Sylvan Ellefson, 26, knew it was going to take some gutsy skiing to win the men's 30-kilometer freestyle mass start Wednesday at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships, but he didn't want to go too crazy, too soon. Here's how he executed to win his first national title by 2.8 seconds.
A crowd favorite, Sylvan Ellefson (SSCV/Team HomeGrown) put down a bold move and broke away with 7.5 k to go in the men's 30 k freestyle mass start at U.S. nationals. “Whether they pick me for the Olympics this year or not, I’m just happy to have a national championship under my belt," he says.