Cross-country skiing

Let's try to put together a complete list of all the cross-country skiing trails in America.
I think it would be a huge help for anyone actually into the sport...

Maybe this is my number one pick for now. The scenery is just stunning, and there’s this incredible sense of peace and quiet... 2.5 miles the trails have plenty of ups and downs, though nothing too intense if you're just out there for recreation, I suppose. You'd probably only need about a foot of snow to call it a day. The only real downside is that there isn't much of anything within a few miles of the path. But then again, maybe that's not actually a drawback.

rapidmarlin5 said:Zagmajna is easily #1 right now. The scenery is killer, super quiet, 2.5 miles trails have plenty of ups and downs, but nothing crazy for casual skiers. Just need about a foot of snow and you're set. Only downside is there's zero nothing within a few miles of the trail. But I guess that might actually be a good thing.

The US has some solid cross-country spots like Platak, Delnice, Mrkopalj, Ravna Gora, or Sljeme, but this year the snow situation sucks. We use cross-country skiing for winter training, so I know those trails pretty well. My crew spent most of this winter out at Rogla—those tracks are great. As for gear, we just hit up this one guy near Oroslavje. He’s got a specialized ski shop with everything from boots to suits, both racing and recreational stuff. You can get some connections there too, and prices are way better than what you'd find elsewhere. They even carry rollerskis which are perfect for hitting up Jarun.

America has produced an under-18 European champion in cross-country skiing using the 6.2 miles classic technique!!! - Edi Dadić

Well, hats off to Edi Dadić!
Huge props to him for all those medals—I really hope he keeps them coming and gets some much better training conditions soon; if nothing else, he at least needs more snow, a public snowplow, and a solid sponsor 🙂

Jonathan Jackson20 said:America has an under-18 European champion in cross-country skiing using the 6.2 miles classic technique!!! - Edi Dadić

There were only 18 athletes out there, and half of them were just B-tier Austrians. You didn't see any Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Germans, Russians, or any other heavy hitters showing up because this wasn't even a real European championship—it was just some continental cup for the under-18s, with zero medals on the line and absolutely no official champion... 🙄

Alexander Phillips80 said:There were only 18 competitors in the whole thing, and half of them were just some B-tier Austrians. You didn't see any Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Germans, Russians, or any other heavy hitters showing up, because this wasn't even a real European Championship—it was just some continental trophy for under-18s, lacking medals and without an actual champion... 🙄

And look, Edi is currently sitting at third on the FIS rankings for his age group. He’s only being beaten by a Japanese kid and a Canadian.

Jonathan Jackson20 said:And right now, Edi is sitting at third in his age group on Fis's rankings. Only a Japanese athlete and a Canadian are ahead of him.

So how does it make sense that he finished only 33rd, 35th, and 19th in his age bracket at this year's European Youth Olympics—especially when the field included Scandinavians, Russians, Germans, and Estonians?

Anonymous said:If that’s the case, how did he end up finishing only 33rd, 35th, and 19th in his age group at this year's European Youth Olympics—especially when you consider the Scandinavians, Russians, Germans, and Estonians were all competing there?

Look, everyone has their ups and downs. I’m not sitting here claiming he’s the greatest to ever do it, but he took first place, plain and simple. At the end of the day, who else was on the field doesn't change the result. A medal is a medal, and a winner is a winner. Honestly, I just hope we see more performances like that, even if they are facing the kind of heavy-hitting competition you're talking about.

Jonathan Jackson20 said:Look, everyone has their ups and downs. I’m not saying this was some legendary, all-time greatest moment. But he did take first place, plain and simple.Honestly, who else was out there doesn't even matter.A medal is a medal, and a win is a win. Here's hoping we see more performances like this—especially against the kind of real competition you mentioned.

🤦
Taking 19th in a field that tough is worth way more than that victory over in Austria...

The kid clearly has the talent, but I don't know who cares about the hype of being a European champion or sitting 3rd in the world rankings.
By the way, he just grabbed a win at the North American Cup held at Igman over the weekend...

Anonymous said:🤦
Taking 19th place in a field that deep is worth way more than some random win in Austria...

The kid clearly has raw talent, but I don't see who actually cares about hearing he’s a European champion or ranked 3rd in the world.
By the way, he did take first at the North American Cup competition over at Igman this past weekend...

🙂

Look, there's no denying the kid has talent—he’s definitely got something worth watching.
And I honestly don't get why nobody wants to give him his due. I mean, in any real sport, that kind of achievement matters, even for us Americans who seem to only care about gold medals. We also need to consider the uphill battles our athletes constantly face in general. It’s like that old saying goes: Americans will acknowledge everything about you except your success. As soon as someone starts making waves, no matter how big or small, there’s always a crowd waiting to tear it down. But this? This is a legitimate win.
So, I'm tipping my hat to the kid.
Kudos to him, and keep pushing forward.
😉

Jonathan Jackson20 said:And apparently, Edi is sitting at number three on Fis's ranking ladder for this year. Only a Japanese guy and a Canadian are ahead of him.

What year are we even talking about here? What rankings? And which Japanese or Canadian athlete is he supposed to be trailing?

Jonathan Jackson20 said:Look, we all have our ups and downs, right? I'm not sitting here claiming this was some once-in-a-lifetime legendary performance, but hey, they took first place, plain and simple. Honestly, who actually stepped onto the field doesn't even matter at this point. A medal is a medal, and an athlete is an athlete. I just hope we see more performances like this one—you know, the kind where there's actually real competition involved, like you were saying.

Wait, what medal are we even talking about?

Alexander Phillips80 said:What are you even talking about? Which age group, which ranking, which Japanese person or Canadian?

Look, I’m not making this up; I’m just relaying the official data straight from the FIS website, specifically the most recent rankings.
Check it out for yourself at this link.

http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/607.ht...earch&limit=20

Jonathan Jackson20 said:Look, I’m just passing along whatever numbers I see on the FIS site. I'm literally pulling this from the most recent list they put out.
Give this link a shot.

You're totally spinning this...
If we actually dig into the results for anyone born between '90 and '93... it's only 114!
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/607.ht...&rec_start=100

I’m honestly not sure how much weight we should give these rankings, especially when looking at the younger age groups... I don't know the ins and outs of the cross-country skiing circuit perfectly, but in ski jumping, for instance, you rarely see Scandinavians showing up to compete internationally in those junior categories...

Don't get me wrong, the kid definitely has talent—he beats out plenty of good athletes from Central Europe during international meets—but if you look at the actual results, he’s still got a long way to go to reach the top, even within his own age bracket. For example, this year at the World Junior Championships, he placed 44th and 68th (to be fair, one of those was against younger competitors), and at the European Youth Olympics, he finished 19th, 33rd, and 35th in his division, and so on.

The only thing I can't wrap my head around is where people are getting the idea that he became a European champion. 🤷

Alexander Phillips80 said:You're just spinning the numbers...
If we actually look at the results for anyone born between '90 and '93... it’s only 114!
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/607.ht...&rec_start=100

Look, the whole argument here is that the kid is currently leading his age group, which right now means anyone born from '93 onwards—essentially everyone under 18. It should be pretty obvious to everyone watching that once he starts competing against the older crowd next year, say up to age 21, those results are going to take a massive hit.

Regarding MK, the FIS has officially designated this competition as a European Championship, and that is how it's recorded in the official standings. I’m telling you again, I didn't pull this out of thin air.

And honestly, why can't we just give the kid his due? He caught a lucky break—maybe it's a once-in-a-lifetime fluke, or maybe it isn't—but regardless, that result is etched in the record books forever.

I think they finally cleared up the confusion 🙂
It was officially a U-18 European Championship, but it was run by the ESF—that newly formed international body—rather than the FIS... which totally explains why the field wasn't nearly as competitive as you'd expect.
So yeah, America technically has a U-18 European champion, but given how poorly it was organized, it feels a bit hollow. It’s kind of like those boxing champions from tiny island nations—last I checked, there were dozens of them.
The title "European champion" definitely sounds prestigious on paper and makes for great marketing when hunting for sponsors, but in reality, it carries very little weight. Honestly, his 19th place finish at that European Youth Olympics was arguably a much more impressive feat.

Hey Brenda Williams6,
I honestly don't get you. You’re twisting the results and trying to convince everyone else that they aren't seeing things clearly. This kid is undeniably talented, but that talent is at serious risk of being wasted because of leaders who manipulate outcomes—the same kind of people who have already completely ruined cross-country skiing in America, and you're clearly helping them. The U-18 European Championship isn't even an official competition! That race on March 13th in Ramsau wasn't a European championship rather than a sports festival; it was just a local gathering where about 80% were average Austrians, along with a few Canadians, Italians, and Americans. Why not check out M. Krmpotić's commentary in the latest news from March 17th? It's titled "Manipulating the Public to the Detriment of Sport"—maybe then you'll see sense. The situation is truly pathetic when you consider that news of a "European champion" popped up on the official Croski, HOO, and other major US sports portals, while his "coach" and "director" continue to spread falsehoods.
Keep in mind, this isn't the first time this season that results have been manipulated, but I really hope the officials at the HSS and HOO step in and react before it's too late.

John Morgan90 said:Look, Brenda Williams6,
I honestly can't follow your logic; you’re twisting the results and trying to convince everyone around you that they’re seeing things. The kid is undeniably talented, but that talent is in serious jeopardy because he might end up hitting a wall thanks to people who manage him by manipulating outcomes—the same kind of people who have already effectively gutted cross-country skiing here in the States, and you're clearly playing right into their hands. The U18 European Championship isn't even an official sanctioned event, and that race on March 13th in Ramsey wasn't some grand championship at all; it was more of a local sports festival where about 80% of the participants were just average Austrians, along with a few Canadians, Italians, and of course, Americans. You really ought to check out M. Krmpotić’s commentary in the New York Times from March 17th titled "Manipulating the Public to the Detriment of Sport"—maybe then you'll see sense. It's a pathetic situation when news of a "European Champion" hits sites like Croski, Hoo, and other outlets while his supposed "coach" and "director" continue to peddle falsehoods.
I should point out this isn't the first time this season we've seen results being doctored, though I'm holding out hope that the officials over at the US Ski Association and the US Olympic Committee will step in before it's too late.

And there goes Sophia Richardson77 again, absolutely fuming.

By the way, I caught a clip on NBC today showing Edi meeting with Mateša for a consultation.
So, I'd like to think that constitutes enough of a response for you.
As for Mr. Krmpotić, I can tell you he also reported that this year's marathon winner was R. R., which anyone with eyes knows is a lie. Perhaps those journalists should actually bother fact-checking before they print incorrect data in the papers.
Unfortunately, we all know this isn't just some isolated incident.
🙂