NewTour de Finn: 2024-2025 Season Rundown

March 19, 2025

Another season has come and gone, marking the second full winter for the Tour de Finn. While the snow was lacking at times the competition was not with more skiers participating in multiple events than in the previous season, calling for the first use of the "best six races" rule in scoring. Offering a rundown of the results, Allie Rykken has the all the numbers of note, including the top-10 standings for the individual, team, and age group categories. An end of season celebration is scheduled for 6:30 PM this Thursday at Finn Sisu, so take a peak at the results before heading over to see if you also won one of their handcrafted awards!

NewWorld Cup Tallinn: Freestyle Sprints; Kern Third in Return to Podium

March 19, 2025

A one off event in Estonia, the World Cup circuit made a stop in Tallinn on Wednesday for a round of freestyle sprints under the stars. Not unusual in sprinting, there was drama abound with the first major upset going to the US athlete Julia Kern who first knocked out Norway's star sprinter Kristen Stavaas Skistad in the semifinals, and then fought hard for a third place finish in the final, her second career World Cup podium and first since 2020. Winning the women's final was Switzerland's Nadine Faehndrich who looked unbeatable throughout, while the veteran Maja Dahlqvist skied smart to take second ahead of Kern. Drama ensued in the men's final as well, but not when deciding the winner which was, unsurprisingly, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway. The real spectacle was in the sprint for second between France's Jules Chappaz and Norway's Harald Oestberg Amundsen which, after much deliberation, was called as a virtual tie. Missing out on all the action, Ben Ogden, the best of the US men, would fall just short of making the final, finishing 7th in the semis. Now, with three events to go, the circuit moves on to Lahti, Finland for the final weekend of the World Cup season!

NewEndurance Adventures: Swedish Vasaloppet Blog

March 18, 2025

Kim Rudd recaps her trip to Sweden and participating in the 2025 Vasaloppet. Find details on Endurance Adventure trips and clinics for this summer and next winter.

World Cup Racing: Tallinn Schedule

March 17, 2025

One more weekend of World Cup racing remains, but before the circuit lands in Lahti for the last leg it will be making a stop in Tallinn, Estonia for a night of sprinting in the streets. With qualifiers taking place at 9:30 AM CDT on Wednesday, the main event will begin at 12:00 PM CDT that same day for the elimination round of the freestyle competition. The stars will be out, literally and figuratively, so make sure not to miss this one!

Team Birkie Sweepstakes Ending Soon

March 17, 2025

Team Birkie is continue to make waves on the World Cup and the fundraising sweepstakes is a great way to help support team. Enter into the drawing for top notch Trek MTB bike, gravel bike or adventure bike -- only a few days left before the sweepstakes closes!

World Cup Oslo: Freestyle Distance

March 16, 2025

A second day of interval-start competitions concluded the World Cup's short stayover in Oslo, Norway as athletes raced 10K in the freestyle technique on Sunday. A surprise showing by Sweden's Moa Ilar in the women's race saw her claim her second career individual victory, besting a hard charging Heidi Weng of Norway by just 1.6 seconds, with Victoria Carl of Germany not that far behind either in third. The men's race offered some shakeups as well with Harald Oestberg Amundsen getting a win after just missing the podium yesterday, while a new face on the Norwegian team, Einar Hedegart, also got his first career podium, finish second a little over 5 seconds back. No stranger to the podium himself, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo claimed the third and final spot to complete the Norwegian sweep. While a strong 6th place finish by Jessie Diggins didn't earn the top US athlete a trip to the podium in today's race, it won her something far more valuable: with three scoring events to go, Jessie Diggins is officially the 2024/2025 overall World Cup champion! Before the celebration can truly begin however, there are two more stops for the World Cup circuit to make, the first being in Tallinn, Estonia on Wednesday.

World Cup Oslo: Classic Distance

March 15, 2025

After a thrilling World Championships, World Cup racing returned to the fore on Saturday for an interval-start classic race in Oslo, Norway. Breaking from the usual marathon events hosted at the Holmenkollen ski venue, athletes only had to cover 20K in the day's race which saw the women's field competing first. Redemption was a major theme for the competition with Therese Johaug of Norway finally getting a win on home soil after she was shut out in Trondheim. Her teammate Astrid Oeyre Slind also found her footing, returning to the podium after being individually absent from it throughout the Championships, which was similarly the case for Victoria Carl of Germany who took third. Rebounding from two ill-timed crashes a week ago, the men's race saw a monstrous effort by Norway's Martin Loewstroem Nyenget earn him a win by a wide margin, while William Poromaa of Sweden snuck in for second ahead of Simen Hegstad Krueger of Norway who was relegated to third. A pair of top-10 finishes by Gus Schumacher, 7th, and Jessie Diggins, 10th, marked the high point for US men's and women's teams on the day. The individual-start action continues on Sunday with another race in the same format, but at half the distance and in the freestyle technique.

Junior Nationals Mixed Relays Results

March 15, 2025

Junior Nationals wrapped up at Soldier Hollow on Saturday morning with the popular mixed relay races. The Midwest just missed the podium in the U20 race, finishing 18 seconds back in 4th. Other top 10 results: U16 Midwest 6th, Great Lakes 7th; U18 Midwest 8th, Midwest #2 10th.

Brewskibeiner Coverage

March 14, 2025

The final(?) race of the season, the Brewskibeiner, was held Friday evening on the snowmaking trails at Hyland Lake. And perhaps not a day too late as temperatures were around 70F at the 6:30 pm start time and with some sections of the trail almost down to ice. Nearly 20 skiers participated, with Sam Holt taking the 20K event and Levi Little and Mary Kallemeyn the 9K winners. Full results and a photoset posted.

Junior Nationals: Freestyle Results

March 14, 2025

The third and final individual competition at Junior Nationals, a mass-start freestyle race, took place on Friday in Midway, UT. Among the U16 crowd Linnea Ousdigian took home another national title in the 7.5K girl's race, while Evie Malec finished not that long after her in 4th. The U18 boys also claimed a title in their 10K race with Logan Drevlow taking the top honors, while Eddie Snider led the Midwest men in the 15K U20 race with a 4th place finish. There was a strong showing by the U20 women in their race as well where 9 skiers made up the top-20, with the likes of Hanna Koch, Chloe Angerman, Anna Peikert sweeping the podium. Adding to the notable finishes on the day were: MU16: Oliver Hohenstein 25th; MU18: Soren Winikoff 16th; FU18: Lila Golomb 24th; MU20: Anders Westanmo 12th; FU20: Greta Hendrickson 5th, Naida Hutchinson 10th, Kaia Osmundson 12th, Anna-Britta Helmer 13th, Stella Powell 17th, Madeline Gray 19th, and Erica Kazin 23rd.

World Cup Racing: Oslo Schedule

March 13, 2025

And just like that the final leg of the World Cup circuit is upon us. Period IV starts up this Saturday in Oslo, Norway for back to back days of interval-start racing, with Saturday devoted to a 20K classic race, while a 10K freestyle race will be the subject of Sunday. Saturday's event will see the women's field racing first at 5:30 AM CDT and the men's field following in their wake at 8:00 AM CDT. Then the order stays the same for Sunday, with the women's field once again leading out the event at 5:15 AM CDT, while the men's field will get their turn afterwards at 7:30 AM CDT. In regards to Midwest skiers to keep an eye out for, the roster remains relatively unchanged with the Luci Anderson, Erin Bianco, Jessie Diggins, Alayna Sonnesyn, Kevin Bolger, and Zak Ketterson all getting nods for the next few weeks.

Team Birkie: World Championships

March 12, 2025

Five members of Team Birkie competed in the Nordic World Championships, February 26th to March 9th, in Trondheim, Norway. Alayna Sonnesyn, Kevin Bolger, and Zak Ketterson, all competed multiple times for the United States, and will now continue on the World Cup circuit through the end of the season.

Junior Nationals Freestyle Sprint Results

March 12, 2025

Junior National racing resumed Wednesday at Soldier Hollow, UT, with a long day of freestyle sprint racing. Linnea Ousdigian was crowned national champion as she won the girls U16 final! Logan Drevlow was 4th in the MU18 final, Greta Hendrickson 4th FU20 final, Onika Colassacco 5th FU16 final, Connor Reckinger 5th MU16 final. Other notables: Hanna Koch 1st FU20 B final, Lila Golomb 2nd FU18 B final, James Drenne 3rd MU16 B final, Elsa Lindfors 4th FU18 B final, Lillian Franzen 4th FU20 B final, Evie Malec 5th FU16 B final. Friday will feature mass start freestyle distance races.

A Love Letter to the Ski North Ultra

March 10, 2025

Despite another season of uncertainty and the unbelievably warm weather the past few days, the Ski North Ultra made its triumphant debut over the weekend on the trails tracing the North Shore. Penning an open letter to the community that supported the event in it's inaugural season, race director Allie Rykken reflects back on what, for her, took the race from a wild idea to a shared experience.

Junior Nationals: Classic Results

March 10, 2025

Junior Nationals competition got underway at Soldier Hollow in Utah on Monday with the individual start classic races. The Midwest put two skiers on the podium as Linnea Ousdigian (FU16) and Hanna Koch (FU20) both finished in second place. Other top results from the Midwest/Great Lakes - FU16: Eleanor Mody 13th, Evie Malec 15th; MU16: Niels Stringer 5th, Connor Reckinger 14th, James Derenne 14th MU16; FU18: Lila Golomb 13th, Helen Townley 25th; MU18: Logan Drevlow 17th, Soren Winikoff 20th, George Nelson 22nd; FU20: Chloe Angerman 4th, Greta Hendrickson 10th, Lillian Franzen 11th, Josephine Kwasny 17th, Monet Argeropoulos 23rd; MU20: Kristian Hudacek 11th, Anders Westanmo 12th, Eddie Snider 15th. Next up are the freestyle sprints on Wednesday.

ABR Eric and Angela Celebration Planned for Saturday, Mar 15th

March 9, 2025

On Saturday, March 15th, ABR is celebrating 30 years of Eric Anderson and Angela Santini running ABR! Come out for an afternoon of food and fun as they commemorate this milestone. Brats and burgers, beer by the bonfire, sharing memories, and having some friendly competition with a few games. Please RSVP to ensure there is plenty of food and drink!

Gear West: Bike Clinic Wednesday - Going Tubeless

March 9, 2025

Gear West has a number of bike clinics coming up, this Wednesday evening, Mar 12th, where they give you all the low-down on tubeless tires.

World Championships: Women's Freestyle Mass Start

March 9, 2025

After the wonderful weather yesterday the conditions on Sunday in Trondheim, Norway were some of the toughest yet for the final competition of the 2025 World Championships. Racing 50K in the freestyle technique through a thoroughly moisturized snowpack, the women's field was already in shambles shortly after the start of the event with eight athletes skiing away from the rest of the group only 5K in. That number would be cut in half another 5K in, and it would stay that way until the final uphill before the decent into the stadium when, in a tragic moment for the Swedish skier, Ebba Andersson would catch the ski of her teammate, Frida Karlsson, and crash out early, leaving the podium all but decided, save for the order. Karlsson would go on to take the gold, winning out over the two remaining Norwegians, Heidi Weng and Therese Johaug, granting Sweden the sweep of the gold medals across all of the women's competitions. Toughing it out together, all four of the US women would cross the line as a group, finishing 19th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. Now just a week later athletes will do it all again as they face yet another batch of 50K races in Oslo, Norway next weekend.

NCAA Championships: Freestyle

March 8, 2025

The NCAA Championships concluded on Saturday with a mass-start 20K freestyle race for all athletes in Hanover, NH. Gaining ground after a third place finish on Thursday, Joe Davies of the University of Utah took the title in the men's race, crushing the competition by over a minute on his way to the win. Thursday's champion, Dartmouth University's John Steele Hagenbuch, was the next skier up in second, who himself put a nearly 30 second gap on third which went to Brian Bushey, also of the University of Utah. A stellar showing for the Midwest men, Wisconsin's Ben Dohlby, who skis for the University of Alaska Anchorage, finished 5th. The women's competition also featured a bit of a blowout as Kendall Kramer of the University of Alaska Fairbanks skied away for the win with over 30 seconds to spare on the race's runner-up and Thursday's champion, Erica Laven of the University of Utah. Another 12 seconds back, Tilde Baagman of the University of Colorado Boulder finished third to completed the women's podium. Finishing 14th in the field, Molly Moening of the University of Vermont was the top contender among the Midwest women.

World Championships: Men's Freestyle Mass Start

March 8, 2025

Records were rewritten on Saturday as the first of two mass-start 50K freestyle races took place in Trondheim, Norway. For the final event of the 2025 World Championships it was the men's field racing first, and from the start the group was off to a fast pace. By 15K the tempo had taken a toll on the field, and by 25K less than 20 skiers were still in striking distance of the leaders. The rest of the way the remaining athletes would be whittled down to four with 5K to go, and then just three after a crash knocked another out of contention. Approaching the final climb Sweden's William Poromaa tried to make a break to take the gold, but hot on his heels was Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo who has proven time and time again to be unbeatable when a race is left late. Easily out sprinting Poromaa, Klaebo took the win, becoming the only athlete to ever win all six events at a World Championship, and perhaps cementing his status as the greatest of all time. Perfectly happy to be sharing the podium with an all time great, Klaebo's teammate Simen Hegstad Krueger crossed the the line in third seconds later to take the bronze. An outstanding showing by a skier often recognized as a sprinter, Kevin Bolger was the first to finish for the US men, placing 22nd. One race remains at the 2025 World Championships with the women's field doing the same dance tomorrow for their version of 50K event.

River View Loppet Results

March 8, 2025

The husband and wife duo of Nick Ross and Marit Ross-Sonnesyn finished first and second in the 24K freestyle race at the River View Loppet Saturday in Brule. Doug Scheider won the 24K classic event. 12K freestyle champs were Sullivan Sportel and Trisha Evans, with Timothy Pera and Cecelia Toshner winning the 12K classic.

Great Bear Chase Results

March 8, 2025

Over 700 skiers turned out Saturday for the Great Bear Chase races on Saturday in Calumet, MI. The 50km Skiathlon winners were Julia Junkkala and Sam Holt. Elspeth Ronnander and Caden Albrecht took the 50km Classic titles. The 50km Freestyle victories went to Hanna Derby and Ryan Thieme. The 25km Classic was won by Abby Scheller and Parker Courte Rathwell with the 25km Freestyle going to Lena Mitkey and Luke Kubasta. And in the the 20km Skiathlon, Gretta Scholz and Jacob Stiele were champions.

Lumi Experiences: $1000 Drawing off a 2026 Cross Country Ski Vacation

March 7, 2025

Lumi’s 2026 Worldloppet, World Cup and Sight Skiing trips are already filling quickly. Founded by Minnesota cross country ski Olympian Garrott Kuzzy, Lumi Experiences will be leading three once-in-a-lifetime trips to the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games! Enter drawing for a chance to win $1000 off a 2026 Lumi trip and book your trip by March 31, 2025 to receive a $300/person early discount.

World Championships: Women's Team Relay

March 7, 2025

Perhaps the most dramatic event of the 2025 World Championships so far, the women's 4x7.5K relay on Friday was one for the ages with multiple shocking storylines playing out in Trondheim. After getting off to an early lead on, Norway appeared to be a lock for the gold medal as they maintained a minimum of a 30 second gap over the rest of the field through the first three legs. Sweden, the undeniable favorites to win the event, looked as though they would finally be bested after sweeping the titles thus far, but that all changed when Jonna Sundling started making up ground on her anchor leg. Within 2.5K Sundling had caught Norway's anchor, Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes, and would ski with her through the final uphill where the World Champion sprinter would make a move to break to deadlock and complete the comeback. The surprising upset would be shortlived however as Germany and Finland, who had been neck and neck through the final leg, came crashing in, with Germany dealing another devastating blow to Finland to bump them off the podium. After struggling to stick with the tempo early on, the US women's team of Rosie Brennan, Julia Kern, Sophia Laukli, and Jessie Diggins dug deep to deliver a respectable 6th place finish. A Marathon event will make up the final two days of racing at the 2025 World Championships, with the first day going to the men's field who will be racing 50K in the freestyle technique tomorrow.

NCAA Championships: Classic

March 6, 2025

While the World Championships were taking place overseas, the NCAA Championships was getting underway stateside in Hanover, NH. The first of two days of racing was Thursday which featured an interval-start 7.5K classic race for all athletes. Kicking off the 2025 competition the same way he did in 2024, John Steele Hagenbuch of Dartmouth University was crowned the men's champion with roughly 15 seconds to spare over another New England representative, Finn Sweet of the University of Vermont. Laying claim to last spot on the podium with a comfortable 20 second gap on the rest of the field, Joe Davies of the University of Utah rounded out the top-3 for the men's race. Meanwhile, Cooper Camp, also of Dartmouth University, solidified himself as the top Midwestern skier on the day with an impressive 9th place finish. In the women's race the leaders were similarly separated as Erica Laven of the University of Utah took the win over the University of Vermont's Annie McColgan by roughly 10 seconds, with Jasmine Drolet of Dartmouth University another 20 seconds back from McColgan in third. Maggie Wagner of Midland University stood out as the top Midwesterner in the women's race, placing 16th. Friday will offer a quick reprieve from the racing action before collegiate athletes return to the track for a mass-start 20K freestyle race to close out the competition on Saturday.