SuperTour Finals – Page 3 – FasterSkier.com

Snowmaking Brings Spring Series To Craftsbury

Audrey ManganJuly 25, 20111

Holding elite level events, whether World Cup races, National Championships or just FIS points competitions, pose numerous challenges for organizers and National Governing Bodies in the US and Canada. Over the course of the summer FasterSkier will examine the various issues at hand. This is the second installment in the series; the homologated courses this season, which includes the SuperTour and NorAms. Every summer since Craftsbury changed ownership in 2008, Dreissigacker says they have been...

General News

SuperTour Finals Head to Vermont

Audrey ManganJuly 21, 20112

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) posted the finalized schedule today for the SuperTour, and the Finals will be hosted by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. According to an earlier interview with out-going Nordic Director John Farra, the Outdoor Center’s plan to have snowmaking capabilities in place for this season was integral to its candidacy, as the inconsistency of natural snow coverage in late March would normally make northern Vermont a risky...

Continental Cup General News US Nationals

USSA Announces Race Format Changes for SuperTour, Junior Nationals.

Audrey ManganJune 14, 201112

Every May, after storage wax has cooled and spandex has been washed for the first time since November, coaches, officials, and athletes from around the country descend upon Park City for four days to discuss scheduling for the following year and implementing new race rules and formats. This is the USSA Congress. FasterSkier caught up with John Farra, USSA Nordic Director, to get a run down of the most import developments to come out of...

Continental Cup General News Racing US Ski Team

After Sugar Struggles, Freeman Gets it Right for Hill Climb

Nathaniel HerzApril 2, 20112

Kris Freeman (USST) had one last chance to nail it. A type 1 diabetic, Freeman had had two straight races in Sun Valley in which his efforts had been stymied by the disease. Saturday’s freestyle hill climb up Dollar Mountain, the final race in the four-stage SuperTour Finals, was his last shot to get it right. He did, which allowed him to leave behind three other athletes on the toughest section of the four-kilometer course,...

Continental Cup General News Racing US Ski Team

Randall Takes Hill Climb, SuperTour Overall, Atop Dollar Mountain

Nathaniel HerzApril 2, 2011

If there was anyone who deserved a beer after Saturday’s hill climb in Sun Valley, it was Kikkan Randall. After winning four straight races here—and the first three in the four-stage SuperTour Finals—Randall (APU/USST) had a whopping 1:23 head start over her nearest challenger in the four-kilometer hill climb up Dollar Mountain, which was handicapped based on results from earlier this week. Randall could have taken it easy. But that’s not the approach that gave...

Continental Cup Racing

Randall Keeps on Rolling, With Fourth Straight Win

Nathaniel HerzApril 1, 20113

Four down, one to go. The best season of Kikkan Randall’s career is almost over, and she’s going out in style, having won four straight races at the SuperTour Finals and U.S. 30 k Championships in Sun Valley. The latest was Friday’s classic sprint, in which she skied into the finish with a clear, two-and-a-half second lead over her roommate, Canadian Chandra Crawford, with Utah’s Maria Graefnings in third. Under a hot sun, the finals...

Continental Cup General News Racing

Sinnott Takes The Win, and the Cash, In Sunny Sprint

Nathaniel HerzApril 1, 2011

After the quarters and semifinals of Friday’s classic sprint in Sun Valley, it looked like there would be two separate races in the men’s final. The first would be for Andy Newell (USST/SMS), who had dominated his first two heats and looked to be in a class by himself. The second would be between Lars Flora (APU) and Mike Sinnott (SVSEF), who were locked in a battle for first place in the overall SuperTour sprint...

Canadian National Ski Team Continental Cup General News Racing US Ski Team

Freeman Misses Sun Valley Sprint Heats With Sugar Problems, Crash

Nathaniel HerzApril 1, 20111

At the top of the results sheet for Friday’s classic sprint qualifier in Sun Valley, there weren’t any surprises: Kikkan Randall, Ida Sargent, and Chandra Crawford were the top three women, and Andy Newell, Simi Hamilton, and Skyler Davis were the top three men. But scanning down and looking through the rest of the top 30, one name was conspicuously absent: that of Kris Freeman, who was the overall leader of the SuperTour Finals mini-tour...

Continental Cup Racing

Pure Prologue Pain – Faces From Tuesday

Nathaniel HerzApril 1, 2011

If practice makes perfect, it makes sense that there were a lot of hurting units in Tuesday’s skate prologue in the Sun Valley, which was the first stage of the 2011 SuperTour Finals. The prologue format has only been raced a couple of times on the domestic circuit, and while a number of teams and athletes have tested the distance in time trials, there’s only so much you can simulate it without a bib on....

Continental Cup News Racing US Ski Team

School Time in Sun Valley: Randall Smashes SuperTour Finals Prologue

Nathaniel HerzMarch 29, 2011

Kikkan Randall isn’t particularly professorial, what with her pink hair and her affable demeanor. But since arriving back in the U.S. last week, fresh off the World Cup circuit in Europe, Randall (APU/USST) has been teaching lessons, all right, with the trails of Sun Valley as her classroom, and the North American women’s field as her pupils. After Sunday’s unit on distance classic skiing, Tuesday’s session was on how to ski a skate prologue. In...

Continental Cup General News Racing US Ski Team

Holy Hamilton! SVSEF Skier Convincing in Prologue Win

Nathaniel HerzMarch 29, 2011

In Tuesday’s 3.3 k prologue in Sun Valley, the top-seeded men started last. So it wasn’t that much of a surprise when Simi Hamilton finished his race with a big lead—there were 42 of the continent’s strongest skiers still to come. The surprising thing was what happened next. One by one, each of those 42 men came to the finish line and failed to touch Hamilton’s time. Andy Newell: 18 seconds down. Leif Zimmermann and...

Canadian National Ski Team Continental Cup General News Racing US Ski Team

Sun Valley Mini-Tour to Wrap Up 2011 SuperTour, Season

Nathaniel HerzMarch 29, 20111

The cross-country ski season’s last stand begins on Tuesday, when the final domestic races of the year kick off in Sun Valley, ID. The mini-tour known as the SuperTour Finals will start with a 3.3/2.8 k freestyle prologue on a stout course, followed by three more races in four more days. The winner of both the men’s and women’s overall will be the first competitor to arrive atop a ridge on Dollar Mountain, a local...

Continental Cup General News Racing

Canadians to Storm SuperTour Finals With Big Names

Kieran JonesMarch 25, 2011

The SuperTour Final is turning into an international affair. With a group of Norwegians already confirmed, as well as Swedish and Japanese skiers, the Canadians are bringing some artillery as well. No fewer than four Canadian groups are headed to the United States for a final shot at high-level racing this season. Cross Country Canada (CCC) has a trip heading to Idaho. The Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) is sending a variety of athletes, both...

Continental Cup General News

SuperTour Finals Pick the Podium Results

FasterSkierMarch 28, 20102

There were 43 entries in the FasterSkier SuperTour Finals “Pick the Podium” contest. Participants picked the top-3 in each of the SuperTour Finals races as well as the overall standings. Points were awarded as follows: First place in a race – 5 points Second place in a race – 3 points Third place in a race – 1 points Pick the whole podium for a race and get an additional 5 points. First place overall...

Canadian National Ski Team Continental Cup General News Racing US Ski Team

Newell Holds Off Babikov for Tour Victory

Nathaniel HerzMarch 28, 20101

Today’s 7 k men’s hill climb in Fort Kent was scripted to end with an exciting finish. It didn’t disappoint. At the bottom, Andy Newell (USST) started the day with a 1:20 advantage over Ivan Babikov (Canada), one of the best pure climbers in the world. By the time they arrived at the top, Babikov had made up all the time. But he couldn’t shake Newell, who had saved just enough for the one kilometer...

Continental Cup General Juniors News Racing US Ski Team

Randall Wins Classic Sprint, But Sargent Makes Her Work

Nathaniel HerzMarch 27, 2010

A third of the way through the finals in Saturday’s classic sprint in Madawaska, Ida Sargent (CGRP) was doing something that nobody else had done over the last two days: giving Kikkan Randall (APU) a run for her money. At the bottom of the course’s main climb, Sargent shot past Randall out of the draft, then went stride for stride with the Alaskan up the first half of the hill. Randall ultimately pulled away over...

Canadian National Ski Team Continental Cup General News Racing US Ski Team

With Well-Timed Lunge, Koos Wins American Sprint Showdown Over Newell

Nathaniel HerzMarch 27, 2010

Andy Newell (USST) and Torin Koos (USST) are the two best male sprinters in the United States. But not until this frigid March day, in one of the furthest-flung corners of the country, did they finally go head-to-head in the classic sprint at the 2010 SuperTour Finals in Madawaska. It was worth the wait. After a qualifying round, a quarter, and a semifinal heat, the battle came down to a double-pole drag race in the...

Continental Cup General News Racing US Ski Team

Randall Cruises to Dominating Win in Mini-Tour Opener

Nathaniel HerzMarch 26, 2010

It’s a difficult prospect after a half-dozen personal bests, a World Cup podium, and a front-page article in the New York Times sports section, but Kikkan Randall just keeps finding ways to impress this winter. After grinding out a victory in Wednesday’s 30 k just three days removed from competing in Europe, a better-rested Randall delivered an Alaska-sized beatdown to her competitors in Friday’s 7 k classic mass start race, the opening event of the...

Canadian National Ski Team Continental Cup General News Racing US Ski Team

Newell Capitalizes on Babikov Blunder, Grabs Yellow Bib

Nathaniel HerzMarch 26, 20103

On his way to the line for what he thought would be a second-place finish in Friday’s men’s 10k classic mass start, Andy Newell (USST) came across a surprising sight: Canadian skier Ivan Babikov skiing backwards in a parallel lane. Babikov had missed the sign where the finish split off from the lap lane, and was backtracking. In the process, Newell cruised by to take the victory, with Lars Flora (APU) and Torin Koos (USST)...

Continental Cup Racing

SuperTour Finals Preview and Predictions

Topher SabotMarch 25, 20102

The SuperTour Finals fits into a relatively new genre of competition – that of “mini-tour.” The term derives from the Tour De Ski, the multi-stage World Cup event featuring eight races in ten days. And while World Cup points are awarded for each individual race (half points actually), the big prize is the overall title. The success of the Tour on the global stage has led to the concept of the mini-tour, a similar format...

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