We've been having a good Junior World and U23.  I am waiting for some updates from the racers and coaches... you can check out their results at www.fis-ski.com go to results, cross country. Kranj...

Thanks to the coaches/waxers/organizers.  This staff is preparing for races everyday - that is hard, hard work.  Thanks and great job staff.

Great job also to all the racers - all the racers.

Three of the 2006 Olympic women’s team arrived in Davos.  So far it’s been all sunshine, excellent training, and adjusting to “Europe time”.  

In a letter to the U.S. Cross Country Committee Luke Bodensteiner outlined a new level of funding for the cross country program...

This is a very positive turn of events since the XC budget started out at $400,000 this spring (which covers everything from paper clips, all salaries, all travel, every drop of wax, hotels, training camps, all development projects, etc) and has increased since then...

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Article by Torin Koos inside...

SEEKING OPA CUP COACH!!!! More inside...

Some Swedes on the trails in Seiser Alm, Italy.  Lots of different pre-Olympic strategies being put in place up here.

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Andy Newell in yesterday's sprint.

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Today Andy Newell took fourth in the world cup sprint in Oberstdorf.  He also took 4th in the prelim and Torin Koos took second in the prelim.

I will post pictures and the story later... for now it has been a crazy and long day (waxing all day and then driving from Oberstdorf to Italy where we are now) and it is bed time.

Great job to Newell and Koos!  I mean great.

(to answer an earlier question - the sprinters have been over since right after the world cup in Canada - so over Christmas - and they have been having some good results since getting over here.  The distance crew got here right after Nationals - arrived the 13th.  We are now in Italy where we are going to rest, rest, rest and do just a little training.  Why race the world cup when we should be training and resting?  Because to learn to race in the world cup, racing world cup is very good training.  The guys died big time but they did race with other WC skiers the whole time and were in the main pack for a good portion of the classical race.  Our expectations were low and, well, they were fulfilled.  In todays sprint our expectations were high, and they too were fulfilled.)

Tobi and Anders had one... Congratulations to Beckie Scott and Canada who all had a great day.  As for us...

Torin Koos won the prelim ahead of Andy Newell who was ahead of last year's world sprint champ - Rotchev (RUS), but Newell went on to win the whole thing.  More inside...