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By Grace Erholtz
MINNEAPOLIS — Over 450 professional, collegiate, and junior skiers from across the U.S. and Canada descended onto the tracks of Theodore Wirth Park in splendid mid-spring conditions this past weekend. I guess Mother Nature missed the memo that it was February, although I really do appreciate the commitment to “ICE Out” from even our local weather systems here.
After nearly three weeks of sub-zero temperatures in the Central region, the temperatures that rose into the high 40s and mid-50s were quite pleasant to experience if you were one of many who came to view the spectacle that is a Super JNQ. As for the racers, coaches, and wax techs, while it was nice to be able to feel all of one’s fingers and toes this weekend, the temperatures did make for some very tricky waxing and racing conditions.
Day one on Saturday was the 10-kilometer mass start classic event: three laps of the 3.3km distance course. The Supertour/collegiate men’s field started off the day’s racing on surprisingly solid classic tracks. The temperatures the previous night had dipped low enough to help set a firm track, and the groomers worked their magic to prevent the course from turning into a skating rink. Those conditions would unfortunately not hold up long after the men’s race, but they were very good while they lasted.
81 men completed the classic mass start event that saw the lead pack whittle down from roughly 20 to twelve to seven over the course of three laps. Michigan native and Bridger Ski Foundation athlete Reid Goble came away with the victory, followed closely by NMU’s Luke Fricker in second and APU’s Luke Jager in third. Will Koch (SVSEF), Luke Allan (BSF), and Michael Earnhart (APU) rounded out the top six. The top six men all finished within 2.3 seconds of each other.
By the time the women started their race ninety minutes later, whatever klister mixes teams had been on in the morning likely were not working as bright sun and soaring temperatures turned the tracks into mush.
BSF athlete and Minnesota native Emma Albrecht came away with the victory in the women’s field after just under 30 minutes of racing, putting an 8-second gap on the chase pack by the time she crossed the line. This group was led by Alayna Sonnesyn (Team Birkie) in second, with Renae Anderson (APU) in third. The six-deep SuperTour podium was rounded out by Emma Reeder (BSF) in fourth, Hannah Shields (XC Ottawa) in fifth, and Katey Houser of Montana State University in sixth.
Sunday’s weather for the 10km interval-start skate races was almost a carbon copy of Saturday’s, with full sun and a high in the low 50s. While difficult at face value, the consistent weather and temps throughout the weekend proved to be a welcome reprieve in some ways for the wax techs, who were largely able to rely on testing data from both Friday and Saturday to help make calls for paraffins, toppers, and structures for Sunday’s races.
Skiers, however, still had to navigate widely varying conditions on the track that ranged from dry, verging on icy and powdery in shaded areas to wet, mashed potato snow in the sun. Predicted soaring temperatures for the day ended up prompting the jury to move up the races by a full hour for both athlete safety and track conditions. Despite the adjustment, these challenging conditions still ended up taking down more than one top racer in the field, contributing to a shake-up in results between Saturday and Sunday.
In the women’s field, MSU’s Katey Houser improved on her performance from the previous day to take the top step of the podium over Emma Albrecht in second, 4.3 seconds back, and U18 racer Linnea Ousdigian of LNR in third (+17.8). Erin Bianco of BSF (+21.9), Michaela Keller-Miller of Craftsbury GRP (+40.1), and Quincy Donley of APU (+43.7) filled out the rest of the top six.
[Editor’s note: The agèd editor of this site would also like to highlight Caitlin Gregg, an athlete born in the waning days of the Carter Administration, for finishing ninth overall (+59.7), ahead of multiple pro skiers half her age.]
Brian Bushey of Craftsbury GRP claimed the title in the men’s race an hour later, followed by Will Koch of Sun Valley, 16.8 seconds back, and Luke Allan of BSF, 33.5 seconds back.
Colin Freed (Mansfield Nordic Pro Team, +34.9), Elijah Weenig (SVSEF, +35.7), and Benjamin Dohlby (UAF, +44.2) rounded out the top six.
SuperTour action returns next weekend with the conclusion of Period 3 racing in Cable (thence to Hayward), where the top domestic racers will take on the American Birkebeiner. At stake are — in addition to the glory and payday of potentially winning the Birkie — the chance to secure starts for Period 4 of the World Cup, either for racing in Europe and/or for racing at World Cup Finals in Lake Placid at the end of March.
Coaches, techs, racers, and race organizers alike are nervously checking their favorite weather apps to see what an incoming weather system will bring to the Northland. These projections range from heavy rain and sleet to over a foot of snow Tuesday night into Wednesday. With the Cable trails also scheduled to host Junior National competition a few weeks later in March, hopefully it is the latter.
Results: Saturday classic | Sunday skate
USSS points lists (including qualification tracking for World Cup Finals in March)
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