U.S. Sprinters Ready for World Champs Opener

FALUN, Sweden (Feb. 18, 2015) - The cross country team has finished preparations for Thursday's opening race of the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. With record crowds nearing 250,000 expected, the opening event, a classic sprint, is rife with energy and anticipation.

The U.S. will start eight skiers: Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend, OR), Simi Hamilton (Aspen, CO), Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) and Ben Saxton (Lakeville, MN) comprise the men’s team, while Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, WA), Sophie Caldwell (Peru, VT), Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK) and Ida Sargent (Orleans, VT) make up the women scheduled to toe the line in qualifications on Thursday, February 19 beginning at 7:00 a.m. EST. Viewers in the United States can watch an L.L. Bean-sponsored livestream broadcast of all Falun World Championships events at usskiteam.com, universalsports.com or on the Falun2015 Live Arena App beginning with the men's and women's sprint finals Thursday at 9:15 a.m. EST.

Conditions on the course promise to be fast with kick wax selections tending towards klister. “It was a little bit tricky waxing, but nothing we can’t handle. I think it will be fast and the snow will be firm tomorrow,” Andy Newell explained following his final workout before racing. “It’s a pretty fair course, a tough course. It’s a finisher’s course so saving something for the finish is key. I’ve raced here last year, I was maybe 7th or 8th, so I’m looking forward to getting out there and showing the world what I’ve got.”

Newcomer Ben Saxton—straight off a top-ten finish at the U23 World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan—echoed the sentiment. “I’m excited for tomorrow," said Saxton. "I think U23s is indicative of what I can do here at World Champs.”

The year’s U.S. results have come from across a collection of athletes, a trend that former World Champion Kikkan Randall welcomes. “I’m excited to see what the team can do and to put some team results on the map.”

With a team of talented newcomers mixed with a collection of returning athletes, all of whom who have scored World Cup sprint points this season, the opening sprint at the World Championships holds more than just anticipation for the kick off of a championship event, but a U.S.-based expectation for bigger results, deeper team results and the next step as a country vying for a place among the sport’s top contenders. 

STARTERS FOR THE FALUN WORLDS CLASSIC SPRINT:
Women
Kikkan Randall
Ida Sargent
Sadie Bjornsen
Sophie Caldwell