GRP Skiers Hit the Podium in Minneapolis SuperTour; Take on the Ski Tour 2020
Women’s SuperTour podium from the Minneapolis 5k classic: Kaitlynn Miller 1st, Becca Rorabaugh 2nd, Liz Guiney 3rd
Green Racing Project skiers had a successful weekend of racing both at home and abroad as they took on the SuperTour in Minneapolis, and started off the Ski Tour 2020 in Scandinavia.
In the States, racing kicked off on Sunday at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, MN with a freestyle sprint. All five GRP athletes qualified for the heats:
Kaitlynn Miller - 3rd
Liz Guiney - 4th
Akeo Maifeld-Carruci - 19th
Adam Martin - 20th
Braden Becker - 24th
Miller and Guiney both went on to compete in the same semifinal, where they placed 3rd and 4th and did not advance as lucky losers, putting them in 7th and 8th overall on the day. Maifeld-Carucci placed 6th in his semifinal, good for 12th overall, and Martin and Becker ended up 19th, and 23rd, respectively.
The following day was an individual start classic race, 5k for women and 10k for men. Miller stormed to a victory in the women’s 5k, with a 17 second winning margin. Guiney placed 3rd. On the men’s side, Martin also took a convincing win of 13 seconds, followed by Maifeld-Carucci in 13th and Becker in 20th.
Adam Martin skied to a convincing win in the men’s 10k classic in Minneapolis (Photo Jackie Schneider)
Kaitlynn Miller striding to a win in the women’s 5k classic in Minneapolis (Photo Jackie Schneider)
The SuperTour continues on Wednesday, February 19th with a classic sprint in Telemark, Wisconsin, followed by the American Birkebeiner on February 22. Results from the Minneapolis SuperTour are available HERE.
GRP skiers Caitlin Patterson and Ben Lustgarten are in the midst of the Ski Tour 2020, a six race World Cup tour in Northern Scandinavia. Starting in Ostersund, Sweden and traveling west across the peninsula, the tour traverses Sweden and Norway and ends in Trondheim, Norway. All World Cup athletes travel via train to the various race venues.
Racing started Saturday, February 15th with a 10/15k individual start freestyle. Patterson finished 40th in the women’s 10k, while Lustgarten took 63rd in the men’s 15k. The following day, Lustgarten moved up to 68th in the 15k classic pursuit, skiing the 63rd fastest time on day. Patterson ended up 41st in the women’s 10k pursuit, with the 35th fastest time on day.
On February 18th, racing moved to Are, Sweden for a freestyle sprint. Unlike most sprints, this one featured a banked 180 degree downhill turn, and then finished up an alpine slope. Patterson finished 46th in the sprint qualifier, while Lustgarten finished 81st.
There are three stages remaining in the Ski Tour, a 38k point to point freestyle mass start, a classic sprint, and a classic pursuit. Results from the first three stages are available HERE.