thus, it is very important for an athlete to “listen to their body” down the stretch.

All these different mindsets and scenarios played out for U.S. athletes Friday. For Jessie Diggins, she kept the pace high for the first two laps of the race, then settled in to protected her overall race lead, finishing ninth. Diggins holds a 55-second advantage over Russia’s Yulia Stupak in the overall standings, with Sweden’s Frida Karlsson in third overall at 1:42 back. With her victory Friday, Andersson moved up to fourth overall at 1:45 back. Katharine Ogden put in another top-20 finish, crossing the line in 19th, to move up to 22nd in the overall standings. 

“Today was a big day for me in terms of mental toughness - my body was numb from the waist down for the entire last lap but I just kept digging deep because I knew every second counted and I had a job to do,” Diggins said. “I managed to hold on to the leader bib and with a classic sprint and the hill climb coming up, I’m really excited for both these stages and focused on getting all the little details of recovery right! I was proud of the grit I had out there today but way more proud of the amazing Salomon skis our techs made me! Wow, that was key in today’s race.”

For Rosie Brennan, bad luck and fatigue snuck up on her in Friday’s race as she finished 31st, more than two minutes behind race winner Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia, and she fell to seventh in the overall standings. Germany’s Katrina Hennig was second, and Sweden’s Ebba Andersson finished third. 

"I was ready for a tough battle and had the confidence to do well today," said Brennan, who got tripped up on the second climb and skied over by a number of racers before she could get up. "Because it was so early, we were all still in a big pack and I worked really hard to try to pass people and get back to the front. I think I wasted a lot of energy doing that when my body didn't have much extra left in the tank. I truly fought with all I had and I am very disappointed that I couldn't do more out there. Tour racing always brings big up and big downs so I will do my best to pick up the pieces and continue to fight hard the next two days."

In Schumacher’s case, his fitness continues to improve as the races grind on. The 2020 Junior World Champion has adapted well to the faster World Cup pace and continues to climb up the overall Tour de Ski standings, moving up to 18th overall with two stages remaining. 

“The strategy today was to relax as much as possible in the pack and make sure I was skiing well technically to conserve as much energy as possible,” Schumacher said after dropping back on the first couple of laps while the leaders gassed the pace while going for bonus sprint points. Schumacher then started making his way through the pack and eventually found himself in fifth with 2.5k to go. Down the stretch, he lost a few places but glided across the line just 11 seconds back of race winner Alexander Bolshunov of Russia. Maurice Manificat of France was second, followed by Ivan Yakimushkin of Russi in third.

Racing his first full season on the World Cup Tour, Schumacher has received a ton of advice from the coaching staff and other athletes. But most importantly, the team atmosphere has provided a huge advantage for not only Schumacher but the entire team. 

“With 2 races to go, I’m feeling physically medium to good, but very excited with the end in sight,” he said. “And I’ve received good pieces of advice from a lot of people on the team. I love hearing everyone’s perspective on each course and race, coaches too. It’s been a really fun team atmosphere and I’m excited to finish this thing off!”

Saturday’s penultimate stage features a classic sprint for both men and women. Sunday’s final stage is a freestyle mass start hill climb up the alpine slopes Val Di Fiemme that averages 12% gradient, with stretches up to 30%, over the last 3.5k. 

Heading into Saturday’s classic sprint, the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team has four women in the top 25 overall, with Diggins holding the yellow leader’s bib. Brennan in seventh, Hailey Swirbul 19th, and Ogden in 22nd. Caitlin Patterson was 29th Friday and sits 35th overall. Julia Kern was 42nd Friday and sits 39th overall. For the men, Schumacher sits 18th overall, Scott Patterson is 37th, and Kevin Bolger is 49th. 

RESULTS
Stage 6
Women’s 10k classic mass start
Men’s 15k classic mass start

STANDINGS
Women’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 6)
Men’s Tour de Ski overall (through stage 6)
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall

SCHEDULE
Saturday, Jan. 9, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Men and women’s classic sprint

Sunday, Jan. 10, Val di Fiemme, ITA
Women’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb
Men’s 10k freestyle mass start hill climb

HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, Jan. 9
7:00 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Men and Women’s Classic Sprint - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Jan. 10
6:45 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Women's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock
9:30 a.m. FIS World Cup Cross Country Tour de Ski Men's 10k Mass Start - LIVE, Val di Fiemme, ITA, Streaming Peacock

Tommy Ford led the way for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team men on a stunning day in Adelboden, Switzerland, finishing 10th in the FIS World Cup giant slalom. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was right on Tommy’s tails in 12th, with River Radamus collecting his best GS finish in 18th.

While hard snow and sunshine made for a picture-perfect ski racing day, Adelboden felt a bit strange and quiet without the usually raucous 30,000-40,000-person fanbase hollering at the finish due to COVID-19 restrictions. But that didn’t stop Alexis Pinturault of France from putting on a master class in the tricky second run set and taking the win by over a second. Filip Zubcic of Croatia was second and Marco Odermatt third.

Both Tommy and Ryan threatened the podium after their first runs, sitting in fourth and sixth place respectively, but a few errors in the difficult second run tripped them up and set them back a few places. However, both were still happy to put another good result under their belts. This was Tommy’s fourth top-10 GS finish in a row, with his second-place podium finish in Santa Caterina yet to be bested in 2020-21 season.

Ryan, who was once nicknamed a giant slalom specialist, has been cleaning up in the speed events this season—winning the Bormio super-G and podiuming in the Val Gardena downhill to wrap up 2020. Adelboden was Ryan’s best giant slalom result since he was 11th in Soelden last season.

But the most exciting story of the day was River Radamus, who missed the flip in the Adelboden GS by .01 seconds in 2020 and used that disappointing result to propel him to his best GS result in his career in Friday’s race.

“The day after the race last year, I took a screenshot of the results page and had it as my phone background for the last year,” said River. “It was probably one of the toughest days of my skiing career and so I used it as motivation all summer and coming into this season. To get in and find some points and have my personal best here a year later means a lot to me… Not feeling like I had my best skiing and having a personal best means I’m on the right track and the things I’ve been doing all summer are paying off.”

Having won two World Juniors gold medals in 2019, River has had the pressure on him to show that he could be competitive on the World Cup—and he’s been succeeding, scoring points in three races so far this season. His 18th place finish bested his 20th place finish in Alta Badia at the end of December, but he’s hungry for more.

“I feel like I left a lot on the table today,” added River. “So having the confidence to know that I can do it—taking it for everything that it’s worth and pushing the line, pushing the pace and skiing more aggressively tomorrow is my goal.”

Rounding out the U.S. men, Ted Ligety, Bridger Gile and George Steffey did not qualify for a second run.

The men get a second go at giant slalom in Adelboden on Saturday, before finishing the weekend with a slalom on Sunday.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
Jan. 6-13, 2021

Saturday, Jan 9
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
5:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Downhill - LIVE, St. Anton, AUT, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
8:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Jan. 10
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, St. Anton, AUT, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Adelboden, SUI, Streaming Peacock
2:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom - same-day broadcast, Adelboden, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 12
12:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
2:45 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Flachau, AUT, Streaming Peacock

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

The Alpine Precisions have been posted for the 2020-21 season.  Please click through to read important updated policies on gate judges, hand timing, officials’ certification, and athletes competing in another country.  Additionally, the meeting minutes from the fall Alpine Sport Committee video conference call have also been posted to the website.