LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The University of Denver ski team's 2026 campaign gets underway on Sunday as the Nordic racers head to the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex for the RMISA Invitational.
 
This year's RMISA Invite is a Nordic-only meet and is being held in conjunction with the U.S. Cross Country National Championships from Sunday, Jan. 4 to Friday, Jan. 9. The Pioneers and the other athletes from the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association will have their individual results pulled from the U.S. Nationals event to make up the scoring for the RMISA Invite.
 
The meet begins on Sunday with the 10K classic interval start and concludes on Friday with classic sprints. Additionally, the skiers will take part in the 20K freestyle on Thursday in what will serve as an individual RMISA Nordic Qualifier race.
 
While at Lake Placid, the Pioneers will also compete in the U.S. National Championship freestyle sprints on Tuesday, which will be a non-NCAA event. Classic sprints on Friday, Jan. 9 is a non-national championship race but is part of the U.S. Super Tour season.
 
This week will mark the debut for six new Pioneers and Nordic Head Coach Eliska Albrigtsen, who joined Denver in September after being at the helm of Alaska Fairbanks program for the previous six years.
 
The newcomers that are expected to make their collegiate debuts are freshmen Synne Bollingmo, Estelle Darbellay and Ruby Serrouya on the women's side and graduate student Sondre Oestervold and freshman Yannick Zellweger for the men. Additionally, men's sophomore Eemil Juntunen is also set to race for the first time in Pioneers crimson and gold after transferring from Colorado last season.
 
Denver returns six Nordic athletes from last season in seniors Eve-Ondine Duchaufour, Micah Steinberg and Krystof Zatloukal, junior Maja Moland and sophomore Joe Graziadei and Anna Stewart.
 
The Pioneers have had one of the strongest men's squads on the collegiate circuit, winning the RMISA regular-season championship in the category in three of the past four seasons. Denver's women had one of their best campaigns in recent years in 2025, as they combined for 31 top-10 finishes, 11 top-five results and three podiums in 14 events, helping the school take the overall RMISA Nordic regular season championship.
 
Mt. Van Hoevenberg hosted the Nordic races at the 2023 NCAA Championships, and several of the Pioneers are familiar with its course as they also competed at the venue while racing at the FISU World University Games in January 2023.
 
After this weekend, the Nordic group will go into a two-week training block in preparation for the Utah Invitational on Jan. 24-25 at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah. The alpine team gets its collegiate season underway with the Denver and Colorado Invitationals on Jan. 12-15 at Loveland Ski Area and Aspen Highlands.
 
Start lists and live results for all four races this week can be found on Bullitttiming.com.
 
 
SCHEDULE
Sunday, Jan. 4
RMISA Invitational / U.S. National Championship
Classic 10K Interval Start
8 a.m. MT (10 a.m. ET) – Women
11 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET) – Men
 
Tuesday, Jan. 6
Non-College Race / U.S. National Championship
Freestyle Sprints
8 a.m. MT (10 a.m. ET) – Men's Qualification begins
9:15 a.m. MT (11:15 a.m. ET) – Women's Qualification begins
11 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET) – Overall Knockout Rounds begin
12 p.m. MT (2 p.m. ET) – Overall Finals begin
1 p.m. MT (3 p.m. ET) – Junior Knockout Rounds begin
2 p.m. MT (4 p.m. ET) – Junior Finals begin
 
Thursday, Jan. 8
RMISA Nordic Qualifier / U.S. National Championship
Freestyle 20K Mass Start
8 a.m. MT (10 a.m. ET) – Women
9:45 a.m. MT (11:45 a.m. ET) – Men
12:30 p.m. MT (2:30 p.m. ET) – 10K Jr. Women
1:30 p.m. MT (3:30 p.m. ET) – 10K Jr. Men
 
Friday, Jan. 9
RMISA Invitational / U.S. Super Tour
Classic Sprints
8 a.m. MT (10 a.m. ET) – Men's Qualification begins
9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET) – Women's Qualification begins
10:30 a.m. MT (12:30 p.m. ET) – Overall Knockout Rounds begin
11:30 a.m. MT (1:30 p.m. ET) – Overall Finals begin
12:30 p.m. MT (2:30 p.m. ET) – Junior Knockout Rounds begin
1:40 p.m. MT (3:40 p.m. ET) – Junior Finals begin
 

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