March 29, 2008 (Fairbanks, Alaska) – Canada’s Ivan Babikov was hardly the only winner Friday night at the men’s U.S. Distance National Championships skiathlon at the Birch Hill Recreation Area. After 1 hour, 21 minutes and 37 seconds of effort, Babikov, a Russian who obtained Canadian citizenship this winter, prevailed in the 30km race of attrition, pocketing $1,200 in his first visit to Fairbanks.

But add Petter Eliassen to the list of elated racers. The Norwegian nearly missed the mass start, then lost count of how many freestyle laps he’d skied, but still took runner-up 41 seconds behind Babikov.

Then there was surprise third-place finisher Marius Korthauer. The German barely hung on to the lead pack during the classical-technique 15 kilometers, but found a second wind after switching to skate skis and joined Eliassen in breaking free from their chase pack.

Leif Zimmerman of the U.S. Ski Team, meanwhile, had his own cause for celebration. Since the three skiers ahead of him were not American citizens, he claimed the U.S. national championship title, his second this season and third overall, after outlasting Mike Sinnott of the Factory Team.

Not to be overlooked was David Norris, a 17-year-old Lathrop High School junior who notched 12th place, picking off several of the nation’s top skiers as the race progressed.

And finally, the scores of spectators won out — under sunny skies and a temperature in the 20s — as they witnessed a remarkable event on challenging courses designed to maximize their viewing opportunities.

Back to the powerful Babikov, a 2006 Olympian who is skiing his final races for the professional Factory Team x-c.com before joining the Canadian National Team.

For most of the first half, he was part of a 11-skier lead group that included Eliassen, Korthauer, Sinnott, Lars Flora of Anchorage, Andrey Golovko from Kazakhstan and five members of the U.S. Ski Team — Zimmerman, Kris Freeman, Torin Koos, Andrew Newell and Chris Cook.

But a surge late in the classical portion left Babikov, 27, and Freeman with a 12-second lead over Golovko, the closest pursuer, as everyone switched to skate skis in the stadium’s transition area.

Before long, Babikov was all alone as Freeman – the top American distance skier – suddenly and dramatically fell off the pace.

“(Freeman) looked pretty strong and I thought we were going to be going together and changing the lead all the time,” Babikov said. “But then after a couple of uphills I led and I turned around and he wasn’t there. So I realized that it was my race, and I just tried to keep my pace up.”

Freeman was soon swallowed by the chase pack and ultimately cut his losses, dropping out near the midway point of the skating portion. Flora also did not finish unlike 46 who did.

“He’s been sick for awhile now, so I’m sure that’s a big part of it. He’s pretty much fried,” said USST coach Pete Vordenberg about Freeman shortly after the race and before he’d had a chance to speak with him. “We’ll see what happens, if he wants to come out and try for the 50km (Sunday) or not. It’s up to him.” Freeman won both the skiathlon (also called pursuit) and 50km national championships a year ago in Maine.

As Freeman struggled, Eliassen and Korthauer cruised into podium positions. Eliassen earned a gap on Korthauer almost by mistake. Thinking he was on the fourth and final 3.75-kilometer lap, he pushed hard, only to discover he still had another excruciating lap to go. “It was painful,” Eliassen said of the unexpected lap. “I was about to puke. It was really hard.”

Eliassen almost learned a painful lesson before the event even began, as he ran into the start area with only four minutes to spare because he thought the race started at 6:30 p.m., instead of 15 minutes earlier – “I’m not so detail-focused,” he said.

Korthauer had his own surprises, as he was nearly dropped from the lead group early on. “I was just barely hanging on and as soon as it switched to skating, it felt pretty easy,” said Korthauer, who recently won the NCAA 20km classic championship for the Alaska Nanooks. “It was the first time I knew I had a chance.”

He was also stunned to find out late in the race from Nanooks coach Scott Jerome that he held third place. “I expected at least five guys ahead of our pack. I didn’t know it was just Babikov and Freeman,” Korthauer said.

Zimmerman certainly knew where he stood, keeping tabs on Sinnott because he had become the primary competition for a U.S. title. “At the end I pulled away. We were both bonking for sure,” Zimmerman said. “I was just able to get a little gap (on the last uphill) and hold it.”

Norris, a member of the local junior club FAST, surprised just about everyone. He reached the midpoint in a solid 18th place, then skated past several skiers while not getting passed by any of his elders. He even nearly caught Newell, finishing 21 seconds behind the world-class sprinter.

“It was neat. A few times when I caught better skiers, I was trying to match their technique and relax behind them for a second,” Norris said.

Norris now awaits surgery on April 9 to fix a collarbone that he’s broken twice in the last nine months. “It will force me to rest, I guess,” Norris said.

Rest is something the other skiers will have precious little of, as the 50km classic – which features seven laps and a cumulative elevation gain of more than 6,000 feet – is set to begin at 1:30 p.m., less than 42 hours after the skiathlon ended.

Full results here.

Full results with splits here.

Matias Saari is a reporter for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.