Ben Ogden: A car restoring, backflipping, cross-country skier from the U.S.
The 24-year-old from Vermont shares why rebuilding a vehicle from 1973 is essential for his skiing career, including the frustration of missing his home World Cup races, and why he might do a special celebration if he reaches the podium at Milano Cortina 2026.
Cross-Country Skiing
When USA cross-country skier Ben Ogden reached his first ever World Cup podium, he thought the perfect way to celebrate was by doing a backflip.
“It was sort of a nod to my younger self. He would have been stoked to see that,” Ogdon said with a laugh to Olympics.com, recalling his third place skate sprint finish at the Tour de Ski event in Toblach, Italy.
“It's probably been five years since I did a backflip, and I was standing up there thinking; 'this is my chance to act on a lifelong dream.' So, I just went for it and didn't land on my head. If I had to get carted out of there on a stretcher, we wouldn't be laughing about it.”
“But I still got it in me. I guess when you got a little adrenaline going, it can make you do crazy things.”
It's the kind of mentality that Ogden believes helped him get to the top of his sport, and also get past the frustration of not being able to compete in the first World Cup races to be held in the U.S. for 23 years.
"For me, there is not much to do now except go home, crank up some tunes, rest up and maybe toss a wrench on my Land Rover," Ogden posted on social media while sharing that he's missing the Minneapolis event this weekend due to illness.
Ben Ogden: Jumps, flips and rails on skis was an obsession
The playfulness that is present when backflipping at the World Cup has always been important for Ogden in skiing.
In the Unites States, cross-country skiing may not be a huge part of the culture, however where Ogden grew up in Landgrove, Vermont, the sport is quite popular. Olympic cross-country silver medallist from 1976, William 'Bill' Koch, is from the same area, and he had a big impact on skiing in the region.
Ogden was introduced to the sport at a young age by his father John, who was competing for Middlebury College and coached the local youth program for many years.
But before discovering his talent on cross-country skis, Ogden was more attracted to another type of skiing.
“I definitely idolised Andy Newell growing up, who was a cross-country World Cup skier, [but] he was always very into jumps, flips, and rails on skis. So that was an obsession of mine for many years,” Ogden told us.
“I remember I just developed a love for being on skis in the backyard with my friends, building jumps and rails. We were setting up lights and just playing around all night long, doing 360s, flips and stuff. It was the best.”
As he got more and more serious with cross-country skiing, Ogden began to focus on racing and training.
Participating in the 2018 World Junior Ski Championships in Goms, Switzerland, turned out to be a defining moment for his career.
The U.S. team claim the silver medal in the 4 × 5 km relay race, which was the first ever medal for the U.S. men at the junior event.
“That was one of those moments, where I really thought to myself; 'this is something I want to be serious about.' I remember that I was celebrating with three friends, who all were feeling the same emotions. It was an incredible moment,” Ogden recalled.
“Going home from that, I started viewing racing differently, and the next year I was like; 'Okay, now I'm going to Junior Worlds to be serious.' The relay came around again, and we were able to win. It was just an incredible trajectory that made me realize this could be a really awesome way to go through life if the opportunity presents itself.”
Ben Ogden: Master’s project on thermal management of electric vehicle battery packs
In parallel with a promising cross-country skiing career, Ogden has been studying for the future.
Having graduated in mechanical engineering from the University of Vermont (UVM), a chance came up to work on a Master’s project on thermal management of electric vehicle battery packs at UVM.
“I was working with a professor who was really excited about cross-country skiing, and he was trying to convert a ski groomer to be electric. We were discussing how the temperature situation with the battery pack is a big challenge,” Ogden explained.
“You don't want it to overheat, but also, it's a groomer, so it's only being used when it's cold. Lithium-ion batteries don't always love the cold, so that was just a fun little engineering issue. I didn't end up having completely finished the project yet, but it was a fun and cool opportunity for me.”
Ogden added that being away because of racing in Europe meant he was unable to compete the project within the one year timeframe. He hopes to be able to resume the task in future, and has an important message to others that might end up in a similar situation balancing an athletic career with studies.
“I was really embarrassed about that for a long time because it was like a failure. I set a goal to finish in one year and it didn't happen. Nowadays, I'm more okay with it because you can't do everything all the time.”
“If you set the precedent for young athletes, who are looking up to you, they're doomed to be disappointed. So, it's almost good if a young senior reads this and finds out that ‘he didn't finish’. And that's okay.”
Ben Ogden: A passion for restoring old cars
While Ogden was studying, he met a person who sparked another interest. Lanny Clarke had been restoring Land Rover vehicles professionally for over 30 years, but he was about to retire and sell most of his cars.
Ogden went to Colchester, Vermont, to meet Clarke, who eventually offered Ogden a job, so he could learn restoring a vintage vehicle.
“I ended up buying a Land Rover from 1973 out of his field, which had been sitting there for 12 years. So, I had to drag it onto a trailer with a tractor.”
“I've taken it completely apart so far. I've rebuilt the motor and the transmission, and I've rebuilt both the axles and the differentials. I've always had an obsession with cars, and how they work” Ogden said.
The cross-country skier emphasises that the restoration is much more than just hobby for him.
“The reason I embarked on it is because I've always valued having things other than training and racing in my life to balance out the mind and keep me away from getting obsessed with the training. It's absolutely essential to my cross-country career and serves a huge purpose.”
“I've learned over the years that I'm so much more effective of a person, and I have so much more desire to be better at what I do when I'm busy. The other thing too is that when I'm in Europe, you can't be fixating on racing all the time, so watching YouTube videos about how to fix the Land Rover or reading a manual takes my mind and focus away from the stressful aspects of racing.”
It also provided a focus to help him overcome the disappointment of missing out on his home races this weekend.
For Ogden, the vehicle rebuild is mostly a summertime project, and there is no rush to finish.
“I'm a year in now, and I haven't really put many things back together. Mostly just taking apart and cleaning. So, it'll be probably a three-year project. It’s the process that I enjoy, because how much happiness is the car really going to give me?”
“Probably a good amount, but it's not going to be revolutionary. But I've gained so much happiness and satisfaction along the way, and that's the goal of it. The longer it takes, the better,” Ogden chuckled.
Ben Ogden: A backflip at Milano Cortina 2026?
Could the 24-year-old American gets done with his Land Rover project before the next Winter Olympic Games in two years?
Since Ogden’s Olympic debut in Beijing 2022, he has cemented himself as one of the most promising names on the cross-country skiing scene, having won the U23 Green Bib as the fastest male skier under 23 on the entire World Cup last season.
In Milano Cortina 2026, Ogden will again be eager to get a good result.
“My dream would definitely be to be on a sprint podium in Milano. I'm going to think about it on rainy, cold Vermont workouts in the fall, when you're just like, ‘what am I doing?’ Then you think; this is how I get strong, so I can capitalize in Milano. Hopefully, I can keep progressing, and I think it's possible too,” Ogden said.
Having just witnessed a backflip from the American at the World Cup, will we get to see another at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
“I can promise you if I find myself on a podium in Milano Cortina, it'll be in the back of my brain, that's for sure. That'll be a really tough place to mess it up though,” Ogden concluded with a laugh.
Ben Ogden at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.