Doubling up in this U23 World’s 10 kilometer and 15 k interval start classic rundown.
U23 Women’s 10 k Classic
Yes, Sweden’s Ebba Andersson remains a U23 despite her clutch fourth overall in the SkiTour 2020. The force that is Andersson took her talents to Oberwiesenthal, Germany where she tapped out the 10 k classic win in 28:28.7 minutes.
This was a race, beyond the likes of Andersson, where some shifting occurred after the race’s midpoint at 5 k. Emma Ribom of Sweden clocked in first at that time-check in 12:24.4. Andersson was second (+3.1), with the eventual silver medalist, Marte Maehlum Johansen of Norway back in seventh place at 29.4 seconds back.
The last 5 k saw Andersson’s pacing pay off with the win. Johansen moved up in the standings to finish second overall (+24.8), while Ribom bumped back into third (+30.2).
For the U.S., Julia Kern (SMST2) continued her run for the U.S., after placing third on Sunday’s skate sprint, to place fourth overall (+38.0). Her World Cup teammate Hailey Swirbul (APU) skied to seventh (+1:03.8). Also for the U.S., Amanda Kautzer (MTU) was 41st (+3:55.8), and Alexandra Lawson (Middlebury) 43rd (+4:06.4).
Annika Richardson (Lappe Nordic Ski Club) was the top Canadian in 37th (+3:38.6), Hannah Mehain (Sovereign Lake) was 40th (+3:53.9), and Laurence Dumais (Fondeurs Laurentides) 51st (+5:19.3).
Men’s U23 15 k Classic
Russia’s Sergey Ardashev won the men’s 15 k classic by just over a minute in 36:26.5. Norway’s Harald Østberg Amundsen placed second at 1:02.0, and France’s Hugo Lapalus third at 1:35.6.
Hunter Wonders (APU) of the U.S., was the top North American in eighth place (+2:03.1). For the twenty-one-year-old Wonders, this was his top career individual Junior or U23 World’s result. Logan Diekmann (U of Utah), also for the U.S., placed 38th (+3:54.0), Zak Ketterson (NMU) 48th (+4:36.7), and Finn O’Connell (UVM) 51st (+4:50.4).
Canada placed three skiers in the top-30. Graham Ritchie (Big Thunder Nordic) led that charge with a 13th place (+2:28.8). Sam Hendry (Canmore Nordic) was 18th (+2:49.2), Antoine Cyr (Skinouk) 30th (+3:23.8), and Philippe Boucher (Commission de ski nordique) 52nd (+5:03.9).
Racing continues on Thursday for the U23s with a 15 k/30 k mass start skate.
Jason Albert
Jason lives in Bend, Ore., and can often be seen chasing his two boys around town. He’s a self-proclaimed audio geek. That all started back in the early 1990s when he convinced a naive public radio editor he should report a story from Alaska’s, Ruth Gorge. Now, Jason’s common companion is his field-recording gear.
