Egan and Dunklee Compete at World Cup 6 in Antholz, Italy

Susan racing in the relay at World Cup 6 in Antholz (photo: USBA/Nordic Focus)

Last Updated: 23.Jan.2017

Clare Egan and Susan Dunklee began World Cup 6 this past week with a 15k individual race. Clare was the top American finisher in the women's race placing 59th with 6 misses. She was followed by Susan in 71st. Susan was the only American to qualify for the mass start race in which she placed 24th with 5 misses. She had the best first stage, shooting clean with the second fastest range time, and briefly took the lead. In her next stage she missed two shots and dropped to 14th. After stage four she was in 25th, but she was able to overtake France's Anais Bescond in the final lap to place 24th. She skied the 16th fastest course time of the day.

World Cup 6 concluded with a relay in which Clare and Susan were joined by USBA teammates Joanne Reid and Maddie Phaneuf. Clare scrambled for the team and shot well using only one standing spare. After the first stage she was in fourth and she tagged off to Susan in 9th. Susan, feeling sharper on her skis than in the earlier races, started overtaking the teams skiing around her. She needed two spares in prone, but cleaned her standing stage and tagged off to teammate Joanne in second. The team ended up placing 13th with 2 penalty laps and 7 spares.

The next races on the World Cup circuit will be World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria beginning the week of February 6th. Also, stay tuned for Open European Championships in Duzniki Zdroj, Poland which start on January 25th. Results and live coverage can be found at biathlonworld.com. Thanks for following!