The 2005 Colorado International Spring Series opened up with the Devil's
Thumb Ranch Duathlon under perfect conditions Saturday 27th. It was the final
individual event of the 2005 North American Continental Cup Super Tour.
Race organizers and racers were pleased with cold, consistent conditions and
excellent snow that made for a great race with lots of action from a strong
international field.
Kris Freeman of the US Ski Team, making a rare appearance on
American snow, edged out his teammate Andrew Johnson at the finish when they
bumped slightly and Johnson went down in the sprint. Brayton Osgood took a
narrow third over a furious Ivan Babikov, who had broken a pole in the start
and moved his way through the field with an impressive classic leg and a
scorching skate time. Freeman's strong performance put him in the Overall
lead in the series as well as the sprint and climbing leader's jerseys.
In the women's race, Subaru Factory Team's Abigail Larson skated
strongly to overcome Wendy Wagner's 12-second lead at the transition point,
cruising to a 42-second victory over Wagner. Canadian National Team member
Dasha Gaiazova followed closely behind in third. Larson has a solid lead in
the overall competition and shares the Climbing and Sprint Jerseys with
Wagner.
, Abigail Larson (1st place), and Dasha Gaiazova (3rd place.)</font></center><BR><br />
The junior field was packed with college skiers and juniors hot off<br />
of JO's. Dominic Henriques of Denver University dominated the Junior Men<br />
with Georg Jalkotzy of Team Alberta in second and Paul Schauer of Anchorage,<br />
AK in third. Brittany Perkins of Breckenridge, CO had the best time in both<br />
legs to commandingly take the junior women's race with Korie Steitz and Kara<br />
LoPoint in third. </p>
<p>Everyone raced the same 7.5km/7.5km course and it was unanimously<br />
decided that the Classic leg was perhaps one of the most challenging courses<br />
in North America. Despite the difficulty, the racing was still tight coming<br />
into the transition for all races. The coveted fun jersey had not been<br />
awarded as of press time. Race organizers will wait for reports from the<br />
first Saturday night to determine the initial Fun Leaders. </p>
<p>The series resumes Monday, March 28 with the Wells Fargo Team Sprint<br />
(2005 SuperTour final) at Devil's Thumb Ranch and continues Tuesday at the<br />
Salomon Sprints at Snow Mountain Ranch, the Snow Mountain Ranch Skate Time<br />
Trial on Thursday, The Swix Criterium at Winter Park Resort Friday and the<br />
Fischer Season Closer Classic at Devil's Thumb Ranch on Saturday.</p>
<p>Results are posted at<br />
<a href=http://www.summit-systems-timers.com/racing/race_results.htm)
www.summit-systems-timers.com/racing/race_results.htm
