Four Vancouver-bound Vermonters had exciting results over the weekend of competitions, and one guy from New Hampshire put to rest a nasty habit of DNFing in slalom.
Andy Newell (Shaftsbury) wrapped up his time on the Tour de Ski, held in Prague Monday, qualifying for finals for the second time this year and finishing sixth in the freestyle sprint in the Czech Republic. With the finish, Newell boosted himself to third in the World Cup sprint standings.
The cross country team now heads to Otepaa in Estonia for women’s 10K and men’s 15K classic races, as well as a classic sprint.
Chelsea Marshall (Pittsfield) was 19th and 21st in a World Cup super g and downhill this weekend in Haus, Austria, making her bid for the 2010 Games a bit brighter. She’ll have some work to do in the upcoming races in Cortina, Italy as this year, the women’s speed team is quite deep. She, Leanne Smith (Conway, N.H.) and Keely Kelleher (Big Sky, Mont.) are all on the bubble duking it out for starting rights.
Kelly Clark (Mount Snow) clinched her third Olympic berth winning the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix in Mammoth Mountain, Calif. In the women’s pipe Clark’s consistency and overall riding quality were undeniable as she stomped a clean frontside air, backside 5, frontside 9, backside air, frontside 7, cab 7 for the win.
The 2002 gold medalist was reeling after her victory lap.
“It’s a pretty overwhelming thing and I would just say I feel privileged right now to be 26 years old and heading to my third Olympics. It’s a really incredible thing,” Clark said.
Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mt.), Vermont’s 2006 silver medalist in snowboardcross, won a World Cup event in Bad Gastein, Austria. The win moves her closer to mathematically clinching an Olympic start – even though she’ll very likely be named to the team anyway.
“I’m stoked. I definitely needed that. I’ve been in kind of a little slump lately, and this felt great,” Jacobellis said. “It takes off a lot of the pressure that this has happened. It supports my confidence and helps me go into the next one.”
She’ll have another chance Friday in Switzerland, and another chance Friday with a final event in Canada Jan. 21 before the team is named Jan. 25.
Bode Miller (Franconia, N.H.) led the U.S. Team in slalom at Adelboden, Switzerland this weekend in 13th place. Miller has had spotty success in the event, so the finish was a sign of hope. IN the previous day’s race – a giant slalom – Miller spun out after hooking his shoulder on a gate. You can watch his slalom run here.
