[GRP Snow]: World Cups, IBU Cups, OPA Cups and more
Since our last update, GRPers have been representing Craftsbury and the USA in the Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Italy. Here’s a brief update of what’s been happening:
World Cup Biathlon
Kelsey Dickinson got her feet back under her after dealing with sickness (a theme for many athletes through this winter) and placed 62nd in the sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, just 5 seconds out of qualifying for the pursuit. Later that weekend, Kelsey skied the second leg for Team USA in the mixed relay, in which the team placed 18th.
From there it was onward to Oestersund, Sweden where Kelsey placed 77th, only missing 2 out of 20 targets. Two days later Kelsey skied the anchor leg for the women’s 4x6k relay, with Team USA placing 14th. Jake Brown rejoined the team after a brief break from competition and helped the men’s relay team to 14th place.
The World Cup athletes are currently finishing out the season in Oslo, Norway. In the first competition of the weekend, Jake hit 9/10 targets and skied to 33rd place.
World Cup results
Livestream
Datacenter
IBU Cup
Jackie with USA teammate Amanda Kautzer after helping the mixed relay team to 9th place.
We left off with the IBU Cup biathletes in Canmore, Alberta. Cold weather had pushed the first races back a few days and the condensed schedule had 6 races in 8 days. The results from the last three races are as follows:
Sprint: Jackie 22nd, Margie 34th, Luke 47th
Pursuit: Jackie 36th, Margie 32nd, Luke 41st
Mixed Relay: Jackie (3rd leg) 9th
Single Mixed: Margie and Luke 12th
Italian Champs/OPA Cups
Margie Freed, Alex Lawson, and Braden Becker traveled to Falcade, Italy for the Italian Championships last weekend. In the 10k classic opener, Margie placed 2nd with Alex in 3rd! In the following 15k skate pursuit, Margie moved up to take the win with Alex holding 3rd. Braden placed 35th in the 10k classic and 26th in the pursuit.
This crew races again starting March 17th for OPA Cup Finals in Dobbiaco, Italy. Follow along here with live timing.
Bonus Races
Michaela in the Sleeping Giant 50k
Annika Landis continued her marathon streak, racing the 50k skate at the West Yellowstone Rendezvous, placing 3rd.
Michaela Keller-Miller traveled to Thunder Bay, Ontario and won the Sleeping Giant 50k skate! She stayed in Ontario to race the first races at Canadian XC Nationals which were also in Thunder Bay. She placed 5th in the 10k skate and 6th in the skate sprint.
Luke Brown is currently competing at Canadian Biathlon Nationals in Val Cartier, QC, and took the victory in the first competition - the 10k skate. He followed that up with a 3rd in the pursuit.
Rendezvous results
Sleeping Giant results
Canadian Biathlon Nationals results
Up Next
All the Cedar Sprigs will reconvene in Craftsbury for SuperTour Finals next week! Look for a preview of the racing coming soon.