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We are experts in making skis go fast and perform the way you want them to. We cover Nordic and Alpine from racing to recreation. Backcountry too. If you ski and maintain your own skis, this is the podcast for you.
Episodes
Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
Gus Schumacher is the defending World Junior Nordic Ski Champion and US National Skate Sprint Champion. I did a series of 3 interviews with him earlier this year to sort of introduce him and give people a chance to get to know him. This interview is to simply catch up and get his thoughts on the recently finished World Cup events in Davos, Switzerland and Dresden, Germany as well as the upcoming Tour de Ski.
Tuesday Dec 15, 2020
Tuesday Dec 15, 2020
Noah Hoffman, aka “the Hoff“ has 144 individual starts in World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic games. He has finished in the top 30 41 times with 3 top 10 finishes. His best performance came in Ruka, Finland where on the second day of a pursuit he skied through the pack for the fastest time of the day and an overall placing of 9th. Noah won the 2012 US National Championship in the 30km Classic Mass Start in Rumford, ME. Noah, a 2 time Olympian retired at the end of the 2018 season. Since then Noah has been attending Brown University where he is a junior. He is also doing anti-doping work for USADA traveling to training camps and competitions to educate elite athletes on their rights and responsibilities under the WADA code. Furthermore, Noah is a member of the Global Athlete startup team which is working to elevate the voice and power of athletes in international sport governance. Taking classes remotely this year, Noah is currently in Medford, Oregon. This is for sure one of the absolute best interviews that I have done. We discussed how Noah did things with having specific coaches for different things, his development process, some of his best races, healing from injury, US Ski Team culture, and his work with Global Athlete. The Global Athlete discussion lead to an in depth and nuanced discussion on doping and the situation and how to fix it. I think any fan of Nordic ski racing would be inspired, informed, and entertained by this conversation.
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Jim Fredericks started Nordic skiing at Johnson State College and then became its head coach for all ski sports starting in 1973. As well as being one of the East’s fastest racers, Jim worked at Craftsbury starting their Nordic Ski Center. Jim then turned to coaching starting the successful Green Mountain Valley School Nordic program. From 1986 to 2006 Jim ran the Nordic Race Department at Rossignol which really defined his career. A Vermonter through and through, when Rossignol moved from Vermont to Utah, Jim remained in Vermont and took the role of the Catamount Trail Association’s executive director. Jim also started the Race to the top of Vermont, a run and bike up Mt Mansfield’s toll road. Jim and his wife JoAnne live an active life skiing, paddling, and running in northern Vermont near Craftsbury, VT. Jim has been a mentor for me as so much of my ski racing and professional career has been in cooperation with him. During the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, perhaps nobody was as influential as Jim Fredericks on the US Nordic ski racing scene.
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Gus Schumacher is the defending World Junior Nordic Ski Champion and US National Skate Sprint Champion. I did a series of 3 interviews earlier this year to introduce him and give people a chance to get to know him. This interview is to simply catch up and get his thoughts on the recently finished World Cup mini tour called the Ruka Triple and on the whole world cup scene as it is now. This interview was on the Tuesday before the Davos world cup races.
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Udo Raunjak has been the head of Toko Research and Development for the past 15 years. In addition to developing innovative new waxes, Udo also oversees quality control, production, and purchasing of raw materials. He is a straight talker who I think knows more than anyone in the world about ski wax. We discuss the development process of new waxes, the liquid paraffin revolution and what makes the Toko liquid paraffins different from others on the market, new fluorine free racing products, how to best waterproof skins, and ECO friendly waxes. If you are interested in ski racing wax or are curious about ski wax development, this is a great podcast!
Monday Nov 16, 2020
Monday Nov 16, 2020
Ida Sargent has represented the US 159 times in WC, WM and OWG. She has 59 individual top 30 finishes including 9 top 10s. Her best finish was 3rd place in the preolympic World Cup Classic sprint in Pyeongchang. Additionally, Ida finished 3rd twice in World Cup team sprints. Ida, a two-time Olympian, won the US National Championship Classic sprint in 2019. Ida is retired after the 2019 season and is 32 years old. Ida lives in Kirby, VT and teaches at Burke Mountain Academy. Ida is clearly one of the most successful ski racers we have ever had in this country. We discussed growing up near Craftsbury, having a super strong training group, the Kuusamo WC, and a few of her favorite race experiences, the amazing progress of the women's team while Ida was on it.
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Chris Cook has represented the US 45 times in World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic competitions. His best individual international result was 12th place in the Sovereign Lakes World Cup Skate Sprint in 2005. Chris finished 21st in the 2006 Olympics in the Skate Sprint. The 2006 US National Champion, Chris retired after the 2011 season. He is now 40 and living in Rhinelander, WI with his wife and son. We discussed the legacy that his parents have left, the 2010 Birkie, some of his most memorable races, how sprinting has changed, and enduro motocross racing among other things. This was an interview that was animated, entertaining, stimulating, and informative.
Thursday Nov 12, 2020
Thursday Nov 12, 2020
Jan Guenther’s runs and owns the largest Cross Country ski retail store in the US. Jan is an owner who is involved in all aspects of the business and along with a great staff is directly responsible for the great success of the organization. Jan Guenther has been and continues to be an elite runner, cyclist, triathlete, and cross country ski racer. Despite having had participated in 30 American Birkebeiners, Jan was still an amazing 27th overall in the 2020 Birkie winning her age group and this was after two long days of working in the expo. We spoke about what prompted her to drop everything and start a ski and bike shop, the keys to the success of Gear West, the biggest challenges in running Gear West, balancing her work, athletic endeavors, and family, dealing with injury and setback, and industry trends. This interview will give a different perspective of the Nordic ski industry than the other podcasts in the series.
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
Torin Koos has represented the US 76 times in World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic competitions. His best individual international result was a 3rd place in Otepaeae, Estonia Classic sprint in 2007. Torin also finished 4th in the Dusseldorf, Germany World Cup team sprint with Andy Newell in 2008. Torin has 34 top 30 individual results in WC and World Championships. He has won the US National Championships 7 times and the Canadian Championships once (not counting sprint relays). Torin retired from full time training and racing after the 2014 season. This 4 time Olympian now lives in Lausanne, Switzerland and is 40 years old. Since 2016, Torin has overseen the media and communications for the International University Sports Federation. We discussed being an exchange student in Norway, some highlight races of his career, experiences from the Tour of China, and what it is like living in Lausanne. This was a fascinating interview with an old friend who gives a great interview.
Tuesday Nov 10, 2020