The second weekend of Super Tour races took place last weekend in Cable, Wisconsin, home of the American Birkie and potential World Cup site for the 2024 season. This historic venue unveiled their newly designed and very challenging trails for this three-day Super Tour series.
Mass start racing was back in full swing for Friday’s 15-kilometer events. Racers charged around a 2.5-km World Cup style course filled with steep climbs, fast descents, and tricky corners. In the men’s race, Pro Team rookie Reid Goble continued to show he’s among the best in the country as he skied at the front of the race until a broken pole on the final lap pushed him back to 17th. Finn O’Connell, who is known for his strong skate skiing, finished 13th, just 29 seconds from the winner Phillippe Boucher of Canada.
The women competed in the same distance for their mass start event. Mariah Bredal skied most of the race in 4th but clawed back time on every uphill. On the final lap she caught and broke away from 3rd place, scoring the first Super Tour podium of the season for the BSF Pro Team! Erika Flowers, Lauren Jortberg, and Hannah Rudd were equally impressive finishing 5th, 6th, and 12th respectively. Having three BSF skiers in the top 6 was a true highlight and a testament to the team’s depth and commitment to teamwork.
“After not racing mass start races for over a year, it was a thrill to be elbow to elbow again with a group of speedy women! The opening races were a great chance to find that happy place in the pain cave again and identify some good areas of focus leading into Nationals.” – Erika Flowers
Saturday’s competition was the first classic sprint race of the season. Pro Team sprinter Logan Diekmann continued to show his strength but crashed out in qualification, nearly missing the top 30 cut. Logan still managed to ski into the A-final and finished 5th on the day, scoring more valuable Super Tour points. The standout of the day was Lauren Jortberg who, in her first Super Tour race since having back surgery in 2019, blazed onto the podium, finishing second. A huge thank you to Excel Physical Therapy for continuing to work with Pro Team athletes year-round.
“The classic sprint was a super fun day! The course had a lot of good climbing and really fun, technical downhills. I felt strong while striding and “running” up and over the hills. I had amazing skis, thanks to our coaches, that felt great on the downhills. I loved going head-to-head in the heats, but I tried to ski hard to not risk any crashes/pile ups in the latter half of the course. All around a great day with some awesome snow conditions and courses!” – Lauren Jortberg
The final race of the weekend were the 10- and 15-kilometer individual start classic races on a challenging but beautifully groomed course. Reid Goble punched into the top 10 once again finishing 8th, while Pro Team newcomer Graham Houtsma earned his first top-15 finish of the season.
“I tried to go out pretty hard to be in the mix right away, ended up fading a bit on the last lap, but was still able to ski into the top 10. I’ll be taking this next week pretty easy and focus on getting some quality training before US Nationals so I’m able to be up on the podium!” – Reid Goble
In the women’s competition the Pro Team continued to show their depth with Mariah Bredal, Hannah Rudd, and Lauren Jortberg finishing 6, 7, 8. This was Hannah’s first top 10 finish of the season and the BSF Pro Team was the only club to put three women in the top 10, a great sign for the season ahead.
With US Nationals just around the corner, the first week of January in Midway, Utah, the team will now return home to Bozeman to make their final preparations.
