Success at American Birkebeiner and Gatineau Loppet
Feb 25, 2020·Cross-Country
Hayward (Wisconsin,USA) - Over 13.500 kiers from 27 countries & 47 States competed in the 46 th annual Birkebeiner and the many side events in the weekend from 20th to 23rd February 2020. The morning started out with low temps and a cloudless sky with temperatures soaring to the high 30s (-1°C) in the afternoon. A perfect day for spectators and volunteers alike. Thousands of spectators lined Hayward’s snow-covered Main Street, ringing cowbells, eating brats, celebrating with friends, and watching the international kaleidoscope of colors as skiers passed by.
Niklas Dyrhaug, Trondheim, Norway, and Jessica Yeaton, Albuquerque, New Mexico, former Australian National Team member, were the first elite skiers to cross the finish line on Hayward’s snow-covered Main Street, in the men’s and women’s skate/freestyle race.
Yeaton finished with a time of 2:13:20 in the 50K freestyle race, a full 41.7 seconds ahead of Riitta -Liisa Roponen, Haukipudas, Finland, with a second-place finish time of 2:14:02. Erika Flowers, Bozeman, Montana, U.S.A., rounded out the podium with a time of 2:15:00.
“It was fresh corduroy the whole way and I kept thinking to myself this is the best Nordic skiing I’ve done,” said Yeaton. “This win means more to me than any victory in my career. It’s just so special.”
In the men’s freestyle race, Dyrhaug raced to the finish with a time of 1:59:01.7, a mere :01.6 seconds before Ian Torchia, Rochester, MN, U.S.A., with Robin Duvillard with a time of 1:59:03.3, Chapelle-En-Vercors, France, finishing in third place with a time of 1:59:03.7.
“I was together with a group on the lake, and I managed to take the sprint to the finish, and I’m really happy,” said Dyrhaug. “The finish with so many spectators is a really special moment. It was a good day.”
And for those who are already looking forward to the next edition, the 47 th Annual Slumberland American Birkebeiner week of festivities is slated for February 25-27, 2021.
Official registration for the 2021 race opens on May 1, 2020.
Gatineau (CAN) - More than 1,100 skiers and snowshoers took part in the closing day the Gatineau Loppet on an unseasonably warm February morning, making the event’s 42nd edition the largest in more than a decade with more than 2,500 participants competing in the two-day event.
The closing day saw Robin Duvillard of France, a bronze medalist in Sochi, win the 50km freestyle in 2 hours 10 minutes. Canadian Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt of Morin Heights, Quebec took first place in the women’s race, in 2 hours 31 minutes and 44 seconds.
Organizers were thrilled with the participation numbers, ski conditions and level of competition.
“2020 has been a banner year for the Loppet with a record number of participants confirming the growing enthusiasm for the sport of cross-country skiing. The perfect ski conditions, and the amazing support from our volunteers and partners, certainly contributed to making this a tremendously successful weekend”
Jean-François Rochefort, President of the Board of Directors of the Gatineau Loppet
At the weekend was present also the Canadian Champion and Olympic skier Alex Harvey that was nominated Honorary President of Gatineau Loppet for 2020.
