USSA SuperTour Period I Wraps
SUN VALLEY, ID (Dec. 6, 2015) – Aggressive competition continued on day two of the USSA SuperTour races in Sun Valley. In the women’s 10k classic mass start on Sunday, Chelsea Holmes (Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center) had a 9.7 second lead over her teammate Becca Rorabaugh followed by Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) in third place.
Although there was a lack of snow in Sun Valley, the organizing committee and technical delegates did an excellent job putting on a high quality event and challenging race course. The distance race course was 2.2 km loop in length, which started on the sprint course and headed up the little biathlon hill before splitting off the sprint course and added the big biathlon hill, which was the longest hill on course. The course then descended after this long climb and joined the sprint course. The women did one lap of the sprint course and then four full laps of the 2.2 km loop. The men did one sprint lap and six full laps. This layout made for a challenging race course that was excellent for spectators.
“There was a head to head battle between Chelsea Holmes and Caitlin Patterson for much of the race until Chelsea broke away for a convincing win,” said U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish. “Becca Rorabaugh put in a strong last lap surge to finish second.”
The women's podium at the USSA SuperTour. (USSA-Bryan Fish)
In the men’s 15k classic mass start, Scott Patterson (Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center) had a significant 31.6 second lead over Mads Stroem (University of Colorado Ski Team) and teammate Eric Packer (Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center) who finished third.
“Scott Patterson had a convincing win today. Stroem pushed the pace early. APU teammates - Lex Treinen, David Norris, Eric Packer and Scott Patterson then pushed the pace with Mads and Kyle Bratrud of the CXC Team in tow,” recapped Fish. “Scott took the lead around 5 km to go and skied solo to the finish. Mads had an excellent surge to bridge to Eric Packer and double poled down the final stretch for second.”
The men race in Sun Valley. (USSA-Bryan Fish)
The races in Sun Valley wrap up Period I of the USSA SuperTour competitions. Period II begins January 3-9 with U.S. National Championships in Houghton, MI.
HIGHLIGHTS
- In a women’s 10k classic mass start on Sunday, Chelsea Holmes (Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center) had a 9.7 second lead over her teammate Becca Rorabaugh, followed by Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) in third place (+16.3).
- Becca Rorabaugh (Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center) and Caitlin Patterson (Crafsbury Green Racing Project), both had top three finishes the day before in a sprint race with a first and third place finish.
- U.S Ski Team member Katharine Ogden (Landgrove, VT) finished seventh overall and first in the Junior Women competition while fellow U.S. Ski Team member Julia Kern (Waltham, MA), finished 29th overall and eighth in the Junior Women’s 10k classic.
- In a men’s 15k classic mass start, Scott Patterson (Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center) had a significant 31.6 second lead over Mads Stroem (Colorado University Ski Team). Eric Packer (Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center) finished third (+33.9).
- U.S Ski Team member Patrick Caldwell (Lyme, NH) finished 15th in the men’s 15k classic race.
- The distance racecourse was a 2.2k loop due to a lack of snow in Sun Valley.
- The races in Sun Valley, wrap up Period I of the USSA SuperTour competitions. Period II begins January 3-9 with U.S. National Championships in Houghton, MI.
QUOTES
Bryan Fish, U.S. Ski Team Development Coach
In the women’s race, there was a head to head battle between Chelsea Holmes and Caitlin Patterson for much of the race until Chelsea broke away for a convincing win. Becca Rorabaugh put in a strong last lap surge to finish second.
In the men’s race, Scott Patterson had a convincing win today. Mads Stroem pushed the pace early. APU teammates - Lex Treinen, David Norris, Eric Packer and Scott Patterson then pushed the pace with Mads and Kyle Bratrud in tow. Scott took the lead around 5km to go and skied solo to the finish. Mads had an excellent surge to bridge to Eric Packer and double poled down the final stretch for second.