FasterSkier

Visit FasterSkier.com →

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: Petra Hyncicova

  • Saturday Rundown: NCAA Champs; Holmenkollen 50 k; Kontiolahti Relays

    Saturday Rundown: NCAA Champs; Holmenkollen 50 k; Kontiolahti Relays

    The top finishers in the men’s 20 k freestyle mass start at 2018 NCAA Skiing Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with Northern Michigan University’s Ian Torchia (c) in first. (Photo: Dartmouth Sports/Clarkson Creative)

    NCAA Skiing Championships (Steamboat Springs, Colorado): 15/20 k freestyle mass starts

    On the fourth and final day of NCAA Skiing Championships at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs, Katharine Ogden skied to her second-straight national title, Ian Torchia became an NCAA champion and the University of Denver (DU) won its 24th NCAA National Championship.

    Dartmouth freshman Katharine Ogden racing to her second-straight victory of the 2018 NCAA Skiing Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She won Saturday’s 15 k freestyle mass start by more than 38 seconds. (Photo: Dartmouth Sports/Clarkson Creative)

    Ogden, a Dartmouth College freshman, raced to a 38.4-second victory in the women’s 15-kilometer mass start, finishing in 43:22.0 minutes for her second win in as many races at 2018 NCAA Championships. She won the 5 k classic on Thursday and with her win on Saturday, she became the first Dartmouth skier in 56 years to win two national titles in the same year, according to a Dartmouth press release.

    On the second of three laps, Ogden broke away early with close to 10 k to go. According to the press release, she had a “quick fall” near the end of the second lap, but that didn’t derail her as she had time to grab sunglasses from Dartmouth men’s coach Brayton Osgood and a Dartmouth Lone Pine flag before the finish.

    At this year’s championships, Ogden’s two titles are accompanied by victories from Dartmouth men’s alpine skiers Brian McLaughlin (who won the giant slalom) and Tanguy Nef (who won the slalom). This marked only the second time that Dartmouth’s Big Green won four individual titles in a single NCAA Championships; that also occurred 61 years ago.

    “Katharine absolutely wanted this one, and she really likes to win,” Dartmouth Director of Skiing and Women’s Nordic Head Coach Cami Thompson Graves said in the press release. “She wasn’t about to let a fall slow her down, she has such a great competitive fire. But she also showed her playful side grabbing Brayton’s glasses and smiling all the way to the finish line!”

    Hailey Swirbul of the University of Alaska Anchorage placed second and Linn Eriksen (DU) reached the podium in third (+46.3). Denver had three in the top 10 with Jasmi Joensuu in ninth and Taeler McCrerey in 10th. Also landing in the top 10 for All-American honors were Guro Jordheim of the University of Utah in fourth, Emma Tarbath (Montana State University) in fifth, Petra Hyncicova of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) in sixth, Christina Rolandsen (CU) in seventh, and Lauren Jortberg (Dartmouth) in eighth.

    Torchia, an Northern Michigan University (NMU) junior and U.S. Ski Team Development Team member, became the seventh NCAA champion in NMU Wildcats nordic skiing history, according to an NMU press release. Fredrick Schwenke was the Wildcats’ last nordic champion; he won the 2015 NCAA Championships 20 k classic.

    Torchia drew bib 1 for Saturday’s 20 k freestyle mass start and crossed the finish line first in 54:21.0, just 2 seconds ahead of CU’s Alvar Alev. Eivind Kvaale (DU) finished just four seconds back in third, and Denver had three in the top seven with Dag Frode Trollebø in fourth and Lars Hannah in seventh. Darmouth’s Cal Deline placed fifth, Zane Fields of Colby College finished sixth, and the 20 k freestyle’s 2017 NCAA champion Martin Bergström (Utah), who also won Thursday’s 10 k classic, placed eighth.  CU’s Petter Reistad and Sondre Bollum finished ninth and 10th, respectively.

    In the team standings, Denver beat Colorado by 41 points for the overall win with a total of 604 points between the nordic and alpine events at this year’s championships. Dartmouth placed third, 114.5 points behind Colorado, and Utah was another 63 points back in fourth.

    According to a DU press release, Denver has won at least one national championship in each of the last five athletic seasons (skiing: 2013/14, 2015/16, 2017/18; hockey: 2016-17; men’s lacrosse 2014/15), joining only Stanford on the list of schools that have done so in the last five seasons. (Oregon, West Virginia, Penn State, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Florida could potentially join that list later this year.)

    “It feels incredible,” said DU head coach Andy LeRoy said in the press release. “I am so happy for all of our athletes, they’ve been training all week and all season and to do it in Steamboat in front of our crowd is special.”

    Results: Women | Men| Team 

    Photos

    ***

    The Holmenkollen men’s 50 k freestyle mass start podium on Saturday at the World Cup in Oslo, Norway, with Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (c) in first, Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l) in second, and Russia’s Maxim Vylegzhanin (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    FIS Cross Country World Cup (Oslo, Norway): Men’s 50 k freestyle mass start

    Full report

    A four-time Olympic champion, Dario Cologna of Switzerland won his first 50-kilometer World Cup race on Saturday, topping the podium in the famous Holmenkollen 50 k freestyle mass start after outlunging Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby (who won the event last year) for the win in 2:01:48.1. Sundby finished one-hundredth of a second behind for second place, ahead of Russia’s Maxim Vylegzhanin, who was 1.1 seconds back in third in his first World Cup race since November of last year.

    The photo finish for first between Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (near) and Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby at the Holmenkollen 50 k freestyle mass start on Saturday in Oslo, Norway. Cologna got it by 0.01 seconds. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    Norway’s Sjur Røthe came out on top in a race for fourth (+4.2), ahead of Russia’s Denis Spitsov in fifth (+4.4) and his Norwegian teammate Hans Christer Holund in sixth (+4.5). Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave followed in seventh (+15.1), Germany’s Florian Notz placed eighth (+25.9) and Canada’s Alex Harvey finished ninth (+32.4), ahead of France’s Robin Duvillard in 10th (+33.5).

    Scott Patterson led the U.S. in 16th (+56.3) coming off an 11th place in the 50 k classic mass start at last month’s Olympics, and Canada’s Devon Kershaw finished in the points in 28th (+3:43.6). Just outside the top 30, Canada’s Graeme Killick finished 34th (+4:55.1).

    Also for the U.S, David Norris placed 38th (+6:19.7), Paddy Caldwell was 46th (+8:12.3), Noah Hoffman 49th (+10:27.9), Kevin Bolger 52nd (+12:44.2), and Simi Hamilton did not finish.

    Canada’s fourth man in the race, Andy Shields finished 47th (+8:13.6).

    Results

    ***

    Italy’s Lukas Hofer celebrates his team’s win in Saturday’s mixed relay at the IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    IBU World Cup (Kontiolahti, Finland): Single mixed relay & mixed relay

    (Note: This rundown has been updated to include comments from Christian Gow and Sean Doherty.)

    In the last single mixed relay and mixed relay of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup season, France and Italy came out on top, with France winning the two-person single mixed relay and Italy taking first in the coed mixed relay.

    France’s Anaïs Chevalier and Antonin Guigonnat after winning Saturday’s single mixed relay at the IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    France’s Anaïs Chevalier and Antonin Guigonnat combined for zero penalties and six spares to finish first in the single mixed relay in 33:29.1 minutes. Guigonnat as the team’s anchor secured the win by just 2.4 seconds over Austria’s Julian Eberhard while Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø finished 4.4 seconds back for third.

    Chevalier put France in fifth after the first leg, 15.5 seconds behind Ukraine’s Iryna Varvynets in first. Guigonnat used just one spare on his first leg to move them into fourth, 9.2 seconds back while Norway led at the second exchange. On Chevalier’s second leg, she shot clean in both stages to lead through the final exchange, with Ukraine skiing just 6.2 seconds back in second.

    On the final leg, Guigonnat used two spares and stayed out of the penalty lap, keeping the team in first through the finish. Eberhard skied the second-fastest course time on that leg to elevate Austria (with Lisa Theresa Hauser) from fourth at the tag to second place at the finish, and Bø skied all the way up from eighth to third place for Norway (with Marte Olsbu) with the fastest course time.

    Ukraine’s Artem Tyschenko used just one spare but slipped to fourth with the 11th-ranked course time on that leg, as he finished 10.8 seconds behind Norway.

    Behind Russia in fifth and Italy in sixth, Canada placed seventh (+23.8) with Rosanna Crawford and Christian Gow. The duo combined for zero penalties and six spares, and put themselves in third place early in the race. Crawford skied them into third on the first leg, using just two spares and tagging Gow 7.4 seconds out of first.

    Gow went on to take the lead after cleaning prone without any spares, and he cleaned standing as well but slipped back to third while Bø took the lead. Gow tagged Crawford in third, 8.9 seconds behind Norway in first.

    “I didn’t think too much about being tagged in third,” Gow recalled in an email to FasterSkier. “It was exciting for sure, but I let it fade to the background so that I could focus on my job both on the track and in the range.  It was great to leave prone in first place! It was also surprising, but it was a good place to be in.

    “My skiing was ok today,” he continued. “It is a really challenging and demanding race format that we don’t get a lot of practice with.  I was sick after the Olympic Games and only finally coming around the past couple days.  The Sprint race was horrendous for me, so today was much better than that. In the range I just focussed on myself and trusted my shooting.  I tried my best not to get caught up in the race going on around me and it worked to my benefit.”

    Crawford then slipped to seventh and 21 seconds back with three prone spares, but avoided the penalty lap, and Gow held onto seventh through the finish, using just one spare and skiing the eighth-fastest course time on that leg.

    “We are both happy with this result,” Gow wrote. “I think that we are both looking at the 23 second gap to first and thinking that if things had worked out just a bit better we could be there.  It can be both exciting and frustrating to be that close to the podium.  We know we can do it, it’s just a matter of putting it together on the right day. We are happy with 7th, but hungry for more.”

    Susan Dunklee and Lowell Bailey finished 14th for the U.S., 1:13.0 out of first with one penalty and 14 spares. The penalty came on Dunklee’s first leg during her standing stage, after she had cleaned prone without any spares. She tagged Bailey in 14th and he brought them up to 11th, using three spares on that leg, then Dunklee came through the final exchange in 13th after using four spares to clean. Bailey lost one place on the final leg, using four spares but staying out of the penalty lap.

    Twenty-six teams competed in the single mixed relay, compared to 23 in the mixed relay that followed.

    Team Italia celebrates its win in the IBU World Cup mixed relay on Saturday in Kontiolahti, Finland, with its relay members Dorothea Wierer, Lisa Vittozzi, Dominik Windisch, and Lukas Hofer. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    In Saturday’s 2 x 6 + 2 x 7.5 k mixed relay, Italy nabbed a 1.5-second victory over Ukraine in 1:15:08.3. Dorothea Wierer, Lisa Vittozzi, Dominik Windisch, and Lukas Hofer — the same Italian team that took bronze in the mixed relay at last month’s Olympics, although in a different order — combined for the win with one penalty and 13 spares.

    Ukraine, with Anastasiya Merkushyna, Vita Semerenko, Artem Pryma, and Dmytro Pidruchnyi, had zero penalties and just three spares throughout the whole race. For the second-straight relay on Saturday, Norway placed third (+9.1) with Synnøve Solemdal, Tiril Eckhoff, Henrik L’Abée-Lund, and Tarjei Bø totaling zero penalties and nine spares.

    Italy’s lone penalty came in Vittozzi’s second leg, but it didn’t derail the team as it improved from sixth to fifth with Vittozzi, who skied the third-fastest course time on that leg. She tagged Windisch 6.8 seconds out of first, and Windisch, who had anchored the team in the Olympics, took the lead by the final exchange after using two spares to clean. Hofer left the exchange just 3.3 seconds ahead of Norway’s Bø but used just one spare and skied the second-fastest anchor leg to finish first, beating his rivals up Kontiolahti’s infamous climb known as “The Wall”. Ukraine’s Pidruchnyi also shot clean with a single spare and clocked the fastest anchor leg to move his team from fourth to second place. Bø lost one place and finished third after using one spare as well and skiing the third-fastest anchor leg.

    Russia followed in fourth, France fifth, Sweden sixth, Germany seventh, Austria eighth, and the U.S. ninth (+2:48.4). The U.S. team, with Clare Egan, Joanne Reid, Tim Burke, and Sean Doherty, had one penalty and 11 spares. Egan cleaned her first prone but had to ski a penalty lap after her standing stage, tagging Reid in 17th, 58.7 seconds out of first.

    Reid used three spares on the second leg and moved up to 13th by the second exchange, and Burke used three spares as well to pick off one more place and tag Doherty in 12th. Doherty skied the eighth-fastest anchor leg and used two spares to clean to put the team in ninth at the finish.

    “I don’t consider two spares to be anything special, but today it was enough to make up some ground,” Doherty wrote in an email to FasterSkier.”I felt strong skiing, more like myself which is fun even if it’s a little late in the season. We had very good skis which always helps. I have done quite a few laps on this course over the years so the lines and transitions are pretty refined, so that is where I made time on the course.

    “I am happy with my leg. I enjoyed my little battle for 9th,” he continued. “I can’t speak too much for the other members of the relay tonight but I think 9th is a solid effort.”

    Canada finished 17th (+4:34.9) with Emma Lunder, Julia Ransom, Scott Gow, and Brendan Green combining for one penalty and 13 spares. Lunder put them in 12th at the first exchange and Ransom skied up to 10th, but Scott Gow had a penalty on his standing stage to drop to 16th. Green lost one more place on the last leg despite only requiring two spares.

    Results: Single mixed relay | Mixed relay

  • Thursday Rundown: Ogden, Bergström NCAA Champs; Kontiolahti Men’s Sprint

    Thursday Rundown: Ogden, Bergström NCAA Champs; Kontiolahti Men’s Sprint

    The women’s 5 k classic podium at 2018 NCAA Skiing Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with Dartmouth’s Katharine Ogden (c) in first, Colorado’s Anne Siri Lervik (l) in second, and University of Alaska Anchorage’s Hailey Swirbul (r) in third. (Photo: Clarkson Creative/DartmouthSports.com)

    On the first day of NCAA Skiing Championships at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs, Dartmouth College freshman Katharine Ogden and University of Utah senior Martin Bergström were crowned champions in the women’s 5-kilometer and men’s 10 k classic races, respectively.

    Ogden won the women’s individual-start race by a whopping 46.9 seconds, finishing in 14:47.2 minutes to become Dartmouth’s first female cross-country skier to win an NCAA title, according to a Dartmouth press release. Anne Siri Lervik of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) placed second and Hailey Swirbul, of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and a two-time individual medalist at this year’s Junior World Championships, placed third (+51.0).

    “There isn’t much more to say about Katharine’s performance today other than she absolutely crushed it!” said Dartmouth Director of Skiing and Women’s Nordic Head Coach Cami Thompson Graves, according to the Dartmouth press release. “It was such a treat to watch her perform so well.”

    Martin Bergström (University of Utah) after winning his third-straight NCAA Skiing Championships title with a win in the 10 k classic on Thursday in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. (Photo: University of Utah)

    CU, this year’s NCAA Championships host, had three women in the top 11 with last year’s classic champion Petra Hyncicova placing sixth and Christina Rolandsen finishing 11th.

    The CU Buffs took the lead in the team standings on Thursday by nine points over the University of Denver (DU). Utah is currently 41 points back in third, Dartmouth moved up to fourth, and the University of Vermont, which led after Wednesday’s Day 1 alpine races, slipped to fifth.

    In the men’s race, Bergström, who won both races at last year’s NCAA Championships, posted an 8.5-second victory over CU’s Petter Reistad with a winning time of 27:37.1. Dag Frode Trollebø of DU placed third (+14.7) ahead of his DU teammate Eivind Kvaale in fourth (+38.9). On his 22nd birthday, Ian Torchia, of Northern Michigan University and the U.S. Ski Team Development Team, was the top American finisher in fifth (+46.2).

    Alpine slalom races will take place on Friday, while NCAA Championships will conclude with 15/20 k freestyle mass starts on Saturday.

    Results: Women | Men

    Team results (through Day 2 of 4)

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Kontiolahti, Finland): Men’s 10 k sprint

    First, a little geography lesson. Kontiolahti, Finland, is only about 100 kilometers from the Russian  border, so most of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup (and World Championships) events held there attract a mostly Russian crowd.

    The men’s 10 k sprint podium at the IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, with Russia’s Anton Shipulin (c) in first, Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs (l) in second, France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet (r) in third. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    And here’s a little more background: Russia’s Anton Shipulin showed up for Thursday’s IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti raring to go after having been barred from last month’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    So Shipulin hadn’t raced since Jan. 21 in Antholz, Italy. The International Olympic Committee’s decision to ban him from the 2018 Games went public on Jan. 23.

    Back in action in Kontiolahti, in front of Russian fans, Shipulin delivered a 5.8-second win in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint, shooting clean and finishing in 23:51.6.  It was the 31 year old’s third non-relay podium of the season and first World Cup win of 2017/2018, and he did so on a relatively moderate evening by Kontiolahti standards (at -6 degrees Celsius, or 21 Fahrenheit) with a “stiff breeze” on the range, according to an IBU press release.

    “I felt very good on the tracks and shooting and today it was enough to win,” Shipulin told the IBU. “I am very happy about this … all of the Russian fans gave me a lot of support on the tracks.”

    Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs tied his career best in second place, after shooting a perfect 10-for-10 as well. He acknowledged his mom and women in general after the race.

    “This is very important for my team,” Rastorgujevs told the IBU. “I would also like to congratulate all of the ladies and especially my mom on International Women’s Day.”

    France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet also shot clean to place third (+17.3) for his third non-relay World Cup podium of the season.

    Fillon Maillet was one of the earliest starters in bib 6 yet held off Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø, the 30th starter, by 1.7 seconds for the last spot on the podium. Bø had been a race leader after cleaning prone but missed two standing targets (0+2) to slip out of contention and into fourth at the finish (+19.0).

    Germany’s Olympic sprint champion, Arnd Peiffer placed fifth (+27.4) with one miss (0+1), and France’s Simon Desthieux finished sixth (+28.3) with one prone penalty (1+0), and Germany took seventh and eighth with Erik Lesser (+30.6; one penalty) and Simon Schempp (+32.0; two penalties), respectively. Italy had two in the top 10 with Lukas Hofer in ninth (+35.2; one penalty) and Dominik Windisch in 10th (+38.3; one penalty).

    Lowell Bailey of the U.S. posted his best sprint result of the season in 16th (+48.4) after cleaning prone and missing one standing target (0+1). After starting 22nd, he recorded the 13th- and 14th-fastest overall shooting and range times, respectively, and 23rd-ranked course time.

    After the Olympics, Bailey returned home to Lake Placid, N.Y., for a brief training block. Despite a hefty amount of travel over the last week and a half, he explained in an email that he felt good in his first race back.

    “I felt better than I have for most of the season.  Sometimes that can happen.  I guess that’s the part of the unpredictability of biathlon,” Bailey wrote of Thursday’s race. “The conditions were great today; hard tracks and calm winds on the range.  There was a bit of wind, but compared to the three weeks in South Korea, it seemed pretty tame.

    “Shooting felt solid today,” he added. “That missed shot in standing was sooo close, but not close enough!”

    Overall, Bailey stated that he was happy with his performance and looking forward to the rest of the races in Kontiolahti.

    Leif Nordgren (US Biathlon) raced to 17th for his best result in three seasons on Thursday in the men’s 10 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

    His teammate Leif Nordgren finished just one place behind him in 17th (+49.9) for his best result in three years. A later starter in bib 55, Nordgren also cleaned prone and missed one standing (0+1) with the fifth-fastest shooting time and seventh-fastest range time. Overall, his course time ranked 28th out of 100 finishers. Nordgren’s individual career best on the World Cup is 16th in a sprint in February 2015. He has finished 17th three times; the last time was in a pursuit in March 2015.

    Brendan Green shot clean to lead the Canadian team in 34th (+1:29.5). American Sean Doherty followed in 35th (+1:29.7) with three penalties (1+2), and Tim Burke placed 38th (+1:36.1) for the U.S., also with three misses (1+2).

    In his World Cup debut, American Alex Howe finished 68th (+2:23.1) with two misses (1+1).

    Canada’s Christian Gow finished 79th (+2:47.4) with two penalties (1+1), and Scott Gow was 86th (+3:01.7) with three misses (1+2).

    This year’s Kontiolahti World Cup does not include a pursuit race. The women’s 7.5 k sprint is scheduled for Friday at 11:45 a.m. EST in Kontiolahti, and the single mixed relay and mixed relay will follow on Saturday. Racing in Kontiolahti will conclude with men’s and women’s mass starts.

    Results

  • Sunday Olympic Rundown: Bjørgen Dominates 30 k Classic; Diggins 7th

    Sunday Olympic Rundown: Bjørgen Dominates 30 k Classic; Diggins 7th

    Marit Bjørgen approaches the line for her eighth-career Olympic gold (and 15th medal) with a win in the final race of the 2018 Olympics, the women’s 30 k classic mass start, on Sunday in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: Noah Hoffman)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport, and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    ***

    2018 Olympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Women’s 30 kilometer mass start classic

    Report

    Marit Bjørgen went out with a bang. Skiing in presumably the final Olympics race of her illustrious career, the most-decorated Winter Olympian in history simply skied away from a strong field less than 10 kilometers into Sunday’s 30 kilometer classic mass start, earning the 15th Olympic medal of her career (and eighth gold) in dominant fashion.

    From right to left: Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg leading Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen and Krista Pärmäkoski, Sweden’s Stina Nilsson, and Austria’s Teresa Stadlober (r), among others in the women’s 30 k classic mass start on the final day of the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: Noah Hoffman)

    Behind her, Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski (+1:49.5) and Sweden’s Stina Nilsson (+1:58.9) rounded out the podium, with Nilsson breaking away from Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (+2:00.4) within the stadium to edge her out for third.

    Fifth went to Charlotte Kalla of Sweden (+2:57.2), with Kerttu Niskanen of Finland sixth (+3:01.6). Jessie Diggins was seventh (+3:37.2), in an American performance that would have been lauded just a few years ago yet somehow represented her worst placing in all six races at these Olympics.

    Heidi Weng of Norway (+4:07.9) in eighth, Teresa Stadlober of Austria (+4:14.1) in ninth, and Masako Ishida of Japan (+4:20.8) rounded out the rest of the top ten. Stadlober’s ninth-place finish was particularly poignant; she was holding steady in silver-medal position through 20 k, before taking a wrong turn at an ill-marked course intersection and losing well over a minute returning to the correct track.

    Norway’s Marit Bjørgen (l) leading the pack during the women’s 30 k classic mass start at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: Scott Patterson)

    But let’s go back to Bjørgen. Given those time gaps by the finish – nearly two minutes clear of second and third – this was clearly Bjørgen’s day. The 37-year-old Norwegian mother started in bib number 8, and was all of 1.1 seconds off the lead by the first checkpoint, less than one kilometer into the race. But after that… Bjørgen led by 2.3 k, midway through the first of four 7.5-k laps. Bjørgen led at 5 k. Bjørgen led at 7.5 k. Bjørgen led at 8.4 k. And so on. It was not literally a wire-to-wire victory, but it was pretty darn close.

    The race went from a mass start contest to a solo endeavor at roughly 9.5 kilometers in, midway through the second lap. Bjørgen simply surged ahead, and immediately opened up a small gap. By 9.8 k, the gap was 7 seconds. By 12.5 k, it was already up to 33 seconds. By 15 k, the advantage had swelled to 51 seconds. Bjørgen was putting nearly 10 seconds per kilometer on a chase group composed of Olympic medalists and World Championships podium finishers.

    With all due respect to Iivo Niskanen, the hero of Saturday’s courageous breakaway in the men’s 50 k classic, Bjørgen’s performance never felt in doubt the way Niskanen’s did. Bjørgen didn’t have any company, for one, and she had a shorter distance to cover, for another (“only” 20 k of solo skiing off the front). But mostly, well, she is Marit Bjørgen, the most dominant cross-country skier of all time.

    Bjørgen’s gap stretched to as great as 2:04 by the 27.5-k mark of the course. Finally, approaching the finish, she slowed slightly over the last few hundred meters, accepting a large Norwegian flag from a Viking helmet-clad fan and beaming as she carried it across the finish line. Her final time was 1:22:17.6. If they were the final 82 minutes of racing of a five-Olympics career, they were an exceptionally dominant 82 minutes.

    Behind her, a four-woman chase pack formed: Pärmäkoski, Kalla, Niskanen, and Stadlober. As late as 20 k, Kalla was still in seventh, nearly two minutes back of Bjørgen and roughly 35 seconds back of Stadlober in second.

    Soon after this, Stadlober took her wrong turn, skiing for some distance on the wrong course before having her error pointed out to her by a courseside coach or tech. She dropped from second to eighth within a kilometer.

    Reportedly, Austrian coach Markus Gandler was out on the course and the first to inform her of her mistake, yelling, “You are wrong!” She realized her mistake and turned around.

    “We were preparing the feed and noticed she didn’t come,” Gandler told Austrian broadcaster ORF, according to a translation. “I ran over but she didn’t hear me while skiing up. Only on the downhill I caught her.”

    “I don’t know if I should laugh or cry,” Stadlober told ORF after, according to a translation. “I can’t explain it to myself. I have been here for three weeks and if by now I don’t know the loop then I don’t know … I noticed skiing up that something wasn’t right because there was no more staff. When I looked over I just thought: Sh*t!”

    She said she had been feeling great up until that point and confident about her skis.

    “I would have had the power, but had-I-would-I [what could have been] is too late now,” Stadlober said of missing out on her first Olympic medal. “That’s life. It’s just bitter it happened in such a race and on a day when everything would have fit together.”

    Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski celebrates her first individual silver medal which she claimed in the women’s 30 k classic mass start on Sunday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: Noah Hoffman)

    By 21 k, Pärmäkoski had a 13-second gap over Niskanen in the race for second, and Kalla had moved up to sixth. By 25 k, it was still Pärmäkoski in second, but now Østberg and Nilsson skiing lockstep in the fight for third.

    Pärmäkoski was never seriously threatened over the final lap, and crossed the finish line for silver.

    “I think that this 30 k was [the] hardest 30 k race [ever] for me,” Pärmäkoski reflected in a post-race press conference. “Of course I heard that Nilsson and Østberg come behind me and I also heard that now it’s 11 seconds, and then 14 seconds. And after this big downhill I heard that it’s a little bit more, but because I know that they are good in sprint, I just hoped that they can’t catch me. This was a crazy, crazy Olympics for me. Before I came here I wanted to win one individual medal and now I won three medals, so I am really happy.”

    In two Olympics, Pärmäkoski, 27, now has four medals — three of which came in PyeongChang (silver in the 30 k and bronze in the 15 k skiathlon and 10 k freestyle races).

    Behind her, Østberg and Nilsson dueled for the final podium spot. But while Østberg was aware of it, Nilsson hadn’t heard about Stadlober’s wrong turn ahead of them.

    Sweden’s Stina Nilsson (r) outlasts Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (l) for bronze in the women’s 30 k classic mass start at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: Noah Hoffman)

    At the finish, Nilsson looked surprised when Bjørgen told her she had won the bronze. Bjørgen then went immediately over to console her teammate, Østberg, who finished fourth, 1.5 seconds behind Nilsson in third.

    “I was quite sure that it was fourth. That I got the bronze was quite sick,” Nilsson told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, explaining that she thought the team staff was trying to give her false hope that a medal was within reach.

    “I did not realize that Stadlober had gone wrong. I thought she had moved away,” Nilsson said.

    But Østberg knew the bronze was between her and the Swede. “I definitely knew what I was fighting for. It’s amazing that she did not know, too,” Østberg told NRK.

    Diggins would finish roughly 90 seconds later in seventh, 36 seconds behind sixth and 30 seconds ahead of eighth. The result was emblematic of her day, in which she had skied for much of the race entirely by herself.

    Sadie Bjornsen was the next American, finishing in 17th (+6:32.6). The mid-teens result continued a trend at these Olympics; she was 14th in the classic sprint and 15th in the 10 k freestyle.

    The third American on the day was Rosie Frankowski in 21st (+8:53.8). Forget first Olympic start for the 26-year-old Alaskan and Alaska Pacific University athlete (which it was), Frankowski has zero World Cup starts to her name. She was the second American in the 20 k classic at last month’s U.S. Nationals, though, behind Caitlin Patterson.

    On Sunday Patterson was five spots behind in 26th (+10:26), after narrowly losing a sprint finish to Germany’s Victoria Carl.

    For Canada, Emily Nishikawa led the way in 30th (+12:14.1). She was followed by Cendrine Brown in 43rd (+19:06.3), as Anne-Marie Comeau did not finish.

    Also of note, Jessica Yeaton, who competes internationally for Australia but lives and trains in Anchorage with Alaska Pacific University, was 42nd (+18:37.2). And Petra Hyncicova, who skis in this country for the University of Colorado but races internationally for the Czech Republic, was 39th (+16:57.1).

    Results

    The women’s 30 k classic mass start medalists at the 2018 Olympics Closing Ceremony, with Norway’s Marit Bjørgen (c) in first, Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski (l) in second, and Sweden’s Stina Nilsson (r) in third in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)

  • Tuesday Olympic Rundown: Nilsson & Klæbo Win Sprint Gold; Diggins 6th, Valjas 7th, Caldwell 8th

    Sweden’s Stina Nilsson (center) won gold in the classic sprint at the 2018 Olympics, with Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla (left) taking silver and Russia’s Yulia Belorukova bronze. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport, and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    ***

    2018 Winter Olympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Classic Sprints

    Women’s international report | American women’s report

    Men’s international report | North American men’s report 

    Post-qualifier notes & quotes

    After winning the sprint qualifier by 0.39 seconds over defending gold medalist Maiken Caspersen Falla and then besting the Norwegian by 0.03 seconds in her semifinal, Sweden’s Stina Nilsson captured Olympic gold in a dominating performance in the classic sprint final, ultimately besting Falla by 3.03 seconds.

    Falla had to fight to even keep silver, as Olympic Athlete of Russia Yulia Belorukova pushed the pace on the final uphill and came close to outsprinting Falla in the finishing straight. However, the 23-year-old Russian couldn’t quite sneak past and settled for bronze, 0.34 seconds behind Falla.

    Jessie Diggins of the United States after finishing sixth in the classic sprint in PyeongChang. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Her teammate Natalia Nepryaeva finished fourth (+9.14 in the final), Sweden’s Hanna Falk fifth (+11.16), and the United States’ Jessie Diggins sixth (+11.23).

    Diggins’s teammate Sophie Caldwell finished unlucky number eight, and based on time was the last woman not to make the final after finishing a close fourth behind Nilsson, Falla, and Falk in her semifinal. Both semifinal heats were fast, with one lucky loser coming from each, and Caldwell was 0.18 seconds off that time.

    Also for the United States, Sadie Bjornsen finished third in her quarterfinal heat, 2.46 seconds behind Belorukova and also behind Norway’s Heidi Weng. That put her 14th on the day.

    In the men’s final, it was a fight to the final uphill when 21-year-old Norwegian phenom Johannes Høsflot Klæbo ran away from the field over the top of the climb and sailed to the finish to become the youngest ever gold medalist in cross-country skiing at the Olympics. Alexander Bolshunov of Russia had matched Klæbo for most of the race but ran out of steam at the top, allowing Italy’s Federico Pellegrino to catch onto his tails before the downhill. While Klæbo widened his lead, Bolshunov and Pellegrino battled to the finish line and Pellegrino ultimately won in a photo finish, securing silver (+1.34) while Bolshunov took bronze (+1.36).

    Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won the men’s Olympic sprint in dominating fashion while Federico Pellegrino just edged Alexander Bolshunov for silver. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Norway’s Pål Golberg finished fourth (+3.81 in the final) and Sweden’s Oskar Svensson fifth (+7.73). Top qualifier Ristomatti Hakola of Finland didn’t have it in the final, finishing sixth (+20.72).

    Canada’s Len Valjas finished third in his semifinal, but well off the pace (3.98 seconds behind Hakola) and did not advance as a lucky loser to the final. That put him seventh overall, Canada’s best result in two Olympic cycles.

    Both American men, Erik Bjornsen and Simi Hamilton, were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Hamilton’s quarterfinal was marred by a crash involving nearly the entire group, and he ended up fourth with a slow time as a result, and landed 20th on the day. Bjornsen finished fifth in his heat, 1.63 seconds behind Klæbo in one of the tightest quarterfinals of the day, good for 25th overall.

    Norway has now won both men’s gold medals in cross-country skiing, while Sweden has swept the women’s gold medals.

    Women’s sprint final results / Men’s sprint final results

    2018 Winter Olympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Cross-Country Skiing Men’s & Women’s Sprint Qualifiers

    Sprint racing at the PyeongChang Olympics kicked off on Tuesday, with Sweden’s Stina Nilsson setting the pace in the women’s qualifier just 0.39 seconds ahead of defending Olympic champion Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway.

    The rest of the field couldn’t touch those two. Krista Parmakoski of Finland, the bronze medalist in the 30 k skiathlon, came closest, notching a time 3.56 seconds slower. Sweden’s Hanna Falk qualified fourth (+3.80), Slovenia’s Katja Visnar  fifth (+6.50), Olympic Athlete of Russia Natalia Nepryaeva sixth (+6.91), American Jessie Diggins seventh (+7.02), Sweden’s Ida Ingemarsdotter eighth (+7.32), American Sadie Bjornsen ninth (+7.38), and Norway’s Heidi Weng tenth (+7.54).

    For the United States, Sophie Caldwell also qualified for the quarterfinals in 12th position (+8.32). Ida Sargent, who recently had surgery on her thumb, did not, notching the 33rd-best time of the day – 17.06 seconds off the pace and 1.78 seconds out of the heats.

    For Canada, Emily Nishikawa led the team in 34th, 2.73 seconds out of quarterfinals. Dahria Beatty finished 42nd (+21.03) and Cendrine Browne 51st (+25.56).

    CU student Petra Hyncicova of the Czech Republic finished 45th (+23.29). APU’s Jessica Yeaton, racing for Australia, finished 48th (+24.27), and Aussie teammate Casey Wright (University of Alaska Anchorage) 63rd (+41.06). Canada-based Mathilde Petitjean of Togo finished 59th (+37.19).

    Women’s Qualifier Results

    In the men’s sprint qualifier, Ristomatti Hakola of Finland turned heads by posting a time that last year’s Sprint Cup champion Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway could not beat. The Norwegian posted a time 0.19 seconds slower than the Finn.

    The men’s field was much closer than the women’s, with just 9.51 seconds separating the top 30 finishers who would move on to the quarterfinals. The third qualifier was young Olympic Athlete of Russia Alexander Bolshunov (+1.66), with Italy’s Maicol Rastelli a surprise fourth-place finisher (+2.78). Sweden’s Teodor Peterson qualified fifth (+3.01), Olympic Athlete of Russia Alexander Panzhinsky sixth (+3.09), Sweden’s Oskar Svensson and Viktor Thorn seventh (+3.48) and eighth (+3.65), and Italy’s Federico Pellegrino ninth +4.64. Calle Halfvarsson notched the tenth-best time (+4.73) and gave Sweden four qualifiers in the top ten, while Klæbo was the lone Norwegian in the top ten.

    For the United States, Simi Hamilton and Erik Bjornsen made the quarterfinals, qualifying in 19th (+7.59) and 29th (+9.15) respectively. Bjornsen actually tied for 29th with France’s Richard Jouve, making him the last man to make the cut, so to speak. Canada’s Len Valjas will be the lone representative of his country in either the men’s or women’s heats after qualifying 26th (+8.57).

    Alex Harvey just missed the quarterfinals in a tie for 32nd (+9.41), with Canadian teammate Jesse Cockney close behind in 35th (+10.00). Russell Kennedy rounded out the Canadian team in 54th (+14.83).

    For the U.S., Andy Newell was also on the outside looking in, placing 37th in the qualifier (+10.82). So was Logan Hanneman in 42nd (+12.20).

    Men’s qualifier results

  • ‘It Felt Surreal,’ Patterson Closes Out U.S. Nationals with Win No. 4

    ‘It Felt Surreal,’ Patterson Closes Out U.S. Nationals with Win No. 4

    Caitlin Patterson (c) atop the podium for the fourth-straight race of the week at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska, joined by Finland’s Jasmi Joensuu (l) of the University of Denver, in second and Patterson’s CGRP teammate Kaitlynn Miller (r) in third. (Photo: Michael Dinneen Photography)

    Note: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that U.S. Ski Team member Jessie Diggins was the top American in four consecutive U.S. nationals races in 2012, winning the freestyle sprint, 10 k skate and 20 k classic mass start outright and placing second to Canada’s Dasha Gaiazova in the classic sprint (but topping the podium as the first American). This week, Caitlin Patterson, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, became the first woman since Diggins to be the top American in four U.S. national races as well.

    ***

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Maybe there’s something to be said for growing up in Alaska. Or maybe there’s something to be said about the mystique of Kincaid Park, its surrounding Tordillo, Chugach and Alaskan mountain ranges all bathed in sunlight at the start on the last day of 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships during the women’s 1.5-kilometer classic sprint.

    Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) approaching the finish line of the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint final on Monday, the last day of 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. She won the final for her fourth-straight national title of the week. (Photo: Michael Dinneen Photography)

    Be it either of those, Caitlin Patterson became the first woman since U.S. Ski Team (USST) member Jessie Diggins, to earn four consecutive titles at a single U.S. nationals. Diggins did it in 2012 in Rumford, Maine, two years after Kikkan Randall, a USST member who trains with Alaska Pacific University (APU), swept four races outright at Kincaid. (Both Randall and Patterson grew up in Anchorage; Randall was born in Salt Lake City, born in McCall, Idaho. Patterson, 27, attended South Anchorage High School while Randall, 35, went to East Anchorage High).

    Even if Patterson, who’s currently based out of Vermont with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP), had not won the final event of 2018 nationals, she had already posted a banner week. She started it by racing to first in the opening women’s 10 k freestyle individual start last Wednesday, amidst slushy ski trails, falling wet snow and a standard dark Alaskan winter morning sky.

    After a training day on Thursday, she returned to the Kincaid trails on Friday — which had transformed from 48 hours before — racing once again to first, this time in the women’s freestyle sprint for her first sprint title.

    Saturday brought another training day before Patterson returned on Sunday for the women’s 20 k classic mass start.

    Hedda Bångman, a Swedish freshman at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU), racing to fourth in the qualifying round of the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Monday at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.

    Up against Sweden’s Hedda Bångman, a University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) freshman, and Rosie Frankowski (APU), the two of whom led much of Sunday’s four-lap race, Patterson had met her match. However, Frankowski’s fall on the final hill paired with Patterson’s strong skiing led Patterson to finish as the day’s top American. Bångman took the outright win while Patterson placed second overall, ahead of Frankowski in third. The two were first and second on the U.S. podium.

    If she had left it at that, Patterson would have tied Rosie Brennan — of the U.S. Ski Team and APU — who won three out of four U.S. nationals races in 2015.

    But Patterson took it one step further.

    With no training or rest day in between, the CGRP skier joined the remaining U.S. nationals field on Monday. Some skiers had already left, including Australian and APU skier, Jessica Yeaton, who flew out Monday morning to prepare for next weekend’s World Cup in Dresden, Germany.

    Based on her qualifier alone, it might have seemed Patterson was beginning to feel the effects of four days of racing since last Wednesday. She qualified seventh, 4.77 seconds behind the fastest qualifying time of 3:41.40, posted by Finnish skier and University of Denver (DU) junior Jasmi Joensuu.

    “Today qualification was really good, I felt really good,” Joensuu said after the race. “But then, my throat is really sore after the qualification … so I didn’t know if I could race actually. But I decided to race, I knew that I could win this race. I knew that there were some good girls but they also had 20 k yesterday, which I didn’t race, so that was good for me.”

    With Joensuu, 21, having sat out Sunday’s mass start and Patterson having expended herself over 20 k, the Finn may have had a leg up on the American.

    What Joensuu had not counted on was Patterson’s familiarity with the course and what the American had learned from Friday’s freestyle sprint.

    “I think that bottom corner was a really good one for me all week and in the skate sprint I figured out how to ski it with good momentum,” Patterson said after Monday’s race, referring to the slightly inclined corner about 100 meters before the finish. “Even with that big gap that she put on the hill, I think just knowing how to ski the hill here at Kincaid … the finish stretch was mine.”

    Craftsbury’s Caitlin Patterson (207) and Kaitlynn Miller (second from r) and Jasmi Joensuu, of the University of Denver, lead their semifinal during the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Monday at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.

    In their semifinal, though Joensuu had gapped both Patterson and and another CGRP skier Kaitlynn Miller at the top of Gong Hill — the sprint’s final major climb — both Craftsbury skiers had caught Joensuu by the bottom of the descent’s corner back towards the finish.

    A similar scenario played out in the final.

    “In the final I did a tactic, I would ski the uphill as fast as I can, I don’t save anything and that almost worked,” Joensuu recalled.

    Joensuu and Petra Hyncicova, a CU senior from the Czech Republic, had pushed hard out of the start of the final, followed by Patterson and Miller, as well as Dartmouth skier Lydia Blanchet and APU’s Becca Rorabaugh.

    “I tended to lose time in the beginning of the race and then catch back up,” said Blanchet, who had to catch a plane within an hour of finishing the final. “I had great skis and downhills are one of my strengths.”

    While the two non-Americans raced to the front halfway through the course’s major climb, Blanchet, Rorabaugh, Miller, and Patterson hung behind. Then halfway through the final hill, Joensuu attacked, attempting to distance herself from the pack.

    By the top of the hill, she had done just that, with 4 meters separating her from the rest of the field. Miller and Patterson followed, tucked into the downhill swooping curve.

    As Joensuu disappeared behind the trees blocking the corner from spectator’s view, Miller and Patterson were already hot on her heels. Using her momentum, Patterson swung around Joensuu and emerged from the corner first, double poling with a sizeable lead to her fourth victory in a row in a time of 3:39.58.

    “It felt surreal coming down the finishing stretch today, realizing that I couldn’t hear people behind me and realizing that it was going to be number four,” Patterson said. “I could not have imagined this if I tried, but I’ve just had really good feelings all week. Great support from the staff and waxers and everything, and it’s fun being back here in Anchorage, especially.”

    The fifth women’s classic sprint quarterfinal heat on Monday at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska, with CXC/Peak Nordic’s Felicia Gesior (208) leading with Corey Stock (213) of the Bridger Ski Foundation, and Northern Michigan’s Nicole Schneider (223), the University of Colorado Boulder’s Christina Rolandsen (218) and Petra Hyncicova (203), and Mae Chalmers of SMS (228) chasing.

    Finishing second, 2.36 seconds behind Patterson, was Joensuu. Capturing third for her third American podium this week was Miller (+3.9). Miller finished second to Patterson in Friday’s freestyle sprint and was the third American in Sunday’s 20 k.

    “I’m really pleased with how everything panned out,” Miller said. “To me the big sign of improvement has been in my skating and I was really excited with my skate sprint and obviously really excited with yesterday and today as well, but it’s nice to see my skating moving up a little bit.” 

    Despite being the 2016 national classic sprint champion, Miller, of Elmore, Vt., explained she entered Monday’s race with nothing held over her head.

    “I don’t ever go into a race expecting a certain result,” she said. “Anything can happen, even to strong, very experienced skiers … [but] it is exciting to be in the mix.”

    Though Miller also explained she “felt pretty tired” by the time she lined up for the final on Monday, she also acknowledged that she was, in all likelihood, not alone.

    “I think that was the situation for all of the women out there today, after the 20 k yesterday. It was sort of like, well, the snap isn’t there, the energy isn’t quite there, but everyone was in the same boat,” she said. “Everyone’s making the best of it, and your body knows what to do once you get to the start line.

    “All things considered, I felt great, had a really great result, and I’m very happy with it,” Miller added.

    Becca Rorabaugh (APU) during the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Monday at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. After finishing second in the qualifier (as the top American) she finished fourth overall in the final and was the third American on the day.

    Rorabaugh finished fourth overall (+9.92) and was the third American. The Fairbanks native, who has spent the last 10-plus years living and training in Anchorage, was the top American qualifier on Monday, 1.31 seconds behind Joensuu in first overall.

    “I was extremely excited with my qualifier,” Rorabaugh said. “It was rather unexpected. I was the first American and I had one really good qualifier in West Yellowstone this year but the other two so far have been pretty medium for me, so I was really excited really happy with this morning.”

    Though the qualifier is what counts for the Olympic points list, Rorabaugh indicated that was of less importance to her than just “getting her qualifier back.”

    “It’s been a couple years since I’ve been having a very strong qualification in sprint racing so I was just trying to work on having enough energy and having enough heat pumped to really crush a qualifier first thing in the morning,” she said.  

    “I wanted to have something special at home,” she added, referring to the friends and family that came to Kincaid to watch her race. “So it was good to have something at the end of the week.”

    With firm tracks, cold temperatures reading around 10 degrees Fahrenheit and a low sun in the sky, Rorabaugh described the final U.S. nationals event as “a quintessential Alaskan day.”

    “That was quite nice,” she added.

    Rounding out the final was Hyncicova in fifth (+10.03) and Blanchet in sixth (+11.21).

    “Today I was kind of tired. I finally hit the jet lag over the weekend,” Hyncicova, the two-time defending NCAA champion, said. “But … making the final, and even being third in the quarterfinal is awesome. It’s just proving that I am kind of in good shape so that’s a good start of the season.”

    Rounding out the remainder of the women’s top 10 was Bångman in seventh, Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation skier, Kelsey Phinney in eighth, Central Cross Country’s Felicia Geisor in ninth and Stratton Mountain’s Erika Flowers in tenth.

    In the junior women’s classic sprint, Wasatch Nordic’s Sarah Morgan took the win in 3:54.93. Novie McCabe (Methow Valley Nordic) placed second (+1.5) and her teammate teammate Ella-Sophie Kuzyk placed third (+6.66).

    Results: Women’s qualifier | Women’s final | Junior women’s final

    –Ian Tovell, Andrea Pontyondy-Smith and Gavin Kentch contributed

    Highlights video by Max Romey Productions

  • Monday Rundown: U.S. Nationals; MSA NorAm Trials

    Monday Rundown: U.S. Nationals; MSA NorAm Trials

    Left to right: Tyler Kornfield (APU), Reese Hanneman (APU) and Ben Saxton (SMS) the top three Americans in the men’s 1.6 k classic sprint final on Monday, the last day of 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.

    U.S. Cross Country Championships (Anchorage, Alaska): Classic sprint

    Women’s report

    Men’s report

    Caitlin Patterson did it. With a classic-sprint win on Monday, she successfully capped off an undefeated 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships, as the top American woman in all four races over the past week in Anchorage, Alaska.

    Patterson, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, qualified seventh then won the women’s 1.5-kilometer final by more than 2 seconds in 3:39.58 minutes. Finland’s Jasmi Joensuu, a junior at the University of Denver (DU), won the qualifier and ultimately finished second in the final, 2.36 seconds behind Patterson.

    Craftsbury once again had two on the podium with Kaitlynn Miller placing third overall (+3.9) as the second American. Becca Rorabaugh, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), was the top American in the qualifier in second overall, then placed fourth in the final (+9.92) and reached the U.S. podium in third.

    Petra Hyncicova, a University of Colorado Boulder (CU) senior from the Czech Republic, placed fifth overall (+10.03), and Lydia Blanchet, a Dartmouth College U23 skier, finished sixth (+11.21) and was the fourth American woman.

    Joensuu, 21, of Kuortane, Finland, started the day by winning the qualifier in 3:41.4, while Rorabaugh followed in second, 1.31 seconds back. Hyncicova qualified third (+1.85), CU’s Hedda Bångman (who won Sunday’s 20 k classic) qualified fourth (+2.92), and Miller qualified fifth (+2.93). Anne Hart of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team clocked the sixth-fastest qualifying time (+3.88), and Patterson followed in seventh (+4.77).

    From there, Patterson won both her quarterfinal and semifinal, besting Miller and Joensuu in the latter by 0.66 seconds and 2.63 seconds, respectively. Blanchet placed fourth in that same semifinal (+5.15) and advanced to the final as a lucky loser with a fast-enough time, along with Joensuu (Patterson and Miller automatically advanced in first and second).

    With her 4-for-4 record at 2018 nationals, Patterson is the most successful woman at U.S. Cross Country Championships since U.S. Ski Team member Jessie Diggins was the top American in all four races at 2012 nationals in Rumford, Maine.

    In the men’s classic sprint final, Reese Hanneman (APU) captured his second title in as many sprints this week (after winning the freestyle sprint on Friday). He won the qualifying round by 2.84 seconds in 3:21.93, and later the final by a 0.2 seconds in 3:20.62. Kornfield placed second, and Ben Saxton (SMS Elite Team) rounded out the podium in third (+4.78).

    Logan Hanneman, the winner of Friday’s freestyle-sprint qualifier, finished second to his older brother Reese in Monday’s classic-sprint qualifier, then went on to reach the final and place fourth overall (+5.42). Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) placed fifth (+5.52), and Zak Ketterson (Northern Michigan University) was sixth (+6.83).

    Results:

    Women’s qualifier | Women’s final

    Men’s qualifier | Men’s final

    ***

    NorAm Trials (Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec): 15/30 k skiathlons

    The women’s 15 k skiathlon podium on Monday at NorAm trials at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, with Cendrine Browne (c) of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) and Canadian U25 Team in first, Anne-Marie Comeau (l) of Laval University in second, and Dahria Beatty (Alberta World Cup Academy/Canadian World Cup Team) in third. (Photo: Cross Country Canada/Instagram)

    Cendrine Browne won the women’s 15-kilometre skiathlon in 43:01.9 minutes on Monday at the Mont Sainte-Anne (MSA) ski trails to put an exclamation point on her presumptive selection for the PyeongChang Olympics. Browne, of the Centre National d’Entraînement Pierre Harvey (CNEPH)/Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre, which is based in nearby Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, broke away with Laval University’s Anne-Marie Comeau during the classic leg to take a 20-second lead that she held to the finish.

    Comeau faded slightly to take second, 11.9 seconds back, qualifying for U23’s and putting her name in the hat for the upcoming 2018 Olympics. Either Comeau or the winner of Wednesday’s classic interval start should take that potential Olympic berth as Canada’s top female distance skier not already qualified. Browne has theoretically earned a spot as the top women’s sprinter, besides Dahria Beatty, who won the sprint and already met Canada’s Olympic qualifying criteria.

    “It now has to go before the selection committee,” Cross Country Canada’s High Performance Director Thomas Holland wrote in an email on Friday.

    After trials races were shuffled around due to extreme cold, with temperatures near -20 Celsius on Sunday at MSA, it warmed up to a balmy -8 degrees Celsius (17 Fahrenheit) by mid-afternoon on Monday. Both the women’s and men’s skiathlons were held, which not only served as one of two distance races for Olympic selection, but for Junior and U23 World Championships as well.

    In the race for third place, Beatty outsprinted a group of four to take the final podium spot, 19.9 seconds behind Browne and 0.3 seconds ahead of their fellow Canadian National Team member Maya MacIsaac-Jones, of Rocky Mountain Racers (RMR) and U25 Team. Just 0.2 seconds out of fourth, Katherine Stewart-Jones, of the National Training Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay and national U25 Team, placed fifth (+20.4) and CNEPH’s Laura Leclair was another second back in sixth (+21.4).

    Almost 55 seconds passed before the seventh-place finisher came across the line, which was Zina Kocher (Foothills Nordic) skiing alone (+1:15.8). Another 49 seconds later, Jaqueline Mourao of Brazil’s national team placed eighth (+2:04.9), ahead of Zoë Williams (Carleton University) in ninth (+2:11.3), and Andrea Dupont (RMR) in 10th (+2:11.5).

    In the junior women’s 10 k skiathlon, Whitehorse’s Natalie Hynes won in 30:19.8 to punch her ticket to Junior Worlds in Goms, Switzerland, from Jan. 28-Feb. 3. India McIsaac (RMR) finished 0.7 seconds back in second and Orford’s Alexandra Racine completed the podium in third (+32.8).

    The men’s 30 k skiathlon podium at NorAm trials at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, on Sunday, with Knute Johnsgaard (c) of Canada’s World Cup Team in first, Graham Nishikawa (r) of the Canadian Para-Nordic Team in second and Gareth Williams (Telemark Nordic/Canadian U25 Team) in third. (Photo: Cross Country Canada/Instagram)

    On the men’s side, Canadian World Cup Team member Knute Johnsgaard, who met qualifying criteria for PyeongChang last season, shook off a slow start to the World Cup season with a win in the NorAm trials men’s 30 k skiathlon, finishing in 1:13:30.9.

    Graham Nishikawa, who’s already destined for the PyeongChang Paralympics as a guide on the Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team, finished 1 second back for second place. The 34-year-old Nishikawa edged out first-year senior national-team member Gareth Williams, 20, of Telemark Nordic and the national U25 Team, by 0.5 seconds. Williams was the top U23 athlete to qualify for this year’s U23 World Championships.

    The top 6 finished within 41 seconds of the podium, with Jack Carlyle (AWCA) in fourth (+5.8), Philippe Boucher (CNEPH) in fifth (+13.9), and Scott Hill (BXC) in sixth (+40.7). World Cup Team member Len Valjas led the next group across the line in seventh (+1:28.6), followed by Bob Thompson (NTDC Thunder Bay) in eighth (+1:29.4), Alexis Dumas (CNEPH) in ninth (+1:35.5), and Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier (CNEPH) in 10th (+1:35.7)

    CNEPH’s Antoine Cyr won the junior mens 15 k skiathlon in 50:13.1 to earn a spot at Junior Worlds. Félix Longpré, of the local M.S.A. ski club, finished second (+15.7) and Thomas Manktelow was third (+49.0), just ahead of his Alberta World Cup Academy teammate Étienne Hébert in fourth (+49.3).

    After Sunday’s racing was postponed due to temperatures well below the legal race limit, the remaining trials schedule includes freestyle sprints on Tuesday (for Junior and U23 World Championships qualifying purposes only), and classic interval starts on Wednesday.

    Results

  • Friday Rundown: Oberhof, Mont Sainte-Anne Trials, and U.S. Nationals

    Friday Rundown: Oberhof, Mont Sainte-Anne Trials, and U.S. Nationals

    The Hanneman brothers after Friday’s skate sprint at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, where they live and train with Alaska Pacific University. Reese Hanneman (l) won the men’s final and younger brother Logan (r) won the men’s qualifying round.

    U.S. Cross Country Championships (Anchorage, Alaska): Freestyle sprints

    Men’s report

    Women’s report

    Caitlin Patterson racked up her second-straight national title at this year’s 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships and Reese Hanneman topped the men’s freestyle sprint final on Friday at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska.

    In the first of two sprints at 2018 U.S. nationals, Patterson, the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) skier who won the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle on Wednesday, posted a 3.56-second win in the women’s 1.5 k freestyle sprint final on Friday.

    After qualifying 12th, 5.76 seconds back from Anne Hart of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, who won the qualifier in 3:22.10, Patterson won both her quarterfinal and semifinal, both times ahead of University of Denver (DU) junior Jasmi Joensuu in second.

    The two advanced to the final, where Patterson reached the finish line first once more in 3:20.93, about 3 1/2 seconds ahead of Joensuu in second and 4.19 seconds ahead of Petra Hyncicova, a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder, in third. Craftsbury had two in the final with Kaitlynn Miller placing fourth (+4.35). U20 skier Hannah Halvorsen of Alaska Pacific University (APU) and the U.S. Ski Team (USST) finished fifth (+7.66), and Kelsey Phinney of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) placed sixth (+9.78).

    Hart won her quarterfinal then placed third in the first semifinal, behind Miller, who won that heat, and Hyncicova in second, to miss advancing to the final. Hart had won the qualifier by 1.78 seconds over Joensuu in second.

    In the men’s 1.6 k skate sprint, Logan Hanneman (APU) won the qualifier in 3:07.4. Kevin Bolger (SVSEF) qualified in second (+0.48), and older brother Reese Hanneman (APU) was third (+1.13).

    In the quarterfinals, Reese won his heat by 0.19 seconds ahead of his teammate Tyler Kornfield, and Logan finished second, 0.42 seconds behind U18 skier Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars), as the winner of the first quarterfinal. Bolger won the fourth quarterfinal.

    Reese raced to another win in the second semifinal, 0.17 seconds ahead of Bolger in second. APU’s Eric Packer won the first semi, 1.66 seconds clear of Zak Ketterson of Northern Michigan University (NMU) in second. Logan finished fifth in that semifinal, 4.48 seconds out of first, trailing Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) in third and Schumacher in fourth.

    In the final, which included three APU athletes out of six total, Reese nipped Bolger by just eight-hundredths of a second for the win in 3:11.33. APU had two on the podium with Kornfield in third (+0.88). Ketterson finished fourth (+1.92), Packer was fifth (+2.34), and DU sophomore Eivind Romberg Kvaale was sixth (+14.08).

    U.S. nationals racing continues Sunday with the 20/30 k classic mass starts.

    Complete results

    ***

    NorAm Trials (Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec): Classic sprints

    The men’s classic sprint podium at 2018 Canadian NorAm Trials on Friday at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, with Julien Locke (second from r) in first, Russell Kennedy (r) in second, Bob Thompson (c) in third, Evan Palmer-Charrette (second from l) in fourth, and Dominique Moncion-Groulx (l) in fifth. (Photo: Canmore Nordic Ski Club/Instagram)

    Canada’s NorAm Olympic trials opened Friday at Mont Sainte-Anne in Beaupré, Quebec, with Dahria Beatty (Canadian World Cup Team/Alberta World Cup Academy) winning the women’s 1.35-kilometer classic sprint and Julien Locke (Canadian U25 Team/Black Jack) topping the men’s 1.35 k classic sprint final. While Beatty has already secured her spot at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Locke has not — but the win didn’t ensure he’ll be selected to the team. In a tiebreaker, it looks like he is second on the men’s sprint list at trials to Russell Kennedy, of Canmore Nordic/Team R.A.D.

    Based on its published nomination procedures for the 2018 Olympic Games, Cross Country Canada (CCC) will consider both qualifying and final results in its “sprint selection ranking process”. In the men’s qualifying round on Friday, Kennedy qualified first (in 3:02.81 minutes) and Locke followed in second (3.06 seconds back). Kennedy later placed second to Locke in the men’s final. Effectively, that meant they were tied, should CCC select another male sprinter to its Olympic team. But the tiebreaker is the qualifying round, which Kennedy won.

    To reach the final, Kennedy placed second in his quarterfinal, behind Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH), and Locke was second in his quarterfinal as well, behind Andy Shields of Lappe Nordic. All four automatically advanced to the semifinals, where Kennedy posted a 1.12-second win over Bob Thompson, of the National Team Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay, and Locke edged Jess Cockney (of the Canadian World Cup Team, who prequalified for PyeongChang) by 0.34 seconds.

    In the final, Locke notched a 1.17-second win over Kennedy, crossing the line first in 3:04.16. Thompson took third (+2.49), Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) was fourth (+5.74), Dominique Moncion-Groulx (AWCA) was fifth (+7.2) and Cockney sixth (+55.97). Len Valjas, who is recovering from a shoulder injury and is prequalified for PyeongChang, won the men’s B-final for seventh overall.

    In the women’s race, Beatty qualified first in 3:41.55, then won both her quarterfinal and semifinal before topping the final as well in 3:45.02, 0.64 seconds ahead of Maya MacIsaac-Jones (U25 Team/Rocky Mountain Racers) in second. Katherine Stewart-Jones (U25 Team/NTDC Thunder Bay) finished third (+1.2) in the final, Cendrine Browne (U25 Team/CNEPH) was fourth (+4.58), Annika Hicks (AWCA) fifth  (+10.21), and Andrea Dupont (RMR) sixth (+12.18).

    Browne posted the second-fastest qualifying time, 3.13 seconds back from Beatty. Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (RMR) qualified third (+8.08), but was disqualified in her quarterfinal. MacIsaac-Jones qualified fourth (+8.49), putting her total points for the day — based on CCC’s selection ranking — at 6. Browne scored 6 points as well (for qualifying second then finishing fourth overall), but with the better qualifier, Browne is expected to be deemed the winner of that Olympic sprint spot. Laura Leclair (CNEPH) qualified fifth (+10.57), and Stewart-Jones ranked fifth (+13.8) in the qualifying round.

    NTDC Thunder Bay’s Katherine Stewart-Jones (l) and CNEPH’s Cendrine Browne, both the Canadian U25 Team, after the NorAm Trials classic sprint at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec. (Photo: Mario Walker/NorAm MSA 2018 Facebook)

    Browne won her quarterfinal by 1.5 seconds over Hicks, and the two met again in the semifinal, which Browne also won, this time by 2.81 seconds over Hicks. MacIsaac-Jones posted a 0.25-second quarterfinal win over Dupont, then finished second in her semifinal, 0.22 seconds behind Beatty.

    Fresh off racing Period 1 of the World Cup, Browne, 24, is best known as a distance skier, but she’s been on the NorAm sprint podium before. She last won a sprint qualifier and finished second overall at two years ago at the Canmore NorAm in December 2015.

    Kennedy, 26, as last year’s overall NorAm winner also spent the last two months racing World Cup Period 1. He is an American-born dual citizen who has lived in Canada since 2010. He’s also expected to attend the PyeongChang Paralympics as a backup guide for Brian McKeever.

    In an email, CCC High Performance Director Thomas Holland confirmed Browne and Kennedy were the sprint-selection winners next in line for Olympic quota spots.

    On the NorAm Hayward Mont Sainte-Anne Facebook page, the following announcement was posted on Saturday:

    “Cendrine has officially been named the winner of the Olympic sprint selection event.

    The only catch is that Cross Country Canada’s official selection cannot be announced until FIS (the international ski federation) announces its final quota re-allocation at the end of January.

    The most recent version of the FIS quotas, dated yesterday morning (Friday) allocates only eight quotas for Canada. IN THEORY, that quota could be lowered further still, in which case certain named athletes could be left out.

    Which is why Cendrine will have to wait until late January to shout her news from the rooftops!

    Her victory in the sprint selection is doubly important as it puts her in the Number 3 spot on the women’s team, behind Dahria Beatty and Emily Nishikawa, according to Amendment #2 of Cross Country Canada’s Olympic selection criteria.

    If the FIS quota were to be lowered to 7, for example, it would be the women’s distance winner who would lose out.”

    The NorAm trials for Olympics as well as Junior and U23 World Championships resume Monday with skiathlons, followed by skate sprints on Tuesday. Sunday’s 10/15 k classic individual starts were postponed to Wednesday.

    Results: Qualifying round | Heats

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Oberhof, Germany): Men’s 10 k sprint

    Full report

    Tim Burke shooting clean in standing for his second-straight stage en route to a fourth-place finish in the men’s 10 k sprint on Friday at the IBU World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)

    In his first race of the new year, Tim Burke raced to fourth — his best result in four years — in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Oberhof, Germany.

    The 35-year-old American started 22nd out of 103 and shot clean to cross the finish line in third, 20.1 seconds behind France’s Martin Fourcade, who also shot clean and finished in 25:03.3 minutes — a time that would hold up against the entire field as the fastest and give the Frenchman his second win of the season.

    Fourcade had bumped early race leader Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø to second, after Bø missed two targets on his initial prone stage then cleaned standing (2+0), but skied the fastest overall course time to reach the podium. Burke’s time was 9.9 short of Bø’s.

    Ultimately, Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen as the 58th starter bumped Bø to third and Burke off the podium, finishing second, 8.1 seconds behind Fourcade, also with clean shooting.

    Canada was led by Scott Gow in 32nd (+1:48.7), who had a single standing penalty (0+1), and his brother Christian Gow finished 36th (+1:50.3) with one standing miss as well (0+1). Brendan Green was 57th (+2:30.4) with three penalties (1+2), and in his first European World Cup race, Carsen Campbell finished finished 94th (+4:05.3) with two misses (2+0).

    The U.S. started two men on Friday, with Sean Doherty finishing 84th (+3:24.4) with four penalties (3+1).

    The Oberhof IBU World Cup continues Saturday with the men’s and women’s pursuits.

    Results

  • U.S. Nationals Rundown: Pattersons Rule 10/15 k Skate

    U.S. Nationals Rundown: Pattersons Rule 10/15 k Skate

    Caitlin Patterson of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) earned a national title on Wednesday with a win in the women’s 10 k freestyle at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Instagram/US Nationals 2018)

    2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships (Anchorage, Alaska): 10/15 k freestyle

    Men’s report

    Women’s report

    The Patterson siblings are crushing it on Day 1 of the U.S. Cross Country Championships at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska.

    Scott Patterson (APU/USST) racing to a 55-second win in the men’s 15 k freestyle on Wednesday at U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Jim Jager/US Nationals 2018 Instagram)

    Scott Patterson raced to a 55.2-second victory over Noah Hoffman in the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start on Wednesday. Patterson is an Anchorage-based U.S. Ski Team (USST) member who trains with Alaska Pacific University (APU). Hoffman is a former USST member who raced Period 1 of the World Cup with Patterson. Matt Liebsch, of Pioneer Midwest, placed third, 1:16.5 minutes off of Patterson’s winning time of 36:33.7.

    Patterson’s older sister, Caitlin Patterson, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CRGP) won the women’s 10 k freestyle earlier on Wednesday by 19.7 seconds over Caitlin Gregg, who’s affiliated with Central Cross Country (CXC), Loppet Nordic Racing (LNR) and Team Gregg. APU’s Chelsea Holmes, who raced World Cup Period 1, placed third, 24.4 seconds off Patterson’s winning time of 27:09.1.

    Also in the top 10 in the women’s race were Rosie Frankowski (APU) in fourth, University of Colorado Boulder (CU) skiers Petra Hyncicova and Christina Rolandsen in fifth and sixth, respectively, Erika Flowers of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team in seventh, Hailey Swirbul (University of Alaska Anchorage) in eighth, Becca Rorabaugh (APU) in ninth, and Hedda Bångman (CU) in 10th.

    In the men’s top 10 were Rogan Brown of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) in fourth, Tad Elliott (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) in fifth, Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars) in sixth, Brian Gregg (CXC/LNR/Team Greg) in seventh, Jack Hegman (SVSEF) in eighth, Benjamin Ogden (SMS) in ninth, and Adam Martin (CGRP) in 10th.

    Results: Men | Women

  • ‘After Much Deliberation’, West Yellowstone to Host SuperTour Opener This Weekend

    ‘After Much Deliberation’, West Yellowstone to Host SuperTour Opener This Weekend

    The show will go on in West Yellowstone, Montana. After organizers of the Yellowstone Ski Festival (YSF) announced in an e-blast on Monday that the West Yellowstone SuperTour, set for this coming weekend, was canceled due to “damage done to the snowpack from the significant rainfall over the past few days,” it’s back on — according to a YSF press release on Tuesday.

    “After much deliberation, alternate planning, checking and re-checking weather forecasts, and some more deliberation, the West Yellowstone Organizing Committee, Coaches, and US Ski & Snowboard officials, the decision has been made to hold the Super Tour openers in West

    Yellowstone,” the release stated. Robert Lazzaroni, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s nordic domestic program director, confirmed the races would be held in West in an email to FasterSkier.

    As of Tuesday, the snow in the stadium and race course at the Rendezvous Ski Trails were suitable for 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprints to be held as planned on Saturday, Dec. 2, according to the release.

    Sunday’s classic races (originally supposed to be 10/15 k classic mass starts) are another story. Organizers are considering four race options, the first three of which are classic races.

    “On Saturday, December 2, the powers that be and the powers that ski will meet to decide on one of the following options for the race scheduled for Sunday, December 3,” the release stated, while listing the following:

    “A. Classic Distance Mass Start Super Tour

    a. We need 10 cm of natural snow to make this happen plus some help spot shoveling

    B. Classic Distance Interval Start on homologated trails and with the Super Tour designation

    a. We need 6-7 cm of snow to make this happen plus some spot shoveling

    C. Classic Distance Interval Start on Dead Dog Super Tour

    a. We need 4-5cm of snow to make this happen

    D. Skate Distance Interval Start NOT A Super Tour, NRL with prize money

    a. If we do this the Super Tour will move to Silver Star on Friday Dec 8th or Monday Dec 11th with the preference being on the 8th”

    After this weekend, the SuperTour circuit will head north to link up with Canada’s NorAm opener as scheduled at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, British Columbia. Sovereign is set to host classic sprints and 10/15 k freestyle NorAm/SuperTour races Dec. 9-10.

    If there’s no classic distance event in West this weekend, SuperTour organizers will aim to hold a classic distance mass start at Sovereign on Friday, Dec. 8. And if Dec. 8 doesn’t work, they’ll move it to Monday, Dec. 11.

    “The West Yellowstone OC will meet tomorrow morning to begin the process of scouting for snow to harvest. An announcement will be made about a meeting time and plan of attack,” the release stated. “An agreement has been made to keep the race courses closed to preserve the snow as much as possible. Please respect this closure and keep off the course. We will do our best to get as many kilometers groomed as we can and will attempt to groom more on the Plateau Road. Keep your eyes on the daily grooming reports for the most up-to-date trail conditions.”

    As of Wednesday morning, there was no rain in West Yellowstone’s forecast, but rather a chance of snow showers on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

    FIS Race Results

    Last Saturday, Nov. 25, season-opening International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned races were held on the Rendezvous Trails, with Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) winning the women’s 5 k freestyle and Kyle Bratrud (CXC Team) topping the men’s 10 k freestyle.

    Gregg won the individual start by just 0.9 seconds over Caitlin Patterson, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP), in 12:01.0 minutes. Petra Hyncicova, a University of Colorado Boulder (CU) senior from the Czech Republic, placed third, 5.6 seconds back.

    (Team Gregg Instagram)
    (Caitlin Patterson Instagram)

    Erika Flowers, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team), finished fourth (+11.1), and Christina Rolandsen, a CU junior from Norway, took fifth (+19.7). Another Norwegian Anne Siri Lervik (Team Asker) finished sixth (+21.2), Mary Rose, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) was seventh (+28.0), Sydney Palmer-Leger (UOP Sports Clubs) was eighth (+32.5), Felicia Geisor ninth (+33.8), and Corey Stock, of the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) 10th (+41.1) out of 38 women.

    In the men’s race, Bratrud edged Rogan Brown (SVSEF) by 0.6 seconds with a winning time of 21:32.0. Sun Valley had two on the podium and three in the top four with Kevin Bolger in third (+3.7) and John “Jack” Hegman in fourth (+8.7). Karsten Hokanson, a Montana State University junior, placed fifth (+12.2), Brian Gregg (Team Gregg) was sixth (+15.5), Akeo Maifeld-Carucci (Bend Endurance Academy) seventh (+22.9), Ben Lustgarten (CGRP) eighth (+30.3), Cole Morgan (SVSEF) ninth (+32.8), and Silas Talbot (BSF) 10th (+37.8) out of 49 men.

    FIS results: Women | Men

  • FasterSkier’s Collegiate Skiers of the Year: Martin Bergström and Petra Hynčicova

    FasterSkier’s Collegiate Skiers of the Year: Martin Bergström and Petra Hynčicova

    Martin Bergström and Petra Hyncicova are FasterSkier’s 2017 Collegiate of the Year. (Photos: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    With the 2016/2017 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. Votes stem from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S. and Canada, and while not scientific, they are intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This set of honors goes to outstanding male and female skiers on the U.S. NCAA collegiate circuit.

    ***

    When you win both races at NCAA Championships, that makes you an easy pick for Collegiate Skier of the Year. Both Martin Bergström and Petra Hyncicova swept the two men’s and women’s nordic races, respectively, at this year’s NCAA Skiing Championships in Jackson, N.H., with Bergström winning the men’s 10-kilometer classic individual start by almost 27 seconds and Hyncicova topping the women’s 5 k classic by almost 19 seconds. It was the first NCAA title for both skiers, with Bergström new to the NCAA scene as a University of Utah freshman from Sweden, and Hyncicova a University of Colorado-Boulder junior from the Czech Republic.

    Martin Bergström, University of Utah

    The finishing stretch of the NCAA 20 k, with Utah’s Martin Bergström (c) skiing just ahead of CU’s Mads Ek Strøm (r) for first. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    Two days later, Bergström, 25, won the men’s 20 k freestyle mass start on one of the coldest days of the year in the northeast. Rounding Jackson Ski Touring Center’s 5 k loop four times, he navigated the icy conditions and strong headwind in the stadium with the best of them, outlasting last year’s NCAA Champion Mads Strøm for the win by 0.5 seconds.

    “I just went for it,” Bergström told FasterSkier afterward. “… I was just happy too see that it was a high-tempo, pack finish, and with the wind and everything, I think it was smart to go a little before the final stretch.”

    In doing so, Bergström led the University of Utah to its first NCAA Skiing team title (nordic & alpine) since 2003.

    It was his first win and sixth podium of the season after competing on the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) circuit since January. Two years ago at U23 World Championships, the Swede finished seventh in the classic sprint in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He’s started four World Cups, posting a career-best 23rd in a 2014 freestyle sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. And two years ago, the former Swedish National Development Team member stopped skiing. He returned to it as a Utah Ute this season.

    “Two years ago, I quit skiing back in Sweden, and I took one year off just studying,” Bergström explained. “A friend of mine was on the [Utah] team and he said there were spots open and that I should try a different environment of skiing and studying. So I talked to the coaches and eventually went for this trip and have had so much fun and made many friends. I’m just so happy I came here.”

    After starting a civil engineering program in Sweden, he explained he has two years of eligibility left as a U.S. collegiate skier, but was unsure of his plans as of mid-March.

    “I took a chance and came here, but I haven’t decided if I’m going to stay or not, but we’ll see,” he said.

    Petra Hynčicova, University of Colorado-Boulder

    Petra Hyncicova (University of Colorado-Boulder), 2017 NCAA double champion. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    Then there was Hynčicova, a 22-year-old from the Czech Republic, who won the 2017 NCAA Championships women’s 15 k freestyle mass start by 21 seconds over the University of Vermont’s Alayna Sonnesyn after breaking away on the last lap.

    “I’m so glad I went to the U.S. Every year I’m more and more glad,” Hynčicova said after. “This year was actually supposed to be my last year. I have one more year of NCAA eligibility so I applied for a master’s program [at CU] so I can be here next year also and I’m so excited.”

    Over the course of the 2017 RMISA season, Hynčicova notched five podiums, two of which were wins. She picked up two more victories — her first NCAA titles — to end her season in Jackson. And at this year’s U23 World Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah, she finished 17th in the 10 k freestyle for her best result at her second U23’s. Three years ago at 2014 Junior World Championships, Hynčicova placed ninth in a freestyle sprint.

    Notably, in 28 career races at CU, she has finished fifth or better in 20 of them and won five races. She is a six-time All-American and is the 15th CU Buff to sweep both women’s nordic races at NCAA Championships.

    “When the season started, I figured that I was in really good shape this year, so I was hoping that I could be on the podium again at NCAA’s and maybe hoping that I could win the skate race,” Hynčicova said. “But after winning the classic race and after the injury and everything I can’t believe it, it’s insane for me.”

    Since U23 Worlds, she had been nursing a painful bursa between her Achilles tendon and heel bone.

    “It’s better, but it hurts in every race so I’m glad I’m done because the season’s over,” Hynčicova said.

    Honorable Mention: Alayna Sonnesyn, University of Vermont

    Alayna Sonnesyn on the podium at 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships. (Photo: flyingpointroad.com)

    The only woman to share the podium with Hynčicova both days: Alayna Sonnesyn of UVM. Sonnesyn placed third in the 5 k classic and second in the 15 k skate, the best NCAA finishes of her career by far.

    “I am so happy with the way things went,” Sonnesyn said of the Championships. “I definitely had some high goals for this week. I haven’t had the best luck with my NCAA experiences in the past and so I knew I could be competitive this year, but I didn’t know how competitive I could be.”

    Sonnesyn, who is originally from Minnesota, was also the only American on the podium either day.

    And like Hynčicova, she had taken a break mid-season from college racing to represent her country at U23 Championships earlier in the season, finishing 33rd in the 10 k freestyle. Before that, at U.S. National Championships, she was the top collegiate athlete in the women’s 20 k classic, finishing 14th.

    “The best advice anyone ever gave me about racing was to have fun,” Sonnesyn wrote in her Under 23 Questions profile earlier this season.

    Honorable Mention: Fabián Štoček, Dartmouth College

    CU’s Petter Reistad (r) and Dartmouth’s Fabian Stocek racing toward the finish. (Photo: Karen Brown)

    You can see Fabián Štoček in the photo of Bergström enjoying his 20 k win. The Dartmouth College senior is right there, on the right, in it ’til the end but 1.3 seconds off the podium.

    Štoček landed fifth in that race, the top guy from the East, after finishing 12th in the 10 k classic. But his finishes at NCAA Championships didn’t tell the whole story of the season: Štoček thoroughly dominated the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association circuit, winning seven races and landing as the overall leader in both the classic and freestyle disciplines. His performance in the 20 k also helped Dartmouth to fourth place at NCAA’s, their best finish in five years.

  • Utah Rallies for NCAA Title; Bergström, Hyncicova Double Champs

    Petra Hyncicova of the University of Colorado-Boulder leading the women’s 15 k freestyle mass start out of the start on Saturday, the last day of NCAA Skiing Championships in Jackson, N.H., with Northern Michigan’s Nicole Schneider (2) and UVM’s Alayna Sonnesyn (3) right there with her.

    JACKSON, N.H. — Two years ago, Martin Bergström quit skiing.

    A month ago, Petra Hyncicova took three weeks off skiing following U23 World Championships due to a painful bursa between her Achilles tendon and heel bone.

    Less than a week after resuming training, Hyncicova, a 22-year-old Czech Republic native and University of Colorado-Boulder (CU) junior, raced to two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Skiing Championships titles — the first of her career — in Jackson, N.H.

    The University of Utah ski team celebrates its first NCAA title since 2003 on Saturday, March 11 at 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships in Jackson, N.H. (Photo: Flyingpointroad.com)

    Bergström, a 25-year-old Swedish freshman at the University of Utah, did the same, winning both nordic races at 2017 NCAA Championships and leading the Utah Ski Team to its first team title since 2003.

    Both started off with decisive victories in the women’s 5-kilometer and men’s 10 k classic individual starts last Thursday, with Hyncicova topping the former by 18.7 seconds and Bergström winning the latter by 26.8 seconds.

    Then on Saturday, with temperatures hovering just above the legal racing limit of -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) and winds ripping across the field that served as the stadium, the two international skiers completed their championships sweep with wins in the women’s 15 k and men’s 20 k freestyle mass starts.

    “When the season started, I figured that I was in really good shape this year,” said Hyncicova, whose previous best NCAA Championships result was second in the skate race last year in Steamboat Springs, Colo. “I was hoping that I could be on the podium again at NCAA’s and maybe hoping that I could win the skate race, but after winning the classic race and after the injury and everything I can’t believe it. It’s insane for me.”

    “Two years ago, I quit skiing back in Sweden and I took one year of just studying,” Bergström said. “And then a friend of mine was on the [Utah] team, and he said there were spots open and that I should try a different environment of skiing and studying and that I could come over here. So I talked to the coaches, and eventually went for this trip and have had so much fun and made many friends. I’m just so happy I came here.”

    On Saturday, Bergström led three Utah men in the top 10, with Martin Mikkelsen placing eighth and Kevin Bolger 10th. The three scored 84 points and their women’s team emerged as the second-highest scorers in the second race of the day to give the Utes a 16.5-point win over Colorado (CU) to end the championships.

    Reflecting on his win on Saturday, before the women’s 15 k, Bergström anticipated it would be a tall order to win the team title.

    “It’s been amazing, and it’s an amazing team,” he said of his season with Utah. “All the training we’ve done and the work we’ve put in this fall and winter. I’m just so happy. Hopefully there’s a slim chance the girls can pull off an amazing race. We’ll see.”

    Utah Director of Skiing Kevin Sweeney later explained just how difficult it was to come from second place on Friday to take the win over CU and Denver University (with Denver finishing third, just one point behind Colorado). In the last decade of NCAAs, Colorado has placed first or second seven times, according to a press release. Denver is next in line with six top-two finishes (including five titles) since 2008.

    “We’ve been crunching numbers and have been able to beat Denver and Colorado by about 30 points on a really good showing during the RMISA [Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Skiing Association] season, but didn’t know if we could do it in the championships,” Sweeney said, according to a Utah press release. “Bergström was skiing at a whole new level this week, and Mikkelsen had stepped it up, and I knew Kevin Bolger could get top 10. I was also confident in the women, who have been skiing awesome, so I felt good there. It’s awesome to be able to take this new trophy back to our new ski building.”

    Bergström’s Late Move

    The men’s 20 k came down to a five-way sprint to the line, with Bergström taking the win by 0.5 seconds over Mads Ek Strøm, CU senior and two-time 2016 NCAA champion.

    Utah’s Martin Bergström (9) leading CU’s Mads Ek Strøm (35) and Petter Reistad (7) and DU’s Moritz Madlener (behind Bergström) down the finishing stretch of the men’s 20 k freestyle mass start at 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships on Saturday in Jackson, N.H. (Photo: Karen Brown)

    After Denver’s Moritz Madlener led most of the race, Bergström moved to the front on the start of the fourth and final lap. With 5 k remaining, six men remained together: Bergström, Madlener, Strøm, Adam Martin of Northern Michigan University (NMU), Fabian Stocek of Dartmouth College, and Petter Reistad (CU). On the final lap, the group began to string out and Bergström opened up the narrow lead he needed to win at the finish, crossing in 46:02.8 minutes.

    “I just went for it,” Bergström said. “Tried to check who still had power in the legs. Moritz just answered when I upped the tempo, and he continued my push in the second lap, and I knew I was faster in the finish than Moritz, so he had to make his move before the sprint. As an old sprinter, I feel pretty comfortable making a pass. I can maneuver pretty efficiently. I was just happy too see that it was a high-tempo, pack finish, and with the wind and everything, I think it was smart to go a little before the final stretch.”

    On the final lap, Strøm, the defending champion who won both races at last year’s NCAAs, tried to position himself near the lead going into the first climb out of the stadium, just in case someone attacked.

    “They went kind of fast up there, but not too fast, and I was in fourth and I felt pretty good,” Strøm, a 25-year-old Norwegian, said. “Adam Martin caught me sleeping, and gave a gap, so I had to pass him.”

    With about 2 k to go, Strøm said about four men remained in the front group before his teammate, Reistad, pushed to latch back on.

    “Petter came back up, and I was like, ‘Come on dude, just use the speed and try to move up and take the lead,’ and he did,” Strøm said.

    On the pivotal last A-climb at the top of the course, Strøm found himself in third and unsure of his next move.

    “I wasn’t sure how strong the people in front of me were,” he said. “I should have done something sooner, over the last hill of the race. It’s kind of short, the last stretch of the race. I felt pretty good so I’m a little disappointed in second.”

    Saturday stood as Strøm’s second skate race of the season. He had appendix surgery in January.

    “I hadn’t raced much this year,” he said. “At first, I felt pretty good, actually.”

    He started Thursday’s 10 k classic in bib 1 and double poled to eighth place.

    “We decided on double poling and I started bib 1, and I got pretty screwed by that because I had to plow all the snow out of the way,” Strøm said. “I knew the shape was good, and today I was just… I mean second place is OK, but I wanted to win.”

    Just 0.1 seconds behind Strøm on Saturday, Madlener, a 23-year-old German senior who placed second and third at NCAA’s last year, achieved his first podium of the week, 0.6 seconds out of first.

    Reistad finished fourth (+1.2), Stocek fifth (+1.9) and Martin, who was in podium contention until the final lap, sixth (+18.7).

    Asked what his skiing plans are now, Bergström wasn’t sure.

    “I started a civil engineering program back home, and I have two years of eligibility here, but I don’t know,” he said. “I took a chance, and came here, but I haven’t decided if I’m going to stay or not, but we’ll see.”

    Hyncicova Goes For It

    Petra Hyncicova (University of Colorado-Boulder) celebrates her second-straight 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships title on Saturday after winning the women’s 15 k freestyle mass start at the Jackson Ski Touring Center in Jackson, N.H. (Photo: Flyingpointroad.com)

    Two-time 2017 women’s champion Hyncicova, who broke away from the pack with the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Alayna Sonnesyn halfway though the women’s 15 k, said coming to the U.S. was one of her best decisions.

    “I’m so glad I went to the U.S. Every year I’m more and more glad,” she said. “This year was actually supposed to be my last year. I have one more year of NCAA eligibility so I applied for a master’s program so I can be here next year also and I’m so excited.”

    She raced to a 21.1-second victory over Sonnesyn on Saturday in 39:21.6. The next-closest finisher, Hyncicova’s CU teammate Christina Rolandsen, crossed 17.8 seconds later in third (+38.9).

    “Starting with bib 1, it’s easy to be first out of the start,” Hyncicova said of leading out of the start.

    After setting the pace for the first 5 k, she tucked behind Rolandsen, a Norwegian sophomore, to start the the second lap.

    “I was trying on each lap to make a little bit smaller group, and I saw my teammate Christina so I was trying to get her in the group [so] we could go together,” Hyncicova added.

    When she noticed Rolandsen tiring on the second lap, she surged back to the front.

    “Then I took off a little bit,” Hyncicova said. “It wasn’t intentional, but Alayna stuck with me, so I was like, ‘OK, we can do it together. It will be nice to go just in two.’ ”

    Sonnesyn, a junior from Minnesota, led the two-woman breakaway for roughly four kilometers, up until the final A-climb of the race.

    “Coming through this field, it’s so windy, no one wanted to be up front,” Sonnesyn reflected. “I knew that she didn’t want to take the lead, I could tell, but I thought that if I sat back and didn’t take the lead either, the other girls were gonna come back and catch us and I didn’t want that to happen.

    “I kind of knew what was going to happen,” she added of Hyncicova’s game-changing move on the last hill. “She made a really great move up one of the hardest hills up to the high point and I was so impressed with how fast she could ski. I wanted to stay with her, but I just couldn’t. … I mean, she just took off. It was impressive.”

    While the women’s race included several downhill crashes on a hard-packed course, including a close one from Sonnesyn while she was leading on the second lap, Hyncicova said she wasn’t afraid to send it.

    “I love downhill skiing on nordic skis, so for me, it was really fun,” Hyncicova said. “I’m not scared and I enjoyed it.”

    For Sonnesyn, second place marked her second podium of 2017 NCAAs after placing third last Thursday. In two NCAA appearances before that, she had yet to crack the top 20.

    “I am so happy with the way things went,” Sonnesyn said on Saturday. “I definitely had some high goals for this week. I haven’t had the best luck with my NCAA experiences in the past and so I knew I could be competitive this year, but I didn’t know how competitive I could be.”

    She made a point to focus on how she was feeling and not worry about anyone else, both in Thursday’s individual start and Saturday’s mass start.

    “It’s tough to break away on this course, so I knew that if someone was going to break away I didn’t want to be the one to do it, but I wanted to be with them,” she added. “And that’s kind of exactly how it happened. I’m just so happy with the way things went this whole week. … I feel like I’ve improved so much over these last few years with Patrick Weaver as a coach. He’s helped me so much just to become a better skier. I love the sport and I’m just so excited for next year.”

    After Anika Miller of Montana State University (MSU) placed fourth (+44.0), Utah took fifth and sixth with Merete Myrseth (+1:01.5) and Guro Jordheim (+1:16.1), and was the only women’s team with all three in the top 14 with Natalia Müller in 14th (+1:32.1). In all, the Utah women scored 73 points (behind Colorado with 77) to help their program notch its 11th NCAA Skiing title.

    “The turning point of today is when Guro broke a pole, and she was back in the 20’s, and she and Natalia were skiing together,” Sweeney said, according to the press release. “We told them that they had to go and they busted out and made a big move. The men’s results were tremendous, but whether or not we were going to win was based on those guys making the move. It was exceptional athleticism and gutsy performances.”

    Behind Utah with 541.5 points, CU (525) and DU (524) in the top three, Dartmouth placed fourth (400), UVM fifth (355), and MSU sixth (320) in the four-day alpine-nordic, season-ending series.

    Saturday’s results: Men | Women | Team

  • Saturday Rundown: Holmenkollen, Kontiolahti, Jackson, and Lake Placid (Updated x4)

    Saturday Rundown: Holmenkollen, Kontiolahti, Jackson, and Lake Placid (Updated x4)

    The University of Utah ski team celebrating its first NCAA title since 2003 on Saturday at 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships in Jackson, N.H. (Photo: Jason Clay/Colorado)

    NCAA Skiing Championships (Jackson, N.H.): 15/20 k freestyle mass starts

    On the final day of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Skiing Championships in northern New Hampshire, the University of Utah pulled out a 16.5-point victory over the University of Colorado-Boulder (and finished 17.5 points ahead of the University of Denver) in the team standings, and the two previous NCAA champions from Thursday’s 5/10 k classic races, Martin Bergström and Petra Hyncicova, achieved their second-straight titles in as many nordic races this week.

    On a frigid Saturday morning in Jackson, N.H., with temperatures just below zero Fahrenheit for the start of the men’s 20 k freestyle mass start, Bergström, a Utah freshman from Sweden, outlasted the University of Colorado’s (CU) Mads Ek Strøm, a Norwegian senior and two-time 2016 NCAA champion, by 0.5 seconds to win his second-straight race in 46:02.8 minutes. Moritz Madlener, a German senior at Denver University (DU), placed third (+0.6). Just behind him CU’s Petter Reistad, of Norway, finished fourth (+1.2), and Dartmouth College’s Fabian Stocek, of the Czech Republic, placed fifth (+1.9).

    While temperatures warmed up to about 1 degree for the women’s 15 k freestyle mass start and the wind picked up to about 15-20 miles per hour, the women raced three laps around the Jackson Ski Touring Center’s race loop and navigated even faster downhills that caused a few crashes.

    Hyncicova used her love for downhills and skate races to capture her second consecutive NCAA title, breaking away with University of Vermont (UVM) junior Alayna Sonnesyn on the second lap. The Czech Republic native and CU junior attacked on the A-climb at the top of the course and won by 21.1 seconds in 39:21.6. Sonnesyn, of Minnesota, bested her third place from Thursday’s 5 k with a second-place finish on Saturday. CU’s Christina Rolandsen, of Norway, finished third (+38.9), ahead of Idaho native Anika Miller of Montana State University (MSU) in fourth (+44.0).

    Utah took fifth and sixth with Merete Myrseth (+1:01.5) and Guro Jordheim (+1:16.1), and had two other men in the top 10 (Martin Mikkelsen in 8th and Kevin Bolger in 10th) to achieve the alpine-nordic team title.

    In the women’s race, the Utes were the only team with all three women in the top 14, with Natalia Müller in 14th (+1:32.1).

    “The turning point of today is when Guro broke a pole, and she was back in the 20’s, and she and Natalia were skiing together,” Utah Director of Skiing Kevin Sweeney said, according to a team press release. “We told them that they had to go and they busted out and made a big move. The men’s results were tremendous, but whether or not we were going to win was based on those guys making the move. It was exceptional athleticism and gutsy performances.”

    The NCAA team title was the 11th for Utah and its first since 2003.

    “I am stunned with the win today,” Sweeney added. “In all my years of coaching, it was one of the most challenging four days of competition. I say that because the weather was incredibly cold and windy, and challenging from both a waxing perspective, as well as visibility and conditions. I know all the teams had to deal with it, but it really beat us up. It took a lot of perseverance and gutsy performances for us to win. We struggled a little bit in the slalom, but they were going for it and came up short.

    “We’ve been crunching numbers and have been able to beat Denver and Colorado by about 30 points on a really good showing during the RMISA season, but didn’t know if we could do it in the championships,” he continued. “Bergström was skiing at a whole new level this week, and Mikkelsen had stepped it up, and I knew Kevin Bolger could get top 10. I was also confident in the women, who have been skiing awesome, so I felt good there. It’s awesome to be able to take this new trophy back to our new ski building.”

    As for those earning All-American status on Saturday with a top-10 finish, Utah had five (Bergström 1st, Myrseth 5th, Jordheim 6th, Mikkelsen 8th, Bolger 10th), Colorado had four (Hyncincova 1st, Strøm 2nd, Rolandsen 3rd, Reistad 4th), Denver had two (Madlener, Dag Frode Trollebø 7th), MSU had two (Miller 4th, Johanna Talihärm 7th), Dartmouth had two (Stocek 5th, Luke Brown 9th), UVM had one (Sonnesyn 2nd), Northern Michigan University (NMU) had one (Adam Martin 5th), the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF) had one (Sarissa Lammers 8th), UNH had one (Lizzie Gill 9th), and Bowdoin had one (Hannah Miller 10th).

    Stay tuned for a more in-depth report with quotes and photos from Saturday’s skate mass starts.

    Results: Men | Women | Team

    ***

    USSA Cross Country Junior Championships (Lake Placid, N.Y.): Freestyle team relays

    The 2017 U.S. Junior Nationals Alaska Cup winners, New England, at the awards ceremony on Saturday in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Photo: XCJuniorNationals2017/Facebook)

    [UPDATED] For the final day of 2017 U.S. Junior Nationals in Lake Placid, N.Y., regional divisions formed three-racer teams for the U16, U18 and U20 freestyle relays.

    Intermountain swept the U16 team events with Lane Myshrall, Skylar Patten and Johnny Hagenbuch winning the U16 boys’ relay by 3.6 seconds over the Midwest’s James Schneider, Alexander Nameth and Peter Moore in 23:00.4 minutes. Another 1.1 seconds back, Alaska reached the podium in third (+4.7) with Eli Hermann, Zander McMullen and George Cvancara.

    Intermountain’s U16 girls’ team of Sarah Morgan, Annabel Hagen and Sydney Palmer-Leger posted a 53.7-second victory over New England’s Charlotte Ogden, Anna Lehmann and Abigail Streinz, winning in 26:21.4. The Pacific Northwest finished 18.1 seconds later in third place (+1:29.9) with Fiona Max, Gretta Scholz and Annie McColgan.

    Alaska won the U18 boys’ relay with Luke Jager, Canyon Tobin and Gus Schumacher finishing in 21:42.9, 7.5 seconds ahead of New England’s Elliot Ketchel, Adam Glueck and Ben Ogden in second. The Midwest’s Anders Sonnesyn, Patrick Acton and Luc Golin rounded out the podium in third (+22.2).

    Rocky Mountain topped the U18 girls’ relay with Katja Freeburn, Ezra Smith and Maddie Donovan crossing first in 25:47.3. Just 5.8 seconds back, Intermountain’s Brooke Dunnagan, Anna Gibson and Sofia Schomento placed second, and the Midwest secured third (+16.7) with Margaret McCollor, Luci Anderson and Anja Maijala.

    The U20 men’s relay title went to New England, with Kam Husain, Koby Gordon and Daniel Streinz pulling out a 1.3-second win over Alaska’s Tracen Knopp, Logan Mowrey and Hunter Wonders in 21:53.1. Intermountain followed in third (+8.8) with Eli Jensen, Peter Wolter and Nathan Wells.

    The Midwest came up big in the U20 women’s relay, with Abby Jarzin, Hannah Rudd and Margie Freed finishing 10.1 seconds ahead of New England’s Alexandra Lawson, Mary Kretchmer and Mackenzie Rizio in 25:41.4. Another 1.1 seconds back, Intermountain’s Leah Lange, Maddie Morgan and Marin Coletta placed third (+11.2).

    New England won the Alaska Cup with 325 points, the same point total as Intermountain in second. Alaska placed third in the overall team competition with 295 points, just five points ahead of the Midwest in fourth.

    Results: U16 boys | U16 girls | U18 boys | U18 girls | U20 men | U20 women | Alaska Cup

    ***

    FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Oslo, Norway): Holmenkollen 50 k classic mass start

    (Race report)

    Left to right: Finland’s Iivo Niskanen, Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh after placing second, first and third, respectively, in the Holmenkollen World Cup men’s 50 k classic mass start on Saturday in Oslo, Norway. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)

    In a historic Holmenkollen, Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby took his second 50 k win in a row, claiming this year’s title in a time of 2:02:59.7 (he won last year’s Holmenkollen in a time of 2:08:41.9). Sundby is now the only male skier to win two consecutive World Cup Holmenkollen 50 k competitions. 

    Crossing behind Sundby in second was Finland’s Iivo Niskanen, 9.9 seconds back from the race winner’s time. In a three-way photo finish, Russian Alexander Bessmertnykh bested Norwegians Niklas Dryhaug, and Sjur Røthe in the lunge to the line, with Bessmertnykh taking third (+1:15.2), Røthe fourth (+1:15.2) and Dryhaug fifth (+1:15.2).

    Canada’s Alex Harvey was just two tenths of a second behind the three-way lunge, finishing in sixth (+1:15.4). Norway’s Christer Hans Holund crossed 2.2 seconds later in seventh (+1:17.2). Three more Russians rounded out the top ten, with Sergey Ustiugov finishing in eighth (+2:35.0), Andrey Larkov two tenths of a second behind in ninth (+2:35.2) and Sergey Turyshev in tenth (+2:42.2).

    The top U.S. skier for the day was Scott Patterson (Alaska Pacific University), earning World Cup points in 28th (+7:18.8). Canada’s Devon Kershaw crossed 33rd (+2:11:59.1) and American David Norris (Alaska Pacific University) finished 35th (+9:56.4).

    Two more Americans competed in Saturday’s Holmenkollen, with Noah Hoffman finishing in 38th (+11:02.6) and Ben Lustgarten 46th (+18:44.7). Canadian Russell Kennedy was the final North American to finish in 47th (+20:16.3).

    Results

    ***

    IBU World Cup Biathlon (Kontiolahti, Finland): Men’s & women’s pursuits

    (Race report)

    The IBU World Cup men's podium after the 12.5 k pursuit in Kontiolahti, Finland, where Arnd Peiffer of Germany outsprinted Simon Eder of Austria for the win. (Photo: IBU/Twitter)
    The IBU World Cup men’s podium after the 12.5 k pursuit in Kontiolahti, Finland, where Arnd Peiffer of Germany outsprinted Simon Eder of Austria for the win. (Photo: IBU/Twitter)

    After one day knocked down to the second spot of the podium, it was back to the usual winning ways for Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier in the 10 k pursuit. Dahlmeier caught Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff, who won Friday’s sprint, early in the race after Eckhoff had one penalty in the first prone and second-starter Dahlmeier cleaned. While Eckhoff picked up five more penalties as the race went on, finishing 15th (+1:12.0), Dahlmeier had just one – and cleaned when it counted, on the final shoot with France’s Marie Dorin Habert and the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalova right there with her. Dorin Habert missed one shot and held on to second place (+16.5) despite the penalty loop, while Italy’s Lisa Vittozi picked up her first individual podium in third (+19.9).

    The win secured the overall World Cup title for Dahlmeier, her first. “That makes me really speechless,” she told Germany’s ARD broadcaster. “This is an amazing moment.”

    Susan Dunklee collected four penalties and dropped from fifth place to 14th (+1:02.8) for the United States. Teammates Clare Egan and Joanne Reid finished 45th (+3:24.7) and 52nd (+4:07.0), respectively.

    For Canada, Julia Ransom finished 53rd with three penalties (+4:14.0) and Emma Lunder 58th with four missed shots (+6:20.7).

    Results

    Earlier in the day, Martin Fourcade had started the men’s race in bib one and set out to win the men’s 12.5 k pursuit, but was undone by four errors on the shooting range. No matter: the French biathlete still picked up the World Cup crystal globe for the pursuit discipline after finishing fifth (+25.5 seconds) and now he’s skipping tomorrow’s mixed relays to go be with his wife, who is about to have their second child.

    Capitalizing on Fourcade’s errors were a group of chasers, among whom Arnd Peiffer of Germany managed to shoot 20-for-20. The race came down to a sprint finish between him and Simon Eder  of Austria; Peiffer took a 0.3-second win for his eighth career victory. Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway finished third, +2.3 seconds, and Andrej Moravec of the Czech Republic fourth, +9.8.

    Besides Peiffer, the only other man in the field to shoot clean was Sean Doherty of the United States. That allowed Doherty to jump from 44th at the start to a season-best 18th (+1:19.5) at the finish, the top result for the American team. Lowell Bailey finished 27th (+1:57.2) and Leif Nordgren 43rd (+3:24.4) with three and four penalties, respectively.

    Christian Gow led Canada with just one penalty and a 37th-place finish (+2:36.0), a big improvement from his 50th-place starting position. Brendan Green placed 50th with three penalties (+4:47.3).

    Results

  • Thursday Rundown: Bergström, Hyncicova Take NCAA Titles on Day 1 in Jackson

    The men’s 10 k classic podium and award winners at 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships on Thursday at the Jackson Ski Touring Center in Jackson, N.H., including Martin Bergström (Utah) in first, Dag Frode Trollebø (DU) in second, and Martin Mikkelsen (Utah) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    NCAA Skiing Championships (Jackson, N.H.): 5/10 k classic

    The universities of Utah, Colorado and Denver occupied five of six of the podium spots between the men’s and women’s races on the first day of nordic racing at the 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Skiing Championships on Thursday in Jackson, N.H. University of Utah freshman Martin Bergström won the men’s 10-kilometer classic individual start and Petra Hyncicova, a junior at the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU), took the title in the women’s 5 k classic.

    Originally from Sweden, Bergström captured his first NCAA title in 25:33.1 minutes, 26.8 seconds ahead of Dag Frode Trollebø, a University of Denver (DU) junior from Norway, in second. Utah had two on the men’s podium with Martin Mikkelsen, a Norwegian freshman, in third (+52.6).

    The women’s 5 k classic podium and award winners at 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships on Thursday at the Jackson Ski Touring Center in Jackson, N.H., including Petra Hyncicova (CU) in first, Merete Myrseth (Utah) in second, and Alayna Sonnesyn (UVM) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    In the women’s 5 k, Hyncicova, of the Czech Republic, notched her first NCAA victory (after placing second last year) in 14:55.5, 18.7 seconds ahead of Utah freshman Merete Myrseth, of Norway, in second place. University of Vermont (UVM) freshman Alayna Sonnesyn placed third (+19.8) and was the top skier outside of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) on the first of two days of nordic racing at NCAA Championships.

    In terms of All-Americans (top 10), CU have five on Thursday (Hyncicova 1st, Christina Rolandsen 4th, Petter Reistad 4th, Jesse Knori 8th, Mads Ek Strøm 8th) Utah had four (Bergström 1st, Myrseth 2nd, Mikkelsen 3rd, Guro Jordheim 5th), Denver three (Trollebø 2nd, Moritz Madlener 5th, Lars Hannah 10th), Northern Michigan University three (Vivian Hett 6th, Fredrik Schwencke 6th, Adam Martin 7th), UVM two (Sonnesyn 3rd, Ian Moore 9th), the University of New Mexico one (Krista Niiranen 7th), UNH one (Lizzie Gill 9th), and Dartmouth one (Lauren Jortberg 10th).

    After Day 2 of the NCAA Championships (with the first day of alpine races taking place on Wednesday), Utah leads the team standings with 301.5 points, followed by Denver in second (265) and Colorado in third (240). Montana State dropped from first to fourth with 177 points and Dartmouth ranks fifth (170).

    Results: Men | Women 

  • Saturday Rundown: PyeongChang, Soldier Hollow & Eastern Canadian Champs (Updated x3)

    The Russian men finishing in unison to take first, second and third in the men's 30 k skiathlon, the final race of 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Alexander Bolshunov (8) was deemed the winner, Alexey Chervotkin (1) was second, and Denis Spitsov (11) third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    The Russian men finishing in unison to take first, second and third in the men’s 30 k skiathlon, the final race of 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Alexander Bolshunov (8) was deemed the winner, Alexey Chervotkin (1) was second, and Denis Spitsov (11) third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    FIS Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Park City and Midway, Utah): Normal hill/5 k

    American Ben Loomis (6) leads Norway's Lars Ivar Skaarset (7) during the third leg of the nordic-combined 4 x 5 k team event on Thursday at 2017 Nordic Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Loomis brought the U.S. from ninth to seventh, and his team ultimately finished seventh. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    American Ben Loomis (6) leads Norway’s Lars Ivar Skaarset (7) during the third leg of the nordic-combined 4 x 5 k team event on Thursday at 2017 Nordic Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Loomis brought the U.S. from ninth to seventh, and his team ultimately finished seventh. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    [UPDATED] In the individual normal hill/5-kilometer Gundersen on Saturday, the last nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic Junior World Championships, American Ben Loomis captured his first top 10 in his third Junior Worlds in ninth place.

    Eighteen-year-old Loomis jumped to 10th then picked off one place in the 5 k to finish ninth, 1:22.3 minutes behind the winner, Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger.

    Geiger led after the jump and started the ski race 4 seconds ahead of Japan’s Yuto Nakamura in second. Geiger was able to hold off Finland’s hard-charging Arttu Mäkiaho, who raced from ninth to second, by 22.6 seconds. France’s Laurent Muhlethaler raced from fifth to third (+23.9) for the final spot on the podium, while Nakamura slipped to fourth (+42.8).

    The U.S. had two in the top 15 with Stephen Schumann in 15th (+1:44.3), up from 20th after the jump. Grant Andrews placed 33rd (+2:40.0) and Tucker Hoefler finished 46th (+3:56.9).

    Results

    ***

    FIS Nordic U23 World Championships (Midway, Utah): 15/30 k skiathlon

    It was a Russian affair and a head scratcher for the photo-finish crew at U23 World Championships on Saturday, with three Russians putting enough time on the rest of the field in the men’s 30-kilometer skiathlon that they had time to slow to a stop and inch across the line in unison.

    The jury ultimately had to decide who won, awarding it to Alexander Bolshunov in 1:15:31.5 hours, 0.2 seconds ahead of Alexey Chervotkin in second. Denis Spitsov was listed as third (+0.5). France’s Jules Lapierre came closest to the Russians in fourth, finishing 11 seconds later.

    The field was considerably strung out by the end of the race, with Switzerland’s Jason Rueesh finishing 14.3 seconds out of first in fifth and Norway’s Gaute Kvaale crossing the line in sixth (+33.0), ahead of France’s Valentin Chauvin in seventh (+49.1), and Andorra’s Irineu Esteve Altimiras in eighth (+56.8).

    American Paddy Caldwell (SMS/USST) placed ninth for the second-straight race at U23s, finishing 1:24.4 behind the winner.

    The U.S. men had three in the top 15 for their best day of the championships, with John Hegman (SVSEF) placing a 11th (+1:53.5) and Adam Martin (NMU) 15th (+2:23.3) for their best results at U23 Worlds.

    Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) led the Canadian men in 26th (+5:44.6). Alexis Dumas (CNEPH) finished 33rd (+9:02.7) out of 36 finishers. Several North Americans did not finish, including Canada’s Julien Lamoureux and Julien Smith, and American Cal Deline.

    In the women’s 15 k skiathlon, Lotta Udnes Weng achieved her first gold of U23 Worlds, holding off Finland’s Johanna Matintalo by 3.8 seconds and crossing the line in 40:50.9 minutes. Russia’s Yana Kirpichenko reached the podium in third (+13.9), fewer than two seconds ahead of Weng’s twin sister, Tiril Udnes Weng in fourth (+15.6).

    Dahria Beatty, of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Canadian National U25 Team, led the North Americans in 19th (+2:18.1), and teammate Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) was 21st (+2:29.3) for her best U23 Worlds result.

    The Czech Republic’s Petra Hyncicova (University of Colorado-Boulder) followed in 22nd (+2:30.7), and three Canadian women finished in the top 30 with Frederique Vezina (CNEPH) in 29th (+3:36.2). Jenn Jackson did not finish.

    Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) was the top American in 30th (+3:40.1), Alayna Sonnesyn followed in 31st (+3:42.5), Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska Fairbanks) in 33rd (+4:36.9), and Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) in 36th (+5:42.1).

    Mathilde Petitjean, who races for her native Togo but trains with the Quebec-based CNEPH, finished 38th (+6:04.8) of 38 finishers.

    Results: Men | Women

    ***

    FIS Cross-Country World Cup (PyeongChang, South Korea): 15/30 k skiathlon

    The women's 15 k skiathlon podium at the PyeongChang World Cup in South Korea, with Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk (c) in first, American Liz Stephen (l) in second, and Japan's Masako Ishida in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
    The women’s 15 k skiathlon podium at the PyeongChang World Cup in South Korea, with Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk (c) in first, American Liz Stephen (l) in second, and Japan’s Masako Ishida in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    The second day of World Cup racing in PyeongChang, South Korea, took place this Saturday, with a skiathlon event for both genders. The women raced a total of 15 kilometers, the first 7.5 k leg classic and the second 7.5 k leg freestyle. Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk came away with the women’s win (her first in three years), getting back to her old ways of breaking away from the pack to finish first in 43:54.7 minutes. Liz Stephen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) claimed second place (+56.0), while Japan’s Masako Ishida took third (+1:14.8).

    For Stephen, second matched her best individual result in a from two years ago, when she placed second in a 10 k freestyle in Rybinsk, Russia. This year at the Tour de Ski, Stephen posted the second-fastest time up the final climb in Val di Fiemme, Italy. For Ishida, it was her first podium since 2009.

    Caitlin Patterson, racing for the U.S., finished just off the podium with a career-best fourth (+1:21.4) for her first top 20 on the World Cup,  and American Liz Guiney placed 13th (2:21.7) for her first top 20 as well. Jessica Yeaton, who trains with Alaska Pacific University and races for Australia, came in 24th (4:58.6).

    Two Canadian women competed with Annika Hicks leading the team in 26th (+5:17.8) followed by Sadie White in 29th (+6:54.7) for their first World Cup top 30s.

    In the men’s 30 k skiathlon that followed, Russia’s Petr Sedov broke away during the skate leg to take a decisive victory over Norway’s Daniel Stock and Mathias Rundgreen, finishing in 1:18:49.6 hours, 22.5 seconds clear of second place. It was Sedov’s first World Cup win and podium, and the first individual podiums for Stock and Rundgreen as well.

    Rundgreen edged Russia’s Konstantin Glavatskikh for the final spot on the podium, with both being listed as 42.1 seconds behind Sedov.

    While Rundgreen held off three others for third place, including Sweden’s Gustav Eriksson in fifth (+46.8), Japan’s Keishin Yoshida in sixth (+47.1), and Russia’s Alexander Utkin in seventh (+49.0), American Noah Hoffman kept his distance ahead of the second chase group to finish eighth (+1:06.2) for his best result in a non-World Cup stage since placing eighth in a 2012 skiathlon in Canmore, Alberta. (Hoffman won the time of day in the 15 k pursuit four years ago in Kuusamo, Finland.)

    Also for the U.S., Scott Patterson was next across the line in ninth (+1:28.4) for his first World Cup points, and Matt Gelso finished 19th (+5:00.8) for his first top 20.

    Brian McKeever of Canada’s Para-Nordic Ski Team was the lone Canadian finisher in 29th (+8:48.9). Bob Thompson was listed as placing 32nd of 37 after being lapped, and Simon Lapointe did not finish.

    Results: Women | Men

    ***

    NorAm Eastern Canadian Championships (Cantley, Quebec): Classic interval start

    The NorAm mini tour at the Nakkertok Nordic Centre continued on Saturday with Eastern Canadian Championships with classic individual start races.

    In the men’s 15 kilometre, Lappe Nordic’s Andy Shields took a lead in the first lap and held on to win in 39:14.7, just 0.7 seconds ahead of CNEPH’s Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier.  Team R.A.D.’s Russell Kennedy collected his second bronze of the weekend, 24.7 seconds back.

    SMS Elite’s Anne Hart won the women’s 10 k in a reversal of Friday’s sprint podium.  Hart’s 30:03.3 finish gave her a 9.3 second edge on CNEPH’s Sophie Carrier-Laforte and 20.0 seconds on AWCA’s Maya MacIsaac-Jones.

    For the 123 men and 77 women doing the full distance, the weekend is a mini tour.  For the younger categories, it is three separate events allowing the kids who couldn’t skip school on Friday to race Saturday and Sunday.

    There should be over 700 finishers today with 768 on the start list. The volunteers will have more hours of work even after the open categories have finished.

    Results will update continuously as more categories start.

  • Caldwell Cracks Top 10 in Third U23 Worlds, 9th in 15 k Skate

    Paddy Caldwell (SMS/USST) racing to a career-best ninth in the men's 15 k freestyle individual start on Thursday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    Paddy Caldwell (SMS/USST) racing to a career-best ninth in the men’s 15 k freestyle individual start on Thursday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, while his dad, Tim Caldwell, cheers him on. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    (Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Paddy Caldwell.)

    Three years ago, American Patrick “Paddy” Caldwell made his debut at Junior World Championships, racing to 10th in the 20-kilometer skiathlon in Val di Fiemme, Italy. It was the first time he had ever done a skiathlon; he was 19 years old and a college freshman at the time.

    Now a 22-year-old Dartmouth sophomore, who continues to train with the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) as a member of the U.S. Ski Team’s development “D” team, Caldwell (son of four-time Olympic cross-country skier Tim Caldwell and cousin of current U.S. Ski Team standout Sophie Caldwell) is in his third U23 World Championships. The skiathlon distance has increased to 30 k, yet that classic-to-skate race remained his main focus for this year’s U23 Worlds at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.

    Earlier this week, he broke through with his best-ever sprint result at the championships, reaching the quarterfinals and placing 18th overall in the classic sprint. Then, on Thursday in the men’s 15 k freestyle, he cracked the top 10 for the first time in his U23/Junior Worlds career.

    “I was really excited going into today’s race,” Caldwell wrote in an email on Friday morning. “15km FS is one of my favorite race formats. I have been targeting this week of races all year and was really looking forward to this race in particular.”

    While the sprint was a primer for Caldwell, he said it also boosted his confidence leading into the two individual distance races at U23s.

    “I have been working on my sprinting a lot this year and I am psyched to be mixing it up in the heats!” he wrote.

    He described the conditions on Thursday as hard-packed with a fair amount of moisture, “which made for some fast skiing.”

    It was overcast — grey and spitting rain at times — a stark contrast from the preceding bluebird days. But with temperatures just below freezing, the course remained firm.

    “My strategy for the day was to pin it from the start and hold on,” said Caldwell, who started 44th of 53 in the men’s three-lap, individual start race, in a post-race interview with the U.S. Ski Team. “It was a really tight race and I definitely paid for my first lap, but I am happy to have put it all out there.”

    After being passed by Russia’s eventual winner Alexander Bolshunov, who started 30 seconds behind him in bib 45, Caldwell initially finished sixth, 1:03.6 minutes behind Bolshunov. Three later starters ultimately bumped the American to ninth, including Russia’s Alexey Chervotkin, who took second at the finish, 21.8 seconds behind Bolshunov (who won in 32:55.7).

    “I started off with a fast first lap and was getting splits between 1st and 4th for the first five or six kilometers,” Caldwell recalled in an email. “Bolshunov caught me around 7 kms into the race… I skied with him for about 1.5km but on the big downhill halfway through the 5km loop another skier slotted in between us and Bolshunov ended up gapping us before I could get around the other skier — it would have been sweet to ski with him some more but who knows how long I could have stuck with him. I could see him for the rest of the race which was a good gauge and kept me pushing to make up time on him.

    “In the end I am really excited to be in the top ten overall and to have left it all out there,” Caldwell added. “It was a tight race and I was a bit disappointed to be at the tail end of a close group of times but in the end I am really happy with the result. I want to be the best all around skier I can be and I am really excited to be making progress in both sprint and distance racing.”
    The all-Russian podium in the men's 15 k freestyle on Thursday at 2017 U23 World Championships, with Alexander Bolshunov (c) who won by nearly 22 seconds over Alexey Chervotkin (l) in second, and was 28.2 seconds ahead of Denis Spitsov (r) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    The all-Russian podium in the men’s 15 k freestyle at 2017 U23 World Championships, with Alexander Bolshunov (c), who won by nearly 22 seconds over Alexey Chervotkin (l) in second, and was 28.2 seconds ahead of Denis Spitsov (r) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

     

    For the second-straight day of 2017 Junior/U23 World Championships, Russia claimed all of the medals in the men’s race, with Denis Spitsov placing third (+28.2).

    “It’s very, very cool,” Bolshunov, the silver medalist in Tuesday’s classic sprint, told the U.S. Ski Team media. “I couldn’t explain my emotions now, it’s really cool.”

    “I was really excited to be in the mix with the top guys today,” Caldwell told the U.S. Ski Team. “U23s have been my focus all year and I am psyched to have improved on my results from past U23 and World Junior races.”

    Next up for Caldwell, Saturday’s skiathlon, which will be his first since placing 20th in the 2015 skiathlon in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

    “I have only done two skiathlons (Val de Fiemme and Almaty) but both were really fun and exciting races,” he wrote. “Mass start races are always a blast!”

    Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) racing to 22nd in the men's 15 k freestyle at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) racing to 22nd in the men’s 15 k freestyle at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    Four American men raced the 15 k, with Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) placing 22nd (+2:22.4), Jack Hegman (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) 24th (+2:25.2), and Cal Deline (Dartmouth Ski Team) 37th (+3:48.6). For Martin, 22nd was his best at U23 Worlds by one place, and Hegman and Deline also notched personal bests at their first U23 Worlds.

    Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) led Canadian men in 34th (+3:20.2) for his best result at his U23 Worlds debut as well. Alexis Dumas, of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) followed in 38th (+3:52.9), tying his U23 best. Julien Lamoureux (CNEPH) was 43rd (+4:16.7) in his first race of U23 Worlds, and Scott James Hill (Team Hardwood) 49th (+6:15.2).

    Second-Straight Win for Dyvik; Beatty 16th

    Dahria Beatty (AWCA/Canadian U25 Team) racing to 16th in the women's 10 k freestyle on Thursday at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    Dahria Beatty (AWCA/Canadian U25 Team) racing to 16th in the women’s 10 k freestyle on Thursday at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    In the women’s 10 k freestyle, Dahria Beatty (Alberta World Cup Academy/Canadian National U25 Team) notched her second top 20 of the week in 16th, after placing 12th in Tuesday’s classic sprint.

    She finished the two-lap 10 k in 27:39.8, more than a minute faster than her 10 k freestyle time at 2017 U.S. nationals last month (where she finished 17th. Beatty went on to place fourth in the classic sprint and win the freestyle prologue at U.S. nationals).

    On Thursday, she was 1:25.8 minutes back from the winner, Sweden’s Anna Dyvik, who racked up her second-straight gold of the championships with the best time of the day in 26:14.0.

    “Today’s race played out fairly similarly to the 10k skate at US Nationals, but not on an extreme of scale,” Beatty wrote in an email, referring to the conditions. “I was skiing where I wanted to be for the first two thirds of the race but then I really struggled at the end.

    “Today’s race was extremely hard,” she added. “The courses here are really tough by any standard and the altitude makes it even harder. I tried to go out fairly conservatively by my standards today as I like starting fast. I was able to start smooth and build through the first lap into the second and was sitting in a good position just in the top 10.”

    Despite trying to pace her race, Beatty described “blowing up” in the last 2.5 k.

    “The last big climb was a very painful one today,” she wrote. “I haven’t quite figured out the 5k course here at Soldier Hollow yet and how to save something in my legs for the end but I was happy with my effort. I raced hard and used the tactics that I thought would give me the best result possible. I was hoping to be able to be in the top 12 but am still pleased to have skied at that pace for part of the race.”

    Sweden's Anna Dyvik racing to her second-straight gold medal of 2017 U23 World Championships on Thursday in the women's 10 k freestyle at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    Sweden’s Anna Dyvik racing to her second-straight gold medal of 2017 U23 World Championships on Thursday in the women’s 10 k freestyle at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    Beatty started 32nd (of 44) and Dyvik in bib 33 passed her around 5 k.

    “I only skied with her for a few hundred meters, she was moving fast and I knew if I tried to stay with her I would end of blowing up and really paying for it later in the race,” Beatty wrote.

    The top Canadian in the last two U23 races, Beatty planned to race Saturday’s 15 k skiathlon.

    “I’m looking forward to the Skiathlon with hopes of being able to put together a bit stronger of a performance all the way to the finish line not just for part of the race,” Beatty wrote. “Mass starts are always exciting and I am looking forward to doing some pack skiing, it was pretty windy out there today.”

    Dyvik outlasted four Norwegians for the win, which she took by 16.8 seconds over Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng (Heidi Weng’s cousin) in second. Norway claimed second through fourth place, with Lovise Heimdal in third (+23.0), and Lotta Udnes Weng (Weng’s twin sister) just 0.1 seconds off the podium in fourth (+23.1).

    Half a second behind Beatty, the Czech Republic’s Petra Hyncicova (University of Colorado-Boulder Ski Team) finished 17th (+1:26.3) for her first top 20 at her second U23 Worlds.

    Canada’s Frédérique Vézina (CNEPH) finished 25th (+1:58.8) for a career best at her second U23 Worlds as well, Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) was 27th (+2:07.8), and Jenn Jackson (Lappe Nordic/Team Hardwood) 37th (+3:31.8).

    Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) led the Americans in 30th (+2:24.6), Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) was 32nd (+2:36.4), Alayna Sonnesyn (University of Vermont) 33rd (+2:51.4) in her first U23 Worlds race, and Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska Fairbanks) 39th (+4:19.8).

    Australia’s Casey Wright (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) followed in 40th (+4:22.0).

    Results: Men | Women

  • Thursday Rundown: Caldwell 9th in U23 Worlds 15 k (Updated)

    American Patrick "Paddy" Caldwell chasing Russia's Alexander Bolshunov during the men's 15 k freestyle individual start on Thursday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Bolshunov went on to win and Caldwell placed ninth for a career best. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    American Patrick “Paddy” Caldwell chasing Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov during the men’s 15 k freestyle individual start on Thursday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Bolshunov went on to win and Caldwell placed ninth for a career best. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    FIS Nordic U23 World Championships (Midway, Utah): 10/15 k freestyle

    Paddy Caldwell, of the Stratton Mountain School and U.S. Ski Team D-team, raced to the first top 10 of his career at a U23 World Championship on Thursday, placing ninth in the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.

    Caldwell started 44th (of 53) and crossed the finish in sixth before being bumped down three places to ninth. Upon being passed by the eventual winner, Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov, who started 30 seconds behind him in bib 45, Caldwell worked to keep pace with the Russian and ended up 1:03.6 minutes off his winning time. The silver medalist in Tuesday’s classic sprint, Bolshunov took the victory in 32:55.7 minutes, and Russia swept the men’s podium for the second-straight day at U23/Junior World Championships with Alexey Chervotkin in second (+21.8) and Denis Spitsov in third (+28.2).

    Also for the U.S., Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) placed 22nd (+2:22.4), Jack Hegman (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) was 24th (+2:25.2), and Cal Deline (Dartmouth Ski Team) 37th (+3:48.6).

    Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) led Canadian men in 34th (+3:20.2), Alexis Dumas (CNEPH) was 38th (+3:52.9), Julien Lamoureux (CNEPH) 43rd (+4:16.7), and Scott James Hill (Team Hardwood) 49th (+6:15.2).

    In the women’s 10 k freestyle Thursday morning, Sweden’s Anna Dyvik won her second-straight race of the championships, finishing in 26:14.0 minutes. Norway took second through fourth with Tiril Udnes Weng in second (+16.8), Lovise Heimdal in third (+23.0), and Lotta Udnes Weng (Weng’s twin sister) just 0.1 seconds off the podium in fourth (+23.1).

    Dahria Beatty (AWCA/Canadian U25 Team) was the top Canadian in 16th (+1:25.8), and Petra Hyncicova (a University of Colorado-Boulder Ski Team member who’s skiing for her native Czech Republic) followed in 17th (+1:26.3).

    Canada’s Frédérique Vezina (CNEPH) placed 25th (+1:58.8) for a career best at her second U23 Worlds, Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) was 27th (+2:07.8), and Jenn Jackson (Lappe Nordic/Team Hardwood) 37th (+3:31.8).

    Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) led the Americans in 30th (+2:24.6), Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) was 32nd (+2:36.4), Alayna Sonnesyn (University of Vermont) 33rd (+2:51.4), and Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska Fairbanks) 39th (+4:19.8).

    Australia’s Casey Wright (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) followed in 40th (+4:22.0).

    Results: Men | Women

    ***

    FIS Nordic Combined Junior World Championships: 4 x 5 k team event

    [UPDATED] In the lone nordic-combined team event of Junior World Championships, Austria took the win in 46:17.3 with Samuel Mraz, Marc Luis Rainer, Florian Dagn, and Mika Vermeulen. The team ranked fourth after the jumping portion and started 23 seconds behind Japan in first, but captured the 9.7-second victory over France (Lilian Vaxelaire, Laurent Muhlethaler, Theo Rochat, Mael Tyrode), the third-ranked team after the jump.

    The Czech Republic started the relay in fifth and reached the podium in third (+15.3), with Ondrej Payout, David Zemek, Jan Vytrval, and Lukas Danek.

    The U.S. (Elijah Vargas, Grant Andrews, Ben Loomis, Stephen Schumann) finished seventh (+2:10.8) out of nine teams after starting sixth. Last year, the U.S. squad placed sixth at 2016 Junior Worlds in Rasnov, Romania, and in 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, they were seventh.

    Japan slipped from first at the start of the relay to eighth at the finish (+2:46.4).

    Results

  • Beatty 12th in SoHo Classic Sprint for U23/Junior Worlds Career Best

    Canada's Dahria Beatty (8) chasing Norway's Thea Krokan Murud (3) in the fifth quarterfinal of the women's classic sprint on Tuesday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Beatty finished 12th on the day while Murud went on to place second in the final. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    Canada’s Dahria Beatty (8) chasing Norway’s Thea Krokan Murud (3) in the fifth quarterfinal of the women’s classic sprint on Tuesday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Beatty finished 12th on the day while Murud went on to place second in the final. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    A year ago, Canada’s Dahria Beatty had eight World Cup starts to her name. Not too shabby considering she was 21, but now another year older, the Whitehorse, Yukon, native has more than doubled that amount with a grand total of 21 World Cup starts — one of which included her 15th-place breakthrough at the Ski Tour Canada classic sprint in Canmore, Alberta.

    Beatty lives and trains in Canmore as a member of both the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) and Canadian National U25 Team. She led the NorAm (Continental Cup) standings at the end of last season, reiterating her position as one of Canada’s top talents. Just under a month ago, she won the freestyle sprint prologue at U.S. nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.

    Then on Tuesday, on the same 1.3-kilometer sprint course at Soldier Hollow, Beatty notched a career-best individual result at her second U23 World Championships, placing 12th in the classic sprint. She started the day by qualifying in eighth, 3.85 seconds back from the fastest qualifier, Sweden’s Anna Dyvik, who rounded the course in 3:39.4 minutes.

    “My qualifier was pretty solid. I skied well, I made one small tactical mistake on the last climb but the rest of the race went smoothly,” Beatty reflected in an email. “This is a really taxing course and by the finish shoot my legs were pretty exhausted … it was a fight to get across that line. I was happy to qualify 8th and to post another consistent qualifier. Overall my qualifying speed has improved this year which I am very happy with.”

    She was one of three Canadian women to qualify in the top 30, with Jenn Jackson (Lappe Nordic/Team Hardwood) posting the 22nd-ranked time (+12.99) and Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) qualifying in 28th (+16.61).

    Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Beatty’s teammate on the AWCA and national U25 Team, missed advancing to the heats in 32nd (+20.68), 3.7 seconds out of 30th.

    American Kelsey Phinney (6) racing alongside Norway's Lotta Udnes Weng (5) during their quarterfinal of the women's classic sprint on Tuesday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    American Kelsey Phinney (6) racing alongside Norway’s Lotta Udnes Weng (5) during their quarterfinal of the women’s classic sprint on Tuesday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    All four of the U.S. women qualified, with Kelsey Phinney (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) leading them in sixth (+2.77), followed by Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska-Fairbanks) in 14th (+8.8), Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) in 19th (+12.07), and Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) in 26th (+15.11).

    Out of those seven North Americans, Beatty was the lone woman to advance to the semifinals, which had been her “base” goal to start the day. She finished third in her quarterfinal (the fifth and final quarterfinal) and advanced as a lucky loser with a fast-enough time.

    “My quarterfinal was going well, but I had a stumble cresting the last hill and l lost contact with the top 2 women,” Beatty reflected in an email. “My heat was really fast and I was able to recover from the stumble and move onto the semis as lucky loser. When I finished I had a feeling it was a fast heat but you always have to wait and see.”

    Norway’s Thea Krokan Murud won her quarterfinal in 3:35.2, which would hold up as the fastest time of the day until the final. Germany’s Pia Fink took second in that heat (+1.25) and Beatty was third (+2.45), ahead of Russia’s Yana Kirpichenko in fourth (+7.13) and Stewart-Jones in fifth (+12.63).

    Without much time to recover before the second semifinal, Beatty explained that she was still pretty tired by the start of it. She ended up sixth in that semifinal, 8.04 seconds behind Murud, who won it in 3:37.42.

    “Overall it was great to be in the semi finals and I learned a lot about tactics and where my weaknesses lie,” Beatty wrote. “I just didn’t have enough in the tank today to contend for the final but I am happy to have race my first international semi final and am looking forward to the 10k skate Thursday.”

    With a previous U23 best result of 20th in the 2015 classic sprint in Almaty, Kazakhstan (and 15th in the 5 k classic at 2014 Junior Worlds the year before), 12th was Beatty’s best ever at a world championship.

    “Racing well on the World Cup had definitely helped my confidence in myself and race knowledge. I feel I am right in the mix with these top women and on the perfect day I could be on that podium,” she wrote. “Going into today I had set base goal (I would be happy with the day if I achieved this) at making the semi finals. My target goal was making the final and my dream goal was being on the podium. My goals will stay pretty similar for the distance races. There are two more races and we’re at altitude so you never know what can happen.”

    Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) leading Estonia's Anette Veerpalu during their quarterfinal of the women's classic sprint at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Knori finished third in that heat (while Veerpalu was sixth). While she didn't advance to the semifinals, Knori was the top U.S. woman in 15th on the day. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) leading Estonia’s Anette Veerpalu during their quarterfinal of the women’s classic sprint at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Knori finished third in that heat (while Veerpalu was sixth). While she didn’t advance to the semifinals, Knori was the top U.S. woman in 15th on the day. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    While Beatty reached the semifinals, the two other Canadians and four Americans were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Knori led three U.S. women in the top 20 overall, placing 15th on the day after finishing third in her heat, 7.18 seconds behind Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng (who won that heat by 1.07 seconds over another Norwegian Lovise Heimdal).

    Canada’s Jackson raced in that same quarterfinal and finished fifth (+8.72), behind Italy’s Caterina Ganz in fourth (+7.56), for 21st overall.

    Both fourth in their quarterfinals, Phinney ended up 16th and Bathe 18th overall. Phinney finished 3.81 seconds behind Weng’s twin sister, Lotta Udnes Weng, in first. Bathe finished 7.14 seconds behind the winner of her quarterfinal, Germany’s Sofie Krehl.

    American Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) leads Australia's Casey Wright (University of Alaska Anchorage) in the third quarterfinal of the women's classic sprint at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. They finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in that heat. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com).
    American Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) leads Australia’s Casey Wright (University of Alaska Anchorage) in the third quarterfinal of the women’s classic sprint at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. They finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in that heat. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com).

    Stock ended up 22nd after finishing fifth in Phinney’s quarterfinal, 10.08 seconds behind Lotta Weng. Also in that quarterfinal, Australia’s Casey Wright, of the University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team, finished sixth (+12.37). Wright qualified in 25th and ultimately placed 29th overall.

    Canada’s third woman, Stewart-Jones placed 24th after finishing fifth in the same quarterfinal as Beatty.

    In the first quarterfinal, the Czech Republic’s Petra Hyncicova (Knori’s teammate at the University of Colorado-Boulder) finished fourth, 4.33 seconds behind Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist in first. Hyncicova qualified in 21st and ended up 20th overall.

    Sweden's 22-year-old Anna Dyvik celebrates her win in the U23 World Championships women's classic sprint on Tuesday, nearly 3 1/2 seconds clear of second place. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    Sweden’s 22-year-old Anna Dyvik celebrates her win in the U23 World Championships women’s classic sprint on Tuesday, nearly 3 1/2 seconds clear of second place. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    Dahlqvist and Murud won the first and second semifinals, respectively, then took a back seat to Dyvik — the qualifying winner who finished second in both her quarterfinal and semi — in the final. Dyvik took control early and avoided a crash near the back to win the final in 3:32.40, the fastest time of the day. She won by more than three seconds for her first U23 Worlds medal, after earning gold in the relay and bronze in the skiathlon at 2014 Junior Worlds.

    Behind her, Murud claimed silver (+3.42), edging Dahlqvist, the second Swede on the podium in third (+3.76).

    Norway’s Heimdal took fourth (+6.03), while Krehl and Lotta Weng, who fell, finished fifth (+33.34) and sixth (+1:13.17), respectively.

    Junior Worlds racing continues on Wednesday with the 5/10 k freestyle individual starts.

    Results: Qualifier | Brackets | Overall

    The women's classic sprint podium on Tuesday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, with Sweden's Anna Dyvik (c) in first, Norway's Thea Krokan Murud (l) in second, and Sweden's Maja Dahlqvist (r) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    The women’s classic sprint podium on Tuesday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, with Sweden’s Anna Dyvik (c) in first, Norway’s Thea Krokan Murud (l) in second, and Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist (r) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

  • Tuesday Rundown: Soldier Hollow & Almaty (Updated x2)

    Norway’s Fredrik Riseth celebrates his win in the men's classic sprint at U23 World Championships on Tuesday at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. He beat out Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov by 1.05 seconds for the victory. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    Norway’s Fredrik Riseth (4) celebrates his win in the men’s classic sprint at U23 World Championships on Tuesday at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. He beat out Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov (1) by 1.05 seconds for the victory and Norway’s Joachim Aurland followed in third (+2.3). (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    FIS Nordic U23 World Championships (Midway, Utah): Classic sprint

    [UPDATED] All four American women and three Canadians qualified for the women’s classic sprint heats on the first day of U23 World Championships on Tuesday, and in the men’s qualifier, three Americans finished in the top 30 to advance to the quarterfinals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.

    Kelsey Phinney led the Americans in sixth in the women’s 1.3-kilometer qualifier, clocking in 2.77 seconds off the fastest women’s qualifying time of 3:39.40, set by Sweden’s Anna Dyvik.

    Canada’s Dahria Beatty qualified eighth (+3.85), followed by Nichole Bathe (USA) in 14th (+8.8), Jesse Knori (USA) in 19th (+12.07), Jenn Jackson (CAN) in 22nd (+12.99), Corey Stock (USA) in 26th (+15.11), and Katherine Stewart-Jones (CAN) in 28th (+16.61).

    In the men’s 1.5 k qualifier, American Cole Morgan claimed with the 11th-fastest time, 8.19 seconds behind Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov, who topped the qualifying round in 3:36.52.

    Also for the U.S., Paddy Caldwell qualified 20th (+14.68) and Jack Hegman 23rd (+15.59), while Cal Deline missed the top 30 by 0.14 seconds in 31st.

    In the quarterfinals, Morgan finished second by 0.85 seconds to Bolshunov, and both automatically advanced to the semifinals. There, the Russian finished second to Norway’s Fredrik Riseth while Morgan took fifth, 9.67 seconds out of first. Overall, Morgan placed ninth on the day for his best result at a Junior or U23 World Championship.

    The top North American woman on Tuesday, Beatty finished third in her quarterfinal, 2.45 seconds behind the winner of her heat, Norway’s Thea Krokan Murud. Beatty advanced to the semifinals as a lucky loser, where she ended up sixth, 8.04 seconds behind Murud, who won that heat as well. Overall, Beatty placed 12th for her first top 20 at U23 Worlds.

    Meanwhile, Stewart-Jones raced in the same quarterfinal as Beatty and finished fifth (+12.63) for 24th overall.

    Knori was the top U.S. woman in 15th overall after placing third in her quarterfinal, 7.18 seconds behind Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng, who won that heat.

    Phinney was right behind in 16th overall after finishing fourth in her quarterfinal, 3.81 seconds behind Weng’s sister, Lotta Udnes Weng, in first. Stock also raced in that quarterfinal and finished fifth (+10.08) for 22nd overall.

    Petra Hyncicova, who skis for the University of Colorado-Boulder but is representing her native Czech Republic at U23s, took 20th on Tuesday. She qualified in 21st then finished fourth in her quarterfinal, 4.33 seconds behind Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist in first.

    Dahlqvist went on to win the first semifinal and Norway’s Murud won the second semi. Both met in the final, where Dyvik — who had placed second from the first semifinal — dominated throughout to take the win in 3:32.40. Murud finished 3.42 seconds back in second, and Sweden had two on the podium with Dahlqvist in third (+3.76).

    On the men’s side, Caldwell ended up 18th after placing fourth in the same quarterfinal as Morgan, finishing 6.17 seconds behind Bolshunov in first.

    Hegman placed 28th on the day after finishing sixth in his quarterfinal, 5.71 seconds behind Norway’s Chrisander Skjoenberg Holth in first.

    Norway’s Riseth won his quarterfinal and semifinal before taking the victory in the final, by 1.05 seconds over Bolshunov with a winning time of 3:32.78. Norway had two on the podium with Joachim Aurland in third (+2.3).

    Results:

    Women’s qualifier | Women’s brackets | Women’s overall

    Men’s qualifier | Men’s brackets | Men’s overall

    ***

    FIS Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Park City & Midway, Utah): Individual normal hill/10 k

    Finland’s Arttu Mäkiaho winning the normal hill/10 k competition on Tuesday, the first day of Nordic Combined Junior World Championships, at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. He won by nearly 22 seconds. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com).
    Finland’s Arttu Mäkiaho winning the normal hill/10 k competition on Tuesday, the first day of Nordic Combined Junior World Championships, at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. He won by nearly 22 seconds. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com).

    [UPDATED] On the first day of Nordic Combined Junior Worlds, with the jumping taking place at Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah, and racing at Soldier Hollow in nearby Midway, Stephen Schumann achieved his first top 10 in the individual normal hill/10 k.

    Schumann jumped to 28th then clocked the fifth-fastest cross-country time to place 10th overall, 55 seconds behind Finland’s Arttu Mäkiaho, who won in 25:54.5 minutes.

    Mäkiaho started the 10 k in ninth, based on his jump, with a 35-second starting deficit to jump leader Laurent Muhlethaler of France. While Muhlethaler dropped to 17th in the 10 k, Mäkiaho clocked the third-fastest ski time to win the first nordic-combined competition of the championships.

    Austria’s Mika Vermeulen finished 21.6 seconds back in second, after picking off 27 places in the ski race. He jumped to 29th and skied the fastest 10 k in 24:48.1.

    Germany’s Martin Hahn rounded out the podium in third (+25.6), moving up from 26th in the jump with the fourth-fastest ski time.

    Four Americans competed, with Ben Loomis landing in the top 20 in 18th (+1:38.5), Koby Vargas in 37th (+3:44.0) and Grant Andrews in 44th (+4:25.6).

    Junior/U23 World Championships continue Wednesday with the junior 5/10 k freestyle individual starts, plus women’s and men’s ski jumping. Complete schedule

    Results: Normal hill/10 k

    ***

    World University Games cross-country skiing (Almaty, Kazakhstan): 5/10 k freestyle pursuits

    Jørgen Grav of Ford Sayre competing for Norway at the World University Games in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Photo: Almaty2017.com)
    Jørgen Grav of Ford Sayre competing for Norway at the World University Games in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Photo: Almaty2017.com)

    Cross-country ski competitions continued at the World University Games on Tuesday with pursuit races based off the finish times from Monday’s 5 and 10 kilometer classic races.

    In the men’s 10 k pursuit, Dmitriy Rostovtsev overtook Russian teammate (and yesterday’s winner) Valeriy Gontar to win by 14.7 seconds. Armenia’s Sergey Mikayelyan moved from fourth up to third place (+52.0) to claim the final podium spot.

    Jørgen Grav of Norway, a former University of Vermont skier now in graduate studies at Dartmouth College and competing for Ford Sayre, placed 36th, +5:14.4.

    For Canada William Dumas (Skinouk) skied from 48th all the way up to 40th to lead the team and finish +5:26.0.  Carrington Pomeroy (Nakkertok) moved from 57th up to 48th (+6:01.2), Conor Thompson (Université Laval) finished 52nd (+6:33.3), Gavin Shields (Lappe Nordic) 58th (+6:54.6), Jordan Cascagnette (Team Hardwood) 62nd (+7:24.8), and Alexis Morin (Université Laval) 68th (+8:44.1).

    Vincent Mason of the University of Wyoming had the best U.S. finish, clocking in at 55th (+6:36.6). Teammate Will Timmons finished 63rd (+7:29.9) and Sam Wiswell 71st (+9:27.9). Mitchell Hollman (Air Force Academy) 74th (+10:25.1), Kevin Geisen (Western State) 78th (+12:07.6), and Cameron Moore (Western State) 79th (+12:50.0).

    In the women’s 5 k skate pursuit, Anna Nechaevskaya of Russia moved up and stole the lead from Russian teammate (and yesterday’s winner) Lilia Vasilieva (+18.1). Anna Shevchenko of Kazakhstan kept her hold on third place (+21.3).

    Elise Sulser of the University of Wyoming again led the United States, slipping one spot to finish 24th (+3:47.1). Her teammate Meghan Kent was 47th (+6:39.9) and Yara Thomas 50th (+7:20.0). Emma Malmqvist (Colorado Mesa University) placed 53rd (+8:04.7), Sierra Jech (State University of New York) 55th (+8:26.9), and Sierra Foster (Oregon State University) 61st (+10:00.3).

    For Canada, Christel Pichard-Joliceur (Université Laval) finished 31st (+4:35.9). Shelby Dickey (Highlands Trailblazers) followed in 41st (+5:35.9), then Emma Camicioli (Rocky Mountain Racers) in 44th (+5:53.0) and Kyla Vanderzwet (Nakkertok) 45th (+5:54.8).

    World University Games biathlon (Almaty, Kazakhstan): 15/20 k individual

    In the women’s 15 k individual, the first biathlon competition of the Universiade, Kazakhstan took four of the top five places with much of their World Cup team competing on home turf. Alina Raikova won over Galina Vishnevskaya by 2:21.1 thanks to just two penalties to Vishnevskaya’s four. Ukraine’s Nadiia Bielkina was third, +2:23.6 with five penalties.

    The lone Canadian finisher was Jessica Paterson of the University of Alberta, who finished 23rd (+13:06.1) with eight missed shots.

    In the men’s 20 k individual, Baptiste Jouty of France came out on top by 41.0 seconds over Sergey Korostylev of Russia, with two penalties for each racer. Third place went to Semen Suchilov, also of Russia, +1:05.5 with three missed shots.

    Seamus Boyd-Porter of Memorial University led Canada with a 36th-place finish, +13:33.1 and eight missed shots. Taij Isaac Mann of MacEwan University finished 42nd with two missed shots (+19:37.2), and Sasha Eccleston 45th with seven missed shots (+23:07.8).

    No American biathletes competed.

    Results portal

  • Saturday Rundown: Val di Fiemme, Oberhof, Soldier Hollow, Planica (Updated x3)

    Saturday Rundown: Val di Fiemme, Oberhof, Soldier Hollow, Planica (Updated x3)

    Left to right: Chelsea Holmes, Caitlin Gregg, and Caitlin Patterson standing on top of the podium for the women's 10-kilometer freestyle event at the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
    Left to right: Chelsea Holmes, Caitlin Gregg, and Caitlin Patterson standing on top of the podium for the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle event at the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.

    U.S. Cross Country Championships (Soldier Hollow): 10 k skate

    [UPDATED] Don’t bet against Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) in a distance skate event. The 36-year-old took another national title in the 10-kilometer freestyle individual start at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, earlier today in the first event of the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships. Gregg’s winning time was 27:00.6 on a cold, slow-snow morning at SoHo.

    Chelsea Holmes (Alaska Pacific University) was second, 2.2 seconds back, with Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) third (+14.5). Katharine Ogden (Stratton Mountain School, +20) was fourth, Becca Rorabaugh (APU, +58.4) fifth, and Rosie Frankowski (APU, +1:05) sixth to round out the extended podium.

    In the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle event, Central Cross Country Ski Association’s Kyle Bratrud took first in a time of 34:52.0. Second place wen tot Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s Tad Elliott  finished in a time of 35:14.6, while University of Denver’s Mori Madelaner (+35:22.4) rounded out the podium in third. Patrick Caldwell of Stratton Mountain School was seven tenths of a second out of third place in fourth overall (the third American on the day) in a time of 35:23.1. Fifth went to Kris Freeman of Team Freebird in a time of 35:28.0. 

    Results: Women | Men

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Oberhof): 10/12.5 k pursuits

    [UPDATED] In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit on Saturday in Oberhof, Germany, France’s Martin Fourcade got back to his winning ways, shooting 19-for-20 (0+1+0+0) on a cold and gusting afternoon for a 1:09.9-minute victory in 36:45.7. He started eighth.

    Germany’s Arnd Peiffer started 15th and finished second with three penalties (0+0+1+2), and for the second-straight race, Italy’s Dominik Windisch placed third (+1:32.4), with five misses. Windisch was just 0.2 seconds ahead of Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen in fifth (+1:32.6), also with five penalties (1+1+2+1).

    Tim Burke (US Biathlon) raced to 26th (+3:18.9) after starting 35th, with four penalties, all in standing (0+0+2+2). Also for the U.S., Russell Currier placed 34th (+4:29.8), up from 46th at the start, with five penalties (2+0+1+2).

    Canada’s Scott Gow finished 45th (+5:45.7) with seven misses (1+1+2+3).

    No North American men are listed on the provisional start list for Sunday’s 15 k mass start.

    In the women’s 10 k pursuit that followed, France made it a double on the day with Marie Dorin Habert taking a 38.8-second victory in 34:33.3. She started third and had two penalties (1+0+0+1) en route to the win, ahead of Friday’s sprint winner Gabriela Koukalova of the Czech Republic in second, with two clean stages followed by three misses (0+0+1+2).

    Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen started second and ended up third (+1:19.1) with four penalties (1+0+1+2) amid blustery conditions in Oberhof.

    Canada’s Rosanna Crawford finished 22nd (+3:47.9), one spot down from starting 21st, with four penalties (0+1+1+2).

    For the U.S., Susan Dunklee placed 44th (+6:20.4), up from starting 50th, despite nine misses (1+3+4+1). Clare Egan finished 49th (+7:25.6) after starting 52nd, with seven misses (4+0+0+3).

    Dunklee was listed as the lone North American starter in Sunday’s 12.5 k mass start, as she is currently ranked 17th overall in the IBU World Cup. Crawford is next in line on the “reserve standby athletes” lists by her event results of the week, should another qualified athlete have to cancel (e.g. due to illness).

    Results: Men | Women

    Mass start provisional start lists: Men | Women

    ***

    Alex Harvey (Canadian World Cup Team) en route to 19th in the men's 15 k classic mass start on Saturday, which puts him sixth overall in the Tour de Ski with one stage remaining in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Salomon/Nordic Focus)
    Alex Harvey (Canadian World Cup Team) en route to 19th in the men’s 15 k classic mass start on Saturday, which puts him sixth overall in the Tour de Ski with one stage remaining in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Salomon/Nordic Focus)

    FIS Cross-Country Tour de Ski Stage 6 (Val di Fiemme, Italy): 10/15 k classic

    Russian Sergey Ustiugov’s Tour de Ski winning streak came to an end on Saturday at the penultimate stage of the seven-stage Tour, with Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby breaking away on the final 2.5 k lap to win the men’s 15-kilometer classic mass start at Stage 6 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    Ustiugov had to outlast a chase pack to settle for second, 2.2 seconds behind Sundby, who won in 40:40.0. Finland’s Matti Heikkinen reached the podium in third (+2.8), ahead of Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani in fourth (+3.2), Russia’s Andrey Larkov in fifth (+3.3), Norway’s Niklas Dyrhaug in sixth (+3.5), Switzerland’s Dario Cologna in seventh (+3.8), and Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh in eighth (+3.9). Behind Heikkinen, the fourth- through eighth-place finishers were all within 1.1 seconds of the stage podium.

    Canada’s Alex Harvey ended up 19th (+38.7) after losing seconds to the leaders on the second half of the course. He finished ahead of teammates Devon Kershaw in 27th (+1:12.1) and Graeme Killick in 32nd (+1:31.0).

    For the U.S., Noah Hoffman scored points for the second-straight day in 30th (+1:17.1). Erik Bjornsen crashed on an early downhill and dropped out of the race around the halfway point.

    Ustiugov previously built a more than 1 1/2 minute lead in the Tour, so he remains 1:11.9 minutes ahead of Sundby in the overall with one stage (the 9 k final climb) to go. Cologna remains in third (+2:04.1), Heikkinen is fourth (+2:32.9), France’s Maurice Manificat fifth (+2:34.6) after finishing 13th on Saturday, and Harvey slipped from fourth to sixth overall (+2:42.5), ahead of Sweden’s Marcus Hellner, who finished 10th for seventh overall (+2:54.5).

    Kershaw is 23rd overall (+7:19.1), Hoffman 30th (+9.42.7), and Killick 37th (+11:25.1) heading into the final stage.

    Stina Nilsson of Sweden (center) celebrates another win in the Tour de Ski, which puts her atop the overall standings; Anne Kylloenen of Finland (left) was second in the 10 k classic mass start and Charlotte Kalla of Sweden third.
    Stina Nilsson of Sweden (center) celebrates another win in the Tour de Ski, which puts her atop the overall standings; Anne Kyllönen of Finland (left) was second in the 10 k classic mass start and Charlotte Kalla of Sweden third.

    In the women’s 10 k classic mass start to start the day, Stina Nilsson of Sweden won her fourth stage of this year’s Tour, racing aggressively from start to finish and picking up extra bonus seconds along the way.

    Nilsson pushed the hills late and nobody from the already-fractured main pack could keep up. She notched a 3.0-second win over Anne Kyllönen of Finland, who collected her first individual podium of the season. Charlotte Kalla joined her Swedish teammate on the podium in third (+3.7), also her first podium of the year; she had been fourth in the 5 k freestyle the day before in Toblach, Italy.

    Krista Parmakoski of Finland was fourth, +9.4, Teresa Stadlober of Austria fifth, +10.1, and Yulia Tchekaleva of Russia sixth, +10.5.

    With the bonus seconds that Nilsson picked up along the way, she stole the overall Tour de Ski lead from Norway’s Heidi Weng, who finished seventh (+17.5). Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, also of Norway, had been in second place but slipped even farther. After leading at the start of the race, she slipped through the pack and then off the back, crossing the line 18th (+1:08.5). She is now fourth in the Tour de ski, behind Parmakoski.

    Jessie Diggins of the U.S. skied to eighth place (+19.5) and retained her fifth place overall Tour standing. Teammate Liz Stephen raced to 19th (+1:11.2), and moved into the top 20 of the Tour standings for the first time. Rosie Brennan scored points again in 28th (+2:06.1).

    Results: Men | Women

    Tour standings (through Stage 6): Men | Women

    ***

    FIS Cross-Country OPA Cup (Planica, Slovenia): 10 k classic

    [UPDATED] A quartet of American sprinters turned to distance classic skiing, placing as high as fifth, in 10-kilometer classic interval start races at the OPA Cup in Planica, Slovenia, earlier Saturday.

    U.S. Ski Team member Simi Hamilton posted the day’s best result for the Americans, finishing fifth in the men’s race, 13.8 seconds back from winner Jean Tiberghien of France. Hamilton, who started in the final third of the 110-skier field, worked his way into the race, placing 14th at the 3.8 k mark and seventh at 7.5 k before moving up into fifth by the finish. His teammate and the other American in the race, Andy Newell, placed 58th, 1:30.7 back, finishing strong after placing 67th at the 7.5 k time checkpoint.

    Mickael Philipot (+2.0) and Valentin Chauvin (+8.6) rounded out the all-Gallic podium.

    In the women’s race, Ida Sargent (USST) was the leading American in 17th. She finished 1:10 behind winner Sara Pellegrini of Italy. Sargent likewise worked her way into the race, placing 26th and 18th at intermediate checkpoints before moving up to 17th by the finish.

    Three places and less than ten seconds back, Sophie Caldwell (USST) finished 20th, 1:19.7 back of Pellegrini. Caldwell started out somewhat faster than the three other Americans who raced today, placing as high as seventh at the first checkpoint.

    The final podium, reminiscent of the 2006 World Cup soccer final, was Pellegrini in first, Italian Caterina Ganz in second (+7.6), and Delphine Claudel of France in third (+14.6).

    Conditions in Planica were clear and cold and just a few degrees above the FIS-legal cutoff, with race-time temperatures between 3° F and 5° F.

    Racing in Planica concludes tomorrow with interval start 10 and 15 k classic races, replacing the 7.5/15 k skiathlon that was originally scheduled.

    Results: men | women

  • Gelso Wins First SuperTour Sprint; ‘Big Win’ for Bender in West

    Gelso Wins First SuperTour Sprint; ‘Big Win’ for Bender in West

    From left to right: Alaska Pacific University’s Reese Hanneman, Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Matt Gelso and Alaska Pacific University’s Tyler Kornfield on the podium for the men’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.
    From left to right: Saturday’s third-place finisher Reese Hanneman (APU), winner Matt Gelso (SVSEF) and runner-up Tyler Kornfield (APU) on the podium at the men’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.

    WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — With a little less than a kilometer left, the pack started to panic. Saturday marked the first SuperTour sprint of the season and the gap Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team veteran Matt Gelso had put on the five other skiers in the men’s sprint final was not getting smaller.

    The winner of last year’s SuperTour sprint season opener, Reese Hanneman of Alaska Pacific University (APU), saw the nearly 15-meter lead Gelso had established halfway through the 1.3-kilometer men’s freestyle sprint final heat as a sign.

    Alaska Pacific University's Tyler Kornfield racing during the qualifier for the men's SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.
    Tyler Kornfield (APU) racing during the qualifier of the men’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.

    “I was in third or fourth thinking, ‘Uh, OK, we better start closing this down,’” Hanneman said during an in-person, post-race interview.

    The odds seemed against Gelso. Racing behind him was not only Hanneman (a two-time national sprint champion), but also APU’s Tyler Kornfield (a 2012 national sprint champion), Bend Endurance Academy’s Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (winner of three national sprint titles), as well as American junior sprint star Cole Morgan (SVSEF), and sprint specialist Ben Saxton of the Stratton Mountain School (SMST2).

    “Basically in the final it was five sprinters and then Matt,” Hanneman said. “So I think he knew that he had to go out like … and then I think none of us thought that [Gelso] could hold it all the way. … It was really impressive skiing by him to just go for it the whole time.”

    Yet, as Gelso began to climb the final hill of the course on the Rendezvous Ski Trails, he proved his gap on the other five finalists would take a strong challenge to beat. Hanneman pushed around Morgan, Saxton and Blackhorse-von Jess, while racing behind his teammate Kornfield. The two APU racers began gaining on Gelso, but not soon enough.

    With 100 meters to go, Gelso, a 28-year-old SuperTour regular best known for his distance skiing, left the two sprint champions chasing, and crossed the finish line first in a time of 2:36.85 for his first SuperTour sprint win.

    “I was pretty fired up,” Gelso said after. “I didn’t know going into the semifinal and final if [leading from the start] was going to still work … but I had the body and the skis to stay consistent with my plan.”

    Crossing 1.94 seconds after Gelso was Kornfield, who indicated that his second-place finish was his best performance on the West Yellowstone sprint course since the start of his sprint career.

    “The first year [I raced] here I didn’t even qualify,” Kornfield said after. “This is the first year I’ve moved on from the quarters…[last year] I got taken out and I took Eric Packer out too.”

    “I think none of us thought that [Gelso] could hold it all the way … It was really impressive skiing by him to just go for it the whole time.”— Reese Hanneman (APU), on Matt Gelso’s sprint performance Saturday

    The final podium finisher for the day was Hanneman, finishing 2.27 seconds after Gelso and 0.33 seconds out of second place.

    “I didn’t feel that good in the qualifier,” Hanneman said. “I was skiing a couple gears lower than I needed to be but then I started feeling better in the heats … I think after today I’ll definitely wake up and feel a little bit better.”

    The final three finishers included Saxton in fourth (+5.1), Morgan in fifth (+5.34) and Blackhorse-von Jess in sixth (+22.85).

    Results: Qualifier | Heats

    ‘Big Win’ for Bender

    In the women’s 1.3 k freestyle sprint, it was Jennie Bender of the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF), who took first, besting SMST2’s Erika Flowers and Annie Hart.

    Bender, 28, started the day by winning the women’s qualifier in 3:08.76, holding off Hart by three hundredths of a second.

    “My goal is to do better in qualifying, and I did that today, so that was a big win for me,” Bender said. “I love this course and I hope to repeat last year, get back to Europe and race some World Cups.”

    From left to right: Stratton Mountain School skier Annie Hart, Bridger Ski Foundation skier Jennie Bender and Stratton Mountain School skier Erika Flowers on the podium for the women’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.
    From left to right: Saturday’s third-place finisher Annie Hart (SMST2), winner Jennie Bender (BSF), and runner-up Erika Flowers (SMST2) on the podium at the women’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint in West Yellowstone, Mont.

    After winning the qualifier, Bender’s course time only got faster. She won her quarterfinal in 3:08.24 and her semifinal in 3:06.86. By the time she finished the women’s final in first, she had covered the 1.3 k course in 3:04.78, almost four seconds faster than her qualifying time.

    With a strong headwind challenging many of the racers who chose to lead, Bender decided in her final to follow the other finalists for the first half of the course before making her move.

    “There’s a lot of wind happening so … you kind of have to play with the wind and whether or not you want to be the only one blocking it or not,” Bender said of the heats. “I led my quarter, and I was like  ‘Holy sh*t, I took all the wind myself!’ so I was trying to kind of mess around with sitting behind people the next two heats, and that felt way better.”

    While Bender’s plan for the final was to tuck in and conserve for the first half, then surge to the front in the second half, Hart decided to lead out of the start.

    “Because we had some big headwinds [today] … the debate was whether to lead or follow,” Hart said. “I went into the rounds and decided to lead most of them, because I ski better generally when I kind of feel like I’m in control.”

    Hart skied at the front of the pack up until the course’s last climb, where her teammate Flowers passed her on the right side and Bender cruised by on her left.

    “I just, one, didn’t have much energy left, and two, there really wasn’t anywhere to go,” Hart said of her attempt to hold onto the lead. “I typically don’t do very well in West Yellowstone, so this year was by far the best first race I have had … I will take it.”

    Bridger Ski Foundation skier Jennie Bender (bib 1) leading her semifinal during the women's 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.
    Jennie Bender (1) of the Bridger Ski Foundation leading her semifinal during the women’s 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.

    Rounding the final turn, Bender took the inside lane while Flowers remained to the far outside left. The two raced head-to-head through the final 100 meters, lunging to the line for a photo finish.

    Bender was eventually awarded the win and Flowers took second by a mere 0.09 seconds. Hart crossed in third, 1.94 seconds behind Bender.

    “I needed a lane, so I moved outside early and zoomed up the hill as fast as I could, and then into the finish,” Flowers said of final move up the course’s last climb. “I don’t think I quite realized I was as close to Jennie as I was until about ten feet from the finish line. It was exciting, I’ve never thought of myself as a sprinter, so it was fun to do well.”

    “She was behind me the whole time until that hill,” Bender said of Flowers. “And you just save so much energy, due to headwind, so I think that helped both of us. It’s funny, we talked about it before our quarter — she was in my quarter, I was like, ‘it’s better drafting,’ and it worked out!

    “I feel pretty fit compared to previous years, I would say, and I’m hoping for a good season,” Bender concluded.

    Also in the final was Hannah Halvorsen of the Sugar Bowl Ski Academy and U.S. Ski Team in fourth (+2.0), APU’s Chelsea Holmes in fifth (+3.86), and University of Colorado-Boulder (CU) skier Petra Hyncicova in sixth (+4.53).

    Results: Qualifier | Heats