Sargent and Patterson Top 15 in Saariselka FIS Races

Ida Sargent chasing a Russian skier in the classic sprint in Saariselka (Photo Caitlin Patterson)

Last Updated: 20.Nov.2016

GRP skiers Ida Sargent and Caitlin Patterson had solid results in another set of Finnish FIS races this weekend, this time in Saariselka, Finland. The two are using these FIS races as tune-ups for the Ruka World Cup opener next weekend, and so far have posted multiple top 10’s and top 15’s. The Saariselka races were stacked with skiers from the Russian National Team, which used them as World Cup selection races, but the field also included top German, Belarussian, Estonian, and Austrian skiers.

On Friday both Sargent and Patterson raced a 5k classic individual start with temperatures hovering around zero degrees Celcius, which can be notoriously difficult for waxing. Sargent finished 19th, +1:00 behind Russian Yulia Tchekaleva, who took the win. Patterson was 23rd, +1:06.

Saturday the women raced a classic sprint and improved on their results from the previous day. Sargent qualified in 13th place, with Patterson less than half a second behind in 15th. In the rounds, Sargent won her quarterfinal heat and advanced to the semis, where she placed 4th in her heat, good for 8th on the day. Patterson placed 3rd in her quarterfinal but did not advance to the semis, so moved up one spot from qualification to 14th on the day. Russian skier Elena Soboleva won the A Final, which included five other Russian skiers.

Both Sargent and Patterson will race the opening World Cup in Ruka, Finland this coming weekend, starting with a classic sprint Saturday and then a 10k classic individual start Sunday. Both results from this weekend and the upcoming World Cup schedule are available on FIS-ski.com.