GRP Skiers Patterson and Guiney in Rogla OPA Cups

Liz Guiney (L) and Caitlin Patterson pre-race day in the Rogla Stadium

Last Updated: 03.Mar.2015

Green Racing Project skiers Caitlin Patterson and Liz Guiney traveled to Rogla, Slovenia last weekend to race OPA Cups against some of the best skiers from the OPA countries: Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, and Slovenia. Similar to USSA SuperTours, OPA Cups are the step below World Cup competition; however, in Europe the fields are generally composed of athletes who bounce between World Cup racing for their respective countries and the OPA Circuit.

Saturday, February 28th was a skate sprint on a short, fast course with most of the climbing concentrated towards the end. Caitlin had a strong qualifier, finishing 14th, and Liz was farther back in 21st. In the heats, Caitlin nearly made lucky loser by finishing 4th in her quarterfinal, but her time wasn’t quite fast enough to advance to the semifinals. Both she and Liz kept the same placing in heats as their quarterfinals, 14th and 21st. The top American result for the day came from SMS-T2 skier Annie Hart, who finished 8th.

The following day brought a 15k classic mass start on the gradual but punishing climbs of the Rogla course. Caitlin had a strong start and stayed with the pack to finish 9th, and Liz improved one spot from the previous day to finish 20th. Caitlin was the top American for the day, and overall the US contingent racing in Rogla had a strong day, as Caitlin’s younger brother Scott also finished in the top ten in the men’s race.

Up next for the Green Racing Project skiers- the World Cup circuit resumes this coming weekend in Lahti, Finland. GRP skier Ida Sargent is recovering from a concussion and hopes to race, and she will be joined in Lahti by Caitlin Patterson who will compete in the skate sprint on the 7th of March and a 10k classic on the 8th. Stay tuned for a report!

Full Results from Rogla OPA Cup:
Saturday- Skate Sprint
Sunday- 15k Classic Mass Start