Another strong early season performance Sunday by the U.S. Ski Team's Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) put her in sixth place in the Ruka Triple mini stage race in Kuusamo.
Randall was 16th fastest in the finale pursuit to finish strongly among the powerhouse athletes of the sport in the three-day event, also keeping her in sixth place in the FIS Cross Country World Cup standings after four races. Kris Freeman (Andover, NH) was the top American man in 43rd. Norway's Marit Bjoergen continued undefeated in taking the women's title while countryman Petter Northug won the men's. The World Cup is now scheduled to head to Central Europe for weekend sprints in Duesseldorf, Germany.
"I'm feeling super psyched and satisfied with my Ruka mini-tour this weekend. Today was definitely a hard race. I ended up skiing most of the race by myself and had to hold off a hard charging pack in the last 2k. I was really happy to hold on to 6th place. My skis were great. My body was feeling a little tired after the previous two days but I was still able to put up a good fight," Kikkan Randall said to www.usskiteam.com.
US Head Coach Chris Grover was satisfied with Randall's performance. "t was obviously a breakthrough weekend for Kikkan and for the women in general. Kikkan skied super tough to only drop one place today and to hold off charges coming from behind from Saarinen and company," Grover said.
Press Release by US Ski Team
