Moltzan scores NorAm podium as Mitch hatricks Loveland

By Published On: December 6th, 2013Comments Off on Moltzan scores NorAm podium as Mitch hatricks Loveland
The women's NorAm podium at Loveland

The women’s NorAm podium at Loveland

GEORGETOWN, Colo. — It was four days in the making, but the U.S. Ski Team finally grabbed a NorAm podium on the final day of women’s racing at Loveland Ski Area on Thursday (Nov. 5), as development team junior Paula Moltzan, fresh off some challenging World Cup and Europa Cup races in Levi, Finland, produced a head-turning second run to launch from tenth place all the way into third.

“I was a little boggled coming back from Levi, it was a pretty tough trip mentally for me, but I’m definitely excited after this race and ready for the season now,” said Moltzan. “Mitch is an incredible skier. I watch her video all the time and look up to her so much, so it’s great to be getting closer to her everyday.”

It was the third victory in a row for Canada’s Marie-Michele “Mitch” Gagnon, who won every NorAm race of the series that she entered, solidifying the hatrick on a particularly chilly day. Switzerland’s Denise Feireband was second.

“I think I’ve become weak after seven winters in Europe because it’s so warm there. Where I grew up, it was cold like this almost every day,” noted Gagnon. “But this morning in the first run, we had a delayed start and I started first. My legs felt like icicles, but I warmed up as I skied down. Luckily it’s good practice, if it ever happens in a World Cup I know even if my legs feel frozen I can still ski,” a reassuring revelation for Gagnon who now heads to frigid Lake Louise for the World Cup super G this weekend.

Canada continued its dominance in the series, placing four skiers — including Elli Terwiel, Brittany Phelan, and Madison Irwin — inside the top 7. The top collegiate racer in the mix was the University of Vermont’s Kristina Riis-Johannessen who finished eighth. Independent American Megan McJames squeaked inside the top 10 in ninth.

The Austrian team that frequented the previous three races departed one day early after failing to note a change in the NorAm schedule before making their travel arrangements home. Still, the Swiss and Canadian teams remained along with a number of other top level athletes from Finland and Japan.

The University of Denver’s Kristine Haugen, who sat third after first run, was in the midst of a podium finish on the second run when she straddled the final gate and injured her knee in the finish area. Haugen’s time, which would have placed her in third, was disqualified. Her coach Andy LeRoy has confirmed that the school’s athletic trainer does not suspect a serious injury.

Results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time FIS Points
 1  1  105269 GAGNON Marie-Michele 1989 CAN  48.32  46.75  1:35.07  6.00
 2  9  515997 FEIERABEND Denise 1989 SUI  48.82  47.76  1:36.58  15.85
 3  13  539909 MOLTZAN Paula 1994 USA  50.10  46.95  1:37.05  18.91
 4  7  106183 TERWIEL Elli 1989 CAN  49.39  47.91  1:37.30  20.54
 5  20  185317 SOPPELA Merle 1991 FIN  50.09  47.27  1:37.36  20.93
 6  5  107068 PHELAN Brittany 1991 CAN  49.44  48.00  1:37.44  21.46
 7  8  107044 IRWIN Madison 1991 CAN  49.83  48.05  1:37.88  24.33
 8  19  425879 RIIS-JOHANNESSEN Kristina 1991 NOR  50.62  47.36  1:37.98  24.98
 9  2  538284 MCJAMES Megan 1987 USA  49.69  48.34  1:38.03  25.30
 10  24  516394 SUTER Jasmina 1995 SUI  50.58  47.48  1:38.06  25.50
 11  22  105649 RYLEY Kate 1989 CAN  50.44  48.16  1:38.60  29.02
 12  16  538514 HARTMAN Katie 1988 USA  50.45  48.33  1:38.78  30.19
 13  18  537792 DUKE Hailey 1985 USA  51.05  48.48  1:39.53  35.09
 14  23  45331 SMALL Greta 1995 AUS  51.73  47.95  1:39.68  36.06
 15  52  107521 CURRIE MEG 1995 CAN  52.36  47.50  1:39.86  37.24
 16  41  107415 MOORE Kelly 1994 CAN  52.37  47.70  1:40.07  38.61
 17  26  107583 REMME Roni 1996 CAN  51.53  49.00  1:40.53  41.61
 18  42  539109 DELANEY Devin 1991 USA  52.06  48.67  1:40.73  42.91
 19  21  565369 KOBAL Ana 1991 SLO  51.96  49.21  1:41.17  45.78
 20  44  107590 BOULANGER Elyse 1996 CAN  52.04  49.55  1:41.59  48.52
 21  36  385093 TRSINSKI Sasa 1996 CRO  51.75  50.38  1:42.13  52.04
 22  29  107427 ST-GERMAIN Laurence 1994 CAN  52.27  49.96  1:42.23  52.69
 23  28  565315 ROBNIK Mateja 1987 SLO  52.82  49.78  1:42.60  55.11
 24  3  539927 LAPANJA Lila 1994 USA  50.12  52.84  1:42.96  57.45
 25  34  35089 SIMARI BIRKNER Macarena 1984 ARG  53.69  50.73  1:44.42  66.98
 26  37  45216 CHRYSTAL Lavinia 1989 AUS  53.36  51.35  1:44.71  68.87
 27  43  107387 CRAWFORD Candace 1994 CAN  54.07  51.55  1:45.62  74.80
 28  58  516407 KASPER Vanessa 1996 SUI  54.80  50.91  1:45.71  75.39
 29  53  35177 SIMARI BIRKNER Angelica 1994 ARG  54.62  51.66  1:46.28  79.11
 30  32  35156 BANCORA Salome 1993 ARG  54.63  52.00  1:46.63  81.39
 31  56  107522 DENIS Darquise 1995 CAN  54.32  52.68  1:47.00  83.80
Disqualified 2nd run
 4  425921 HAUGEN Kristine Gjelsten 1992 NOR
Disqualified 1st run
 49  6535204 LATHROP Brittany 1995 USA
Did not start 2nd run
 40  45267 BAMFORD Emily 1992 AUS
Did not finish 2nd run
 47  107518 BARTLETT Caroline 1995 CAN
 46  107562 GARTNER Stephanie 1996 CAN
 45  107217 KNOWLES Natalie 1992 CAN
 38  485631 YAKOVISHINA Elena 1992 RUS
 17  107532 TOMMY Mikaela 1995 CAN
 14  385041 NOVOSELIC Sofija 1990 CRO
 11  306249 HASEGAWA Emi 1986 JPN
 10  537772 STIEGLER Resi 1985 USA
 6  105615 ROUTHIER Eve 1988 CAN
Did not finish 1st run
 59  45279 HASLAU Jessica 1992 AUS
 57  107163 RYTZ Celine 1992 CAN
 55  6535193 HUNSAKER Hannah 1995 USA
 54  106825 PREFONTAINE Marie-Pier 1988 CAN
 51  107447 GOULD Stephanie 1994 CAN
 50  107556 MCCARTHY Jocelyn 1996 CAN
 48  107497 POITRAS Adrienne 1995 CAN
 39  385092 KOMSIC Andrea 1996 CRO
 35  35079 SIMARI BIRKNER Maria Belen 1982 ARG
 33  107613 GRENIER Valerie 1996 CAN
 31  35131 GASTALDI Nicol 1990 ARG
 30  425889 MYKLEBUST Karoline Soevik 1991 NOR
 27  425916 FAUSA Chloe Margrethe 1992 NOR
 25  435210 GASIENICA- GLADCZAN Agnieszka 1987 POL
 15  539678 PETERSON Foreste 1993 USA
 12  106961 MIELZYNSKI Erin 1990 CAN

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About the Author: C.J. Feehan

Christine J. Feehan is a USSA Level 300 coach who spent more than a decade training athletes at U.S. ski academies - Burke, Sugar Bowl, and Killington - before serving as Editor in Chief at Ski Racing Media through 2017. She worked for the FIS on the World Cup tour for three years and then settled into her current home in Oslo, Norway.