The US SuperTour kicked off the first races of the new year at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center with a classic sprint. The event, dubbed the 2020 Lost Nation Cup, brings together senior athletes, EISA carnival teams, developing NENSA skiers, and citizen racers for a weekend of racing in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
“Retired” Craftsbury native Ida Sargent won the women’s race in a time of 3:55.47, followed by fellow CGRP athlete Kaitlynn Miller (+0.21), and Dartmouth Ski Team’s Katherine Ogden (+2.09). Erika Flowers posted the fastest qualifying time of 3:56.03; she finished fifth in the final (+6.67).
On the mens’ side, Ben Saxton (SMST2) took the final in 3:19.0. He was followed by Canada’s Julien Smith of NTDC Thunderbay (+2.04) with Forrest Mahlen of APU in third (+2.25). University of Vermont athlete Ben Ogden was the fastest qualifier of the day in 3:18.62. Ogden was eliminated in the first heat of the semifinal, finishing 11th overall.
Racing continues tomorrow with interval start freestyle distance races Saturday and mass start classic distance races Sunday.