Last Updated: 02.Dec.2014

The first races of a new season always bring a certain amount of nerves and uncertainty. They are a chance to prove that summer and fall training has paid off, and that the body and mind are ready to race. Luckily for the skiers and biathletes representing the GRP on the World Cup in Europe, the first races seem to have gone off without a hitch, and even with some personal bests.

Ida Sargent kicked off the FIS cross country season with a classic sprint in Kuusamo, Finland. Classic sprinting has traditionally been Ida’s strength, and Saturday’s sprint was no exception. After qualifying in 27th place, she was able to take advantage of the “lucky loser” rule twice to advance all the way to the A Final. She took 3rd in her quarterfinal heat but had one of the fastest heats, so she took a lucky loser spot into the semifinals. Once again in her semifinal she was outside of the top 2 in 4th place, but her heat was faster, so she was able to make the A final for the first time in a classic sprint. She finished 5th, which is a personal best World Cup result and a very promising start to the season.

For Sunday’s 10k classic, Ida was still riding a high from the previous day, but was still a little tired from her final’s appearance in the classic sprint and ended up 51st overall, 3rd American. The best US women’s performance was Sadie Bjornsen’s 17th place, but the American crew is looking to peak later in the season so aren’t too worried about early season distance results.

In the biathlon world, the IBU World Cup also kicked off this weekend with a mixed relay in Ostersund, Sweden. In mixed relays, 2 women and 2 men combine to race a 2x6k +2x7.5k relay (the men’s relay legs are slightly longer). Susan Dunklee was the US scramble leg and led things off for the team. She  combined good shooting (clean in prone and 2 spare rounds in standing) with fast skiing to tag off to teammate Annelies Cook in 4th place. Annelies, Tim Burke, and Lowell Bailey kept the team in contention with 10 spare rounds total, and finished in 7th place. This was one of their best ever mixed relay results, and a definite improvement on last year’s Ostersund relay, where they finished 12th. 

Congrats to Ida and Susan on an awesome start to the new season! Ida will race next on December 5-7th in a WC mini-tour in Lillehammer, Norway that includes a skate sprint, 5k skate race, and a 10k classic pursuit. Susan will remain in Ostersund for the remaining races there, which include a 15k individual on Thursday, a 7.5k sprint on Saturday, and a 10k pursuit on Sunday. Hannah Dreissigacker will also kick off her World Cup season in Ostersund as well.

Results from the weekend here:

Cross Country- Classic Sprint                                                                          10k Classic

Biathlon-     Mixed Relay