[GRP Snow]: February Recap
The Cedar Sprigs have been all over the nation and globe since our last update, racing SuperTours, World Cups, IBU Cups, World Championships, marathons, and more. Here’s what happened in February:
World Cup Biathlon
World Cup racing started up after the new year in Pokljuka, Slovenia. Kelsey Dickinson placed 63rd in the sprint. Jake Brown raced to 49th in the sprint and then moved up to 41st in the following pursuit. Jake and Kelsey both raced for Team USA in the mixed relay, placing 13th.
The circuit then moved to Ruhpolding, Germany. On the strength of top-notch performances on the IBU Cup, GRPer Jackie Garso got called up for her first World Cup starts in which she placed 94th in the individual. In the same race, Kelsey placed a career best 47th. Kelsey then anchored the American relay squad, placing 13th once again. Jake was 60th in the individual and then helped the USA men’s relay team to a stellar 7th place. One of the best men’s relay results in a long time.
Antholz, Italy was next up for the World Cup squad. While sickness kept Jake and Kelsey from racing and Tara opted to prepare for the Open European Championships, Jackie placed 73rd in the sprint.
Jake, Kelsey, and Tara qualified for the World Championship team to compete in Oberhof, Germany! Tara placed 86th in the sprint and Kelsey 67th in the individual. Kelsey also anchored the women’s relay team to 15th. Jake was kept from racing from continued sickness.
World Cup Ski
After period 2 of the Supertour, Alex Lawson was named to her first World Cup teams. Alex first traveled to Les Rousses, France for three straight days of racing: she placed 35th in the skate 10k, 36th in the classic sprint, and 39th in the classic 20k mass start.
Next up was Toblach, Italy. Alex placed 40th in skate 10k and then helped USA II to 7th place in the team relay. Great work, Alex!
IBU Cup and Open European Championships
For the IBU Cup, the new year started with racing in Osrblie, Slovakia. Jackie was the only Sprig on the circuit at the time, placing 51st in the super sprint and then 31st in the sprint (this race is what qualified her for later World Cup starts as aforementioned).
Pokljuka was up next on the IBU Cup circuit with Jackie and Tara switching spots (Tara to the IBU Cup, Jackie to the World Cup). Tara placed 45th in the short individual and 48th in the sprint.
After a week of training in Obertilliach, Austria, racing resumed with the Open European Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Even with Kelsey still battling sickness, there were four Sprigs on the start line - Jackie, Tara, Margie Freed (in her first European biathlon races), and Luke Brown - with results as follows;
Individual: Tara 53rd, Jackie 83rd, Margie 85th, Luke 79th
Sprint: Tara 28th, Jackie 82nd, Margie 76th, Luke 35th
Pursuit: Tara 44th, Luke 33rd
Single-mixed relay: Tara 19th
Mixed relay: Luke 15th
Then it was back to Obertilliach for the final races of the period. Two sprints gave good opportunities for low-pressure races. Jackie placed 58th and then 61st; Luke was 65th then 32nd; and Margie placed 19th and then 56th.
Finally, Jackie, Luke, and Margie competed in IBU Cup 7 in Canmore, Alberta. In the first sprint of the week, Margie finished in 19th, Jackie 29th, and Luke 27th. In the mass start 60, Jackie was 34th, Margie 36th, with Luke finishing in 46th.
SuperTour
GRP skiers travelled to the Midwest for a block of racing that started with a skate sprint and classic mass start at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, MN. In the opening sprint, Alex Lawson skied to 5th with Margie in 9th, Michaela Keller-Miller 10th, and Annika Landis in 17th. Braden Becker raced to 8th place in the men’s sprint.
In the 20k classic mass start, the GRP women stormed the race with Margie in 2nd, Alex 3rd, Michaela 12th, and Annika 13th. Braden skied strong to another 8th place finish on the men’s side.
And then it was onward to the American Birkebeiner! 50 kilometers from Cable to Hayward in Wisconsin. Alex finished in 7th, Annika 9th, and Michaela and Braden were 11th. GRP alum Caitlin Patterson also raced, placing 6th.
Bonus Races
Even though it was the end of January and this is the February update, we’ll throw in a home racing highlight: GRPers and alumni defended the Craftsbury turf at the Craftsbury Marathon, taking victories in each category. GRP alum Caitlin Patterson won the women’s classic race with Annika right behind in 2nd and alum Ida Sargent in 3rd. Another former GRPer, Adam Martin, won the men’s classic competition.
Annika and Michaela went 1-2 in the women’s skate with Braden, Adam, and Raleigh Goessling taking up the podium on the men’s side.
The next weekend, Annika podiumed at the Boulder Mountain Tour (BMT) in Sun Valley, Idaho, placing 3rd. The BMT is a 34km race, net downhill, that attracts many of the West’s top skier.
And, before heading home from the Obertilliach IBU Cups, Margie and Luke hopped in to the 42k Toblach-Cortina marathon! Margie placed 5th and won a crate of apples and a ham, and Luke finished in 10th.
Margie, a vegan, donated her winnings to the USBA World Champs team
And even after that, there’s still more racing to come! We’ll be back with a March update and race outlook.
Craftsbury Marathon results
BMT results
Toblach-Cortina results