GRP’s Sargent Powers through Double Sprint World Cup in Planica, Slovenia
Last Updated: 18.Jan.2016
Following the conclusion of the FIS Tour de Ski, the cross country World Cup continued this past weekend in Planica, Slovenia with double-header freestyle sprints. Green Racing Project skier Ida Sargent, along with several of her sprint specialist USST teammates, raced both the 1.2k individual sprint and a team sprint.
In Saturday’s individual sprint, Sargent had a strong start to the day in her qualifier, placing 21st, 8.94 seconds out. She, along with teammate Sophie Caldwell, made the top 30 rounds in a strong sprint field. Sargent was in the fifth and final quarterfinal heat, and had a good start that put her in position to advance. However, she faded a bit on the final uphill and ended up 5th in her heat and 23rd overall on the day. Caldwell did not advance from her quarterfinal after placing 3rd, and had the top US result of the day in 13th.
On Sunday, Sargent and Caldwell teamed up for a 6x1.2k team sprint on the same course as the previous day. In team sprints, athletes race only semifinals and finals, but each teammate completes 3 full sprint laps, tagging off to his/her partner after each leg. In the semifinal, Sargent and Caldwell placed 2nd to the Sweden I team to advance easily to the final. Sargent’s third leg was instrumental in their semifinal, as she tagged off to Caldwell in first place. During the final heat, Norway I pulled away on the third leg, and the US team wasn’t quite able to cover the move. Sargent tagged off on her final leg in 6th, and Caldwell was able to overtake one team to place 5th on the day. The result ties Sargent’s best ever team sprint result (from last year in Otepaa, Estonia).
The World Cup travels next to Nove Mesto, in the Czech Republic, where competitors face a 10/15k freestyle individual and 4x5k and 4x7.5k relays for the men and women.
Results from Planica are available on www.FIS-ski.com, and full video can be found at www.crosscountryski.us.
Ida Sargent cornering during the team sprint in Planica (Photo Madshus/Nordic Focus)