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: Caitlin Paterson

  • Saturday Race Rundown: U.S. U20 Men Win Relay, U20 Women 4th at World Juniors (Updated)

    Saturday Race Rundown: U.S. U20 Men Win Relay, U20 Women 4th at World Juniors (Updated)

    The U20 World Juniors 4 x 5 k relay first place team from the U.S, (l-r) Johnny Hagenbuch, Ben Ogden, Luke Jager, and Gus Schumacher. (Photo: JWSC2019 / Mikaela Takala)

    2019 U23 World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland 4 x 3 k and 4x 5 k relay

    Full U20 Men’s Race Report

    In a historic first for the U.S., the U20 men’s team won the 4 x 5-kilometer relay today in Lahti, Finland at the 2019 World Junior Ski Championships. Luke Jager skied the first classic leg for the U.S., Ben Ogden skied the second classic, Johnny Hagenbuch skied the first initial skate leg and Gus Schumacher raced the anchor leg.

    The foursome won in a time of 45:34.7 minutes, and beat second-place Russia by 3.8 seconds.

    Russia’s team was comprised of Egor Trefilov, Andrey Kuznetsov, Yaroslav Egoshin, and Alexander Terentev.

    Germany’s team of Jakob Milz, Florian Knopf, Anian Sossau, and Friedrich Moch took third finishing 6.3 seconds behind.

    For Canada, Remi Drolet , Sam Hendry, Xavier McKeever, and Thomas Stephen skied to 11th (+2:29.7).

    Nineteen teams were entered in the race.

    Men’s U20 Results

    In the 4 x 3.3 k U20 women’s race, Norway’s Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes, Astrid Stav, Helene Marie Fossesholm, and Kristine Stavås Skistad won at the line in 35:24.7 minutes.

    Russia’s Anastasia Faleeva, Kristina Kuskova, Veronika Stepanova, and Anna Grukhvina were a close second, stopping the clock 1.0 seconds back.

    Louise Lindström, Frida Karlsson, Tilde Baangman, and Lin Svahn for Sweden placed third (+33.3).

    The U.S. team of Mara McCollor, Kendall Kramer, Sydney Palmer-Leger and Novie McCabe skied to fourth place, 40.5 seconds back.

    For Canada, Anne-Marie Petitclerc, Jasmine Drolet, Anna Pryce, and Molly Miller placed 11th, 3:01.4 minutes behind.

    U20 Women’s Results

    ***

    FIS Cross Country World Cup Ulricehamn, Sweden 10/15 k freestyle

    In what is his skiing canvas, the 15 k freestyle, France’s thirty-two-year-old Maurice Manificat won his first World Cup of the season in Ulricehamn, Sweden today in 34:55.4 minutes. It was a tight race in that Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krüger Simen Hegstad Krüger who placed second finished 1.1 seconds back. Teammate Didrik Tønseth was third (+8.7).

    Canada’s Alex Harvey was the best placed North American in ninth (+31.4). Lenny Valjas skied to 57th (+2:32.1), and Bob Thompson 77th (+4:16.6).

    For the U.S., Scott Patterson finished 35th (+1:26.5), David Norris 53rd (+2:11.3), Ben Lustgarten 64th (+3:04.7).

    Men’s Results

    Norway’s Therese Johaug kept her distance win streak alive at eight wins in eight starts on the World Cup this season. She won the women’s 10 k skate race in 25:48.2 minutes, with teammate Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in second, 22.8 seconds back. Third place went to Sweden’s Ebba Andersson, 24.9 seconds behind.

    The U.S. Ski Team’s Jessie Diggins skied to fourth place (+38.3), while teammate Sadie Bjornsen was 15th (+1:25.1). Caitlin Paterson (CGRP) had her best World Cup result of the season, skiing to 23rd (+1:49.9). Rosie Brennan (APU) placed 28th (+2:03.2), and Rosie Frankowski 42nd (+2:28.0).

    Dahria Beatty was the only Canadian entered. She finished 56th (+3:54.7).

    Women’s Results

    ***

    IBU World Cup Antholz, Italy 10/12.5 k pursuit

    In the women’s 10 k pursuit, Italy’s Dorothea Wierer won in a time of 29:20.1 after skiing two penalties (1+0+0+1). Second place went to Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who finished 6.0 seconds after Wierer after one missed shot (0+0+1+0). Saturday’s third place went to another Italian, Lisa Vittozzi, who finished 16.2 seconds behind the winner after tying Wierer’s shooting score.

    Clare Egan led the way for the U.S., racing to 11th (+1:31.9) after skiing two penalties (0+0+0+2).

    “I’m really happy with my race today,” Egan wrote in an email. “The wind and altitude are always a challenge here, but I took my time on the range and capitalized on the fast glide of my skis to save energy on course. I made a costly and dumb mistake on my last shot but still came away with my second-best career result. I’ll take what I learned from today and go for it again tomorrow in the mass start! Can’t wait!”

    Joanna Reid was the next American to finish, placing 29th (+2:55.2) after three missed shots (1+0+0+2).

    For Canada, Rosanna Crawford finished 34th (+3:30.8) after skiing five penalties (2+1+1+1) and her teammate Megan Bankes finished 39th (+3:37.1) with five misses (1+0+3+1). Also skiing for Canada, Sarah Beaudry placed 46th (+5:07.5), also with five penalties (4+0+1+0).

    Women’s 10 k Results

    In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit, Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø
    won in a time of 31:33.7 after skiing three penalties (1+1+0+1). France’s Antonin Guigonnat raced to second place, 34.8 seconds behind with one missed shot (0+0+1+0). The third and final podium spot on Saturday went to France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet, who skied two penalties (1+0+0+1) and finished 40.6 seconds back from the winning time.

    Sean Doherty for the U.S. placed 47th (+4:39.1, 3+2+1+0). Jake Brown was lapped and was not given an official time.

    For Canada, Jules Burnotte skied to 54th (+5:42.8, 1+3+1+1), and Scott Gow 55th (+6:39.7, 4+0+2+3).

    Men’s 12.5 k pursuit results

    ***

    Lake Placid SuperTour Classic Sprint

    Canada’s Antoine Briand (CNEPH) was the fastest qualifier on the day in 3:14.71 minutes and won the men’s final. Dominique Moncion-Groulx (Nakkertok) placed second in the final, with Ben Saxton (SMS T2) in third.

    Saxton was the second fastest qualifier, with Oliver Hamel (CNEPH) third fastest.

    Men’s Qualification | Men’s Heats

    For the women, Sophie Caldwell (USST/SMS T2) scorched the qualifier in 3:40.44 minutes with Jessica Yeaton (APU/Australian National Team) qualifying in second (3:50.49). Dartmouth’s Katharine Ogden qualified third (3:51.79).

    Caldwell went on to win the final in 3:37.06, with Yeaton in second and Kelsey Phinney (SMS T2) in third.

    Women’s Qualification | Women’s Heats

     

  • Johaug Takes Lillehammer 10 k Skate; Bjornsen in 9th leads Four U.S. Women in the Points

    Johaug Takes Lillehammer 10 k Skate; Bjornsen in 9th leads Four U.S. Women in the Points

    The women’s podium from Saturday’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start race in Lillehammer Norway. Norway’s Therese Johaug (center) placed first, Sweden’s Ebba Andersson (left) second, and teammate Charlotte Kalla (right) third. (Photo: Screenshot FIS Country Country)

    If thirty-year-old Therese Johaug of Norway is trying to scotch the dismay of the past two years, she’s doing it with her trademark high-turnover skiing and her top-step podium ways.

    In April of 2018, Johaug’s 18-month ban, for having the prohibited anabolic steroid clostebol in her bloodstream, ended. Back during her last full season on the World Cup, 2015/2016, it was not uncommon for Johaug to gap the field by large margins in distance races. This nascent season, the gaps are more pedestrian.

    She won the first World Cup distance race in Kuusamo, Finland, a 10 k classic interval start, by 22.5 seconds. Today, in Lillehammer, Norway during the second of three days of racing, she won the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start race. Johaug crossed the line in 26:22.4 minutes beating Sweden’s Ebba Andersson by 9.2 seconds. For the twenty-one-year-old Andersson, it was her second career individual podium: she placed third in Kuusamo’s 10 k classic. Andersson’s teammate Charlotte Kalla was third (+15.7) on Saturday.

    Norway’s Therese Johaug celebrates her win on Saturday in the World Cup 10 k skate in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: Henrik Hunnes)

    Johaug’s win on the second day of racing in Lillehammer was not trademark-decisive, she paced herself to earn the fastest split at every checkpoint. She bested Andersson by only 1.9 seconds at the 5 k mark, the gap bumped to 8.4 seconds at 8.3 k. By then, despite not having a huge gap of time, it was race over. Johaug never relented.

    “The track in Lillehammer is really tough,” Johaug told the International Ski Federation (FIS) after the race. “It’s hard, but I love it. So I have to fight for myself. Although it was hard conditions, but good conditions for me. And I heard that Ebba [Andersson] was really fast behind me. So I had to work all the time.”

    Despite her two distance wins, Johaug, not known as a sprinter, sits second overall on the World Cup, 18 points behind Russia’s Yulia Belorukova. Johaug is positioned 2.5 seconds behind first-place Kalla in the Lillehammer three-day tour.

    The U.S. women put four athletes into the top-30.

    Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) lead the way finishing in ninth (+1:17.0) after placing third in yesterday’s skate sprint. Bjornsen lives and trains with Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage, Alaska. In her post-race interview with FasterSkier’s reporter in Lillehammer, she noted she had been troubled by the news of Anchorage’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Friday.

    “I was distracted for the last 24 hours because, as you know, that big earthquake happened in Anchorage,” Bjornsen said. “Unfortunately my house got, a pipe broke, and I didn’t know what the damage was. So it has been stressful. Everybody is Ok. Fortunately, my fiance and I were both not there, so we are just trying to figure what happened.”

    Sadie Bjornsen cruising through the mixed zone in Lillehammer, Norway after her day 2 ninth place in the World Cup 10 k skate. (Henrik Hunnes)

    The distractions for Bjornsen didn’t last long as she immersed herself in race-mode on Saturday.

    “I was trying to focus as I got into the race,” Bjornsen said. “But I think off the start it took me a little bit to get going. By the end, I started feeling good. Both times up the climb felt really good so that is encouraging … I was definitely encouraged by the feelings going up the climb, that is always a good measure of fitness and so I think when I get my brain one-hundred percent, it will be good.”

    Rosie Brennan (APU) skied to 11th (+1:29.3) for her best career individual World Cup finish. Brennan, at twenty-nine, was not renominated to the U.S. Ski Team last season. Her return to the World Cup comes after a recovery from mono, and the disappointment of a lost season in 2018.  

    “I certainly have some fire in me,” Brennan wrote in an email. “I felt I was well on my way to getting these kinds of results when I got sick last year. So after feeling I was healthy again, I worked very hard to regain my mental strength and continue to increase my fitness knowing I wanted to prove to myself I am in fact capable of what I thought I was last year. I was able to make my own plan with my coach and train solely within my club team and that gave me confidence that I was doing what was best for me.”

    Rosie Brennan skiing to a World Cup career best 11th in the 2018 World Cup 10 k skate in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: Henrik Hunnes)

    Brennan began the day as the first starter. Although bib 1 was a new experience, it proved a good fit.

    “I have shockingly never been bib 1 in my career,” wrote Brennan. “I wanted to focus solely on my own skiing and then maybe catch a ride on the second lap. With all the mud on the course, it was difficult to catch a ride as skis were slowing down so much, so I really had no good indication of how my race was going. Focusing on my own race was my best strategy and it worked well.”

    In yesterday’s sprint, Brennan qualified in ninth and placed 21st overall— no small feat for a World Cup race in Norway where the home country is given extra starts for an eager crop of speedsters to prove their chops. It was Brenna’s second-best career sprint result.

    “I have come to a place where I am truly only racing for myself and to challenge myself every day,” Brennan wrote when asked what she had changed about her mindset as she entered the season. “I’m older and not so worried about making this team and that team so I’ve just been really enjoying racing and training and being with my club team.”

    Jessie Diggins, second overall in last season’s World Cup, placed 12th (+(+1:29.9). Diggins is rebounding from a slight illness as she works through the second weekend of World Cup racing.

    “I am not one-hundred percent healthy, I am like 95 percent,” Diggins told FasterSkier in the mixed zone. “And I could feel it today. Yesterday I felt pretty good. But then I was starting to feel kind of out of it. But today, I didn’t feel anywhere close to my top form. And that’s OK. You know, honestly, I am just grateful to be able to race at all. Because earlier in the week I was laying in bed thinking, ‘well shoot I am not going to get to race at all’. And I really love getting to race and working into the season. So for me, it is important to do this mini-tour to be able to find my shape later in the season.”

    Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski team during the 2018 World Cup 10 k skate in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: Henrik Hunnes)

    Diggins will begin tomorrow’s 10 k classic pursuit 1:24.9 minutes behind the first starter Kalla.

    Caitlin Patterson, who skis for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project in Northern, Vermont, raced into the points for the 10th time on the World Cup. She finished in 30th, 2:28.2 minutes behind Johaug.

    “Solid, but still processing it,” Patterson said of her race. “I think there were a lot of really good things about it, but we’re still so early in the season. Better than my race last weekend that’s for sure. But it still left a little bit to be desired; there were a few times when I was skiing near people and I just couldn’t quite hold on. Like Belorukova passed me from 30 seconds back and it felt like I was so close to being able to hold on with her. But I just wasn’t quite climbing as well. I don’t know, it had good parts and bad parts.”

    Time wise, Patterson was in and out of the top-30 during the race. Her cohorts, in terms of race splits, were close.

    “I think I’ll take the few little glimmers that I had that I can stick with people who are skiing faster,” Patterson said. “Keep building on that and definitely exert a lot of effort tomorrow to stick with people because I know it’s a little easier to be in the draft or just follow someone else’s tempo. So tomorrow in the pursuit start, I’ll just find a good group and stick with it.”

    Finishing outside the points for the U.S. were Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) in 60th (+4:10.4), Ida Sargent of the USST 63rd (+4:18.4), and Kelsey Phinney (SMS T2) 65th (+4:22.5).

    Racing concludes in Lillehammer, Norway tomorrow with a 10 k classic pursuit.

    Women’s Results | Overall Lillehammer Standings on Day 2

  • Saturday Rundown: From Lillehammer to West Yellowstone (Updated)

    Saturday Rundown: From Lillehammer to West Yellowstone (Updated)

    The women’s podium from Saturday’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start race in Lillehammer Norway. Norway’s Therese Johaug (center) placed first, Sweden’s Ebba Andersson (left) second, and teammate Charlotte Kalla (right) third. (Photo: NBC Sports Gold screenshot)

    FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lillehammer Norway: 10 k/ 15 k Freestyle Individual Start

    Women’s Report | Men’s Report

    On Saturday, the second day of World Cup cross-country racing ensued in Lillehammer, Norway with a 10-kilometer freestyle individual start race for the women.

    On a track of snow surrounded by green fir trees and a soggy landscape, the women skied two laps of 5 k course. Norway’s Therese Johaug was the fastest skier at every checkpoint to win in a time of 26:22.4 minutes. Ebba Andersson, the upstart Swede skied to second (+9.2), and teammate Charlotte Kalla was third (+15.7).

    Collectively, it was a strong day for the U.S. women with four skiers in the top-30.

    Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) finished in ninth (+1:17.0) after placing third in yesterday’s skate sprint. Rosie Brennan (APU) skied to 11th (+1:29.3), the USST’s Jessie Diggins 12th (+1:29.9), Caitlin Paterson (CGRP) 30th (+2:28.2), Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) 60th (+4:10.4), and Ida Sargent of the USST 63rd (+4:18.4), and Kelsey Phinney (SMS T2) 65th (+4:22.5).

    No Canadian women were entered.

    Seventy-two skiers finished the women’s race.

    Women’s Results

    The men raced three times around the 5 k loop for 15 k total and three times up the course’s big climb. In this early season, many of the perceived pre-race favorites finished further back in the field.

    Norway’s Sjur Røthe won in a time of 36:34.0 minutes. By the 8.3 k time check, Røthe took control of the race. Teammate Didrik Tønseth placed second (+6.0), while Russia’s Denis Spitsov was third (+28.6).

    Canada’s Alex Harvey was the best placed North American in 17th (+1:20.5). Also for Canada, Andy Shields  was 61st (+3:08.4), and Russell Kennedy (TEAM R.A.D.) 64th (+3:17.0)

    For the U.S., Erik Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) finished 43rd (+2:24.5), David Norris (APU) 54th (+2:44.5), Simi Hamilton (USST) 56th (+2:59.4), Paddy Caldwell (USST) 67th (+3:33.1), Kevin Bolger (USST) 68th (+3:38.7), Scott Patterson (USST) 73rd (+3:52.3), and Adam Martin (CGRP) 75th (+4:05.0).

    Men’s Results 

    ***

     

    SuperTour (West Yellowstone, Mont.): 1.3 k Freestyle sprints

    The fastest qualifier for the men on Saturday in West Yellowstone was SMS T2 athlete Andy Newell.  The Vermont native, now residing in Bozeman, Mont., won in a time of 2:35.53 minutes. His margin of victory was 7.26 seconds over second fastest qualifier, Alaska Pacific University (APU) skier Logan Hannenman. Newell’s teammate, Ben Saxton qualified in third (+7.79).

    Newell advanced to the finals by winning the first heat and first semifinal.

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    In the finals, Newell controlled the pace and made clear that at thirty five years old, he can still light up the domestic ranks. Newell won in a time of 2:41.66 minutes. Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s Ben Lustgarten placed second in 2:43.55 minutes, and University of New Mexico skier Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier was third in 2:45.66 minutes.

    Adam Luban of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Gold Team finished in fourth, Forrest Mahlen of Alaska Pacific University (APU) was fifth, and Ben Saxton (SMS T2) placed sixth in the men’s final.

    Julia Kern, a member of the U.S. Ski Development Team (UUSDT) and SMS T2 , won the women’s qualifier in 3:08.58 minutes. Second in the qualifier, also from SS T2, was Erika Flowers who finished 2.5 seconds behind Kern. University of Utah skier, Julia Richter qualified in third (+3.22). 

    Like Newell, Kern won both her quarterfinal and semi to make the finals.

    Kern won the women’s final in 3:09.85 minutes. APU’s Rosie Frankowski, the day’s fourth fastest qualifier, was second in a time of 3:11.37 minutes. Teammate Hannah Halvorsen (APU/USSDT) placed third, stopping the clock in 3:12.51 minutes. Halvorsen placed sixth in the qualifier. 

    Flowers ended up fourth in the finals, while Richter and Utah teammate Karianne Moe, placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

    West Yellowtone SuperTour Sprint Results