(photo: Sochi 2014)

Gutsy Olympic Test for Taylor Fletcher

Krasnaya Polyana, Russia – Steamboat Springs, Colo.’s Taylor Fletcher continued his strong surge on Saturday, posting the second fastest cross country time to finish fifth in the first Olympic test event of the 2014 Nordic Combined venue.

Fletcher survived a raging blizzard during the jump to finish 15th, starting 1:16 behind in the cross country portion. The course was characterized by grueling uphills with athletes skiing five laps of a 2k loop. Taylor Fletcher quickly caught brother Bryan at the 2k mark, skiing together until tough conditions forced Bryan back to 15th. Taylor led the chase pack the entire race, closing the gap to eight seconds with two kilometers to go before Austria’s Bernard Gruber and Germany’s Eric Frenzel exploded to take first and second, respectively, snapping Frenzel’s four-event win streak.

(photo: Sochi 2014)
(photo: Sochi 2014)

“I skied a tactically a pretty good race,” Taylor Fletcher said. “We had a strong group coming up ahead of us trying to catch us so I decided to take the lead. I’ve been racing pretty well so I was able to ski away.

“The cross country course is very challenging. It’s unrelenting out there. There’s no rest at all so you have to ski smart and know what you’re doing. Hopefully it suits me well next year and I can go out and ski my race like I know I can and challenge for the podium,” he added.

 

The Sochi Olympic venue is unique in that the cross country event will literally be in the same stadium as the jump, with the finish sharing the outrun.

“Sochi has done a lot of work to get this venue and events ready so I’m looking forward to what can happen next year,” said Bryan Fletcher. “There would be nothing better in the world than standing on the podium with your brother – it’s definitely a goal.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup
Krasyana Polyana, Russia – Feb. 2, 2013
Men’s Gundersen LH HS140/10.0 K

Rank Bib Name Year Nation Result
 1  2 GRUBER Bernhard 1982 AUT  28:19.7
 2  5 FRENZEL Eric 1988 GER  28:33.8
 3  4 DENIFL Wilhelm 1980 AUT  28:35.2
 4  6 KATO Taihei 1984 JPN  28:35.5
 5  15 FLETCHER Taylor 1990 USA  28:37.9
 6  21 KOKSLIEN Mikko 1985 NOR  28:38.5
 7  3 LAMY CHAPPUIS Jason 1986 FRA  28:44.8
 8  20 KROG Magnus 1987 NOR  28:47.0
 9  18 NAGAI Hideaki 1983 JPN  28:51.4
 10  17 LAHEURTE Maxime 1985 FRA  28:58.1

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