January 07, 2017 (Heber City, Utah) – Kyle Bratrud of CXC pulled another gold medal out his proverbial hat at US Nationals winning the men’s 15km Skate at Soldier Hollow two years after his first dominating performance. Bratrud bested Tad Elliott (Ski Club Vail) by 21.6 seconds, to take the win on a race that was delayed by unexpectedly cold temperatures which prevented electricity generators from starting in the morning. Third place was a surprise for Moritz Madlener, a 23-year-old from Germany skiing for University of Utah, who finished 30 seconds behind the winner.

“To get the win feels incredible,” said Bratrud a definite dark-horse candidate who had proven that he was back on track this year after a disappointing first year on the Supertour circuit when he suffered from over-training, “Last year I got extremely excited after my successful season and chased the hours as everyone does at some point in their career and paid the price for that,” he told Trax after the race.

“I really focused on my energy this summer as opposed to hours or what other people were doing and I really think that made the difference. It sounds simple of course, but as a competitive endurance athlete, there are always incentives to do more then others.” He attributed his success to his teammates at Marquette, including USST member Ian Torchia and NMU star Adam Martin.

Former Birkie winner, Elliott, proved once again that he is a big race skier, throwing down yet another podium finish in a distance race. At the final race at Nationals in Craftsbury, Vermont last March Elliott finished 2nd in the men’s 50km classic. He said he felt a lot of support on the course today. “I felt great, skis were amazing having my family out cheering was awesome,” he wrote, “My mom (it was her birthday) my dad and my brother Evan who also waxed my skis with Vail. It was a great family scene out there.”

With FIS World Championships starts on the line, Bratrud made a strong bid for a berth on the team securing the win at probably his favorite event. The criteria for qualification draw from a racer’s two best events in a given discipline, either sprinting or distance, with podiums at US Nationals weighted as double. He was 4th at the West Yellowstone 15km Classic Supertour, so Bratrud has to wait and see how he performs at the upcoming 30km mass start classic before the dust settles.

Last season Bratrud raced as a professional for CXC, but after lacklustre results he stopped before the USSA Supertour Finals in Craftsbury. His previous US Nationals win in 2015 at Houghton, MI, helped him qualify for Nordic World Championships in Falun, where he competed as an NCAA athlete. “World Championships has been my goal all year, so this is definitely going to help my cause,” he said, “but it’s still wide open and I expect everyone to put up their best fight yet in the 30km. I’m just excited to try and get in the mix again!”

Kris Freeman, one of the strongest US Distance skiers throughout the past decade finished as the fourth American. Freeman was one of the few racers who may have been affected by the hour delay. A diabetic, Freeman has had to closely monitor blood sugar levels since his diagnosis in 2003, and wrote on Facebook that the delay threw off his usual schedule. “Had I known that the race would be later I would have planned to eat two small meals before the start time. But because of the surprise I ate only one large meal,” he wrote. Freeman wrote that his blood sugar after the race ended slightly above the optimal range, but his finish was only four seconds behind the next American on the podium.

Elliott also mentioned some issues with the organization, citing unconfirmed course maps, which apparently were marked only the day before the race, big man-made snow piles that kept a number of the trails un-skiable, as well as this morning’s race delay.

The top finishers all warned that they were ready to throw down again in the 30km. “It looks like it will be a crazy weather day out there so I am hoping the wax gurus can put me in the race and I will do my best to hammer,” wrote Elliott.

Patrick Caldwell (Stratton) was the top U23 skier in 4th overall and takes home the bronze the 3rd best American, while APU’s Hunter Wonders was the top Junior finishing 26th.

Andy Shields from Lappe Nordic led the Canadians in 9th followed by Erik Carleton (Canadian Para Nordic) in 10th.

Results here.