Super Tour Classical Sprint at Soldier Hollow
December 12, 2003
The Classical Sprint competitions started the five race SuperTour week at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic venue. A 1.3-km loop was used for today’s competitions. Morning snow flurries and mid-day light rain slowed the man-made snow a little, but the strong field of skiers created a great day of Cross-Country ski sprinting.
The unusual classical technique format created a few interesting results, especially in the men’s races. Norwegian College student Henning Dybendahl overtook David Chamberlain on the last 10 meters of the final A heat, clearly ahead of US Ski Team Sprint Champions Andrew Newell and Torin Koos. An impressive uphill burst from Dave Chamberlain mid-race broke the heat apart, but his 20 meter lead withered slowly towards the finish line.
In the women’s final A heat, Rebecca Dussault left no doubt who had the most energy for the last women’s heat of the day. After skiing the demanding 1.3 km course four times (qualification, quarterfinal, semi-final and final), Dussault showed great stamina and speed in the final half lap, and easily won the women’s race.
Men A Final
1. DYBENDAL, Henning 3:20.5
2. CHAMBERLAIN, Dave 3:20.9
3. NEWELL, Andrew 3:23.0
4. KOOS, Torin 3:23.3