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A Year of Outstanding Milestones

April 8, 2022
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The BSF Pro Team (formerly the BSF Elite Team) was reintroduced two years ago to compete with the likes of SMS T2, Sun Valley Gold Team, and other professional cross-country ski teams around the country. Andy Newell was introduced as the head coach of myself and a handful of other newly declared professional skiers. After a year of Covid protocol and mostly regional races, this year was set to hold more races, international travel, and less Covid related restrictions. Without a doubt, the increased level of performance from the team was profound and put the BSF Pro Team center stage as one of the best professional ski teams in the country. 

We just returned from US SuperTour Finals/Canadian Nationals in Whistler, BC. It is always hard to show up for the last week of races and perform your best, especially up against a strong Canadian field. Not only that, but when most of the week is full of rainy days that make you question why you’re even there in the first place, it can be hard to make things come together. Despite weather, seasonal illness, and general fatigue that comes at the end of a 5 month long race season, the team did exceptionally well.

In the past year, the team has sent two athletes to race on the World Cup, had 5 national podium appearances, and countless SuperTour podiums. For a second year team, that is outstanding! 

There are a number of reasons that contributed to the team’s overall success. For one, Andy knows how to write a great training plan. It’s confidence inspiring to know that your former coach was a four time Olympian. It takes a unique knowledge of the sport to write a world class training plan, and it takes even more to tailor it to eight different athletes. Showing up to training knowing that what is on the plan is going to make you better that day is part of why the team has been so successful. 

With a group of like minded individuals, anything is possible. At this level, although each person on the team is different in expressing their emotions tied to big personal goals, we all want to do our very best. It’s clear that each day we show up to training, everyone there is there to make things happen. Each person is going to work hard that day to become their best. On top of that, the BSF Pro Team is a collection of recent college graduates that are excited about what is to come. Impressive results and personal bests are almost inevitable when you have a training squad like that. 

As a local boy, I am biased, but I believe that Bozeman is a fantastic place to train. Not simply because of the great number of summer and winter training locations, but also for what Bozeman has to offer as a community. The sport of nordic skiing is growing within the US, and Bozeman’s ski community is no exception. It has been a privilege to train in my home town and feel the growing level of support. When you’ve got juniors and their parents telling you “good job!” or asking about your next races as you leave the gym, you can tell that people in Bozeman care about the Pro Team and our success. To compliment a strong ski community presence, Bozeman offers just about everything else a nordic skier could want. Great access to the outdoors, a growing economy that allows for a nordic skier to find a niche job that fits with their training schedule, and many different avenues to escape from the world of nordic skiing when need be. 

The list is long as to why this team skied so well this year. But at the end of the day, it’s only getting better and I am confident that the Pro Team will continue to make their mark on the US SuperTour circuit and beyond. For now though, it’s time for a bit of R&R (rest and recovery) so that we can do it all over again in a month. Watch out for us on the trails and be ready for great results again next year!