In his third season of skiing, Omar Bermejo is striving for the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. The 31-year-old U.S. Paralympics Development Team member joined the Maine Winter Sports Center this summer in an effort to make that happen and trained with teammates like Kris Freeman in Italy.
After heaving themselves up Mt. Disney at Sugar Bowl Resort, several of top finishers were pretty animated about the 6 k hill climb on the last day of SuperTour Finals. Here are some of the best quotes outside of the men’s and women’s race reports.
Erik Bjornsen thought he was done for. The 21-year-old U.S. Ski Team and APU skier had gone out too hard, too early in Monday’s 6 k freestyle hill climb before the real ascent up Sugar Bowl Resort even started. Somehow, he found at least three more gears and beat Kris Freeman to the top for his first SuperTour Finals title.
In their last races of the season, several top skiers had plenty to say in the first three races at SuperTour Finals. Here are some of the best quotes that didn't make it into the race reports.
Ida Sargent made herself a favorite in Saturday's classic sprint, her last race of SuperTour Finals, putting it all on the line and giving Kikkan Randall someone to chase. Randall prevailed and extended her lead over Sadie Bjornsen, who was third.
Kikkan Randall dropped the field without even knowing it in Friday's 10 k classic mass start to win the second-straight race of SuperTour Finals. Sadie Bjornsen capitalized on some crashes to seal second, and Liz Stephen hung tough for third.
Erik Bjornsen headed into Thursday's wet-and-blustery 3.3 k prologue at SuperTour Finals with a controlled fire, pacing himself for the first half and attacking for his first SuperTour win by 14.5 seconds. The only man, or woman, to beat Kikkan Randall, he did so on a tough and slow course.
Snow trouble at major championships is the new normal, apparently. Race organizers for the 2013 SuperTour Finals and Distance Nationals, faced with driest winter on record and insufficient snowpack on the newly-homologated courses at Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Center, were forced to move three events to higher ground last week. The 30/50 k will now take place at Royal Gorge and the freestyle prologue and 10/15 k classic will be at Auburn Ski Club.