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Tag: 2017 SuperTour Finals

  • Sunday Rundown: U.S. Distance Nationals 30/50 k Skate Mass Start

    Sunday Rundown: U.S. Distance Nationals 30/50 k Skate Mass Start

    Jessie Diggins making her decisive move during the women’s 30k freestyle at the 2017 U.S. Distance Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    U.S. Distance Nationals (Fairbanks, Alaska): 30/50 k freestyle mass starts

    On Sunday in Fairbanks, Alaska U.S. Distance Nationals came to a conclusion for the women as they contested a 30-kilometer skate mass start.

    Spoiler alert: Diggins swept the week.

    Marked from the start was Jessie Diggins of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team and the U.S. Ski Team (USST). Diggins is coming off a World Cup campaign where she placed sixth overall and won a sprint silver and team sprint bronze at the 2017 World Championships in Lahti, Finland.

    Her overseas haul became a bit heavier this week in Fairbanks: Diggins placed first in the skiathlon, first in the freestyle sprint, and first with the SMS Elite Team mixed relay squad.

    No doubt Diggins remains in form as she closed out her season on Sunday. She was the skier to mark as this much was a certainty: Diggins would at some point turn the pace-setting screws.

    Early into the race, seven skiers separated themselves by a gap of approximately 12 seconds at the 5 k mark. (The 5 k split times were taken as the women completed their single lap of the South Tower Course Loop. The remainder of the race’s 25 k were comprised of three 8.3 k loops.) Speeding along in a pace line were Diggins, Chelsea Holmes of Alaska Pacific University (APU), Caitlin Gregg of Team Gregg/Loppet Nordic Racing, Kikkan Randall (APU/USST), Annie Hart (SMS Elite), Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green racing Project), Sophie Caldwell (SMS Elite), and Rosie Frankowski (APU).

    “I wanted to take the opportunity at the start to work on my pack skiing, and because it’s the end of the season, it should be fun,” Diggins said after the race on the phone. “Around the 12-13 k mark, I decided to start upping the pace a little bit. And then I kind of slowly pulled away. Once I had made a gap, I said, ‘OK, now I need to stick with this,’ and settled into my pace.”

    What was once a group streamlining thinned as the race progressed. Note: Diggins soon began to charge ahead solo. At the second split, the Diggins gap was 17 seconds on Randall, Holmes and Gregg.

    Patterson at that point was skiing in fifth, roughly 46 seconds back. While Frankowski, Hart, and Caldwell trailed Diggins by nearly one minute and thirty seconds.

    Chelsea Holmes leads Kikkan Randall as they protect their podium spots during the women’s 30 k freestyle at the 2017 U.S. Distance Nationals. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    Just as Diggins separated herself, Randall and Holmes eventually pulled away from Gregg. The Randall-Holmes duo made it a two-skier race for second and third. They minimized their loss to Diggins up front and created enough of a buffer to those chasing from the back that minus a gear-breaking fall or a tumble-induced injury, they were a lock for the remaining podium spots.

    Diggins secured her third individual and fourth win of the week as she won the U.S. Distance Nationals 30 k skate in 1:20:55.1 hours. Randall followed 1 minute and 37.2 seconds back in second and Holmes placed third (+1:50.4).

    “At the end of the season it is one of those things where you need a little bit of luck, you need to be healthy, and everyone is in totally different places,” Diggins said. “I think it is a little unfair to compare how we ski right here to how we would ski during the season. That said, I have been working on a lot of things and working hard and so it is nice to have all that hard work show through during the races.”

    Unofficially, with Holme’s third place, she’ll be the overall SuperTour winner on the women’s side. As the overall winner, the APU skier will earn World Cup starts for Period 1 of the 2017/2018 World Cup.

    Gregg finished fourth (+3:27.5), Frankowski fifth (+3:36.2), Hart sixth (+4:38.4), Patterson seventh (+4:43.0), and Caldwell eighth (+5:08.1).

    Liz Stephen (Burke Mountain Academy/USST) did not start the race, citing the onset of illness.

    The junior women, who began their race in a group mass start with the senior women, raced a 15 k skate competition. Nicole Schneider of Northern Michigan University (NMU) placed first in 38:22.5 minutes. Margaret Gellert (Alaska Winter Stars) skied to second (+3.3), Anna Darnell (University of Alaska Fairbanks) was third (+30.9).

    Results: Women | Junior Women

    ***

    Men’s 50 k freestyle podium from the 2017 U.S. Distance Nationals in Fairbanks Alaska. Scott Patterson (c) from APU placed first, Brian Gregg (l) skiing for Team Gregg second, and Eric Packer (r) also from APU was third. (Photo:Max Kaufman)

    In the men’s 50 k that followed, APU’s Scott Patterson racked up his second win of the week, after winning the skiathlon, finishing first in the 50 k freestyle mass start race in a time of 2:19:36.3 hours.

    The chase for third place during men’s 50 k freestyle at the 2017 U.S. Distance Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska. Thomas O’Harra leads, followed by Patrick Caldwell (103), Adam Martin (105), Eric Packer (119), Tyler Kornfield, and Tad Elliott. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    While Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s (SSCV) Tad Elliott set the pace for the first 10 k, Patterson who was position just behind Elliott, eventually took over the lead before another 5 k.  From then on, Patterson presided as the pace setter. He was followed closely by Stratton’s Paddy Caldwell (USST D-team), Team Gregg’s Brian Gregg (Loppet Nordic Racing), NMU’s Adam Martin, and Canada’s Michael Somppi (NTDC Thunder Bay).

    Once given the reins, however, Patterson didn’t let up. He continued to dictate the lead for the remainder of the race, besting Gregg as the runner-up by 3:19.9 minutes.

    Moving his way up during the second half of the race was APU’s Eric Packer, who finished third (+4:14.2). Another APU skier, Tyler Kornfield, crossed 22.4 seconds later in fourth (+4:36.6). In a photo finish, Caldwell placed fifth (+4:37.6) ahead of Martin in sixth (+4:37.6).

    Four APU skiers finished in the top 10, with Thomas O’Harra placing seventh (+5:24.5). Elliott finished eighth (+6:52.1), Norway’s Håkon Hjelstuen ninth (+7:00.7) and Somppi 10th (+8:13.4).

    This is the first 50 k win for Patterson, and as of March 30, he held the lead for the men’s SuperTour rankings.

    In the junior men’s 20 k freestyle mass start competition, Alaska Winter Stars Gus Schumacher won the event in a time of 54:03.3. Ti Donaldson racing for the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks/Fairbanks Cross-Country placed second, just 5.4 seconds after Schumacher. Rounding out the junior men’s podium was Northern Michigan University’s Lars Sønsterud in third (+2:05.2).

    Results: Men | Junior men

  • SuperTour Finals Photo Gallery: Skate Sprints

    SuperTour Finals Photo Gallery: Skate Sprints

    Spring Series opened earlier this week in Fairbanks, Alaska, with skiathlon races on Monday and freestyle sprints on Wednesday to wrap up the 2017 SuperTour season. Here is a photo gallery from Wednesday’s skate sprints, courtesy of Max Kaufman. Spring Series continues Friday with the co-ed mixed relay and Sunday with the 30/50 k freestyle mass starts, part of U.S. Distance Nationals.

  • SuperTour Finals Photo Gallery: Skiathlon

    SuperTour Finals Photo Gallery: Skiathlon

    Spring Series opened earlier this week in Fairbanks, Alaska, with skiathlon races on Monday and freestyle sprints on Wednesday to wrap up the 2017 SuperTour season. Here is a photo gallery from Monday’s skiathlons, courtesy of Lance Parrish of Fairbanks.

    Spring Series continues Friday with the co-ed mixed relay and Sunday with the 30/50 k freestyle mass starts, part of U.S. Distance Nationals.

     

     

  • Wednesday Rundown: SuperTour Finals Skate Sprints

    Wednesday Rundown: SuperTour Finals Skate Sprints

    Jessie Diggins (SMS Elite) leads fellow U.S. Ski Team member Kikkan Randall (APU) to the finish of the women’s freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    U.S. SuperTour Finals (Fairbanks, Alaska): Freestyle sprints

    On Wednesday the 2017 U.S. SuperTour Finals, also referred to as Spring Series, the last of the year’s elite level sprints went down in Fairbanks, Alaska.

    The women raced a 1.5-kilometer course while the men skied a slightly longer 1.6 k course, both run at the Birch Hill Recreation Area in Fairbanks.

    Earlier in the week, Jessie Diggins of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team and U.S. Ski Team (USST) showed why she’s one of the World Cup’s top overall skiers as she dominated the SuperTour Finals skiathlon.

    Once again, and early on, Wednesday’s sprint had the appearance of another race to lose for Diggins. She qualified first, completing the course in 3:34.09 minutes. Her nearest competitor in qualification was Kikkan Randall of Alaska Pacific University (APU) and the USST, 6.72 seconds back.

    As the heats progressed the looks of a Diggins-Randall show was in the makes. Both skiers were convincing in their trajectory to the finals as they placed first in their respective quarters and semis. And in the finals it became a two-skier race with the pair skiing decisively off the front.

    Diggins scorched the finals, toeing the line in 3:30.39 minutes, nearly four seconds faster than her qualifying time. Randall, who skied in a tight race with Diggins until the closing stretch, placed second (+2.39).

    The women’s freestyle sprint podium at SuperTour Finals on Wednesday night in Fairbanks, Alaska, with Jessie Diggins (c) in first, Kikkan Randall (l) in second and Erika Flowers (r) in third. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    Erika Flowers (SMS Elite Team) reached the podium in third (+15.65), ahead of her teammate Sophie Caldwell (SMS Elite Team/USST) in fourth (+19.03), Kelsey Phinney (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) in fifth (+23.06), and Ida Sargent (Craftsbury Green Racing Project/USST) sixth (+27.77).

    “I thought it was normal, given I set the pace, so I did it to myself,”  Diggins said on the phone, recalling the final. “I thought it felt like a pretty normal, brutal World Cup final. I was going out hard, playing for keeps, that is what you do when it comes to Spring Series, you still have fun but you race hard.”

    Asked is she felt any added pressure to perform well racing stateside, Diggins noted she attempts to keep things in perspective.

    “There is some pressure and at the same time there’s not,” Diggins added. “Because my goals for the year focused around World Championships and the Tour de Ski, that is where I am aiming to be fast and those are the targets I am intending to hit. So coming here, you are always wanting to ski fast … I feel like there is not an incredible amount of pressure because it is the end of the season and everybody is in a totally different place and mentally I am super excited for that place flight to Hawaii I am going to be on the day after the races. I think everyone is in very different places and I think it’s not fair for us to put pressure on ourselves. I think we just go out and have fun and race hard. This isn’t how you qualify for the Olympics and there is good reason for that.”

    SMS Elite Team Head Coach Pat O’Brien provided some insight into the large time gaps in the women’s final.

    “Coarse was pretty long and hard, I think it plays to people with some more muscular endurance and less fast twitch, especially this late in the season when people are tired,” O’Brien wrote in an email. “This isn’t a 3 min sprint on manmade that prioritizes finishing speed like a European World Cup. It was just straight tough out there! … No falls, just a bunch of tired ladies slugging it out at 8PM at night near the arctic circle. Hard work by all!”

    Local skier Logan Hanneman (APU), who grew up and attended college in Fairbanks, made the hometown proud. He eventually pulled out the win in the men’s final.

    Hanneman qualified fourth (+6.27) behind Simi Hamilton (SMS Elite Team/USST) who topped the qualifier in 3:11.35 minutes. (After the qualifier Hamilton pulled from the competition).

    Logan Hanneman (APU) leads Canada’s Evan Palmer-Charrette (13) of NTDC Thunder Bay and Tyler Kornfield (16), his APU teammate, in the men’s freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    In the men’s final, several skiers appeared to be in play for the win. Hanneman placed first in his quarter and semi. Canadian skier Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay), also looked like a threat as he proved a knock-out type closer. Another guest skier, Norway’s Haakon Hjelstuen, a former Michigan Tech skier, skied heady and strong.

    Also appearing in the men’s finals were two skiers who are known to pounce when opportunity knocks: Tyler Kornfield (APU) and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy). Tad Elliott (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) completed the six-skier final.

    Heading into the last technical descent on course Hanneman was third behind Kornfield and then Palmer-Charrette. A few tight corners remained with a climb back up to the finish.

    “I ended up taking the last sweeping left corner very wide and accelerated as I moved right,” Hanneman explained in an email. “Then we were able to hit the bottom of the climb basically 3 abreast. Once I saw that I had a lane open I just opened it up and went for it!”

    Here’s how the final played out: Hanneman placed first in 3:16.77 minutes, Palmer-Charrette was second (+1.08), Kornfield third (+3.84), Hjelstuen fourth (+3.98), Blackhorse-von Jess fifth (+6.38), and Elliott sixth (+7.17).

    It appears Hanneman was able to channel his nervous energy into positive forward momentum.

    “I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself to win this race,” Hanneman wrote of performing in front of his hometown crowd. “To have these races in my hometown is one thing, but then knowing that I could do well in the sprint added a lot of nerves to the equation. I definitely really wanted to perform well for the volunteers, the crowd, etc. they have supported me through all of the skiing programs here in Fairbanks for years and I really wanted to ski my best for them. I am so very happy that this is how it turned out!”

    Hunter Wonders (APU) won the junior men’s sprint in 3:32.76 (he was also the winner of Monday’s 11.25 k classic) with a hard-charging final push, Max Donaldson (University of Alaska Fairbanks) placed second (+0.40) and Logan Mowry (Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks/FXC) was third (+4.76).

    For the junior women, Hannah Rudd (University of Alaska Anchorage) took the lead on the final climb and secured the win in 4:08.46, Dottie Anderson (Loppet Nordic Racing) placed second (+1.96) and Jenna Difolco (Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks/FXC) was third (+7.64).

    Racing continues Friday with a mixed gender/mixed technique relay.

    Results: Women | Men | Junior Women | Junior Men

    The men’s freestyle sprint podium on Wednesday night at SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska, with Fairbanks native Logan Hanneman (c) in first, Canada’s Evan Palmer-Charrette (l) in second and Tyler Kornfield (r) in third. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
  • Monday Rundown: SuperTour Finals Skiathlon

    Monday Rundown: SuperTour Finals Skiathlon

    Jessie Diggins (Stratton Mountain School Elite Team/U.S. Ski Team) with no chasers in sight during the women’s 15 k skiathlon on Monday at 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. She won by nearly two minutes. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    U.S. SuperTour Finals (Fairbanks, Alaska): Women’s and men’s skiathlons

    The first day of racing was skiathlon day at the 2017 U.S. SuperTour Finals, also referred to as Spring Series, in Fairbanks, Alaska. It marked the first time in eight years since a skiathlon was held at the SuperTour level in Fairbanks.

    The women’s 15-kilometer skiathlon (7.5 k classic + 7.5 k freestyle) was dominated by Jessie Diggins of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team and U.S. Ski Team (USST). Diggins crossed the line in 42:17.1 minutes for the win at the Birch Hill Recreation Area trails.

    During the classic leg, it was clear Diggins was on form and in the zone with her striding.

    “Classic skiing is something for me that is still a work in progress,” Diggins said on the phone post-race. “I think even with a World Championship medal in a classic event, it is still one of those things for me I am always going to feel like I am trying to fix it, always trying to work on it, which is good.”

    Diggins has done her work and couldn’t be contained from the start. “It was a fun surprise to feel technically good in that classic leg and having good skis really helped with that,” Diggins added. “It was just fun to be like, ‘Hey I can do this classic thing. I am not only a skater.’ ”

    The women’s top spot was never in doubt for Diggins after the ski exchange — the closest Diggins-chaser beginning the skate portion, and nearly a minute back, was Kikkan Randall of Alaska Pacific University (APU) and the USST. She was followed out of the stadium by a group of five skiers within 10 seconds that included Kaitlynn Miller and Caitlin Patterson, both of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP), Chelsea Holmes and Australian Jessica Yeaton of APU, and Liz Stephen of Burke Mountain Academy/USST. At that point, the race for third was wide open.

    The women’s 2017 U.S. SuperTour Finals skiathlon podium on Monday in Fairbanks, Alaska, with Kikkan Randall (l) in second, Jessie Diggins (c) first, and Caitlin Patterson (r) third. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    7.5 k of skating later, the chasers reordered and shook out; Randall placed second overall (+1:52.9), Patterson third (+2:09.1). Holmes missed the podium by 1.6 seconds in fourth, and Stephen lost some ground on the skate and finished fifth (+2:19.8).

    “I think part of the reason I felt great today was I just really relaxed and was just looking to have a good time out there,” Diggins said. “I was like, ‘I am going to pace my own race and ski the way I want to ski.’ I didn’t have any real concrete race plan, I just went out and wanted to see what happens.”

    The men raced a 22.5 k skiathlon (11.25 k classic + 11.25 k skate), and until the race’s midpoint when classic were swapped out for skate skis, ten skiers were within five seconds of one another.

    Scott Patterson (APU) after breaking away from the field in the skate portion of Monday’s 22.5 k skiathlon at SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. He went on to win by 24.3 seconds. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    The eventual winner, Scott Patterson (APU) was the clear pacesetter beginning the skate leg. Looming in his midst seconds back after the transition were the likes of David Norris (APU), Ben Lustgarten (CGRP), Tyler Kornfield (APU), Paddy Caldwell (SMS Elite/USST D-team) and Tad Elliott and Kris Freeman of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail.

    “When we came through the transition there was a little separation that formed,” Patterson wrote in an email. “David Norris, Eric Packer, and I got through quite quick and were able to create a slight gap.  I knew I could use that gap. I learned in Korea earlier this year, that I can charge right from the transition while some people take a little time to get going.  Also skating has always been my stronger technique.  I used that knowledge to build a lead as quickly as I could and never look back.”

    Patterson’s lead stretched on the skate leg. He claimed the win in 59:17.6 minutes, 24.3 seconds ahead of Caldwell in second and 26.8 seconds ahead of Elliott in third. Lustgarten finished 14 seconds off the podium in fourth (+40.8), about 8 seconds ahead of Adam Martin of Northern Michigan University (NMU) in fifth (+48.9), while Norris and Freeman followed in sixth (+54.8) and seventh (+55.2), respectively. 

    Skiathlon results

    The men’s 2017 U.S. SuperTour Finals skiathlon podium on Monday in Fairbanks, Alaska, with Paddy Caldwell (l) in second, Scott Patterson (c) first, and Tad Elliott (r) third. (Photo: Max Kaufman)

    The Junior women contested a 7.5 k classic race. Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy/USST D-team) skied to first place in 24:00.6 minutes. Nicole Schneider (NMU) skied to second (+30.8), and 14-year-old Fairbanks local Kendall Kramer (Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks/FXC) placed third (+36.3)

    Like the junior women, the junior men raced a single-technique race. Hunter Wonders (APU) won the 11.25 k classic race in 31:44.9 minutes. Luke Jager (APU) was second (+25.8), and Canyon Tobin (APU) finished third (+1:05.2). 

    Junior results

    Racing continues Wednesday with freestyle sprints.

    APU swept the junior men’s podium in the 11.25 k classic on Monday at SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska, with Hunter Wonders (c) in first, Luke Jager (l) second, and Canyon Tobin (r) third. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
    The junior women’s 7.5 k classic podium on Monday at SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska, with Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy/USST D-team) in first and Kendall Kramer (Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks/FXC) in third. Second-place finisher Nicole Schneider (NMU) was not present for podium ceremony. (Photo: Reader submission)
  • Spring Series Starts Tonight in Fairbanks

    Spring Series Starts Tonight in Fairbanks

    The Birch Hill Recreation Area stadium last Friday, March 24, where U.S. SuperTour Finals and Distance Nationals will be held March 27-April 2 in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Gavin Kentch)

    The 2017 U.S. SuperTour Finals and Distance Nationals, also known as Spring Series, opens today with men’s and women’s skiathlons at the Birch Hill Recreation Area in Fairbanks, Alaska. The races will be held late each day to take advantage of the warmest parts of the day and lambent late-afternoon sunlight, as well as to accommodate volunteers and spectators.

    The week’s race schedule is summarized below. For more event info, visit supertourfinals2017fairbanks.us.

    Tune into the race organizers’ live stream at the time of each event and click here for live results.

    FasterSkier is seeking photos from this week’s Spring Series. If you are on site and able to send photos after the events, please email with photo caption and credit info to alex@fasterskier.com.

    A look at the trails on Friday, March 24, at Birch Hill Recreation, where U.S. SuperTour Finals and Distance Nationals will be held March 27-April 2 in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Gavin Kentch)

    Spring Series race schedule: (At start times = Alaska Daylight Time)

    Monday, March 27:

    • Women’s 15 k skiathlon (5 p.m.)
    • Men’s 22.5 k skiathlon (6:15 p.m.)

    Wednesday, March 29:

    • Freestyle sprint qualifier (4 p.m.)
    • Freestyle sprint heats (6 p.m.)

    Friday:

    • Co-ed mixed relay (6:30 p.m.)

    Sunday: U.S. Distance Nationals

    • Women’s 30 k freestyle mass start (10 a.m.)
    • Men’s 50 k freestyle mass start (12:30 p.m.)