February 4, 2007 – Things heated up in the final stages of the $130,000 USSA Cross Country SuperTour as the top skiers head to the World Championships Feb. 22-March 4 in Sapporo, Japan.

Kris Freeman came home early from the World Cup tour in snow-challenged Europe in mid-December and won six straight SuperTour races — including two with double points at the U.S. Cross Country Championships at Michigan Tech. However, two-time Olympic teammate Lars Flora stayed close, and when he teamed with fellow Alaskan Eric Strabel to win the Capitol sprints team race in Madison, Wis., he took over the points lead. (Flora also picked up 60 points — the points are double during Nationals — when he and Chad Giese won the team sprint at the U.S. Championships; that’s a 120-point leap unmatched by Freeman.)

On the women’s side, Caitlin Compton and Laura Valaas controlled the flow of points. Valaas dominated the sprints, winning seven of the first eight and clinching the sprint title before she heads to the Nordic World Championships in mid-February. She was also the overall leader, with Compton a close second.

The SuperTour will conclude March 29-April 1 in Presque Isle, Me., with the U.S. long-distance championships — the men’s 30km pursuit and 50km freestyle plus the women’s 15km pursuit and 30km FR.

Overall SuperTour 2007 (15 of 26 races)

Men

1. Lars Flora, 321 points
2. Kris Freeman, 306
3. James Southam, 229

Women
1. Laura Valaas, 395
2. Caitlin Compton, 376
3. Karin Camenisch, 287

Sprints

Men
1. Eric Strabel, 171
2. Lars Flora, 162
3. Colin Rodgers, 143

Women

1. Laura Valaas, 320
2. Caitlin Compton, 202
3. Karin Camenisch, 197

Distance

Men

1. Kris Freeman, 210
2. Lars Flora, 159
3. Andrew Johnson, 113

Women

1. Caitlin Compton, 146
2. Kristina Strandberg, 89
3. Taz Mannix, 79