June 22, 2013 (Canmore, AB) – Talkin’ with the Gravy Train is pleased to present Part 2 of our interview with Canadian cross-country skiing star Chandra Crawford from Canmore, AB, of Olympic fame who is training on her own for the Sochi 2014 Games… listen to Part 1 HERE.
We caught up with Crawford in Canmore, AB… she was enthusiastic and happy and addressed such topics as her decision to take a step back from competition last February, how well her training is going, and her preparations for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games next February.
Chandra also talks with eloquence about what it’s like to recharge the batteries after what she called a “solid burnout”, and how she has found the joy in skiing and training again. The Canmore, Alberta native also speaks about health and happiness in this inspired interview. At the end, one thing is certain…Crawford will be a force to be reckoned with this coming season.
May 13, 2013 – Here is Part 2 of our interview with Dave Knoop, the Director of the National Nordic Foundation (NNF) on Talkin’ with the Gravy Train. Knoop gives an inside look at the history of the organization and how it is able to provide over $150,000 to support Nordic skiing and speaks about the mission of the NNF, the all-important pillar projects, the Nordic community and the future in general. Read more about Knoop and find our Part 1 interview HERE.
March 25, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – SkiTrax caught up with Canadian Men’s XC Team Coach Justin Wadsworth after the FIS World Cup finale in Falun, Sweden this past weekend to get his take on the 2012/13 season, the highs and lows, and what the squad will do differently next year to get the team back on their game.
While many teams would love to have Canada’s record this season with half-a-dozen podiums and the first ever individual medal by a Canadian man at the World Championships courtesy of Alex Harvey, the Canucks were striving for more following an astounding 14 medals last season.
Things did not go as planned this season admitted Wadsworth, but he is positive the team will turn things around in the upcoming Olympic year – when it really counts.
For a quick 2012/13 season Canadian team medal recap: Len Valjas scored two medals this season, including a bronze in the Sprint FR in Val Mustair (SUI) and silver in the 15km CL Mass start in Val di Fiemme (ITA), both during the Tour de Ski. Alex Harvey finished right behind Valjas in the latter race to share the podium with his teammate winning the bronze.
At the end of the TdS, Ivan Babikov scored the silver in the final 9km FR Pursuit stage up Alpe Cermis (ITA). Babikov was also the top NA skier in the overall WCup in 20th (Devon Kershaw was second overall last year while Harvey was 6th). Then Harvey came around again near the end of the season to be the first ever Canadian man to win an individual World Championship medal when he placed third in the classic sprint in Val di Fiemme (ITA).
On the women’s side, the highlight was when Perianne Jones and Dasha Gaiazova scored third in the team sprint at the Sochi World Cup (RUS).
January 14, 2013 (Liberec, Czech Republic) – Check out these audio interviews with Canada’s Dash Gaiazova and Len Valjas following the Liberec World Cup sprints on the weekend. Gaiazova had a stellar day on the 1.3 CL course, finishing just off the podium in fourth. In the team sprint, Gaiazova and Perianne Jones finished 11th. Gaiazova is coming off of recent podium finishes on the OPA Cup circuit.
Valjas was the top Canadian man of the day in Liberac’s 1.6 CL event in 10th place. It was the rangy Canadian’s first race back after the grueling Tour de Ski during which he delivered the country’s first World Cup medal of the season.
January 07, 2013 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – As the 2012/13 FIS Tour de Ski wrapped up on Sunday with the grueling handicap-style Alpe Cermis hill climb it was time for goodbyes until next time as teams dispersed and some were on the road soon after. We caught with the Canadians on their magic bus en route to Munich to get their final take on a very strong Tour.
Ivan Babikov, who won this stage in 2009, finished a fantastic second place to take seventh overall in this season’s TdS nailing a personal best along with the top Canadian result this year. Devon Kershaw posted a personal best 13th place on the Stage 7 ascent up Cermis to secure a respectable 12th overall in the Tour, followed by TdS rookie Len Valjas in 23rd on the day and 23rd overall. Alex Harvey was forced to abandon the Tour to protect his left leg, which was operated on in 2008, but scored a podium and showed his form is getting stronger. And finally we chatted with Head Coach Justin Wadsworth for his take on the Canucks at the Tour and beyond aka relay…
Ivan Babikov– 7th overall
January 07, 2013 – With the 2012/13 Tour de Ski in the history books, Team USA’s Liz Stephen, Jessie Diggins, Holly Brooks, Kikkan Randall, Noah Hoffman, and Coach Matt Whitcomb talk shop, reflect on the TdS, and look ahead to the rest of the season.
Liz Stephen – 15th overall
Noah Hoffman – 46th overall
Matt Whitcomb
Jessie Diggins – 21st overall
Wow, Cermis was really, really tough. This was definitely the hardest race series I’ve ever done! And it feels so great to have completed it healthy and in one piece. I am so proud of my teammates and all the staff for such a positive and energetic ride through all the stages – because that was the most fun I’ve had on the World Cup yet!
The race today was really cool – my teammates warned me that the stretch of trail from the stadium to the base of Cermis was super narrow and really only one skier wide, so I got right out in front and me, Liz, an Italian and French girl all took turns leading. That really made a difference, too – drafting was so much easier than when it was your turn to pull! But we worked together and made up time before the base of the climb.
I’d watched the race video from last year to get a feel for what the hill looked like, but the cameras show the athletes coming up, it doesn’t show what it looks like from the viewpoint of the person actually racing! So although I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, I definitely had one of those “Oh-my-gosh-where-IS-the-finish-line????” moments out there!
Holly Brooks – 38th overall
The second half of the Tour was extremely rough for me and I’m still wondering (a bit) why I kept going…. If I was from any Euro team I’m sure I would have been sent home a long, long time ago. I kept hoping that my energy would turn around each day and it never did. Maybe that’s the optimist in me? Yesterday was especially tough and it was clear that no miracles were going to happen. But, with only one stage left to go I decided that I would “get her done.” I put on some extra sparkles, wore some white aviators and tried to have fun out there.
I had some bright spots at the beginning of the Tour (prologue and sprint) and I’m happy for that but at this point, I’ve had two tough years at this event. But, I’m glad I tried it this year so that I can plan accordingly for next year, which is an Olympic year.
Most of all, I’m just really proud of my teammate’s accomplishments. While Liz may have been #2 today on the Cermis she is “Queen of the Hill” in my book!
All of us will skip Czech in order to rest up from our efforts. Sadie and Ida will be representing us there. Our next appearance will be in La Clusaz. My plan is to take some time away from skiing and go visit some dear friends in Polcenigo, Italy. After a period of rest I’m looking forward to a training break. I’d love to do a race or two that aren’t World Cups as part of that training period – we shall see.
Kikkan Randall – 12th overall A tough day out there – how were you feeling this morning? What was the atmosphere like on the final stage… similar to previous years? You looked solid until the very last section… tell us about today’s race.
KR: Today was a tough race for me and not the performance I was hoping to get out of myself. But, it was still a good experience and I will pull some good lessons from it. I actually felt pretty good this morning. My warm-up went smoothly and I felt like I had good energy. In my two previous tours, I have struggled on the climb. Going into today I was optimistic that my skating form was stronger and my goal was to climb better this year.
With some good skiers starting just ahead of me I put in a big effort to get myself in their pack. After about 2km, I got into the group and was able to conserve some energy for the climb. Unfortunately, once we started to head up the steeper sections, I struggled with my focus and let my tempo settle too much . I was skiing with my legs too straight and not fighting hard enough to keep my skis moving. The further I went up the climb, the more I struggled. I’m pretty sure this race is tough no matter how rested you are. So somehow I have to figure out how to keep my focus better and use my leg strength.
Still a great performance by you with second in the Sprint standings and 12th overall – and the team. Liz had the second best time today placing 15th overall and Jessie had a strong day finishing 21st at the Tour.
KR: I am still really satisfied with my Tour as a whole. To win two stages was amazing and I was really psyched with both of those performances. I had a couple solid classic races as well and to finish second in the sprint standings is a nice bonus. Despite being disappointed when my own race today I am incredibly psyched and proud of my teammates! I am really impressed with Liz [Stephen] for her first World Cup podium (although after the Blink festival climb this summer I was pretty sure she was going to rock Cermis this year)!! She dropped a full minute off her time from last year and fought hard all the way to the line. It is really fun to have such a great race to celebrate and I’ll have to do a few more climbing workouts with Liz to learn the magic!!
Also an impressive day for Jessie [Diggins], she had a really solid climb and visibly left all she had out there on the course. Holly [Brooks] also finished the Tour with a lot of heart, fighting through some heavy fatigue and making it all the way up Cermis, no easy task! Noah [Hoffman] skied a great rookie tour, Kris [Freeman] also kept pushing and Andy [Newell] had some good races in there.
I really have to thank our team of staff and coaches. We had such dedicated support through this really demanding week and it feels especially good to have accomplished what we have with a fraction of the resources and man-power of some of the bigger teams!
All of this has to feel good going forward to the Worlds.
KR: Having a good performance at the Tour de Ski is exactly what we were looking for and it fits in perfectly with our plans for the rest of the season. We’ve done a lot of racing so far, now we will focus on recovery, some training and refining everything in preparation for Worlds.
It was also really important to get some more time racing on the World Champs courses here in Val di Fiemme and we’re more confident than ever that this will be a good venue for the whole team!
What happens now as you prepare for the Liberec WCup… ?
KR: Now I will actually take a training break to recover from the Tour and I will not be racing in Liberec next weekend. It was a tough decision to miss a sprint World Cup, but last year continuing to race hard after the Tour put me in a precarious position health-wise midseason. I am heading to France tomorrow to do some training with my husband and recharge for the second half of the season. I am planning to rejoin the team and the circuit the following weekend in La Clusaz. Since we don’t get to go home for the entire season, I am really looking forward to a break from the hotel scene, I’m actually excited to do some laundry and some cooking!!
January 02, 2013 (Val Mustair, Switzerland) – Find out what the Canadian men’s XC squad had to say after stage three of the 2012/13 FIS Tour de Ski 1.4km FR sprint in Val Mustair and the first Canuck medal of the season, courtesy of Len Valjas. Valjas and his teammates Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw finally broke out of their shells on race day, with all of them landing in the top 15.
December 12, 2012 (Quebec City, QC) – SkiTrax caught up with a few North American behind-the-scenes players at the inaugural FIS Quebec City Sprint World Cup this past weekend to get the inside scoop on how the event played out for their respective teams.
Interviews include US XC Team Head Coach Chris Grover, CCC Men’s Coach Justin Wadsworth, APU Head Coach Erik Flora, and an elated US XC Team Women’s Coach Matt Whitcomb. Plus, the legendary Peter Graves speaks with CCC Director of Events Dave Dyer and CCC Director of Business Development Matt Jeffries.
November 16, 2012 – This week on Talkin’ with the Gravy Train, we bring you Part 1 of an interview with young U.S. cross country skiing superstar Jessie Diggins. Talkin’ with the Gravy Train is a series of audio interviews hosted by famous sports commentator and journalist Peter Graves, that provides a forum for notable Nordic personalities to talk about the sport they love in their own words and express their point of view.
Jessie Diggins – Making Her Mark
The US Ski Team’s Jessie Diggins, a 21-year-old Minnesota native, has enjoyed a strong off-season of training and is anxious to start racing again.
Diggins enjoyed a breakthrough season last year with fine results like her second place finish in a team sprint in Milano with Kikkan Randall, at just her third World Cup start. She also scored her first World Cup points last season taking a 6th place in a sprint in downtown Moscow. With results like that the sky’s the limit and in this candid interview she talks about her goals for the season and contemplates that this could be a more challenging campaign.
Diggins goes into the year with five US National titles in her career, and will be targeting the FIS top-seeded Red Group for both sprinting and distance skiing
We caught up with her last week, as she was training and packing for the start of the international season. She’s currently in Finland with the rest of the USST team, and in this edition of TWTGT she shares her passion and joy of cross-country skiing and a look at what’s ahead.
October 29, 2012 – Welcome to a new season of Talkin’ with the Gravy Train where notable Nordic personalities have a forum to talk about the sport they love in their own words and express their point of view. We’d like to thank all of our guests for taking the time to chat with us and our loyal audience for listening. Our first guest this season is the multi-talented and well-known former US star skier and coach, Jim Galanes.
We just realized that the correct Part 1 of this two-part interview was not provided (only about 3min was included) initially when we first posted this interview and we apologize to all readers – the correct version is now linked below.
Jim Galanes – A Man For All Seasons Seasons
I have known Jim Galanes since we were both teenagers growing up in Southern Vermont. A truly gifted athlete, he excelled in the Nordic sports and later in cycling. Born in Brattleboro, Vermont, his brilliant ski racing career began with Nordic Combined as the local famed Harris Hill was calling. His prodigious talents and his drive helped him secure a USST berth at the tender age of 17. A member of three US Olympic teams in ’76, ’80 and 1984, Galanes dropped ski jumping to focus on cross-country skiing and turned in many outstanding international performances. A twelve-year member of the U.S. Ski Team he won three national Nordic Combined championships and two World Cups, in addition to ten xc ski national championships.
His interest in coaching led Galanes to head up the US Ski Team from 1986-1992, followed by a stint at Vermont’s SMS leading to his outstanding career at APU from 1995-2006. Considered among the elite of the coaching fraternity, he has worked and coached many of America’s top skiing talents. Recently he moved from Anchorage to Sun Valley where he currently operates Galanes Sports Lab Institute in Ketchum, Idaho, offering a variety of services from coaching, ski trail design, program development and ski products – read more here.
May 22, 2012 (Park City, UT) – In this edition of Talkin’ with the Gravy-Train, Peter Graves speaks with USSA VP of Communications, Tom Kelly, at the recent USSA Convention in Park City, UT. Kelly has been involved in the sport for decades, sporting the role of reporter and photographer along the way, and working with such legends as Tony Wise as his Public Relations Director for the Telemark Lodge, along with the venerable journalist Paul Robbins. He was also the co-owner (with Graves) of Worldwide Nordic, a travel company that specialized in trips to the World Loppet and other international Nordic races. Born and raised in Madison, WI, Kelly is also a member of the FIS Media and Marketing Committee. In his interview, he speaks about Kikkan Randall’s historic season, but more significantly, the impact she and her team mates have created with regards to cross-country skiing in the USA.
May 15, 2012 (Park City, UT) – Tune in to this week’s edition of Talkin’ with the Gravy-Train, as renowned sports reporter and announcer Peter Graves talks with CXC Director, Yuriy Gusev, at the recent USSA Convention in Park City, UT. CXC, the Central Cross Country Ski Association, has seen tremendous growth and success with their race team, aka Jessie Diggins, and various programs, and Gusev accepted the award at the Convention for CXC as winner of the cross-country club of the year. In this in-depth interview, Gusev speaks about his central motivation, which is to grow the sport of cross-country skiing, and the steps he has taken with his team to achieve that goal for CXC.
April 24, 2012 – On this week’s edition of Talkin’ with the Gravy-Train, we pick up where we left off last week during Peter Graves’s interview with former US and Canadian XC Ski Team Head Coach, Marty Hall. Hall delves deeper into the North American success this year and looks at the next wave of talent and what it means for the future of the sport on this continent. Hall coached the US Team when Bill Koch won his Olympic silver medal at the Games in Innesbruck, Austria, and was also at the helm of the Canadian Team during Pierre Harvey’s heyday – check out his report cards in his column Hallmarks in the final issue issue of SkiTrax this season.
February 23, 2012 – This week on Talkin’ with the Gravy-Train, Peter Graves catches up with 28-year-old American skier Matt Liebsch of Orono, MN, who won Tour De Twin Cities and the Boulder MT Tour this season. Liebsch races for Team Strong Heart/Team Birkie and is also the Director of Race Services at Gear West Ski and Run in Long Lake, MN. His palmares include a win at his favourite race, the American Birkebeiner, in 2009. He’s stoked and primed for the 39th edition of the race coming up this weekend. Listen what he has to say about the historic event.
February 15, 2012 (Poland) – This week on Talkin’ with the Gravy-Train, Peter Graves checked in with top American female skier Kikkan Randall, the FIS Sprint Cup leader who is currently preparing for the inaugural WCup races in Szklarska Poreba, Poland. Despite a recent stomach bug and cold that forced Randall to sit out some races, she is pleased with her season to date – going so far to describe it as “wonderful”. Randall has two WCup wins this season and claimed two silver medals recently in Milan (in the individual sprint and team sprint, alongside team mate Jessie Diggins), plus pre-Xmas she took home a silver at the Dusseldorf team sprint with Sadie Bjornsen and at the Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy she won silver in the FR Sprint. Randall sits 5th in the overall standings and Graves caught up wit her in Poland… XC ski fans rejoice – all of the Gravy-Train interviews will be archived shortly for fans to enjoy all season…
November 24, 2011 – Check out the third installment of our new SkiTrax audio series, Talkin’ with the Gravy-Train, featuring legendary commentator and sports reporter Peter Graves. Our guest this week is US skier, Andy Newell, who just arrived in Kuusamo, Finland for this weekend’s Viessmann FIS XC World Cup races. Newell reflects on his performance last weekend in Sjusjoen, Norway and looks ahead to round two, which starts Friday.
Peter’s first interviewee was Kikkan Randall, and if you missed that interview, click HERE. For Peter’s interview with Kris Freeman, click HERE.
November 11, 2011 (Hanover, NH) – Check out the first edition of an all-new SkiTrax audio series, Talkin’ with the Gravy-Train, featuring legendary commentator and sports reporter Peter Graves, who will present a series of interviews, discussions and conversations throughout this season with elite athletes and coaches. Our inaugural guest, Kikkan Randall, spoke with Graves at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Due to an unfortunate glitch the full interview with Kikkan was not posted initially but it is now with our apologies-ed.
June 22, 2013 (Canmore, AB) – Talkin’ with the Gravy Train is pleased to present Part 2 of our interview with Canadian cross-country skiing star Chandra Crawford from Canmore, AB, of Olympic fame who is training on her own for the Sochi 2014 Games… listen to Part 1 HERE.
