Hoffman 27th in Sunny 50k

VAL DI FIEMME, Italy (March 3) - Noah Hoffman (Aspen, CO) finished 27th and led the U.S. Cross Country Team in the 50k classic on Sunday, the climatic close to the 2013 FIS World Nordic Ski Championships. Swede Johan Olsson won the gold, clocking in at 2:10:41 on the long, winding course. Sunday’s event closed the 2013 FIS World Nordic Ski Championships, one of the most successful ever for the U.S. Ski Team, ranking fourth in the medals count with 2 gold and 1 bronze. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Noah Hoffman (Aspen, CO) finished 27th and led the U.S. Cross Country Team in the 50k classic mass start.
• Teammates Kris Freeman (Andover, NH), Tad Elliott (Durango, CO) and Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, WA) finished 37th, 40th and 52nd.
• Swede Johan Olsson won the gold, clocking in at 2:10:41.
• The 50k classic race circumnavigated the 8.3k course six times, subjecting racers to frequent climbs and winding descents.
• Skiers were allowed to change skis three times throughout the race.
• Warm temperatures and sunny skies again made for difficult snow conditions, adding to the tremendous effort required for such a race.
• Sunday’s event closed the 2013 FIS World Nordic Ski Championships, one of the most successful ever for the U.S. Ski Team.
• Overall USA ranked fourth in the medals count with two gold and one bronze. 
• Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK) won gold in the women's team sprint.
• Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, UT) soared to gold in the individual jump.
• Veteran Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY), Todd Lodwick, Taylor Fletcher and Bryan Fletcher (all three of Steamboat Springs, CO) lead the USA to bronze in the nordic combined team event.
• Next week the team returns to the World Cup in Lahti, Finland.

QUOTES
Noah Hoffman
I wanted to take it out patiently. I maybe didn’t do that. I was just kind of following people and at times near the front or at the front. At one point it seemed like we got a little bit of a gap, three or four or five of us maybe, and I was tempted to try to keep that going. Today I thought the plan should be flexible. If I’m feeling good, we’ve got a little gap and if I can get away that’s sweet, even though it’s super early in the race. But that move ended up not really sticking and I was back in the fold feeling pretty relaxed. Then I kind of faded at the end. I started dealing with some cramping, trying to stop my stomach from cramping. My energy stayed pretty good. A little disappointing result maybe, but a good experience. I’m looking forward to another one in two weeks.

Tad Elliott
That was long. It was hot. But yea, it was alright. As it gets warmer it’s harder to kick and as I get tired it’s harder to kick. It was good. A day like this is really hard on our coaches and our staff because we have skis in every exchange and we exchange three times. There’s a bunch of repeats going on. On that part it went flawless. I think that was my best classic race to date and I was pretty excited. You always want a little better at World Champs, but I was excited with how it was going.

RESULTS
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