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Norwegians Dominate
January 7, 1999

A constant wind was on hand at the start of day two of the Telemark World Cup on Wilber Ridge at Snowbird, Utah. Fellow Norwegians Hege Johanson and Sondre Engelle took the women's and men's Sprint Classic events.

World Cup Telemark Skiing
The first run course, with its rapid across-the-falline turns, was set with strong techincal skiers in mind. The jump portion came very smoothly in the set as almost all of the field made the distance and one flew an extra five meters. The jump portion then flowed into another technical gate section before entering the double noose, figure eight 360 degree turns, which reduced speed as the competitors entered the final skating portion of the race. Several of the top-seeded racers entered the noose section incorrectly and were forced to skate the slower route through.

The second run course was set more open and thus greater speeds were a factor as the athletes navigated the jump and double noose sections.

World Cup Telemark Skiing
For the women it was Hege Johanson who set the pace with a 2:00.74, followed by Switzerland's Andrea Walker, at 2:01.39, and Mirjam Rubin with a 2:03.65.

The men also had familiar names in front with Norway's Sondre Engelle leading the way with a 1:49.57, Switzerland's Patrick Leopold in 1:50.22 and Norway's Brede Brikeland in 1:50.27.

The Telemark World Cup Tour now heads to Big Mountain, Montana January 10th through the 12th, for two Giant Slalom events and a full length Classic course, before crossing the pond to the central European event locations.

Jimmy Ludlow, Mountain Zone Correspondent

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