Archive for Friday, January 4, 2008
Cross-country skiers post solid finishes in deep field
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Need for Stampede
The 23rd annual Steamboat Stampede returns to the Steamboat Ski Touring Center on Saturday. The Stampede will include a 23K classic race that will be part of Rocky Mountain Nordic's 12-race, statewide Colorado Cup series. The event also will include a 42K freestyle race that will not count toward Colorado Cup point rankings.
Registration and bib pick-up runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Ski Touring Center (cost is $30) or from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on race day (when cost is $39). Both the men's and women's 23K and 42K classic races start at 10 a.m., and the women's and men's freestyle races start at 10:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively.
The Ski Touring Center also will be hosting the second of five Nordic Challenge series races Saturday, which will include 1, 3, 5 and 10K races.
Visit www.steamboatxcski.org or www.nordicski.net for more information, or call 879-8180.
Steamboat Springs — The Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club's group of cross-country ski racers at the 2008 U.S. Cross Country Championships, Tuesday through Sunday in Houghton, Mich., knew it would need the stars aligned to achieve a top-10 finish at the massive 'open' national championships, which include not only the nation's top club, college and factory teams, but also a cadre of top skiers from around the globe.
Instead, SSWSC ability coach Travis Jones said Thursday that much of the team came down with a cold bug and raced a bit under the weather.
"The field is so strong and big that if you're even 30 seconds off the lead pack, you're way back," Jones said after the conclusion of Thursday's men's classic 15K and women's 10K. "You need everything in your favor, and (on Thursday) it was not quite there."
Sarah MacCarthy, racing for the University of Utah, posted Steamboat's top finish thus far at 47th of 177 female finishers. Winter Sports Club racers Molly Newman, Melissa Krause and Mary Rose finished in 123rd, 129th and 154th, respectively. On the men's side, Mark Iverson finished Thursday's race in 74th (of 242), Ian Mallems finished in 88th and Austin Ross, racing for Colby College, finished in 109th.
The Steamboat men started off with some stronger finishes in Tuesday's opening 10K skate. Iverson finished 2 1/2 minutes off the winner in 59th place, Mallems took 81st and Ross took 93rd (of 253).
Rose also had a better opening day, leading the Winter Sports Club pack in 110th ahead of Newman (143) and Krause (150), while MacCarthy finished in 55th (of 184).
The junior racers will finish the championships with a skate sprint event Saturday. Iverson and the collegiate racers will round out the championships with the team sprint event Sunday.
"With these early-season races, you don't really know where you stand, but the potential is there for a big sprint day," Jones said.
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