Logan Diekmann hit the road on Wednesday for Kuusamo, Finland, a small city near the Arctic Circle. Fun fact: it’s the official airport of Santa Claus, and also where Logan met other US Ski Team athletes and coaching staff to kick off the season. Logan will compete in the first cross-country World Cup of the 2022-2023 season on November 25th in the alpine village of Ruka. Logan earned one month of World Cup racing sprint starts due to his standout performances during the 2021-2022 season and will compete in 4 World Cup weekends including Ruka, Finland; Lillehammer, Norway; Beitostollen, Norway; and Davos, Switzerland. One of the easiest ways to watch all Nordic World Cup races this season is through the Ski and Snowboard Live Network http://skiandsnowboard.live
“This is a huge opportunity for Logan. We have known about his World Cup starts since August, so it has allowed us to re-think his training and really focus on building sprint speed and power,” reports coach Andy Newell. “He is starting the season where he belongs, with the best skiers in the World, which puts him on a level playing field to score World Cup points and qualify for World Championships.”
Logan will have 8 days on the ground in Finland to train and test skis before the first race on the 25th.
The rest of the BSF Pro Team just finished up a 3-day mini-camp in West Yellowstone. Team members competed in two time-trials and lots of pre-season ski testing. Frosty temps and early season grooming has created perfect conditions for testing new race skis and getting in some final hard intensity sessions. Mariah, Hannah, Sarah, Finn, Simon, Reid, and Graham will travel to Silver Star, British Columbia on November 26th to compete in the first Supertour of the season on November 30.
“The season starts early for us this year,” adds coach Newell. “Our first race is about a week earlier than normal and the first period of racing is packed with competitions. The athletes have 7 races in 12 days, so it’s going to be a wild ride! With so much racing before US Nationals, it is important we start the season fit and not under fatigue. This is why I had the team in West Yellowstone over the weekend and not during Thanksgiving. Now it’s time for them to rest and race; the hay is in the barn, as we say.”
The Supertour calendar can be found here
https://usskiandsnowboard.org/supertour
After the second weekend of Supertour racing in Sun Valley the team will return to Bozeman to prepare for US Nationals, which is Jan 2-7 in Houghton, MI. Make sure to follow along by subscribing to the Pro Team Newsvlogget and show your support for the team during the Season Send-off Dec 17-21! During the send-off, Pro Team members will offer a clinic at Lindley on Sunday, December 18. More info to come.
