Weekend Wrap Up Nov 27, 2017

It was an exciting weekend for USA Nordic this weekend as both our men’s Ski Jumping team and our men’s Nordic Combined team kicked off their respective seasons in Ruka, Finland.

The weekend began with a 5k sprint competition for the Nordic Combined team on Friday. Bryan Fletcher led the team, jumping to 18th and finishing 17th after the race. Conditions were tough on the hill, and wind led to a pretty spread out competition. Ben Berend and Taylor Fletcher were unlucky on the hill and were unable to qualify, however, their spirits remain high for the season to come.

“Going into today, some small changes needed to be made,” said Fletcher. “I understood that it was going to be a bit of a luck game (due to changing conditions) and all I could do was go out and go for it.”

Friday also marked the first qualification of the season for our USA Nordic Ski Jumpers. Will Rhoads was the best American of the day, jumping to 26th position. He was followed by Michael Glasder who qualified 35th. Kevin Bickner had a tough day on the hill and was unable to qualify. Canadian skier Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes opened his season by qualifying in 33rd position. According to Head Ski Jumping coach Bine Norcic, the difficulty had to do with an equipment change and adjustments have already been made.

Saturday was day two of three competitions for the Nordic Combined team. On a day when conditions were more cooperative, USA Nordic saw some improvement. Bryan Fletcher led USA Nordic once again, jumping to 31st and skiing up to 18th position. The field was tighter after the jumping than the previous day, and Fletcher was able to ski with strategy and tactics. Rather than doing all the work himself, Fletcher was able to work with the skiers around him and ski in control. The strategy paid off and Fletcher had the 4th fastest time of the day.

“Bryan had a good strategy going into the race,” said Head Nordic Combined coach Martin Bayer. “He was really smart, and we had good skis for the conditions,” said Bayer. “Overall it was a good weekend; it’s always a work in progress but it’s nice to see some consistent results.”

[supsystic-gallery id=28 position=center]

(Photo Credit: Romina Eggert)

Sunday was the third day of the “Ruka Triple,” three Nordic Combined competitions in three days. Ben Berend led USA Nordic after the jumping, having his best jump of the week and starting the race in 37th place. Bryan jumped just behind Ben and started the race in 39th position. Once again, conditions had spread the field a little bit and both USA Nordic skiers found themselves skiing most of their respective races alone. It was a hard fight for both skiers. Bryan was able to move into the top 30, finishing 29th on the day. Berend, who was skiing in his first race of the year, was a little less acclimated and lost a few spots on the day, but was still happy to be back in the mix.

By Sunday afternoon, our USA Nordic Ski Jumpers were eager to compete. Following nearly two days off since the qualification round on Friday, they may have been too eager. Will Rhoads was the top American athlete, finishing the day in 47th. Michael Glasder had a good jump but made a small mistake with his equipment and was disqualified. Canadian skier Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes finished the day in 41st. It was not the “bang” that USA Nordic was hoping to start the season off with, but coach Bine Norcic was in good spirits following a tough weekend.

“The guys have been jumping good all week,” said Norcic, noting that they had been training from only one gate higher than the competition gate. “Now we can move into the competition rhythm,” said Norcic, adding that he was “confident going into the next competitions.”

Now that the World Cup season is underway, the teams will begin to scatter. USA Nordic Men’s Ski Jumpers are already on their way back to their home base in Planica, Slovenia for a couple days of light training before heading to Ski Jumping World Cups in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. Qualification will be held on Friday, with individual competitions on Saturday and Sunday. USA Nordic Nordic Combined will continue on to Lillehammer, Norway to compete in a team event, with another individual event scheduled for Sunday. The USA Nordic Women’s Ski Jumping team will begin their season this weekend in Lillehammer, Norway with Abby, Nina, Nita, Sarah, and Tara will all be in Norway for three days of competition culminating with a new large hill event on Sunday, marking a new opportunity for women to compete on a large hill in the beginning of the season. The opportunity was brought by Norway and the Lillehammer organizing committee and championed by USA Nordic FIS representatives, Sarah Hendrickson and Alan Johnson.

Go USA Nordic!