February 10, 2005 – Karin Camenisch Wins the FIS Super Series Tour Team Rossignol’s Karin Camenisch put the hammer down in this past weekends sprint races with a display of dominance over the top skiers in the U.S. With four races remaining in the FIS Super Series Tour, Camenisch has already been declared the winner by her overwhelming points lead for the women’s overall title. It will be impossible for any one skier to accumulate as many points in this year’s tour. After a three-month tour, the FIS Super Series, which included five states, came down to the City of Lakes Sprints to decide this winters top female racer. COLL Sprint Events The Uptown, Mnpls. sprint event was the setting for the most exciting cross country racing in the U.S. since the 2002 winter Olympics in Soldier Hollow, Utah.

Unusually high temperatures in the 50’s and a spectator friendly downtown venue was enough to bring out thousands of fans to line the snowed in streets of Uptown, Mnpls. After the exciting sprint qualifiers of Saturday morning, it was Team Rossignol racers who dominated the standings going into the evening’s final events. Both Kevin Hochtl of Vail, CO and Kate Whitcomb of Preques Isle, ME took top honors for the men and women to lead the charge for their eight-athlete sprint contingent. Pumped with energy from their qualifying times earlier in the day, Team Rossignol skiers were confident for some strong results going into the evening events. The cheering of thousands of fans lining the 800 meter course along with the blaring of play-by-play action over the P.A. system had each athlete charged with high levels of adrenaline. When all the dust settled, it was Rossignol’s Karin Camenisch who out sprinted the U.S. National Sprint Champion Lindsey Williams to win the women’s title. In third place was her teammate Kate Whitcomb followed by Brooke Baughman in 6th, Hilary Patzer in 8th, Kate Pearson in 9th , and Lorie Welsolek in 13th place. In the men’s race, Team Rossignol’s Kevin Hochlt was in the money by taking 3rd in a very exciting sprint finish while his teammate Colin Mahood placed 13th.

The evening events culminated with Mnpls. Mayor R.T. Rybak handing out the winner’s checks while TV and press media captured the moment. As the sprint events were being run, news was in the air of the fast deterioration of the following day’s City of the Lakes Loppet course. The 30km event was already changed from the lack of snow on the original course to the snow covered lakes centered within Mnpls. It wasn’t until early Sunday morning that race officials had to concede to mother nature as the existing snow on the Lakes was transformed into literal white caps from the warm winds.