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Lindsey Vonn, the legendary ski racer with 2.4 million Instagram followers, has been dropping hints that have fans buzzing: Could a return to World Cup racing be in the works?

���It���s been an incredible past few weeks,��� she posted recently. ���Being back in the mountains is where I find so much joy. It���s my natural habitat��圯ven if I hate being cold lol.���

Then she added, ���Excited to share more .���

The ski legend, who turns 40 on Friday, had a knee replacement last spring and can finally live without ever-present pain. In a recent post from the gym, she shared, ���Leveled up this summer and it���s paying off��� can���t wait to get back to my happy place on the mountain.���

With posts like these, Vonn has sparked rumors. Is she planning a return to World Cup racing? Like Marcel Hirscher, Vonn could apply for a World Cup ���Wild Card��� spot. (Hirscher, 35, holds a record eight overall World Cup titles and retired in 2019.)

Why Lindsey Vonn Might Return to World Cup Ski Racing

According to FIS���s rulebook, a wild card can be granted to athletes who have won either a World Cup overall globe, an event globe (under the condition of a minimum of five World Cup victories), or an individual Olympic or world championship gold medal. Vonn certainly meets all those qualifications. Additionally, the wild card rule states, ���The athlete who requests a Wild Card must be retired from the World Cup Tour for two or more years (Official FIS Retirement form and WADA date record), but not more than ten years.���

Once again, Vonn checks all the boxes.

Her team will only confirm that she ���underwent a partial knee replacement in April. She has been recovering well since then and her knee feels incredible. She was cleared to ski and has begun a return to skiing progression.���

But is Vonn truly considering a World Cup return?

Vonn���s Knee: A Game Changer?

Before we dive into the possibility of a comeback, it���s essential to understand how Vonn���s knee surgery has transformed her ability to ski pain-free. Bedeviled by crashes and injuries during her 19-year-long World Cup career, Vonn���s knees took the brunt of the damage. She had ���severe tri-compartment degeneration��� in her right knee, with the lateral compartment causing the most pain. In July 2023, she had surgery in an attempt to hold off knee replacement.

���But I got to the point where it was too much, and my knee could not handle doing the things I love to do,��� she wrote on Instagram on April 9, 2024, the day of her knee replacement surgery.

Vonn soon rehabbed her new knee and was back in the gym, ramping up her workouts. This fall, she was back on snow, skiing in New Zealand.

Why a Comeback Might Appeal to Vonn

Vonn retired from ski racing after the 2019 world championships, not because she wanted to, but because she was constantly in pain.

���It���s been an emotional two weeks making the hardest decision of my life, but I have accepted that I cannot continue ski racing,��� she posted on Instagram at the time.

She wasn���t upset about retiring, but what troubled her was not reaching her goal of equaling or surpassing Ingemar Stenmark���s record of 86 World Cup wins.

���However, I can look back at 82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, 3 Olympic medals, 7 World Championship medals and say that I have accomplished something that no other woman in HISTORY has ever done, and that is something that I will be proud of FOREVER!��� she added in the same Instagram post.

Since then, Mikaela Shiffrin has raised the World Cup win record to 97 (and counting). While Vonn would be hard-pressed to catch Shiffrin, returning to the World Cup to retire on her terms would give Vonn some closure.

Even more enticing, the women finally get to race a World Cup downhill and super-G on Beaver Creek���s Birds of Prey course���where Vonn won bronze in super-G at the 2015 world championships. And next winter, Cortina is hosting the women���s alpine events at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Vonn scored her first World Cup podium on Cortina���s Tofana downhill course and broke the women���s World Cup win record there in 2017. Over her career, Vonn won 12 downhills and super-G races at Cortina.

As Vonn wrote in her book Rise, she has always been motivated by doubters. A return to World Cup racing would not be a complete surprise.

Is Lindsey Vonn Just Enjoying Skiing Without Pain?

Or is it more likely that Vonn is simply happy to be back enjoying the slopes without pain in her knee?

If we closely follow her Instagram posts from the summer, Vonn is thrilled to be leading the active lifestyle that she has always dreamed about���playing tennis, riding her bike, and even surf foiling without debilitating pain. And in late August, she announced that she would be skiing with guests at the private Three Forks Ranch resort in Wyoming for two weeks in late February and early March���not exactly the kind of commitment someone would make if the World Cup tour were on her radar.

Earlier this week, Vonn posted from New Zealand: ���With this new knee that is now a part of me��� I feel like a whole new chapter of my life is unfolding before my eyes. My adventurous spirit feels full of gratitude. To do the things you love to do is truly a blessing and I don���t take it for granted.���

While we may be reading too much into her posts, she concluded, ���I don���t know exactly what lies ahead, but I know I���m healthy, happy, and grateful.���

The Verdict

Though Vonn certainly has the credentials to qualify for a World Cup wild card, returning to the circuit after five years would present significant challenges. Not only would she face competition from younger racers, but regaining top-level fitness after multiple knee surgeries could be a hurdle. Still, if anyone has the determination and grit to do it, it���s Lindsey Vonn.

What do you think? Could Lindsey Vonn be gearing up for one last World Cup race? Stay tuned for more updates from SKI.

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I���m getting ready for my first marathon in the fall, and I am trying to dial in my kit. I keep hearing about these ���super shoes��� people use for racing, but they���re expensive, and I don���t know if I should switch to something new for race day. Do I need to buy a super shoe to run my best? ���Newbie Distance Runner

Dear Newbie,

Super shoes are no doubt attractive. The lightweight racers with ultra-bouncy foam and embedded carbon plates have been shown to enable some athletes to reach higher speeds with less effort.

Could a super shoe help you run slightly faster and easier than you would in a standard trainer or racer? Yes. Probably. Maybe. It���s complicated.

If you���re a sub-seven-minute-mile marathoner, you���ve established serious training habits and built a strong, athletic stride. And in that pace range, the research says you���ll likely get a 3 or 4 percent improvement in running economy from the shoes. This is why no elite runner would toe the line in anything but a super shoe.

But as a first-time marathoner, do you need that edge? Will it be impossible for you to accomplish your goals without these shoes��� performance-enhancing benefits? No, absolutely not. And there are some good reasons why you might not want to invest in a super shoe.

Research on the benefits for slower runners is mixed. One data analysis of slower marathoners showed time improvements���even greater than among faster runners���after adopting super shoes. In contrast, a controlled study revealed that the slower the runner, the lower the boost in running economy, with 9:40-mile runners seeing only about 1 percent improvement.

Still, any help is appreciated in the marathon, and some experts believe that the real advantage may have more to do with the shoes��� ability to reduce muscle breakdown and fatigue than with improvements in efficiency. If super shoes make finishing strong more likely, they might be worth the $250-plus price tag.

Be aware, however, that nearly a third of the slower runners in the same study showed a decrease in running economy���the shoes made running harder, not easier. Other studies have found even greater variability in runner response.

This is partially due to the fine-tuned bounce and roll of a super shoe���s midsole and plate. Every runner���s stride is unique and interacts with the shoe differently. When we staged a 窪蹋勛圖厙 Online���with three runners comparing 16 different super shoes head-to-head���we found that a shoe that felt magical to one runner often went clunk on another.

Even if a shoe seems good when you are fresh and running strong, it might not be what you want on your foot when you start to tire. Super shoes exacerbate any stride imbalances because of a trampoline-like action that magnifies all forces and movements, for better or worse. Can you maintain the even posture and powerful push-off that a super shoe requires over 26.2 miles? A tall, wobbly platform isn���t what anyone wants when doing the marathon shuffle. For slower, first-time marathoners, the risk of a super shoe impeding their efforts may not be worth the meager potential reward, especially at these prices.

If you decide to go with a super shoe, be sure to test out multiple models to find one that enhances your natural gait rather than changing it or, worse, fighting against it.

Regardless of what you choose for race day, remember that the first rule of marathoning is to dance with the one who brought you: if in doubt, go with old friends���your favorite tried-and-true trainers. Nothing different. Nothing new. Any change opens you up to the possibility of blisters, an altered stride that causes you to fatigue faster, even injury. If you want to wear a specialty shoe, start using it far enough in advance that you���ve adapted to it by race day. Gradually add miles over eight to twelve weeks, building up to several solid marathon-pace runs and at least one long run.

Marathon success depends far more on factors like how well you trained, how well you hydrate and fuel, and how the weather gods treat you than on which shoes you wear. In the end, the best shoes are the ones that get out of the way and quietly let your fitness shine.

Have a question of your own? Send it to us at deargear@outsideinc.com.

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Certain bike races can change riders��� lives. But usually it���s the result���a yellow jersey, a gold medal, a set of rainbow stripes���that persists. The race itself blurs into the background.

For , one particular race has always been in sharp focus. Now, she has a result to make it even brighter.

Rollins won the on Saturday, August 10, 2024, after lining up at the 105-mile race for the seventh time. For years, her goal was simply to better her previous year���s time.

In 2021, she achieved that, and more. After finishing sixth she signed her first pro contract with Virginia���s Blue Ridge Twenty24.

It was for all of these reasons���not to mention the 12,000 feet of climbing in Colorado���s dry, oxygen-starved air���that Rollins couldn���t contain her emotions at the finish line on Saturday.

���Leadville is much more than a race to me,��� she said. ���It���s my cycling origin story, my purpose when I don���t feel like training. It���s my why.���

Now, with her Twenty24 contract up at the end of the season, Rollins hopes that the shiny result at the race that has changed her life will keep the momentum going.

Road Racing En Route to the Dirt

Rollins��� Leadville story begins well before she ever did the race. Her parents, mom Lisa Nelson and stepdad Elden, have now finished the Leadville 100 18 and 26 times, respectively. When Rollins first signed up for the race in 2016, ���a 20-year-old college student who wanted to pick up an outdoorsy hobby,��� they became her training partners.

���We���d go on long rides on the weekends and I would do nothing during the week,��� Rollins said laughing. ���That was training then.���

Her first year, Rollins finished in 10:12:14, well outside of the sub-nine hour threshold needed to receive the race���s iconic ���big��� sterling silver belt buckle.

Nevertheless, she was hooked.

Rollins raced Leadville again in 2017, and in 2018 she completed the Lead Challenge, which consists of doing five of the race series��� running and riding events, including the monster 100-mile running race.

In 2021, she had her best result to date, finishing sixth. The next day, she completed SBT GRVL, a 144-mile gravel race in Steamboat Springs. That put her second overall in the for riders doing both the Leadville 100 and SBT GRVL.

Then, Nicola Cranmer of called.

Rollins signed a two-year contract with the squad and dove into the deep end. Twenty24 has always been a women���s development team with an Olympics focus. Most of its riders focus on road and track cycling, but Rollins joined with an understanding that she���d race across disciplines. In 2022, she was accepted into the Life Time Grand Prix, a seven-race mixed gravel and mountain-bike series that includes the Leadville 100.

Rollins had two standout results in the series that year���fifth at Unbound Gravel and 10th at Leadville, but otherwise placed ���around 15th, sometimes better, sometimes worse,��� she said. ���I wanted to be at the front end, but I didn���t know what that took.

Enter Cranmer, who has helmed the Twenty24 squad since its inception in 2005.

���Nicola said, ���you signed onto this road team, let���s see if road racing will do that for you,��� Rollins said.

Before Rollins joined Twenty24, she���d never raced on the road. ���My background was ��� Leadville,��� she said. Over the past three years she has logged thousands of hours on the road, racing one-days, crits, and stage races. This year, she even skipped Unbound Gravel to do the 11-day Tour of America���s Dairyland.

In the process, Rollins��� chipped away at all of the skills necessary to become a good bike racer. She built up her aerobic capacity, learned how to hold a wheel, ride in a paceline, and attack. And despite her initial hesitation to spend so much time racing on the road with her sights set on mountain bike and gravel, after Saturday���s result Rollins knows it was well worth it.

���I think I won Leadville because I know how to road race,��� she said. ���I think it was imperative. Making the winning selection was about being in a good position going down Powerline and then being able to descend well.���

Sofia Gomez Villafa簽e, who was second on the day in Leadville, is Rollins��� friend and training partner back home in Utah. She has watched the 28-year-old go from a strong rider ���who has put me in the box plenty of times,��� to a well-rounded racer with a keen eye for tactics.

���Being on the team taught her to look at a race from different angles,��� Gomez Villafa簽e said. ���On a team your job isn���t always to win, it���s to protect a rider, to chase down breaks. So she���s put herself in different roles in a race in pursuit of team goal. It gives you a better understanding of racing, how attacking works, and what tips and tricks you an have up your sleeve.

���It���s pretty special for her to then have the opportunity to go for a result for herself and show, ���I am good and I deserve to be here.’���

It was on the climb up to Columbine, the race���s high point, on Saturday, that Rollins started realize what was possible. She started the climb with Gomez Villafa簽e and Michaela Thompson (who would later finish third), telling herself ���just follow wheels, don���t overdo it.��� Eventually, she went off the front of the group.

���It wasn���t a pointed move, I just wanted to see what would happen if I upped the pace,��� she said.

Rollins continued to climb strongly, moving through the back of the elite men���s field. Ultimately, it was the Life Time helicopter, hovering over and then whizzing away, that keyed her in to what was happening in the race behind her.

���I could hear the helicopter doubling back really far, so I could kind of assess from that that it was pretty good,��� she said.

Rollins went on to win the race solo, four minutes ahead of Gomez Villafa簽e and 43 minutes better than her previous best finish. She said that she never let her guard down, convinced that the two other woman were going to catch her on the Powerline climb.

Even days after the race, she was having trouble believing what had happened, despite the fact that she���d dedicated her entire year to achieving such a goal. In April, she quit her full-time job as a chemist at a research lab, taking a ���leap of faith and a massive pay cut.���

���It���s almost like I had to win because I wanted it so badly,��� she said.

Rollins only has a few days to let the victory sink in before she toes the line again at SBT GRVL on August 18. Initially, she���d planned the race as sort-of a back-up plan, in case things didn���t go well at Leadville. Now, while she���ll race to win, it���s must more of a joy ride than a back-up plan.

As for what lies beyond, Rollins said she���s been in touch with some other teams and sponsors but hasn���t solidified anything yet. She hopes to do more mountain bike racing but also doesn���t want to lose the edge she���s gained on the road. Mainly, she wants to keep the momentum going.

After all, Leadville the race changed her life. Now, Leadville the result may as well.

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Since the beginning of women���s sports, a question has loomed: who qualifies as female? Tested follows the unfolding story of elite female runners who have been told they can no longer race as women, because of their biology. As the Olympics approach, they face hard choices: take drugs to lower their natural testosterone levels, give up their sport entirely, or fight. This episode asks: Would you alter your body for the chance to compete for a gold medal?

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The Western States Trail Ride, also known as the Tevis Cup, was born in 1955 out of a simple question: Could modern-day riding horses travel 100 miles in 24 hours? Several riders set out from Lake Tahoe, California, and journeyed southwest through the Sierra Nevada to the town of Auburn, proving the answer to be a strong yes. In the years and decades that followed, equestrians would retrace the trip as an annual race, testing themselves on a grueling route with more than 35,000 feet of elevation change along rugged mountain trails.

Damien Maloney, a Los Angeles���based photographer, learned about the event from a neighbor and was drawn to the competition���s Old West ethos, so different from the strict equestrian tradition he knew growing up in Waco, Texas. ���It was interesting to see a horse culture that isn���t fussy or fancy,��� says Maloney. ���It���s humans and horses, and everyone���s having fun, but it���s still really hard. There isn���t any pageantry.��� In the summer of 2023, he set out to document that unpretentious spirit, capturing horses and people as they navigated the dusty trails.

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When a technological breakthrough gives some athletes a major advantage, how should we think about the victories, the medals, the world records? Is new technology unfair? Is it cool? Does it matter which sport it affects? In this episode 窪蹋勛圖厙���s running correspondent, Fritz Huber, travels to the Nike Sport Research Lab to try to figure out why some sports embrace new technology, and others ban it.

The post The Battle for Swimming���s Suits and Running���s Soul appeared first on 窪蹋勛圖厙 Online.

VALLOIRE, France ��� ���s seven grand tour wins have been based around the strength of their team ��� and having supporting their leaders in the thick of the action.

Think of the mob-handed Col du Granon masterplan in the 2022 , Primoz Roglic and taking Pogacar over his head before the finale, or their 2023 Vuelta a Espa簽a evisceration.

Not for nothing is the squad���s motto the Dutch phrase samen winnen ��� winning together, the concept that nobody is above the unit, that the hive���s hard work and cohesion will make the difference.

However, on stage 4 of the Tour de France, the Dutch ���Killer Bees��� were more like harmless flies. Rivals Team UAE Emirates swarmed at the front of the race and , eking out a 45-second lead.

Wilco Kelderman, suffering from a crash on the race���s opening day, and Jan Tratnik drifted back on the Lautaret, while American Matteo Jorgenson was last man standing for his leader Vingegaard.

He supported the Dane until dropping back 4 kilometers from the summit of the mighty Col du Galibier. At that point, Pogacar still had Juan Ayuso and Jo瓊o Almeida alongside him, racing with intent and .

Asked how he judged the team performance post-race by media, Visma-Lease a Bike coach Grischa Niermann said: ���Today, we saw that we miss an in-form Sepp Kuss in this race.

���But we knew that when we had to take the decision he���s not coming, because we don���t have a climber like Sepp next to Jonas on the team,��� Niermann said.

An absentee after failing to recover from a COVID-19 infection, mainstay Kuss has been a team member on all of the team���s seven grand tour wins, pace-setting and supporting Vingegaard and Rogli�� over the years.

���I think Matteo, maybe he expected a bit more [from] himself, but in the end, he finished with the group going for ninth place,��� Niermann said. ���He was up there and there were other guys also getting dropped.���

Jorgenson���s Bad Day

A new signing to the team in 2024, 25-year-old Jorgenson has stepped up to be Vingegaard���s right-hand man at the Tour.

���It was a learning experience, I guess,��� Jorgenson told Eurosport and assembled media afterwards. ���It was not the best day for us.���

���I don���t think the numbers were anything ridiculous. When I was looking at my power meter, I wasn���t like, ���Wow, I can���t hold this pace,��� I was more within my limits. I just wasn���t on that great of a day.

���Generally, Jonas could probably have used a higher pace to reduce the explosivity of Pogacar. That���s kind of my bad for not being there to be able to do it,��� he added.

He explained that the Visma-Lease a Bike team wanted to set a harder tempo on the Galibier, but didn���t have the numbers to do it after the Col du Lautaret precursor.

Sporting a bandage on his right elbow , Jorgenson rued that he didn���t have his best legs: ���It���s just two days after the crash, I had a bit of a bad day. But in general, we did our best as a team.���

���I lost two and a half minutes or something on Pogacar, so it���s not great. And I also wasn���t there when Jonas needed me. Hopefully it gets better.���

Minutes before Jorgenson spoke, his team leader Vingegaard, 50 seconds behind his Slovenian adversary on GC, .

Jorgenson has won Paris-Nice and finished second at the Crit矇rium du Dauphin矇 in a breakout year, but it seems that the pre-race possibility of him challenging for GC as Plan B will surely go to the back burner.

After stage 4, the Idahoan is positioned 11th overall, 3:21 behind race leader Poga��ar after finishing in a seven-strong group which included Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and the Ineos Grenadiers pair of Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal.

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The relentless pace set by the squad on Tuesday did more than just platform ���s stage winning attack: it devastated many big names in the .

Several key riders found themselves dealing with big time losses after stage 4 of the race, cracking on the Col du Galibier and conceding time in the first serious day in the mountains.

Overnight race leader was one of the biggest casualties, slipping back early on and trailing in only 32nd, 5:10 back.

The EF Education���EasyPost rider received the backing of teammate Ben Healy in the chase but tumbled from first to 22nd overall, his yellow jersey and any GC hope gone.

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) was another surprise, losing 11:44 after cracking early on. He had spoken earlier this year of wanting to chase a high overall result; that ambition is now over.

Dropping Seconds and Minutes

Pogacar���s Galibier surge and lightning descent opened solid time over every other rider in the field. Defending champion (Visma���Lease a Bike) handled his rival���s acceleration best, fighting to hold his wheel for several hundred meters and then going over the summit several seconds back.

However he yielded further ground on the descent, likely still nervous after his crash in April, and was caught by several others before the finish in Valloire.

(Soudal Quick-Step), who had started the day level on time with Carapaz, Poga��ar and Vingegaard, was also there and won the sprint to the line, 35 seconds back. That earned him second place on the stage and ensured he ended the day second overall.

(Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) also finished in this group, a good turnaround after cracking on the climb but recouping time on the descent.

���That was enough. I am satisfied with today,��� he said to RTV Slovenija, while admitting his form is not where he expected it to be.

���In the climb, I was battling with myself. Tadej set the pace, which was clearly the best thing for him.���

Still, he believes he can and will do more in this Tour. ���I���m slowly getting better, I���m still here.���

Vingegaard and Ineos Grenadiers leader were fifth and sixth, conceding a further two seconds to the Evenepoel/Roglic group when a gap opened just before the line.

The latter is now his team���s undisputed leader, as both Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal finished 2:42 behind.

They won the race in 2018 and 2019 respectively, but unless one or both can regain significant time in a breakaway, they will be backing Rodr穩guez for the remainder of the race.

After going in with four possible leaders, Ineos Grenadiers is down to one.

Jorgenson, Yates Under Pressure

The devastation handed out by UAE Team Emirates put other big names in the red.

Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale leader Felix Gall also finished in the Thomas-Bernal group. American rider was similarly present.

Jorgenson, winner of Paris-Nice and second overall to Rogli�� in the Crit矇rium du Dauphin矇, was seen as a possible GC alternative if Vingegaard lacked fitness after his Itzulia crash.

He will now be fully committed to the resurgent Danish rider.

Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) also finished in this selection. The Briton was third overall last year despite having ridden for Pogacar.

Some felt he could podium again after a dominant ride in the Tour de Suisse, but instead he is almost three and a half minutes adrift after four stages.

That���s down to an off day but his team boss Mauro Gianetti told Velo���s Andrew Hood after the finish that UAE Team Emirates still had a big day in the saddle.

���The plan was to see the level of each team, not only the leader of the team,��� . ���We wanted to see how many riders of each team could be at the top of the Galibier.

���The three leaders of Red Bull, the leaders of Ineos, and at Visma,��� Gianetti said. ���We put a very big pace to push.���

The goal was completely successful.

With Alesandr Vlasov and Jai Hindley losing 3:05 and 4:01 respectively, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was another team which saw GC options reduced to just one rider.

They, Ineos Grenadiers and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have now just one contender each in the GC, with plan B���s and C���s out the window, barring a big breakaway comeback.

It was a day to remember for UAE Team Emirates in eliminating so many rivals. They will welcome that Tuesday evening, and so too the fact that Evenepoel and Vingegaard are the only riders who remain within a minute of Poga��ar.

It may be only day four of the Tour but already all of the Slovenian���s rivals have a mountain to climb.

The post These Are the Big Names Who Lost Time on Tour de France Stage 4 appeared first on 窪蹋勛圖厙 Online.