Rosie Brennan
Hardly fazed by frigid conditions, Alaska skiers collected a half-dozen Top 20 finishes over three days of racing this weekend at the World Cup opener in Ruka, Finland.
They simply bundled up, wore protective face tape, and threw down against the world’s best — thirty of whom opted not to race in Sunday’s finale, which was postponed several hours due to temperatures hovering near the legal limit of -4 Fahrenheit.
“I felt really good, or as good as one can racing in so many layers,” Anchorage’s Rosie Brennan said in an email to the media after placing fifth in Sunday’s 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit.
Brennan unofficially earned a spot for the U.S. at the upcoming 2022 Olympics in China with the required Top 8 results on Sunday as well as in Saturday’s 10K classic (6th).
She’s not satisfied, though.
“(I) struggled with my tactics and confidence today,” said Brennan, who races for the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center. “I am very happy to remain in the mix and to know my body is there, but I have some to gain on the mental side. It was a good first weekend for me and really gave me a good starting point.”
University of Alaska Anchorage senior JC Schoonmaker placed a career-best seventh in Friday’s classic sprint. He posted the fifth-fastest qualification time (the top 30 advance to six-skier heats), came from behind to place second in his quarterfinal and then notched third in his semifinal heat. Schoonmaker’s previous best World Cup result was 18th.
Schoonmaker’s seventh place does not clinch an Olympic spot because it occurred in a classic sprint. With the Olympics holding a freestyle sprint, a Top 8 in that discipline is required.
“It felt amazing to make those semis,” Schoonmaker said. “Last year, I struggled to get through the quarters, so today was kind of a breakthrough moment.”
JC Schoonmaker / Photos by Nordic Focus
Schoonmaker managed to stay on his skis late in the semifinal round after a crash took out two Swedes with whom he was jostling for position.
“I went over to those Swedish guys after and said ‘Good race and sorry that it happened,’” Schoonmaker said. “I don’t think it was anyone’s fault, (it was) just ski racing.”
In just his second World Cup start, Luke Jager, an Anchorage native who skis for the University of Utah, qualified 17th and finished 18th. A third American, Ben Ogden of Vermont, qualified eighth and finished 13th overall.
“These guys basically announced with their three qualifications today that they’re here and they weren’t just scraping in … they were locked in there,” Matt Whitcomb, head coach of the U.S. Ski Team, told fasterskier.com. “There were people coming up to us after the race saying wow, amazing, congratulations.”
Gus Schumacher, 21, of Anchorage (Alaska Winter Stars) paced the Americans in Saturday’s 15K in 32nd place.
In Sunday’s 15K freestyle pursuit (skiers start in the order of their finish from Saturday), Schumacher moved all the way up to 11th place.
“I rocked the full face tape and double underlayers. Stayed warmer than yesterday actually,” Schumacher said. “My skis were rockets, (it was) really fun to be able to use that to my advantage.”
Seventeen men decided not to race on Sunday, including the star-studded Norwegians and Saturday’s winner, Iivo Niskanen of Finland, who said the race should have been canceled due to the cold.
All but one of the Alaskans improved their place on Sunday compared to Saturday.
Zanden McMullen
That included Zanden McMullen, a South High School graduate making his World Cup debut. He placed 40th on Sunday, 15 spots better than the day before.
“It was very cool racing right next to skiers I’ve watched on TV since I was in middle school – surreal experience to say the least,” McMullen said on Saturday. “I even laughed a little on the very first downhill of the race out of awe being in a World Cup race!”
World Cup racing continues Dec. 3-5 in Lillehammer, Norway.
Alaska Results
Classic Sprint, Friday
Men – 7) JC Schoonmaker (5th qualifier); 17) Luke Jager (18th qualifier); 33) Logan Hanneman, 33rd; 56) Gus Schumacher.
Women – 15) Rosie Brennan (8th qualifier); 37) Hailey Swirbul; 53) Hannah Halvorsen.
Classic Distance, Saturday
Men’s 15K – 32) Gus Schumacher, 34:50; 51) David Norris, 35:29; 55) Zanden McMullen, 35:38; 60) Luke Jager, 35:51; 67) Hunter Wonders, 36:02.
Women’s 10K – 6) Rosie Brennan, 25:08; 41) Hailey Swirbul; 26:35; 43) Caitlin Patterson, 26:45.
Freestyle Pursuit, Sunday
Men’s 15K – 11) Gus Schumacher, 36:21; 37) David Norris, 37:58; 40) Zanden McMullen, 38:09; 45) Hunter Wonders, 38:56; 60) Luke Jager, 41:01.
Women’s 10K – 5) Rosie Brennan, 26:34; 26) Hailey Swirbul, 29:53; 35) Caitlin Patterson, 30:44.