Nordic

Kern Third in Spring OPA Cup

by
USSA
2016-03-09 11:29
 

ARBER, Germany (March 9, 2016) – Julia Kern (Stratton Mountain School) led the USA with a third place finish as the first two races of the U.S. Spring OPA trip kicked off March 5-6 in Germany.

 

Six U.S. athletes competed in the two-day event, including Becca Rorabaugh (APU Nordic Ski Center), Elizabeth Guiney (Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club), Ben Saxton (Stratton Mountain School) and Akeo Maifeld-Carucci (Bridger Ski Foundation). Kern and Zak Ketterson (Loppet Nordic Racing) led the U.S. U20 team in the OPA Cup. 

 

Competition kicked off with 10/5k individual classic race for the women, where two U.S. women finished in the top 20. Rorabaugh and Erika Flowers (Stratton Mountain School) finished 13th and 17th, respectfully. Italy’s Lucia Scardoni grabbed first just 7.1 seconds ahead of Germany’s Julia Belger. Monique Siegel of Germany finished third. Kern led the U20 women finishing fourth overall, just 12.3 seconds out of third, in a 5k individual classic race. Germany’s Antonia Fraebel was first just 22.1 seconds ahead of Switerland’s Lydia Hiernickel who was second. France’s Delphine Claudel finished third. 

 

Akko
Akeo Maifeld-Carucci finished 26th in the men’s 30k freestyle on day 2 of the OPA Cup spring series in Germany on March 6. (Bryan Fish)

 

In the men’s 15k individual classic race, two U.S. men finished in the top 30. Saxton and Miles Havlick (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) finished 25th and 27th, respectively. Switzerland’s Jason Rueesch won the 15k victory 18.8 seconds ahead of France’s Alexandre Pouye. Liechtenstein’s Philipp Haelg was third. 

 

Competitions continued March 6 with a freestyle mass start race. Four U.S. women finished in the top 30 in a 15k freestyle. Guiney led the women, finishing 20th overall, followed closely by Flowers in 21st, Rorabaugh 24th and Heather Mooney (Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club) in 28th. Germany’s Monique Siegel skied to a convincing victory 25.9 seconds ahead of Itay’s Debora Agreiter and Slovania’s Lea Einfalt who was third. Kern led the U20 women as she skied to a podium finish in a 15k freestyle mass start, finishing third overall, just behind Switzerland’s Lydia Hiernickel and Germany’s Antonia Fraebel, who finished first by 14.5 seconds. 

 


Julia Kern poses with her coach, U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish. (Julia Kern)

 

In the men’s 30/20k freestyle mass start, two U.S. men finished in the top 30. Maifeld-Carucci and Alexander Treinen (APU Nordic Ski Center) finished 26th and 30th respectively. Switzerland’s Toni Livers edged France’s Adrien Backscheider by 1.5 seconds to claim the victory while Switzerland’s Jason Rueesch finished third. Ketterson led the U20 men finishing in the top 20 in a 20k freestyle mass start. France’s Jules Lapierre grabbed first just 0.6 seconds over Poland’s Dominik Bury for first by 0.6 seconds followed by Switzerland’s Beda Klee who finished third. 

The OPA Finals MiniTour in Toblach, Italy start Friday with a skate prologue 2.5/3.3k, then a classic interval start on Saturday and concludes with a pursuit start skate on Sunday. 

 

HIGHLIGHTS 

  • The OPA Cup is essentially the SuperTour of Central Europe, where skiers from several nations compete for their countries World Cup spots.
  • The next stop for the OPA Cup is Toblach, Italy.  
  • In the U20 freestyle mass start, Kern would have been 15th overall in the Senior OPA Cup race.
  • Kern scored 60 FIS points, which is her lowest distance FIS points race scored in Europe.

 

RESULTS 

March 5

Men’s 15k Classic

Women’s 10k Classic

U20 Men’s 15k Classic

U20 Women’s 5k Classic

 

March 6

Men’s 30k Freestyle 

Women’s 15k Freestyle

U20 Men’s 20k Freestyle

U20 Women’s 15k Freestyle  

 
 


 


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