After a historic season, APU skiers start World Cup slate with fresh goals

Last season was a historic one for American cross-country skiers.

Jessie Diggins earned her second career overall World Cup title. Teammate and Alaska Pacific University skier Rosie Brennan finished seventh overall and notched four podiums.

Anchorage’s Gus Schumacher, himself an APU skier, won the 10K freestyle at the Stifel Loppet Cup in Minneapolis, becoming the first American man in 40 years to win a World Cup distance race.

Now entering the 2024-25 World Cup season, expectations have shifted for the Americans and with them, team and individual goals. The Alaska members of Team USA view those developments not as a need for change, but rather as an affirmation of the approach they’ve been utilizing.

Led by longtime coach Erik Flora, the APU skiers start the World Cup season this weekend in Ruka, Finland, with both confidence and ambition.

Schumacher is entering his fifth World Cup season, and said continuing to train consistently year over year has generated improvement.

“Having had success last year, it just feels like the team and I belong and we know what to do,” he said. “It doesn’t feel super daunting. We’re excited to go over and spend a bunch of time getting better. There’s not as much nervousness and anticipation as there was before. It’s more confidence and a sense we’re going over there to do our job and have a good time doing it.”

Schumacher is joined by fellow APU skier and UAA All-American JC Schoonmaker on USA’s A Team. Schoonmaker cracked the top 10 in last season’s overall sprint standings and should be primed for another fine season racing in Europe.

Although he’s focused on process over results, Schumacher said he’s shooting for another podium finish this season and is especially excited about Team USA’s prospects at the World Championships in Norway starting in late February.

“A really exciting race for me and our team is the men’s relay at World Championships,” he said. “That’s one where we have a shot for a medal.”

At 35, Brennan is a veteran member of Team USA and coming off an excellent season. She was consistent, ranking seventh in distance races and 10th in sprints. She is looking forward to World Cup races in Period 1 but is also eagerly anticipating the World Championships.

“That’s definitely a big focus for me,” she said. “That makes it tricky, because it’s a long time from now. The World Cup circuit I race every weekend, and that’s how I make my living, so I want to show up ready to race every weekend, so it’s a balancing act there.”

A large group of APU skiers were initially nominated to compete for Team USA in Period 1. Brennan said that group made for a unique training experience over the summer.

[Nearly a dozen skiers with APU ties nominated to compete in Period 1 of the 2024-25 World Cup season]

“It’s been a really awesome summer training here and have so many Anchorage people on the national team and going to World Cup,” she said. “That’s been great momentum and I’m excited to see what our group specifically is capable of.”

Flora, the program director and head coach of the APU Elite Team, is the nexus for that training. Flora started at APU in 1996 and brings decades of high-level experience to the role. He follows the mantra “skiers are made in the summer” and said the enthusiasm from last year’s success was evident over the summer.

“You see this energy, and they build off each other,” Flora said. “Each one helps push the other one. And the summer, you saw an extension of that. Everyone came with this next level of energy. They can all see that, with success on the World Cup, everyone can see it’s possible. Every day at training this summer, you see them come together and just work together and push each other. I can see good things for the future.”

Flora will be working with skiers domestically early this winter and will transition overseas as part of the staff for the World Championships.

Flora said Anchorage, its trails and infrastructure provide the perfect place for APU athletes to prepare for the season. Novie McCabe is a three-time NCAA champion at the University of Utah and joined Brennan on the 2022 U.S. Olympic team. She’ll look to build on her World Cup results from last year, which included an 11th-place finish in the season’s final race.

“The Anchorage community feeling is really special and this team is really special,” she said. “We’re all really excited there’s a good amount of us going over. ... We feel like we’re all in it together and excited for a big season.”

While the American women have had more victories on the international stage with Olympic medals and a lengthy list of worldwide wins, those accomplishments have been slower to arrive for the men.

APU’s Luke Jager said last year’s results reinforced that the smaller achievements can translate into larger successes.

“That was eye-opening but also a little paradigm-shifting,” he said. “This is a lot closer than it feels like it is sometimes. You need a threshold of fitness and skills, but once you’re there, it’s just lining stuff up. So seeing that happen made us feel like a lot of things that are abstract or distant are a little more realistic than we thought.”

Jager won the U.S. Nationals sprint race last winter. Like his teammates, Jager said focusing on being process-oriented should lead to continued good results.

“The World Championships is a big goal for the season, but I feel like when I think about the season, I’m thinking about being the best I can every day and perform the most consistently and prepare the most consistently and be the best teammate I can,” he said.

The women’s team has had success with veterans like 33-year-old Diggins and Brennan, and the men’s team is filled with 20-something skiers. Zanden McMullen is another of that group, looking to help push the the team into a brighter spotlight.

“It’s been really cool to be part of this generation that’s really getting so much more competitive on the men’s side,” he said. “The women obviously have been at the top level for a while now, but it’s really exciting to be part of this kind of group coming up and getting competitive.”

APU’s Michael Earnhart said that despite the success, the team still doesn’t view itself as a favorite. Aside from some fine World Cup finishes, Earnhart finished third at nationals in the classic sprint and four in the skate sprint.

“We still have something to prove,” he said. “Obviously we had a phenomenal season, but we are still an underdog team. I’m excited to take that mentality into the season and have a prove-it attitude.”