February 03, 2015 (Almaty, Kazakhstan) – The USA’s Ben Saxton (USA) finished a stellar sixth in the U23 Men’s 1.3km CL Sprint at the FIS Junior/U23 World Championships in Kazakhstan after qualifying 10th. Knute Johnsgaard (CAN) was the top Canuck in 14th. Norway’s Sondre Turvoll Fossli (NOR) claimed the title.

Ben Saxton leads his quarterfinal heat which he won - Logan Hanneman is left rear. © USSA

Saxton, who skis for SMS T2, powered to victory in his quarter final with teammate Logan Hanneman, who qualified 21st, placing 5th to finish 23rd overall. Saxton was 3rd in his semi-final but it was the faster of the two heats and he advanced to the finals as one of two Lucky Losers – Richard Jouve (Fra) who finished just behind him in 4th also advanced to the finals.

Saxton, from Lakeville, MN, had an unfortunate crash in the final in close quarters with a Russian skier and his pole got between his legs and he went down. Saxton ended up 6th in the final for his best ever result at the Worlds and the best result for Team USA on the first day of the championships.

Johnsgaard qualified in 16th at just under 6 seconds behind Fossli, who was third in the Ruka World Cup sprints last November. He finished third in his quarterfinal ending up 14th on the day.

A 10th of a second separated 31st place Seb Townsend (CAN) from a qualifying result and Raphael Couturier (CAN) also missed qualifying by about 1/2 a second in 33rd place. Scott Hill (CAN) was 40th.

“Good race today,” said Johnsgaard. “My form is good this week which I didn’t feel in the Nor-Am’s leading up to the championships. It was a great day for Canada, I think. We had great skis and had quite a few athletes in the quarters. We were racing in very poor air quality. I’ve never smoked a pack of cigarettes in my life, but I definitely made up for that today by racing in the smog. I’m looking forward to the rest of the championships.”

Francesca Baudin (ITA) won the U23 Women’s event, while Dahria Beatty (CAN) led the North American women in 20th, followed closely by teammate Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (CAN) in 21st. Anne Hart (USA) was the top-ranked Team USA skier in 24th.

Annie Pokorny © USSA

“I skied the corners and downhills aggressively and tactfully well, and then worked my way into the uphill.  I got a little bit frantic towards the top, but kept it together for a solid 21st place qualifier. I had never qualified for the heats before, so that was really exciting for me,” said Hart. “Skiing with the European girls was unlike any other heat I’ve ever done, it was really eye opening and gave me a lot to think about and learn from.  I’m gearing up for a 6-week European tour, and I’m excited to put what I learned today to the test for the rest of the season.”

The USA’s Deedra Irwin (USA) finished 31st and Annie Pokorny (USA) was 32nd – we caught up with Pokorny for her take on the venue and the racing.

“Dirty, dry man-made snow, it was cold in the morning with smog rolling in as things warmed up,” described Pokorny. “The track got pretty icy by the time the U23s rolled around, but all the men still strided with the exception of a few U23s in the qualifier. The course goes out and does five downhill switchbacks before climbing up a huge climb into the stadium. High energy but lots of pollution – the course is on the hillside overlooking the city, when you can see it) – as volunteers and race officials working tirelessly to get snow on the courses.”

The Canadian women had some solid results in qualifications with Bouffard-Nesbitt leading the way in 12th, just under 4 seconds back of the winner Baudin. Cendrine Browne (CAN) was 24th and Beatty was 27th. This was an improvement from 2014 when only Widmer made the knockout rounds. The USA’s Hart led her team in qualification, finishing 21st.

Browne and Beatty were drawn together in quarter-final number 2. Beatty finished 4th in the heat, 7 seconds from the lead according to the official results. Browne must have had a fall or had equipment issues, finishing 6th well off the pace. Bouffard-Nesbitt finished 5th in her heat at about 6 seconds back from the lead.

Results

U23 Men Qualifications here
U23 Men Results here

U23 Women Qualifications here
U23 Women Results here