It was thrilling race today at Sovereign Lake with a huge pack of top World Cup skiers battling for 30K in the pursuit race. But in the end, it was all about the Germans. Tobias Angerer won, followed in by teammates Axel Teichmann, Andreas Schluetter, Jens Filbrech, and Rene Sommerfeldt. Ivan Babikov finished 14 and Kris Freeman finished 23rd.
It was a very tight and exciting race with all the well-known names at the forefront, including Frode Estil, Vincent Vittoz, Rene Sommerfeldt, Mathais Fredriksson and Axel Teichmann, among many others.
After the 15K classic, there were 25 skiers within 15 seconds of the lead, including the Kris Freeman and Russia's Ivan Babikov (now part of the Canadian development team for 2010). And then it got tighter! With only 5K to go, there were 27 skiers within 10 seconds of the lead. And then it got even tighter! With 1.5K left to race, there were 23 skiers within 5 seconds of the lead, setting up an amazing sprint for the finish.
And no one could top the german machine today. By the finish,the germans were out in front and the pursuing pack had been strung out over 30 seconds.
Ivan Babikov finished 14, only 8.6 seconds out and Kris Freeman finished 23rd, 23 seconds out. A decent race for Kris, but it might be a bit disappointing since he was so close to the front for almost the entire race.
Full results when available:
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/1228.html?event_id=18126&cal_suchsector=CC
North Americans in top 50:
23 Kris Freeman USA
37 Dan Roycroft CAN
39 George Grey CAN
40 David Nighbor CAN
43 Justin Freeman USA
44 Andrew Johnson USA
46 Graham Nishikawa CAN
48 James Southam USA
