April 02, 2011 (Sun Valley, ID) – Kris Freeman (US Ski Team/Waterville Valley) started with a four-second advantage over Simi Hamilton (US Ski Team/Sun Valley SEF) at the Sunday morning SuperTour series final 15km Freestyle Hill Climb event, and, after letting Hamilton pull even in the approach, soloed away on the climb of the Elkhorn Bowl to the top of the Elkhorn lift on Dollar Mountain for overall victory.

Kikkan Randall (USST/APU), on the other hand, started with an 83-second margin over Jessie Diggins (CXC), and lengthened her lead all the way to the wire to win over Holly Brooks (APU) in second, with Diggins finishing third.

Men’s  15km FR Hill Climb
In the men’s race, Freeman, Hamilton, Drew Goldsack (Canadian NST/AWCA) and Noah Hoffman (USST/Aspen) started out within 16 seconds. The gaps closed up and the group was virtually together by the end of the undulating terrain leading up to the ascent.  At that point, things started to spread out  Freeman, Hamilton, (finishing 18 seconds back), and Hoffman, 22 seconds back, stayed in that order, but Goldsack moved backward one position, ending up in fifth place at 38 seconds.

Hamilton told SkiTrax post-race, “The pack behind Bird and I caught up with us just before the saddle, then we skied together until about 30 seconds up the climb. It just separated from there. I don’t think anyone wanted to try any tactics or anything, it was just a suffer-fest”

He continued, “The first long climb up to the corner was very skiable and felt under control. Then when we went around that corner I think everyone got hit with that wave of lactate . . . I know I did for sure.

“From there up it was only a couple of minutes, and just a question of making yourself hurt.  I’m happy with my second place (overall) and pretty psyched about the week in general.  I’m motivated to work hard over the summer.”

The next pack to hit the trail consisted of six men within 12 seconds of each other, from fifth place to 10th place – APU’s Lars Flora (started at 33 seconds), Canadians Stefan Kuhn and Brent McMurtry, Michael Sinnott (SVSEF), Tad Elliot (CXC) and Canuck Kevin Sandau (all started at 45 seconds).  This group came together before the climb, then strung out as they ascended.

Elliott was the class of this group, skiing away from his erstwhile companions and overtaking Goldsack as he dropped back from the lead group, ending up fourth to the top. McMurtry, Flora and Sandau came out of the Elliott group to finish 6-7-8.

“We skied the whole base together,” said Elliott.  “Lars was motivated today because whoever won between him and Brian Gregg (CXC) got a couple of thousand dollars for the SuperTour season win. Lars was pulling well, and he gave me a great tow into the climb, and then I made a move and was gaining time on Noah and Simi and Kris but didn’t have enough to catch them before the top.  Congrats to Simi – he had an awesome day.”

Was there any jockeying within your group on the climb? “No, everyone was just so tapped out at altitude going up something that hard. . . it was good being a little guy from altitude.”

Was it as hard as advertised?  “For sure.”

Elliott’s ascent time of 12:46 was 11 seconds faster than Freeman’s climb (12:57.1).  Brian Gregg (12:57.5), Noah Hoffman (13:03) and Glenn Randall (13:05) rounded out the top five in the hill climb results.

It couldn’t be said that Freeman dominated the week, as he was back a ways in the prologue, and failed to qualify in the sprint after a tumble.  However, with his performance on Dollar Mountain he showed that he’s still the man to beat in the US.

Hamilton put in a superb effort, losing only 14 seconds to Freeman, and holding off the “Hoff” to secure the runner-up spot.  His prologue performance and his qualifying round performance in the sprints were both top-notch, though he did not make the “A” final. If he works on the endurance side of his performance – as he has declared – he could develop into a fine all-rounder.

Hoffman and Elliott showed themselves to be the class of the young senior men, placing fourth and fifth in the overall.  Over the week, Hoffman placed 5-6-7-5-4 (50km, prologue, mass start, sprint, hill climb) and 3rd in the overall;  Elliott was 10-3-5-42-1 and 4th in the overall.  Between them they had only one result out of the top 10.

Women’s  Hill Climb
In the women’s 10km Freestyle race Randall started with a big lead, and padded it, adding 37 seconds of comfort between the base of Dollar Mountain and the top of Elkhorn to finish two minutes clear of Holly Brooks.  Brooks had started six seconds behind Diggins but caught her on the approach and laid another 34 seconds into her on the ascent. Utah’s Maria Graefnings was a minute and eleven seconds behind Diggins.

Brooks shared her thoughts with SkiTrax post-race. “Jessie and I skied the first half or so together, then about one-third of the way up the steep section I made a decisive move and tried to open up a gap.  And I was able to do that.  It was a bit longer (than I anticipated) toward the end, and once again I wondered if I had gone too early, (as she had in the 10km classic mass start).  The finish line kept eluding me, but [finally] I got across it.  It was an awesome day.

“I thought the pace was a little relaxed at the beginning,” Brooks continued, “Which was maybe a smart way to do it.  In the middle of the climb I felt like I held a good pace, but at the top, I think everyone was falling apart.  It was ugly. I hope there’s some video out there because I think we all looked like a bunch of beginners.”

Kate Fitzgerald also with APU was fifth, moving up from the seventh start position by overtaking Canada’s Chandra Crawford (Canadian NST/Canmore) and her APU teammate Sadie Bjornsen. Fitzgerald went way beyond her limit, staggering the last few strides toward the finish line, planting her poles between her legs and immediately collapsing the moment her toes reached the line.  She received some medical attention at the top, was bundled in warm clothing, and given a ride down the hill on a snowmachine.

Randall – surprise, surprise – was the winner of the hill climb time competition.  She gained 32 seconds on overall runner-up Brooks.  Chelsea Holmes (Sugar Bowl Academy) was third-fastest up the hill, followed by SVSEF’s Nicole DeYong and Fitzgerald.  Diggins climb time was eighth-fastest while Graefnings was 12th best.

For the week, Randall won the National 30km Championships, the Prologue, the Mass Start 10km and all four preems; she won the sprint and had the fastest qualifying time, and on the final day had the fastest time to the top of the mountain taking the overall Sprint Series mini tour finale overall as well. She topped out in podium and money.

Brooks proved again that she is strong and not easily discouraged. Although she did not win any stages, and though she had a less than hoped for result in Friday’s sprint, she showed that she starts every race with a clean slate and a fresh mental approach, and is always ready to attack.

Diggins was extremely impressive, finishing in the top three in every event except the sprint (5th) where she appeared to have slow skis. Young and petite, she has put together a spectacular season that no one would have predicted.

Although she has been on the radar screen for a while, she made a quantum leap this year, achieving national and international results that surpassed her trend line. The rate of improvement that she displayed this year will be very difficult to duplicate, but even a little steady improvement over the next few years could put her in a rarefied field.

The Sun Valley race organization did an outstanding job with the event.  Event Director (and SVSEF Cross Country Program Director) Rick Kapala and his crew found the perfect balance of informality and structure for the Spring Series.  Despite some challenges from the weather (heavy snow, cold, wind, heat, rain – you name it) and a stadium at Lake Creek that is not easy to access, the quality of the race organization was high.  All the events got a big thumbs up from racers, coaches, spectators and volunteers.

Brooks summed it up:  “It’s been really fun. I think it would be unanimous to come back to Sun Valley next year if Rick and the crew would have us. The organizers here have done a great job, it’s been great weather – even though I’m feeling a couple of raindrops now (as she was standing at the top of the Elkhorn lift after the finish).  It’s been a great week.”

Hill Climb Results HERE.
SuperTour Mini-Tour Final Standings HERE.

SuperTour photos HERE (pls check back as more photos are uploaded)