IRS #4

August 31, Soldier Hollow, UT

After weeks of lobbying, the IRS Directors were finally able to convince the US Development Ski Team, consisting of Andrew Johnson and Kris Freeman, to make an appearance at an IRS race (it is rumored that they were offered free tickets to next week's Def Leppard concert as an appearance fee). And now the rest of the world is finally able to see why the IRS was salivating over the possiblity of gettting these two into the series. They didn't only race, they dominated. They went 1-2 and put plenty of distance between themselves and the also-rans. In other major news, Cory Smith lost his first race of the year. Not only did he lose, he was blown out, finishing DFL, marking the first time in IRS history that a current Overall Points Leader has finished last in a race. He was pathetic, really.

The course at Soldier Hollow was very wet and slick this morning and there was some concern among racers that the hard, polyurethane wheels would be too dangerous on such a fast course. But after a few warm-up laps and plenty of sweeping by US Ski Team coaches Miles Minson and Chris Grover, the course was deemed "Safe Enough." The course was two laps of the brand spankin' new rollerski loop, which is about 2.5-3K in length.

Smith started first and did not exactly light the world on fire. In fact, only a kilometer into the race, it looked like Loomis, who started second, would pass him on the first lap, making up 30 seconds. Justin Freeman started third and also struggled, as the Andrew Johnson express did, in fact, make up 30 seconds and pass J. Freeman before the first lap was complete. Kris Freeman, started behind Johnson and while he was slowly losing ground to Johnson, he was still outpacing the rest of the field. Erik Stange, who started last, did not let the smoking pace of the two skiers in front intimidate him, and instead kept up an impressive pace of his own. Loomis's fast start caught up with him on the second lap and Smith was able to avoid the additional embarrassment of being passed. Johnson continued to lay waste to the field on his second lap by almost catching Loomis from a minute down. The Freeman brothers came in next. Kris made up 46 seconds on his older brother, but Justin, who was sprinting hard to beat Smith's time and avoid DFL, managed to hold on long enough not to get passed. Stange, who could see the fast skiers in front of him but skied the whole race by himself, skied a second lap strong enough to sneak by Loomis to take third overall.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this race, besides Johnson's victory margin, was the incredible pacing that the racers displayed. Johnson, both Freemans, and Smith all put in second laps that were within 2 seconds of their first lap time! Stange only had four seconds difference and Loomis, who "faded at the end" was only thirteen seconds slower. For you kids watching at home, this is how it should be done. Take notes.

Johnson didn't have much insight to his victory after the race. "Miles told us to focus on technique and not worry about the other skiers. Then he was out there giving us splits," is all he said. Loomis, who had futily tried to repair a busted wheel on his S2 Skate skis the night before the race, decided to race on one Roadskater and one S2. When questioned about whether this could have caused the one second difference between himself and Stange, Loomis said, "I was thinking more like the difference between me and Johnson." Smith, however, offered no excuses for his dismal showing. Asked by Luke Bodensteiner after the race how his race went, Smith could only reply "I got my ass kicked."

In the women's race, Ellen Halstead raced a course of her own design and finished with a time of 30:26. Along the way she took a few spills and came back bleeding, but she made it. Ellen was the only female to enter, which throws her into a first place tie with her Dartmouth College teammate, Abi Holt for the women's overall lead. Rumor has it that Abi is very displeased, since she had to beat five women to earn her points. The IRS Committee is currently looking for a suitable tie-breaker between the two, possibly using the party after Colter Leys and Annie McKee's wedding as the decisive factor.

Tune in next time as Johnson tries to continue his dominance and the rest try to catch up.



			2000 International Rollerski Series August 31, Soldier Hollow, UT After weeks of lobbying, the IRS Directors were finally able to convince the US Development Ski Team, consisting of Andrew Johnson and Kris Freeman, to make an appearance at an IRS race (it is rumored that they were offered free tickets to next week's Def Leppard concert as an appearance fee). And now the rest of the world is finally able to see why the IRS was salivating over the possiblity of gettting these two into the series. They didn't only race, they dominated. They went 1-2 and put plenty of distance between themselves and the also-rans. In other major news, Cory Smith lost his first race of the year. Not only did he lose, he was blown out, finishing DFL, marking the first time in IRS history that a current Overall Points Leader has finished last in a race. He was pathetic, really. The course at Soldier Hollow was very wet and slick this morning and there was some concern among racers that the hard, polyurethane wheels would be too dangerous on such a fast course. But after a few warm-up laps and plenty of sweeping by US Ski Team coaches Miles Minson and Chris Grover, the course was deemed "Safe Enough." The course was two laps of the brand spankin' new rollerski loop, which is about 2.5-3K in length. Smith started first and did not exactly light the world on fire. In fact, only a kilometer into the race, it looked like Loomis, who started second, would pass him on the first lap, making up 30 seconds. Justin Freeman started third and also struggled, as the Andrew Johnson express did, in fact, make up 30 seconds and pass J. Freeman before the first lap was complete. Kris Freeman, started behind Johnson and while he was slowly losing ground to Johnson, he was still outpacing the rest of the field. Erik Stange, who started last, did not let the smoking pace of the two skiers in front intimidate him, and instead kept up an impressive pace of his own. Loomis's fast start caught up with him on the second lap and Smith was able to avoid the additional embarrassment of being passed. Johnson continued to lay waste to the field on his second lap by almost catching Loomis from a minute down. The Freeman brothers came in next. Kris made up 46 seconds on his older brother, but Justin, who was sprinting hard to beat Smith's time and avoid DFL, managed to hold on long enough not to get passed. Stange, who could see the fast skiers in front of him but skied the whole race by himself, skied a second lap strong enough to sneak by Loomis to take third overall. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this race, besides Johnson's victory margin, was the incredible pacing that the racers displayed. Johnson, both Freemans, and Smith all put in second laps that were within 2 seconds of their first lap time! Stange only had four seconds difference and Loomis, who "faded at the end" was only thirteen seconds slower. For you kids watching at home, this is how it should be done. Take notes. Johnson didn't have much insight to his victory after the race. "Miles told us to focus on technique and not worry about the other skiers. Then he was out there giving us splits," is all he said. Loomis, who had futily tried to repair a busted wheel on his S2 Skate skis the night before the race, decided to race on one Roadskater and one S2. When questioned about whether this could have caused the one second difference between himself and Stange, Loomis said, "I was thinking more like the difference between me and Johnson." Smith, however, offered no excuses for his dismal showing. Asked by Luke Bodensteiner after the race how his race went, Smith could only reply "I got my ass kicked." In the women's race, Ellen Halstead raced a course of her own design and finished with a time of 30:26. Along the way she took a few spills and came back bleeding, but she made it. Ellen was the only female to enter, which throws her into a first place tie with her Dartmouth College teammate, Abi Holt for the women's overall lead. Rumor has it that Abi is very displeased, since she had to beat five women to earn her points. The IRS Committee is currently looking for a suitable tie-breaker between the two, possibly using the party after Colter Leys and Annie McKee's wedding as the decisive factor. Tune in next time as Johnson tries to continue his dominance and the rest try to catch up.