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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: 2012 Cross Country Championships

  • Hoffman Uses Smarts, Grit to Win 30 K

    Team Homegrown and U.S. Ski Team members Tad Elliott (l) and Noah Hoffman (r) leading the men's 30 k at U.S. Nationals. Photo: Flying Point Road.

    RUMFORD, Maine – There was no sugarcoating it. U.S. Ski Team member Noah Hoffman wasn’t happy with his performance on Thursday at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships.

    The 22-year-old had gone out too hard in the men’s 15 k freestyle individual start at Black Mountain. The definitive race leader for the first two laps, Hoffman dealt with the consequences of his pacing – or lack thereof – on the last two.

    U.S. Nationals
    Noah Hoffman (USST/Team HomeGrown) races to a decisive victory in the 30 k classic mass start at U.S. Nationals at Black Mountain on Friday. Photo: Flying Point Road.

    With the fourth-place memory still fresh in his mind, Hoffman channeled his emotions into Friday’s race, taking hold of the men’s 30 k classic mass start and refusing to let go.

    “It’s relatively inexcusable, in my opinion, to make the same mistake over and over again,” Hoffman said on Friday. “I was disappointed and I felt like my energy was great so I wanted to go out there today and show what I can do.”

    Hoffman won the mass start in 1 hour, 26 minutes and 49.3 seconds, nearly a minute ahead of his next closest competitor, David Norris of the Alaska Winter Stars and Montana State University (+53.6). Dartmouth skier Eric Packer was third after moving to the front of the chase group on the second to last lap. The college senior finished 1:16.7 behind Hoffman.

    From the starting gun, Hoffman made a point to get out early without getting too far ahead, working with Team HomeGrown and USST teammate Tad Elliott. After pulling for the first few laps, Elliott turned to Hoffman while in a tuck after cresting the steep and winding High School Hill, and yelled, “Come on, Hoff!”

    With four 3.26 k loops remaining, Elliott, who won the 30 k freestyle race at nationals last year, wanted to widen the gap they had already gained on the crowded pack of about 15 to 20 men. Hoffman wasn’t sure he was ready to go just then.

    “[It] was maybe earlier than I had intended on going, but by the same token, it was a good time,” Hoffman said. “We were having fun.”

    Podium Payout:
    How much athletes make for placing in the top 3 in a race at U.S. Nationals:

    1st: $1,200

    2nd: $600

    3rd: $300

    Earlier in the race, the two had kept things light – skiing fast yet relaxed and making jokes along the way. As they checked off the nine laps, Hoffman gave Elliott an occasional boost on the downhills, pushing his poles while drafting him.

    By the end of the fourth lap, Norris worked his way up to Hoffman with Torin Koos (Bridger Ski Foundation/Rossignol), and Elliott fell back to fourth. Hoffman maintained his game plan – to ski the first six laps as easy as possible – while holding the lead.

    With three laps to go, he went for it in the stadium.

    “I decided that I wanted to go, just ski a 10 k time trial and see if I could ski people off my tail,” Hoffman said. “[I] didn’t really know if it was going to last, but it just kind of kept growing.”

    Over the next lap, he widened the gap by nearly 45 seconds. With one lap to go, he was about a minute and 20 seconds ahead of Norris, who was also skiing alone.

    While Hoffman said his wax techs and coaches, Dan Weiland and Eric Pepper, and Caldwell Sport made his skis the fastest out there, he couldn’t stop smiling about his performance.

    “It’s not very often that a race works out just like you planned, but it did today and I felt great,” Hoffman said.

    “From skiing with him the whole race, I knew the writing was on the wall,” said Elliott, who placed 13th (+1:40.3). “Noah was going to have a good day.”

    Traditionally known as a distance skate specialist, Elliott said he had been working on his classic technique. He started Friday’s 30 k with the notion that he’d be helping his teammates, Hoffman and Sylvan Ellefson, who finished 17th.  As the race progressed, he realized he might be a podium contender.

    “I knew our skis were fast, I knew we were skiing well, so I was hoping that I’d be able to stay with Noah and take 1-2 on the day,” Elliott said. “Wasn’t able to do that, but Noah held up on his end.”

    After claiming the 15 k title on Thursday, Elliott figured he wouldn’t have much left at the end of Friday’s race.

    David Norris (AWS/MSU) racing to a second-place finish in the U.S. Nationals 30 k classic mass start on Friday at Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine. Photo: Flying Point Road.

    “I dug pretty hard in the middle of the race so I knew the snap was kind out my legs for the last lap,” he said. “I felt comfortable in the chase group. I just don’t have the finish like those guys do. They’re a little bigger than I am.”

    When Hoffman charged with two laps to go, Norris knew he had plenty in the tank and hoped Hoffman didn’t.

    “I just wanted to win so I went with Noah,” said Norris, a freshman at Montana State. “I was basically just redlining it, going as hard as I could and hoping that maybe Noah would blow up.”

    But he didn’t. Unable to catch Hoffman, Norris decided to widen his gap from the others to secure second place. It was his best result at that distance since placing fourth two years ago at nationals in the same race.

    The third man on the podium, Packer also set a personal best in the 30 k after initially setting his sights on Tuesday’s freestyle sprints. He fell in the qualifier and didn’t make the heats, and hoped his luck shape up for the rest of the week.

    On Friday, he was still recovering from a cold, but felt strong enough to challenge the chase group’s leaders toward the end of the race. He successfully pulled away from Lars Flora (Alaska Pacific University), Matt Gelso (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) and Koos to place third by nearly 6 seconds.

    “It was only around the eighth lap I thought I actually have a shot at this,” he said after hanging around the top 20. “And I went for it.”

    Flora, who turned 36 on Friday, beat Koos and Gelso for fourth. After placing second in the 30 k skate and winning the 15 k classic at nationals last year, he was satisfied with his result.

    “I cramped the last couple loops. I thought for sure I was about to fall down high school hill backwards,” Flora said.  “Of course you want to win all the time, [but] there’s certain things going on that sometimes fourth is as good as first the year before.”

    Koos captured fifth, Gelso was sixth, and Brian Gregg (CXC) placed seventh. Rounding out the top 10 was also Pat O’Brien (Craftsbury Green Racing Program) in eighth, Bryan Cook (CGRP) in ninth, Tyler Kornfield (University of Alaska Fairbanks) in 10th.

    Click here for men’s results.

    All Flying Point Road photo proceeds will be donated to the National Nordic Foundation (NNF).

  • CXC Women Open Nationals with Podium Sweep

    CXC Women Open Nationals with Podium Sweep

    Jessie Diggins (USST/CXC) comes out of her tuck and free skates into the stadium in the A Final with teammate Jennie Bender just behind.

     

    RUMFORD, Maine – Standing opposite of six bodies storming toward the finish at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships on Tuesday, a spectator a few hundred meters away might have struggled to pick out a specific racer in the Central Cross Country crew.

    There were three of them in the women’s 1.4 k freestyle sprint A-final at the Black Mountain on Tuesday — all in red, all blond and all at the front of the pack.

    Closer to the finish line, the athletes came into focus and made their moves as individuals. After winning the same race in Rumford at last year’s nationals, Jessie Diggins (USST/CXC) was the fastest qualifier in 2:58.84 on Tuesday. She went on to win her heats and appeared poised for another victory.

    For Jennie Bender and Caitlin Gregg, second and third appeared up for grabs.

    Just before the finish, Gregg threw up her arms to celebrate. Fewer than 30 meters behind her, Bender scrambled to recover from a last-minute fall. Gregg had successfully finished second to Diggins, and Bender managed to get up and pull off third.

    The CXC women swept the podium in Tuesday's U.S. Nationals freestyle sprint at Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine. From left to right: Caitlin Gregg (in second), Jessie Diggins (in first) and Jennie Bender (in third). Photo: Toko

    After the remaining racers finished — Corey Stock (Cambridge Sports Union) in fourth, Eliska Hajkova (University of Colorado Boulder) in fifth, and Ida Sargent (U.S. Ski Team/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) in sixth – Bender remained on the ground, grimacing in pain.

    “I think I split my butt in two,” she said with a laugh after the race.

    Joking aside, it really hurt, she said. CXC head coach Jason Cork said she might have bruised her tailbone. Fortunately for her, Wednesday is an off day in the recently altered U.S. Nationals weeklong schedule.

    “She’s super bummed and understandably so,” Cork said. “She could have won; she got third. …  Any time the team gets 1-2-3, that’s good.”

    Bender wasn’t sure how the fall happened. She figured she lost control of her movements in the final push. That wasn’t that uncommon in a sprint, she said.

    Dartmouth senior Sophie Caldwell fell about 50 meters from the finish in the B-final on Tuesday. The runner-up in last year’s freestyle sprint at nationals, Caldwell ultimately placed 12th overall.

    Despite Bender’s mishap, the CXC women were all smiles standing together after the race. Bender said she and Gregg worked cohesively in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Once the final came around, team tactics were simple.

    “When you’ve got a bunch of red suits in there, you just kind of say, ‘OK, follow that red suit,’ ” said Gregg, the second-fastest female qualifier in 3:01.37.

    “Amazingly, despite our slip-ups and a fall we still went 1-2-3,” Gregg said.

    “Which is the best feeling ever, three on the podium,” Diggins added.

    After winning her quarterfinal, Diggins said she didn’t like having a bull’s-eye on her back.

    “I don’t like the feeling that everyone’s watching me, trying to take me down,” she said.

    Last year in the same race at nationals, she fell in the final and came back to win.

    “Sometimes you have to deal with that,” Diggins said.

    For the most part on Tuesday, she didn’t. The first to start in the qualifier and quick to break out in the heats, Diggins positioned herself to her liking – in front. She had to be careful, with a particularly long downhill into Black Mountain’s large stadium.

    “It’s definitely an interesting course when you finish on that downhill,” Cork said. “You might be sitting first and might end up last because everyone goes by you.”

    Several racers said the hard-packed and fast conditions remained consistent throughout the afternoon with temperatures in the mid-teens. Race organizers had postponed Monday’s sprint in hopes of blowing snow for Tuesday after unseasonably warm weather and heavy rain saturated the manmade course Sunday night.

    Despite nearly 400 racers that descended on the course on Tuesday, some taking four laps apiece plus warm-up loops, the cover held.

    Fresh off the World Cup circuit, Sargent said the skiing was fun. For her, it was also tumultuous – especially in the final. Skating out of the stadium and vying for the front with several others, Sargent broke her pole. Several hundred meters later, she had not found a replacement.

    With no other alternative but to keep free skiing, she started skating up the first hill with one pole in hand.

    “Nobody had a pole out there, I don’t know what happened,” Sargent said. “So I was trying to get one from one of the APU coaches and then I fell over. I got a pole though, but I was way off the back. I tried to catch up … pretty frustrating day.”

    Sargent said the adversity was relative after experiencing tough breaks and falls in the World Cup.

    “My qualifying wasn’t superb today,” she said. “On the world cup, [it’s] like, you’re done, but here, it’s like, oh, you get another chance. … Here it was kind of fun to play around, try some different strategies.”

    In her first U.S. Nationals, Stock was happy to qualify in 17th. She was even more excited to finish fourth.

    “It’s an exciting start to the season to see how the training’s turning out in my racing,” the 17-year-old high school senior said. “It was definitely a surprise. I’m really happy and it was really fun to be out there … It was pretty cool to be on the same course as all those amazing athletes.”

    Hajkova, who finished 5th, said she was behind Sargent when the latter broke her pole, and like Sargent, wasn’t able to catch the others.

    Rosie Brennan (APU), who won the B-final, decided to get out fast so she could ski her own race.

    “I’m not really much of a sprinter, so the getting off the line part is somewhat of a challenge,” she said.

    Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s Hannah Dreissigacker was ninth and teammate Maria Stuber finished 10th. Also in the B-final, Kate Fitzgerald (APU) was 11th.

    The first listed starter in the women’s qualifier, Sadie Bjornsen (APU) did not compete because of illness.

    Audrey Mangan contributed reporting. 

    For women’s qualifier results, click here.