A lack of snow in Bozeman, Montana, has called the second SuperTour weekend of the year into question. Racing is scheduled to start Friday, but the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) website now reports that conditions have deteriorated rapidly at the venue, Bohart Ranch. With the exception of one warm day, the temperatures over the last week in West Yellowstone remained cold, and the skiing was excellent. But 90 miles north in Bozeman, successive days approaching...
While U.S. and Canadian skiers have been competing at FIS and World Cup races for several weeks now, the American biathletes waited until Sunday to kick off their season in an IBU Cup sprint. The race in Ostersund, Sweden, was actually the second of the weekend, but the U.S. team sat out of Saturday’s race. While the men were lucky to have skipped the windy conditions that shook up the result sheet in the opener,...
In contrast to Friday’s freestyle, the 5 / 10 k classic in West Yellowstone, MT featured brilliant blue skis, frigid temperatures and pristine tracks. Our camera crew combated freezing batteries to bring you riveting footage of the final races of the opening SuperTour. Ladies’ 5km Classic: Men’s 10km Classic: Contributing camerawork by Audrey Mangan.
The final West Yellowstone SuperTour race has come and gone. The industry vendors are packed up and ready to head out, and there is a blue grass band playing at the Holiday Inn—it is time to bring the 2011 Yellowstone Ski Festival to a close. Today’s classic race was just about perfect—rock solid track, great kick, and blue skies. One of the high points had to be Nordic Combined skier Brett Denney, who borrowed demo...
Graeme Killick (Alberta World Cup Academy) may have felt more confident about his classic ability going into Saturday’s SuperTour 10 k classic in West Yellowstone, but certainly didn’t expect a win. Nevertheless, strong execution on a frigid morning in Montana brought the 22-year-old Canadian his first victory of the season, a nice cash prize, and a certain amount of confidence going into the Silver Star NorAms in two weeks time. Sylvan Ellefson (Team Homegrown) took...
Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST) has her eyes set on bigger and better things down the road, but that has not stopped her from turning in an impressive series of races in West Yellowstone. On a cold, sunny morning in Montana, Diggins hammered through the 5km classic race in a time of 14:58.2, good for a 13.7 second victory over Kate Fitzgerald (APU). Jennie Bender (CXC) concluded the opening SuperTour weekend with another strong race, taking third,...
With the weather changing drastically throughout the morning today’s West Yellowstone SuperTour was quite a spectacle. The ladies skied 10km, the men competed for 15km and the FasterSkier crew tried to keep up at several different locations on the course. Ladies’ 10km Skate: Men’s 15km Skate: Contributing camerawork by Audrey Mangan.
Turkey and stuffing in the past, Friday brought another fine morning of racing in West Yellowstone, Montana. A total of 174 skiers finished the 10/15km freestyle event, won by Leif Zimmermann (BSF/Madshus) and Morgan Arritola (SVSEF). You can read full race reports here – men | women. And view photos here – men | women As is often the case there are details of the day that don’t make it into the main articles. Here...
While the weather was a bit blustery for the women’s 10km freestyle SuperTour in West Yellowstone, there was a mix of sun and clouds—decent weather for photos. Here are some shots from the race. Women’s complete race report
A mid-race snow squall made for blizzard-like conditions and not the best photography weather. But such is skiing. Here is a selection of photos from the men’s 15km skate in West Yellowstone.
In her first time racing the SuperTour opener in a number of years, Morgan Arritola (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) seemed to feel right at home in West Yellowstone, MT, taking victory on Thursday in the women’s 10 k freestyle by 14.7 seconds over runner-up Jessie Diggins (Central Cross Country) and Caitlin Gregg (CXC, +27.9). “It was tough,” said Arritola after finishing. “[I planned] to go out and ski as well and controlled as I...
Leif Zimmermann (BSF/Madshus) made it three in a row by winning the 15-kilometer freestyle race in West Yellowstone, Montana. The 28-year-old from Bozeman, Montana weathered an intense snow squall and a strong challenge by Sylvan Ellefson (Team Homegrown) to earn a 23 second victory on the three lap course. Ellefson claimed second, closely followed by Wednesday’s Sprint Showdown winner Mike Sinnott (SVSEF). Sinnott barely edged out teammate Matt Gelso for the final podium spot, claiming...
SuperTour competitors got a Thanksgiving respite from racing on Thursday in West Yellowstone, MT, but are gearing up again for tomorrow’s 10/15 k individual-start freestyle. Athletes will have to watch their turkey consumption, as too much tryptophan would not be ideal for tomorrow’s grueling course, which features two loops of a 5 k for women and three for men. Wednesday’s Sprint Showdown was the first domestic race of the season, which is always a highlight...
Sunny skies and a brutal finish provided plenty of photo ops on course. Here are selections from the men’s event at the West Yellowstone SuperTour Sprint Showdown. Classic |
It was sunny and warm in West Yellowstone on Wednesday – perfect for shooting photos. Here is a selection from the women’s races. Classic |
We may not be EuroSport, but our camera crew took some compelling footage from partway up the steep, final pitch of the sprint course at West Yellowstone on Wednesday. As Showdown men’s winner Mike Sinnott said, you had to time your final kick to the finish perfectly, or you weren’t even going to make it to the line. Ladies’ Classic Men’s Classic Ladies’ Skate Men’s Skate
With four separate races run in West Yellowstone on Wednesday, there was a lot going on. Here are bits and pieces of what didn’t make the official race report cut: On Getting the Season Started “At the start of the season you never quite know where you’re at, it takes a bit of time to get into the race season. We typically try to have our athletes start in good shape.” Chris Jeffries, Alberta...
If there was any question as to whether Reid Pletcher would be able to make a comeback after his Full Freestyle Sprint Results
Whomever came up with the overused aphorism “no guts, no glory,” certainly was not referring to cross-country ski racing. But Saturday’s SuperTour Sprint Showdown provided plenty of images that would do just fine adorning the front of a cheap tee-shirt. There was some measure of glory (albeit in the first race of the season), and fortunately, the guts were of the figurative sense—though given the sounds coming out of many skiers in the finish corral,...
Less than 12 hours remain until the start of the 2012 SuperTour. With two separate FIS point races, one in classic, and one in skate, separated by just an hour, there will be plenty of racing action. And while there is little drama in a one kilometer individual start event, the massive final climb will be agonizing for racers and entertaining for fans. Both races are counted separately, but an overall winner will be crowned,...