November 18, 2005 – With race-time temperatures just squeaking into the legal limit, Kris Freeman and Beckie Scott heated things up and dominated the season-opening Super Tour pursuits. In the men’s 10k + 10k, 57 skiers dashed from the line in the classic mass start. Freeman left nothing to the imagination skiing off the front alone the entire race. By the transition zone, he led by 40 seconds, and in the skate leg increased his lead accruing 1:25 over his nearest competitor by the finish. But a battle ensued for the remaining podium spots. Justin Freeman flew into the transition, 40 seconds behind Kris with Rossignol’s defending National Champion James Southam nipping at his bindings. Dave Chamberlain, Chris Cook, Drew Goldsack and Andrew Johnson capitalized on Southam’s powerful skiing by drafting and hitching a ride.

At the finish, spectators witnessed a wily sprint with Justin edging out Johnson for second. Just 35 seconds back Southam snatched fourth ahead of Goldsack. The women’s 5k+ 5k race saw an equally dominating performance by Olympic Gold Medalist Becky Scott. Scott blasted into the transition zone after the 5k classic lap, 56 seconds ahead of Kikkan Randall. Head down and pedal to the medal, Scott roared over the finish line 2 minutes, 11.6 seconds ahead of Randall. Wendy Wagner skated in for third, 24.4 seconds back. Rossignol skier Liz Stephan surprised the field nabbing fourth, closely followed by Rossignol’s rocket Brooke Hovey, just under three minutes behind Scott. NorAm Super Tour Sprints Crown Kris Freeman and Kikkan Randall Champs After Saturday’s -14F show stopping degrees, rescheduled race day, Monday brought comparatively balmy temps, which eventually crept into single digits below zero by start time. The men’s race witnessed another Kris Freeman romp, with other competitors duking it out for the leftovers. Torin Koos, who posted the fastest lap in 3:03:52 during the qualifying round along with pre-race favorite Andrew Newell were surprisingly eliminated in the quarterfinals. The final’s featured Drew Goldsack, Lars Flora, Brayton Osgood and Kris Freeman. Freeman started and finished the mad dash in front, flying over the line with a 1.3 second gap. Flora inched out Goldsack by .7 seconds. Osgood finished fourth, 4.4 seconds back. Team Rossignol speedster, Kevin Hochtl raced to 8th, 13.6 seconds behind Freeman. Rossignol had a strong presence in the top 20, with Eli Enman taking 12th and James Southam sprinting to 16th.

In the women’s action, Alaskan Kikkan Randall accustomed to the toe-breaking temperatures, blasted to victory 3.7 seconds ahead of Rossignol’s 2005 Super Series champion Karin Camenisch. Rossignol’s Brooke Hovey, who claimed the fastest qualifying time, flew over the line for third place. Rossignol racers rocked the top 15 with Liz Stephen grabbing 6th, Hilary Patzer in 10th and Kate Pearson in lucky 13th. Another Second for Team Rossignol’s Camenisch in the Classic Sprints Classic or skating technique was not a factor for Kris Freeman and Kikkan Randall as they captured their second sprint race wins in as many weekends. Last weekends sprint event changed venues due to the lack of snow in Anchorage and was held at the base of Alyeska Ski Resort on man-made snow. The course was a demanding 3 minute climb with a high speed downhill S turn testing the skills of even the best downhill specialists. When it came down to the finals, it was Rossignol/USST skier Torin Koos who was hot on Freeman’s heels to place 2nd followed by his teammate Andrew Newell and Chris Cook in 3rd and 4th. Team Rossignol’s Eli Enman of Huntington, VT made it to the B finals for a strong 7th place overall finish. In the women’s race, Team Rossignol’s Karin Camenisch was second in as many weekends followed by Wendy Wagner and the incredible junior athlete Liz Stephen from Burke Mtn Academy who rounded out the top four. Team Rossignol’s Kate Pearson had a strong showing in 6th place.

Baughman Falls but Retains Top Four Position Once again it was Kris Freeman and Kikkan Randall who led the field to the top of the podium in both the men’s 10km and women’s 5km race. Much like in the previous days sprint races, this course consisted of a tough monster of a climb, a small loop at the top of the course, and the high- speed descent into the stadium. Kikkan Randall continued her hard press on the women’s field by winning her third race out of four starts in the Alaskan competitions, but many eyes were on the two junior racers who were tearing up the course in a blistering pace. Rossignol skier Liz Stephen took a solid 2nd and made sure that everybody in the AK ski community would remember her name by the time she headed back down to VT. Tazlina Mannix, another junior from Anchorage took third place. Team Rossignol’s Brooke Hovey was frustrated with her falls on the steep downhills but still managed to come in 4th place. Her teammate Karin Camenisch was close behind in a solid 8th place. Both Camenisch and Hovey are ranked in top four positions heading into the next stop on the Super Series Tour in W. Yellowstone, MT. In the men’s 10km race, Kris Freeman had little trouble with the competition as he displayed his strong technical skills throughout this demanding course by taking a sizable lead over Lars Flora of Anchorage in 2nd and Kris’s brother Justin Freeman in 3rd place. Team Rossignol’s Eli Enman had his second strong race in as many days placing 8th.