Nordic athletes look for success in Placid

Plastic jumps and rollerskis

Wed, Sep  23, 2009 - By US Ski Team

PARK CITY, UT (Sept. 22) - In just two weeks jumping and nordic combined athletes from across the map will descend on Lake Placid, NY in the pursuit of becoming the nation's best in their respective sports. The U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships will kick off Oct. 10 during Lake Placid's annual Flaming Leaves Festival.

"It's my hometown and it's a beautiful time of year to be in Lake Placid. The Flaming Leaves Festival marks a time of year where winter is just around the corner. There are crisp mornings and the colors of the leaves are incredible," Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) said.

For the second season in a row the Championships will be held on plastic jumps and the cross country portion of the event will be done on rollerskis.

The event kicks off at 11 a.m. ET with the men's and women's ski jumping championships and follows up at 2:15 p.m. with a 10K rollerski race to determine the nordic combined champion.

"I think having pre-season Championships is a lot more productive in a lot of ways especially in terms of the fact that it is the first real competition of the year and everybody is really fired up," Demong said.

In addition to the Lake Placid native, Demong will be joined by fellow World Champions Todd Lodwick, Johnny Spillane (both Steamboat Springs, CO), and Lindsey Van (Park City, UT), as well as ski jumper. Both Van and Spillane were crowned U.S. Champions in their respective sports last season.

Lodwick, who has won 19 national titles in his career, is excited not only to up the count in his trophy case, but to be back East in the fall.

"In Lake Placid, it is always nice to see the colors, especially in the fall," Lodwick said. "The opportunity to race at U.S. Championships in Lake Placid for the second year in a row will give me the opportunity to start the season with a bang. I would love to make the number of national titles an even 20."

To see how Lodwick, Demong, Van and the rest of the U.S. nordic athletes do, stay tuned to usskiteam.com on Oct. 10. You can also follow the news at facebook.com/usskiteam or twitter.com/usskiteam.

2010 U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships Schedule:
Oct. 10 (all times ET)
11:00 a.m. - Ski jumping first round
12:00 a.m. - Ski jumping second round
2:15 p.m. - Nordic combined 10K rollerski race