April 6, 2013 (Truckee, CA) – U.S. Ski Team member Andy Newell is ranked 5th in the world in sprinting, and easily won the qualification race, heats and final at Saturday’s SuperTour Finals Classic Sprint races held at Auburn Ski Club, west of Truckee, Calif.

Newell (l) battles O'brien in the final © Mark Nadell

He finished just ahead of Patrick O’Brien, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, and U.S. Ski Team member Erik Bjornsen, skiing for Alaska Pacific University. It was Bjornsen’s third trip to the podium in three races. He won the Prologue on Thursday and was second in Friday’s 15km Classic.

In the women’s competition Sprint Cup champion, Kikkan Randall, suffered a slow start to the day, finishing 4th in the qualifying race. Her U.S. Ski Team teammate Ida Sargent, of Craftsbury Green Racing Project, dominated the heats.

Randall slowly found her rhythm as she raced each of her quarter and semi-finals to win the final, with Sargent close behind in second. Sadie Bjornsen, like her brother Erik, finished third.

Kikkan Randall © Mark Nadell

The sprint races began at 9 a.m. with each of the 169 racers taking off individually at 15-second intervals. They raced around the 1.3-kilometer course with the hopes of finishing in the top 30 and moving on to the quarter final heats.

Although Saturday’s forecast called for sunshine, the races were held in snow, sleet and a bit of rain making for challenging waxing conditions. Frozen tracks covered in a thin layer of powder prompted some of the men in the qualifying race to use their skate skis instead of chancing klister or waxless skis.

Erik Bjornsen © Mark Nadell

While that plan worked for Newell, it didn’t work for everyone. Torin Koos, of the Bozeman, Montana-based Bridger Ski Foundation, sat out the first two races with an illness that has “…kept him on the couch for three days.” said his coach, Dragan Danevski. Koos was one of at least six skiers who raced the classic course on skate skis. Danevski said that was not the best idea. “The hills on the course were too steep and long to double pole the whole way,” he added.

Scott Johnston, head coach of the Methow Valley Development team said racing a classic race on skate skis can be a benefit in certain conditions. But the course at Auburn Ski Club, which included three significant climbs, was not an ideal situation for double poling.

No one used skate skis in the heats. “People try to surge one another at the top of hills and if you’re doubling poling it’s harder to do that,” Johnston continued. “When there’s a surge, nobody is strong enough to keep with it and nobody has the guns to double pole for four heats.”

Ida Sargent © Mark Nadell

Will Sweetser, head coach for Maine Winter Sports, added: “The hills here are steep for a classic course.” Newell agreed. “At the World Cup, the sprint races are usually flatter,” he said. “But in the qualifier this morning, the snow was harder and faster, so it was better for double poling. But in the heats, when you have to go fast at the end, it’s better to have kick wax.”

He said he liked the course because it had an uphill finish. “I didn’t feel like my skis were great in the lanes, so I really tried to hammer the uphill in the last heat and it worked out,” he said.

Randall praised Sargent’s efforts during each of the heats, and said although sprint events are her strength, skate races are better for her than classic. “Today I struggled a little bit in the opening rounds but got better through the day,” she told Trax.

“Ida’s really strong,” Randall added. She raced at the final World Cup this year, “and nearly missed the podium. So she’s the real deal.”

Sargent said her skis were running really fast in each heat and she was able to get a big lead through the day. “But I didn’t feel like I had quite that advantage in the final,” she said. “And Kikkan was able to draft off of me for the whole thing and then on the uphill I tried to get on a different track and she put some time into me. But it was so fun to be right in there with her.”

Sadie Bjornsen © Mark Nadell

Bjornsen, who with her brother Erik, has spent every day on the podium throughout the SuperTour, said she had a fun race but a few bad decisions that left her behind. “It was really fun, but I had a poor lane choice at the beginning,” she said. “I was skiing through a lake and I was the last one out of the stadium so I was just trying to weave through everyone and catch back up to Kikkan and Ida. But they got an early start on it so there was not enough time out there to get back to them.

“Too bad it wasn’t a little bit longer or too bad I didn’t choose the non-sunny side but it was still super fun,” she said. “I really like this course…but the one who climbs into the stadium fast is truly the fastest person rather than a downhill into the stadium where skis matter so much. Today was about strength and guts.”

Women Supertour CL sprint podium © Mark Nadell

Like Randall, Bjornsen said her strength is skating not classic sprinting. “Even Ida…I would say, the whole U.S. Ski Team, we’re much stronger skate sprinters than classic sprinters,” she said. The team needs to learn to ski fast in variable conditions, “…so today was good practice for us to be good in this where you have to be dancing on your toes really quick. It’s great for us to be out here and racing hard.”

The SuperTour Finals conclude on Monday with a Hill Climb at Sugar Bowl. The 30/50km CL Mass start Distance National Championships will be held at Royal Gorge Ski Center next Wednesday and Thursday – results below.

Results (brief)

Women:
1. Kikkan Randall, Alaska Pacific University, USST
2. Ida Sargent, Craftsbury Green Racing Project, USST
3. Sadie Bjornsen, Alaska Pacific University, USST
4. Rosie Brennan, APUNSC
5. Maria Graefnings, Sweden
6. Susan Dunklee, Craftsbury Green Racing Project

Men:
1. Andrew Newell, Stratton Mountain School, USST
2. Patrick O’Brien, Craftsbury Green Racing Project
3. Erik Bjornsen, Alaska Pacific University, USST
4. Tim Reynolds, Craftsbury Green Racing Project
5. Rune Oedegaard, University of Colorado
6. Michael Sinnott, Sun Vally SEF

Women’s Qualifications HERE.
Men’s Qualifications HERE

Women’s results HERE.
Men’s results HERE
Junior results HERE

More Photos HERE.