FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

A collection of live feeds from cross-country ski blogs around the web.

  • Minnesota Cup 2/USBA IBU Trials Sprint

    It was a good day for MWSC athletes, in the women’s race BethAnn lead the way in second place with strong shooting and skiing with only Haley Johnson (former MWSC teammate) in front of her. Katrina Howe struggled a little with shooting but posted one of the faster ski times for the day to keep her right in contact in fifth place. Junior Corrine Malcome notched up another strong ski performance but struggled on the shooting range.

    In the men’s race Raleigh Goessling and Ben Greenwald put in yet another great set of performances showing that they are coming into great form prior to world junior trials to be held at the end of the month in Jericho Vermont. Both put in strong skiing efforts from the start and cleaning the first shooting stage, continuing to ski strong they were able to stay in contention with a strong senior competitor and former 2010 olympian Wynn Roberts. In the final shooting stage both Raleigh and Ben picked up two penalties to finish the day with a strong 80% shooting.

    We have just one more race tomorrow, a pursuit format (four shooting stages, two prone, two standing) individual start race. Below are some photos from todays event. Also check in on our XC team in their first events of the season in the NENSA Eastern Cup openers, good luck to all of them.


    Ben Greenwald


    Raleigh Goessling


    Katrina Howe


    Haley Johnson


    BethAnn Chamberlain


    Corrine Malcome

  • Minnesota Cup 2/USBA IBU Trials Sprint

    It was a good day for MWSC athletes, in the women’s race BethAnn lead the way in second place with strong shooting and skiing with only Haley Johnson (former MWSC teammate) in front of her. Katrina Howe struggled a little with shooting but posted one of the faster ski times for the day to keep her right in contact in fifth place. Junior Corrine Malcome notched up another strong ski performance but struggled on the shooting range.

    In the men’s race Raleigh Goessling and Ben Greenwald put in yet another great set of performances showing that they are coming into great form prior to world junior trials to be held at the end of the month in Jericho Vermont. Both put in strong skiing efforts from the start and cleaning the first shooting stage, continuing to ski strong they were able to stay in contention with a strong senior competitor and former 2010 olympian Wynn Roberts. In the final shooting stage both Raleigh and Ben picked up two penalties to finish the day with a strong 80% shooting.

    We have just one more race tomorrow, a pursuit format (four shooting stages, two prone, two standing) individual start race. Below are some photos from todays event. Also check in on our XC team in their first events of the season in the NENSA Eastern Cup openers, good luck to all of them.


    Ben Greenwald


    Raleigh Goessling


    Katrina Howe


    Haley Johnson


    BethAnn Chamberlain


    Corrine Malcome

  • Race Snapshot: IBU WC 3 Men’s/Women’s Sprint

    Kind of a rough day for the Americans today in biathlon, but some solid Canadian results.  Brendan Green and Scot Perras both had good races as well as Zina Kocher.

    Related posts:

    1. <Race Snapshot: IBU World Cup 1 Women
    2. <Race Snapshot: IBU WC 1 Women’s Sprint
    3. <Race Snapshot: IBU WC 1 Men/Women’s Pursuit


  • Race Snapshot: La Clusaz Men’s/Women’s Distance

    I think there were high hopes for Kris Freeman in today’s 30km, particularly after yesterdays monster article in FasterSkier, but I still suspect he’s likely to do better in 15km events.  Still, not a terrible race for him at all, and a good day all around for the North Americans.  Once again, though, the women’s points are a little screwy thanks to Björgen & Co. skiing away from the field.

    Related posts:

    1. <Marit Bjoergen’s Best Freestyle Race
    2. <Race Snapshot: IBU World Cup 1 Women
    3. <Race Snapshot: IBU WC 1 Men/Women’s Pursuit


  • Ramsau Am Dachstein

    Today was the first competition  in Ramsau, Austria. I was going in with some high hopes and the confidence of my podium in Park City. From the start I knew it was going to be a tough comp on the jumping side, when I saw that we were 4 gates lower than Official training yesterday. Im not really sure what happened on the jump but something didn’t go at all right and therefore had a very bad jump. The conditions didn’t make for sweet jumping either with different wind all over the hill. So I had to put that jump behind me and focus on having a better race. Some days its just luck of the draw and you have to make with the conditions you have.

    The Cross country was much better for me. Today I felt like I actually had legs and could keep a good tempo going through the whole race! I will be looking forward to tomorrow, and trying to score points for the first time!

    Tomorrow is another day!
    Taylor

  • From the house with the spouse

    Skiing with Margaret

    We’ve got a ton of great snow here in Mazama, WA right now.    About 3 feet of snow in our yard.

    It’s a Saturday morning, and for me that means a chance to get up early and ski right out the back door with my wife Margaret.     We get up early and out the door at the first light since my ski hours are constrained by my work schedule.    For Margaret it’s a normal weekend – and she’ll often ski with me, then sneak out later for another ski later in the day.

    Of course, I’ve got to get to the shop by 10 to get things rolling.    Nordic Ultratune is really hopping right now, right in the final days before Christmas.   If you’re in town, stop in at Nordic Ultratune and say Hello!

    Rode Super Extra Blue

    The classic skiing has been especially good in the past week.    I’ve been skiing on the same Rode Extra Special Blue for several days, just a little touch up before going out each day.    While the weather holds in this pattern, I’ll stick with it.

    If you need any Rode grip waxes, just let me know.   Nordic Ultratune has all the Rode stick waxes and klisters in stock.     Rode grip waxes are very versatile, and should be part of your wax box.

  • From the house with the spouse

    Skiing with Margaret

    We’ve got a ton of great snow here in Mazama, WA right now.    About 3 feet of snow in our yard.

    It’s a Saturday morning, and for me that means a chance to get up early and ski right out the back door with my wife Margaret.     We get up early and out the door at the first light since my ski hours are constrained by my work schedule.    For Margaret it’s a normal weekend – and she’ll often ski with me, then sneak out later for another ski later in the day.

    Of course, I’ve got to get to the shop by 10 to get things rolling.    Nordic Ultratune is really hopping right now, right in the final days before Christmas.   If you’re in town, stop in at Nordic Ultratune and say Hello!

    Rode Super Extra Blue

    The classic skiing has been especially good in the past week.    I’ve been skiing on the same Rode Extra Special Blue for several days, just a little touch up before going out each day.    While the weather holds in this pattern, I’ll stick with it.

    If you need any Rode grip waxes, just let me know.   Nordic Ultratune has all the Rode stick waxes and klisters in stock.     Rode grip waxes are very versatile, and should be part of your wax box.

  • New Blog!

  • Let the Tour begin- first NorAm Victory

    Today was the first day of the three day mini tour in Rossland BC. After last weekends races in Silver Star, the APU team hit the road and headed the four hours east to our current venue called Black Jack for our final races before Nationals.

    Leading out of the stadium
    The mini tour consists of a sprint on friday, 5k skate on saturday, and a 10k classic on sunday. Throughout the three races, you get time bonuses for various results and then sunday’s race is started handicap style so the first person across the line wins the whole shebang. 

    Great to see last years teammate, Sam Naney, throwing down after recovering from mono earlier this fall.
    Today’s race was a skate sprint that offered a lot of entertainment for the cheering crowd. There were a couple gnarly corners that allowed for some crazy falls and some pretty damn fast skiing out there. In the mornings qualifier, I was able to cross the line first, only .05 seconds ahead of my teammate, Holly Brooks. As my mom told me tonight, by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin. 

    APU boys getting after it. Congrats to Reese Hanneman for throwing down some impressive sprinting today- 3rd American!
    The fun course made for some awesome heats. All throughout the quarters and semi’s I was able to get out of the start first and control the pack. The first half of the course was a solid climb before some roller coaster turns down to the bottom, a quick hop skate hill, and then some technical turns into the finishing stretch. The final heat, I sat in behind Perianne for the majority of the course before throwing down hard into the finishing stretch- winning my first NorAm ever. FUN FUN!

    H. Brooks, Perianne and I right after the finish- Perianne excited for her secured spot to World Champs!

    Holly Brooks and Perianne tied for second place

    Thanks to Casey and Erik for some SICK skis, and to the huge group of people out the cheering. It is always so much more fun to sprint with tons of yelling on the sidelines.
    Tomorrows race is a 5k skate. Results should be posted on www.zone4.ca

  • Two races down, two more to go!

    I’m laying on the couch right now with my legs elevated after just finishing the Teck Skate Sprint in Rossland.  The first day of the mini tour is over, only two more days of racing in this period before headed back to Alaska to my own bed, my cat, and some well deserved R&R.

    Today was a fun race on a technical and tactical course.  The prelim only took us three minutes – too short for my liking but the margin between me and Sadie today was even smaller than last weekend in Silver Star (.05 versus .1)  How many ways can YOU think of to make up .05 seconds!?!

    The scenic shot…. (thanks to my husband Rob for all the great photos!)

    Reese rockin it! 

    The women’s A final coming off the technical “S” turn

    Anyways, today’s race was a big deal for the Canadians.  The Canadian winner of each skate sprint “stamped” their ticket to compete at World Championships in Oslo, Norway!  While I’m glad that we don’t use the “perform or else” qualification system I’m sure it feels nice to know Championship plans now rather than having to wait until mid January like we have to in the US.

    The men!

    Today’s course featured a huge hill at the beginning of the race.  We bottle-necked early and I was basically in third place the entire race.  Each attempt to pass proved unsuccessful.  We navigated a gnarly turn which saw some pretty good wipe outs earlier in the day and headed in for the final stretch.  I had good cornering and decent finishing speed. I came from behind to lunge for second place with Perianne Jones!  After mulling around for a while I found the jury hovering over the finish camera debating the timing picture inside and out.  No one could really tell who was second, and who was third.  The final call was TIE!

    With teammate (& roommate!) Katie Ronsse who rocked the B final!

    Perhaps the best quote of the day goes to Perianne when she said that she looked over at my suit color after we crossed the line was relieved to see that was an American rather than a Canadian.  Imagine the debacle that would create if two Canadians tied, the “prize” being a trip to World Champs?!  We were disappointed to find out that there wasn’t a “2” bib for the podium…. the plan to both squish into it was foiled!

    Sharing the podium with Peri (I’m in green)
    The women’s podium today: Sadie, Peri & me!

    Rewinding to the distance race last weekend at Soveregin Lakes……. I had a great day!  The course suited my strengths well – slow snow and lots of climbing.  The suffering factor was high and I love it when it hurts!  Erik described racing at altitude according to Bill Koch: “It’s like reaching for that branch that is just SLIGHTLY out of reach and trying to hold on.”  That’s basically what it felt like and I was happy to come out of it with a NorAm victory!

    Top of the podium at Sovereign!
    Rocket skis and poles!

    We’ve been on the road for 28 days now and this is the final stretch!  Tomorrow’s race is a 5k skate and Sunday’s is a 10k classic “hunting” start.  Basically, all of the race times over the three days will be added up. Additional bonuses will be given for sprint performances.  Sunday’s start will be rolling pursuit style and then it’s the first person to cross the line wins!

    Last but certainly NOT least, my teammate, Reese Hanneman (who also had an awesome day today finishing 10th overall amongst a stacked men’s field) made another great “Engine Room” productions video.  Check it out here:

  • Two races down, two more to go!

    I’m laying on the couch right now with my legs elevated after just finishing the Teck Skate Sprint in Rossland.  The first day of the mini tour is over, only two more days of racing in this period before headed back to Alaska to my own bed, my cat, and some well deserved R&R.

    Today was a fun race on a technical and tactical course.  The prelim only took us three minutes – too short for my liking but the margin between me and Sadie today was even smaller than last weekend in Silver Star (.05 versus .1)  How many ways can YOU think of to make up .05 seconds!?!

    The scenic shot…. (thanks to my husband Rob for all the great photos!)

    Reese rockin it! 

    The women’s A final coming off the technical “S” turn

    Anyways, today’s race was a big deal for the Canadians.  The Canadian winner of each skate sprint “stamped” their ticket to compete at World Championships in Oslo, Norway!  While I’m glad that we don’t use the “perform or else” qualification system I’m sure it feels nice to know Championship plans now rather than having to wait until mid January like we have to in the US.

    The men!

    Today’s course featured a huge hill at the beginning of the race.  We bottle-necked early and I was basically in third place the entire race.  Each attempt to pass proved unsuccessful.  We navigated a gnarly turn which saw some pretty good wipe outs earlier in the day and headed in for the final stretch.  I had good cornering and decent finishing speed. I came from behind to lunge for second place with Perianne Jones!  After mulling around for a while I found the jury hovering over the finish camera debating the timing picture inside and out.  No one could really tell who was second, and who was third.  The final call was TIE!

    With teammate (& roommate!) Katie Ronsse who rocked the B final!

    Perhaps the best quote of the day goes to Perianne when she said that she looked over at my suit color after we crossed the line was relieved to see that was an American rather than a Canadian.  Imagine the debacle that would create if two Canadians tied, the “prize” being a trip to World Champs?!  We were disappointed to find out that there wasn’t a “2” bib for the podium…. the plan to both squish into it was foiled!

    Sharing the podium with Peri (I’m in green)
    The women’s podium today: Sadie, Peri & me!

    Rewinding to the distance race last weekend at Soveregin Lakes……. I had a great day!  The course suited my strengths well – slow snow and lots of climbing.  The suffering factor was high and I love it when it hurts!  Erik described racing at altitude according to Bill Koch: “It’s like reaching for that branch that is just SLIGHTLY out of reach and trying to hold on.”  That’s basically what it felt like and I was happy to come out of it with a NorAm victory!

    Top of the podium at Sovereign!
    Rocket skis and poles!

    We’ve been on the road for 28 days now and this is the final stretch!  Tomorrow’s race is a 5k skate and Sunday’s is a 10k classic “hunting” start.  Basically, all of the race times over the three days will be added up. Additional bonuses will be given for sprint performances.  Sunday’s start will be rolling pursuit style and then it’s the first person to cross the line wins!

    Last but certainly NOT least, my teammate, Reese Hanneman (who also had an awesome day today finishing 10th overall amongst a stacked men’s field) made another great “Engine Room” productions video.  Check it out here:

  • Birkie Registration Closes Today (Saturday)!

  • Week In Review: Friday Dec 17th

    Once again, many thanks to Skaði Nordic for sponsoring this week’s Week In Review.  Here’s what been cooking:

    Holy cow!  Did I really do all that this past week?  Good for me.

    Related posts:

    1. <Week In Review: Friday Sep 17th
    2. <Week In Review: Friday Oct 8th
    3. <Week In Review: Friday Nov 19th


  • Clues about La Clusaz

  • How Many WC Victories Does Björgen Really Have?

    How embarrassing is it for our sport that no one seems to be able to reliably count the number of World Cup victories of our best athletes?

    Here’s the deal.  Marit Björgen has attracted some attention lately for the number of total WC victories to her name, which is generally thought to be at least 40, although different people will report slightly different numbers.  For example, see these Scandinavian news reports on the topic here and here.

    As far as I can tell, everyone is getting the count for Björgen wrong.  This is harder to count than is seems, so I’m going to discuss this in what will probably be painful detail.

    First, we need to agree on what counts as a World Cup race.  Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, how could we be confused about what is or is not a WC race?  There are two basic issues:

    • Do we count the overall results from stage race formats like the Tour de Ski, the World Cup Final or the most recent Nordic Opener in Kuusamo?  Athletes receive World Cup points for the overall standings, as well as for the results of each individual stage.  If you get WC points for it, isn’t it a WC “race”?
    • Prior to 1999, I believe, the Olympics and World Championships were counted as part of the World Cup schedule, but that is not the case anymore.  This becomes important for comparing people like Björgen to other greats like Bente Skari Martinsen or Bjorn Dählie.  Why?  Well, this is debatable, but skiers now are faced with more races to choose from in Olympic or World Championship years, whereas before those races were simply folded into the WC schedule.  So Björgen has faced more of a tradeoff than Skari or Dählie did in choosing to skip normal WC’s in order to prepare for other major events like Olympics or WSC’s.

    I’m not going to argue for a “correct” answer to either of these issues, I’ll simply count victories as best as I can and include enough information for you to go whichever way you want for the final tally.  Here we go…

    Starting with Dählie, my records only extend back to around 1992, so according to FIS, my database is missing his five first WC victories.  If I include those five, that yields a total of 38 wins in races that are only WCs and another 8 from races that doubled as WSC or OWG, for a total of 46.  Additionally, he had another 2 OWG wins that did not also count as WC races, which could bring his total up to 48 if you wanted.

    Bente Skari Martinsen is where the trouble begins.  FIS and I agree on the “official” records, which have her winning 40 WC races, plus one more that doubled as a WSC race for a total of 41.  There are now two wrinkles.  First, there was a sprint race in January 2001 in Soldier Hollow for which only the qualification results survived.  Skari claims she won the heats (and I don’t doubt her) but FIS, having “lost” the results, seems to consider the qualification results as official.  So now we have her at either 41 or 42, depending on whether we want to count this unusual sprint.  Second, Skari also has 5 more victories in OWG/WSC races that did not also count as WCs, which would give her either 46 or 47 total.

    Finally, we have Björgen.  This is the one that everyone’s been getting wrong, and it’s not their fault.  The FIS website has a few quirks in it that make it unreliable.  Basically, they aren’t very consistent in how they enter the “Discipline” field in their database, which means that when you try to pull up just World Cup victories it can miss some races.

    If you simply go to the Biography section of the FIS website and pull up her WC results, sorted by performance and count them, you’ll get 41 victories (excluding the relay’s, of course).  However, there a few problems.  First, that list is missing her win in a sprint stage of the 2006-2007 Tour de Ski, which if you look at the PDF reports for that race, she pretty clearly received WC points for.  The problem is that no one entered “WC” in the right field in the database entry for that race, so it doesn’t pop up in the search.

    It get’s worse.  The search results include both of her overall stage race victories (Kuusamo and the World Cup Final in Falun last season) and it’s unclear to me whether these should count.  Even so, three more results aren’t included, namely her actual individual stage wins from Kuusamo in the sprint and classic race and her pursuit victory from the Falun WC Final!

    What does that leave us with?  Well, that means Björgen has (as of 12/17/2010) 43 individual WC victories, plus another two overall stage wins which netted her WC points.  Additionally, she has another 4 wins from WSC/OWG races that did not double as WC races.

    Here’s a table to help you sort all this out:

    World Cup OWG (+WC) WSC (+WC) OWG (not WC) WSC (not WC) Overall Stage Race Total
    Bjoergen 43 0 0 2 2 2 49
    Skari 41 (42) 0 1 1 4 0 47 (48)
    Daehlie 38 4 4 2 0 0 48

    Personally, I don’t think it’s fair that Dählie gets credit for all those WSC/OWG wins as “World Cup” wins but that Björgen does not get the same credit for hers.  I think the decision to include the overall stage victories is more debatable, and depends upon your basic conception of what the sport should be.  Still, even by the most generous counting, Björgen has already tied Skari at 43, and barring catastrophe should easily move past both her and Dählie (46) this season.  Finally, if you give everyone credit for all their WSC/OWG wins, she’s already moved past them both, even without her overall stage race wins (my bad!)!

    In any case, Marit Björgen will be racing for her forty-fourth WC victory this weekend.  Period.

    Adendum: I thought it would be good to clarify a few things based on some issues raised in the comments.  I happily concede that for whatever reason, FIS seems to have decided that the “official” count of WC victories includes overall stage race results, but not the stages themselves.  My issue is that just because it’s “official”, doesn’t make it correct.  To be “official”, all that is required is for FIS to say it is so.  But as the organizing body of the sport, those decisions need to be sensible as well.

    For instance:

    Now, mistakes happen.  My database has errors in it, I’m certain.  So my point was simply that the way that FIS is counting WC victories seems to me to be rather obviously wrong in a way that deserved pointing out.

    And yes, getting worked up over this may be a sign that I’m slightly crazy.

    Related posts:

    1. <Career Retrospective: Rene Sommerfeldt
    2. <FIS Scheduling Follies
    3. <Podium Heartbreak


  • Grand Rapids Minnesota and Mt Itasca

    We all arrived in Grand Rapids a couple days ago and were greeted with cool temps (not the -15 to -20 degrees of last year) and lots of natural and man-made snow, so the skiing is great. Yesterday was the first of three races and the MWSC crew had some great races and some are hungry for the second race. The junior men’s field of three was lead by two MWSC guys, Raleigh and Ben, who both put up strong skiing days and solid shooting. The guys came in 2nd and 3rd over all only being bested by senior athlete and former Olympian Wynn Roberts. On the women’s side it was good to see all of our ladies putting in strong skiing efforts through the entire race, shooting not where any of the ladies can shoot and they are all looking to pick it up for the next two competitions. The women’s field had pressure put on at the front of the race by Haley Johnson and Susan Dunklee who shoot the same 2 penalties through the first three stages and were skiing close, in the final stage Haley was able to take the lead for sure with 2 more penalties, one less penalty the Susan’s 3. It was a very exciting day and everyone is now resting and focusing on tomorrows sprint race!

  • Grand Rapids Minnesota and Mt Itasca

    We all arrived in Grand Rapids a couple days ago and were greeted with cool temps (not the -15 to -20 degrees of last year) and lots of natural and man-made snow, so the skiing is great. Yesterday was the first of three races and the MWSC crew had some great races and some are hungry for the second race. The junior men’s field of three was lead by two MWSC guys, Raleigh and Ben, who both put up strong skiing days and solid shooting. The guys came in 2nd and 3rd over all only being bested by senior athlete and former Olympian Wynn Roberts. On the women’s side it was good to see all of our ladies putting in strong skiing efforts through the entire race, shooting not where any of the ladies can shoot and they are all looking to pick it up for the next two competitions. The women’s field had pressure put on at the front of the race by Haley Johnson and Susan Dunklee who shoot the same 2 penalties through the first three stages and were skiing close, in the final stage Haley was able to take the lead for sure with 2 more penalties, one less penalty the Susan’s 3. It was a very exciting day and everyone is now resting and focusing on tomorrows sprint race!

  • Grand Rapids Minnesota and Mt Itasca

    We all arrived in Grand Rapids a couple days ago and were greeted with cool temps (not the -15 to -20 degrees of last year) and lots of natural and man-made snow, so the skiing is great. Yesterday was the first of three races and the MWSC crew had some great races and some are hungry for the second race. The junior men’s field of three was lead by two MWSC guys, Raleigh and Ben, who both put up strong skiing days and solid shooting. The guys came in 2nd and 3rd over all only being bested by senior athlete and former Olympian Wynn Roberts. On the women’s side it was good to see all of our ladies putting in strong skiing efforts through the entire race, shooting not where any of the ladies can shoot and they are all looking to pick it up for the next two competitions. The women’s field had pressure put on at the front of the race by Haley Johnson and Susan Dunklee who shoot the same 2 penalties through the first three stages and were skiing close, in the final stage Haley was able to take the lead for sure with 2 more penalties, one less penalty the Susan’s 3. It was a very exciting day and everyone is now resting and focusing on tomorrows sprint race!

  • Grand Rapids Minnesota and Mt Itasca

    We all arrived in Grand Rapids a couple days ago and were greeted with cool temps (not the -15 to -20 degrees of last year) and lots of natural and man-made snow, so the skiing is great. Yesterday was the first of three races and the MWSC crew had some great races and some are hungry for the second race. The junior men’s field of three was lead by two MWSC guys, Raleigh and Ben, who both put up strong skiing days and solid shooting. The guys came in 2nd and 3rd over all only being bested by senior athlete and former Olympian Wynn Roberts. On the women’s side it was good to see all of our ladies putting in strong skiing efforts through the entire race, shooting not where any of the ladies can shoot and they are all looking to pick it up for the next two competitions. The women’s field had pressure put on at the front of the race by Haley Johnson and Susan Dunklee who shoot the same 2 penalties through the first three stages and were skiing close, in the final stage Haley was able to take the lead for sure with 2 more penalties, one less penalty the Susan’s 3. It was a very exciting day and everyone is now resting and focusing on tomorrows sprint race!

  • Grand Rapids Minnesota and Mt Itasca

    We all arrived in Grand Rapids a couple days ago and were greeted with cool temps (not the -15 to -20 degrees of last year) and lots of natural and man-made snow, so the skiing is great. Yesterday was the first of three races and the MWSC crew had some great races and some are hungry for the second race. The junior men’s field of three was lead by two MWSC guys, Raleigh and Ben, who both put up strong skiing days and solid shooting. The guys came in 2nd and 3rd over all only being bested by senior athlete and former Olympian Wynn Roberts. On the women’s side it was good to see all of our ladies putting in strong skiing efforts through the entire race, shooting not where any of the ladies can shoot and they are all looking to pick it up for the next two competitions. The women’s field had pressure put on at the front of the race by Haley Johnson and Susan Dunklee who shoot the same 2 penalties through the first three stages and were skiing close, in the final stage Haley was able to take the lead for sure with 2 more penalties, one less penalty the Susan’s 3. It was a very exciting day and everyone is now resting and focusing on tomorrows sprint race!