GRP Skiers Find Success at Birkie Week; Wrap Up Ski Tour 2020

Green Racing Project skiers had a busy week and weekend of racing both abroad, at the Ski Tour 2020 in Scandinavia, and closer to home at the American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin.

Ben Lustgarten representing the US at the Ski Tour 2020 in Ostersund, during stage one and two (Photo Bildbyran)

Ben Lustgarten and Caitlin Patterson both completed the sixth and final stage of the Ski Tour 2020, this Sunday, February 23 in Trondheim, Norway. Find coverage from the first three stages of the Tour HERE. After Are, Sweden, racing moved to Meraker, Norway for 34k mass start freestyle races. Patterson placed 41st in the women’s race, while Lustgarten was 51st in the men’s race. The fifth stage moved from Meraker to Trondheim for a classic sprint. Patterson placed 48th n the qualifier, while Lustgarten took 57th. The final day of racing brought 10/15k classic pursuit races, with the start determined by the cumulative time of each racer over the course of the previous five stages. Patterson placed 36th in the pursuit and 36th overall in the Tour, with the 29th fastest time on day. Lustgarten ended up 54th in the pursuit and in the Tour, with the 55th fastest time on day.

With the Ski Tour complete, World Cup racing continues next weekend in Lahti, Finland. Patterson and Lustgarten will meet up with their GRP teammates Kailtynn Miller and Adam Martin for those races, so stay tuned for a report from the large GRP contingent!

Results from the Ski Tour 2020 (scroll to Meraker and Trondheim).

Meanwhile, back in the States, the GRP had a Midwestern SuperTour block of their own. Following the Minneapolis SuperTour, skiers moved to Hayward, Wisconsin for American Birkebeiner Week. Wednesday brought a classic sprint at the Birkie Trailhead in Cable. All five GRP skiers qualified for the heats:
Kaitlynn Miller - 2nd
Liz Guiney - 5th

Adam Martin - 12th
Braden Becker - 15th
Akeo Maifeld-Carucci - 17th

Both Miller and Guiney went on to make the A Final of four women, where Miller placed 2nd to Nicole Bathe of the UK, and Guiney took 4th. Martin, Becker, and Maifeld-Carucci placed 4th, 5th, and 5th, respectively, in their quarterfinal heats and did not advance to the semifinals.

Kaitlynn Miller leading the chase pack in the 50k American Birkebeiner (Photo Skinnyski.com)

Three days later, it was time for the main event of the week, the 50k skate American Birkebeiner. Race morning brought perfect weather and fast tracks for the women’s elite field, which started off first. Miller had a career best Birkie finish, taking 4th overall for women, while Guiney finished in 8th. Martin and Maifeld-Carucci finished with the men’s lead pack in 4th and 7th, respectively, in a blazing fast time under 2 hours. Becker took 19th in his first Birkie.

Results from the Birkie Events are available HERE for the classic sprints, and HERE for the 50k.