Steamboat Springs, CO – Forty-five of the top Telemark racers from eight nations, including seven from Steamboat Springs, are competing in the U.S. series of Telemark World Cup races currently underway in this Colorado ski resort town, hosted by Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.
After stops in Slovenia and Norway, the competition moved to Steamboat Springs this past weekend. The competition is
fierce with seven men who have finished in the top three positions in the races to date. Heading into Steamboat Springs, Phillipe Lau of France was the current leader in the overall points, however Bastien Dayer of Switzerland and Germany’s Tobias were not far behind. In the women’s competition, the reigning champion of the past few years, Amelie Reymond of Switzerland was to challenged by Sigrid Rykhus of Norway, who was the women’s champion prior to Reymond’s reign. The two were tied in overall points heading to Steamboat.
The USA has 13 racers entered in this event. Cory Snyder of Franconia, N.H. has competed in all of the European WC events this season with a career best finish of 9th place in Rjukan, Norway earlier this month and was ranked 16th overall heading to Steamboat. Steamboat Springs racer Madi McKinstry has returned home after racing in Norway. Zoë Taylor of Atlanta, Ga. and Steamboat spent time racing in Slovenia in January.
Other racers from Steamboat Springs include Jeffrey Gay, Charlie Dresen, Tanner Visnick, Rick Walters, Katie Ross and Aiden Rohde. Rounding out the U.S. team is Tommy Gogolen of Breckenridge, Colo., who has returned to competition following knee surgery last fall, Birk Larsen of Park City, Utah, Chris Henery of McCall, Idaho, and Josh Lanzetta of Rye, N.H. Coach of the U.S. team is Ty Upson of Steamboat Springs.
Telemark ski racing involves skiing gates, just as the alpine events do. But add a jump that requires the racers meet a distance line when landing, a 360˚ banked turn and a skate ski section and Telemark becomes its own unique sport which combines the best of nordic and alpine skills.
There are three types of Telemark races. The Classic race course incorporates all elements of a Telemark race, and can be three minutes in length for the fastest racers and requires tremendous endurance to skate a lengthy distance after completing the rest of the course. The Classic is a one-run race and is so challenging that most racers cross the finish line and collapse on the snow in complete exhaustion. Often racers from other teams help the racer to remove their skis while they lay on the snow.
The Classic races were held on Mt. Werner this past weekend. The Sprint Classic race is a shorter version of the Classic and is a two run event. The Sprint Classic Races will be run tomorrow and Saturday at Howelsen Hill.
The Parallel Sprint is a new event that was added to World Cup competition this year. This event will be held Friday evening at Howelsen Hill. It is a head-to-head, single elimination format and will be exciting for the spectators who can see all the action from the bottom of the hill. Madi McKinstry is the only U.S. racer to have competed in this new event when it was held in Norway earlier this month. At the World Cup level, only eight women and 16 men can qualify for the head to head finals. McKinstry qualified in eight position, meaning she had to race the firs place finisher.
“I was still miles behind, and came smiling and skating into the finish,” she explained. “This new event is the most fun thing about the sport, even though it takes all day and makes me feel uber jittery.”