PARK CITY, Utah (April 18) – Olympian Lars Flora (Anchorage, AK) swept all three individual men's titles – overall, distance and sprint champion(s) – in 2007's $130,000 Cross Country SuperTour while Kris Freeman (Andover, NH) won eight races to set a record for most SuperTour wins in his career (23).
Team CXC teammates Caitlin Compton (Minneapolis) and Laura Valaas (Wenatchee, WA) dominated the women's side of the 24-race season. Compton won the overall and distance championships while Valaas won the sprint title, with nine victories. The overall champions receive start rights during the first period of the 2008 World Cup schedule.
U.S. Nordic Director Luke Bodensteiner said, “We are really proud of the 12 sites that came together again this winter to organize the SuperTour and put their individual stamp on its identity. What they provide in terms of promotion and sport development is high impact – this year's SuperTour has been the largest yet, with the most sites, spectators, participants, media coverage and prize money. The organizers have developed an exemplary circuit and they are driving cross country forward in the U.S.”
The SuperTour schedule includes all U.S. championship races.
In addition, many of the SuperTour distance races form the FIS North American Marathon Cup series. Zack Simons (Salt Lake City), who trains with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, and Kristina Strandberg of Sweden, a former University of New Mexico racer, won their respective titles.