DENVER – University of Denver skiing graduate student
Florian Knopf has been named to the German National Team for the 2025-26 season, Deutscher Skiverband announced earlier this week.
Knopf was selected to the men's cross country B team and will return to his native Germany this summer following graduation to continue his offseason training with the national federation. He is expected to compete for a spot on Deutscher Skiverband's World Cup squad and a nomination on the country's Olympic team for next year's Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo and Milan, Italy.
Prior to joining the Pioneers for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Knopf spent five years on the national team and also competed for the SLV Bernau club.
The Bernau am Chiemsee, Germany, native was one of DU's most consistent performers in his two seasons in the Mile High City, finishing in the top 10 in 20 of his 24 career races and earning 11 podium results. He was runner-up eight times, including in the 20-kilometer classic at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
Knopf made the Pioneers' national championship squad in each season and earned a pair of First Team All-American awards in 2024 after also placing fifth in the 7.5K freestyle interval start at the NCAA Championships. He was named to the All-Conference First Team in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association each season and was recognized as RMISA's Most Valuable Skier in men's Nordic classic in 2025.
After making his FIS Cross-Country World Cup debut in 2021 in sprints, he returned to the top level as a student-athlete at Denver. He raced in the 15K freestyle, 20K classic and sprint races at the World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, in February 2024 and took part in the 20K classic in Davos, Switzerland, this past December.
Knopf also had four top-21 results in FESA Cup events in December 2024 and posted five top-10 finishes at the U.S. Cross Country National Championships in 2024 and 2025.
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