After four SuperTour races in West Yellowstone, Mike Sinnott (SVSEF) and Jessie Diggins (CXC) currently lead the domestic circuit. Points for each race are awarded as follows:

1st = 30 points
2nd = 25 points
3rd = 21 points
4th = 18 points
5th = 16 points
6th through 20th = 15 points through 1 point

MEN:

WOMEN:

Early results from West

1. Graeme Killick (Alberta World Cup Academy

2. Sylvan Ellefson (SSC Vail/Team Homegrown)

3. Erik Bjornsen (APU/USST)

4. Matt Gelso (SVSEF)

5. Miles Havlick (University of Utah)

6. Mike Sinnott (SVSEF)

7.Brian Gregg (CXC)

8. Rune Oedegaard (University of Colorado)

9. David Norris (Montana State University)

On cold morning in West Yellowstone Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST) bested Kate Fitzgerald (APU) and Jennie Bender (CXC). Diggins’ time of 14:58 was 13 seconds faster than Fitzgerald who was a second better than Bender.

1. Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST)

2. Kate Fitzgerald (APU)

3. Jennie Bender (CXC)

4. Nicole DeYong (SVSEF)

5. Becca Rorabaugh (APU)

6. Caitlin Gregg (CXC)

7. Morgan Arritola (SVSEF)

8. Eliska Hajkova (University of Colorado)

9. Rosie Brennan (APU)

WIth firm tracks and temperatures starting below zero and now just below 10ºF the kick wax is fairly straightforward. However, temperatures are expected to climb rapidly throughout the morning which could provide for some scrambling.

The first SuperTour event of the season comes to a close on Saturday with a 5/10km classic in West Yellowstone. The finale of the three race set, the race gets underway at 10AM MST.  Women start first.

Start List

Leif Zimmermann (BSF/Madshus) skiing through a snow squall on his way to victory in the 15km freestyle in West Yellowstone.

Leif Zimmermann (BSF/Madshus) and Morgan Arritola (SVSEF) skied to victory on Friday morning in West Yellowstone, Montana as SuperTour action continued with a 10/15km freestyle.

Zimmermann, a relative local, hailing from Bozeman, Montana, defeated Sylvan Ellefson (Team Homegrown) by 23 seconds on the three loop course.  Mike Sinnott (SVSEF) winner of Wednesday’s Sprint Showdown, placed third, just three seconds in back of Ellefson.

Sinnott edged out teammate Matt Gelso by a mere .2 seconds to claim the final podium spot.

In the women’s race, Arritola, racing in West Yellowstone for the first time since the 08-09 season (when she also won the 10km freestyle), posted a 14 second win over Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST). Caitlin Gregg (CXC) continued her strong start to the 2012 season, placing third, + 27.9.

Complete Results – West Yellowstone SuperTour 10/15km Freestyle

West Yellowstone SuperTour 10km Freestyle - Morgan Arritola (SVSEF) 1st place.

Snow was expected overnight, but it did not happen so all the team and industry wax techs are changing their plans and adjusting to the light snow that is falling on top of the transformed hardpack.

Here’s what the have to say:

And a report from Solda and WebSkis:

The short report is:

Snow temp was -1C, transformed and giving up moisture. Air temp was about 37F (-3C). Solda was that was running as follows;
Base of Solda UF7 and Solda Performance Red 50/50. Solda F31 Orange or F40 Orange Special. Finished up with Solda Fluor 100 or Powerjet 1. An economy wax that ran very well was a crayoned layer of Solda FC27 covered with UF7.

There is 80% possibility of snow in the forecast. If is snows, the F40 Orange Special would run well. A better option would be Solda F31 Pink over a base of Solda UF7 and Performance Red 50/50. Top coat of Fluor 100 or Powerjet 1. If it gets colder than 27F and stays cold for the race, the top coat would be Solda HP04.

The predicted 4-5 inches of snow did not fall in West Yellowstone last night, and while a few flurries are descending at this time, the course should be firm and fast for today’s 10/15km freestyle race.

Temperatures remain warm with the thermometer currently reading 28F. An inch of snow could fall throughout the day – if that happens sooner rather than later, it could impact the later starters in the individual start event.

Women head out first at 10AM. Men follow at 11:10AM.