I took my camera out for the Classic Sprint heats in Alaska, but it got so dark and so cold that I did not use it much.  A couple of the shots I took turned out okay.  Enjoy.

Bryan Cooks quarterfinal heat from behind

Garrott Kuzzy's quarterfinal

Kris Freeman's quarterfinal

Kikkan Randall's quarterfinal

Lindsey Dehlin chasing Kikkan in their quarterfinal

Chris Cook and Michael Sinnott in their semifinal

Morgan Smyth barely beating Kristina Strandberg to the line to win the B-final

Jeff Cook, Andy Cheesebro, and Justin Young from UWGB staying warm between the heats

The classic sprint was finally able to happen on Thursday.  Temperatures were around -2 degrees Fahrenheit all day.  The wind picked up considerably, and it felt colder in the stadium than any other day of the week.  The CXC men did well in the qualifier, but got knocked out of the heats early.  Garrott Kuzzy qualified in 2nd place and Bryan Cook was 25th.  In addition, Bryan’s brother, Chris, won the qualifier by an amazing 6 seconds.

The CXC women’s team finished in a pack again.  I was 31st, Johanna Winters was 32nd, and Caitlin Compton was 33rd.  Unfortunately, only 30 people make the heats so we need to make our pack a tiny bit faster.  Full Results can be found HERE.

I went out on the course to take pictures during the heats, but my camera was too cold to work.  If any of the shots I got off do turn out I will post them tomorrow.

After the race, the World Cup team for the upcoming races in Canada was announced.  Congratulations to everyone who made it, good luck, and go USA.

Women’s Team:
Kikkan Randall
Caitlin Compton
Lindsay Williams
Laura Valaas
Lindsey Dehlin
Amy Glen
Rosie Brennan
Morgan Smyth
Nicole De Yong
Tazlina Mannix
Morgan Arritola
Liz Stephen
Kate Arduser
Kristina Trygstad-Saari
Evelyn Dong

Men’s Team:
Andy Newell
Torin Koos
Anders Haugen
Garrott Kuzzy
Kris Freeman
Mike Hinckley
Chris Cook
Colin Rogers
Michael Sinnott
Leif Zimmermann
Brayton Osgood
Reid Pletcher
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess
James Southam
Lars Flora
Noah Hoffman
Brent Knight
Tad Elliott
Matt Liebsch

Today may have been the coldest day of them all.  The sprint race was cancelled again and moved to tomorrow.  That will be our last chance to race because we fly home on Friday.  The forecast is for a high of 0 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 4 degrees above the legal racing limit.  Hopefully we will get to start.

They picked the Scandinavian Cup, World Junior, and U23 Teams today.  Congratulations to those who made it and keep working hard to everyone who did not.  There will be other opportunities.