Hochtl and Valaas dash to win Capitol Square Sprints 100 Meter
Capital Hill Sprints
Sat, Jan 13, 2007 - By Brian Gregg
At 6pm Friday night Wisconsin’s Capitol looked pretty empty, but by 8pm a ribbon of beautiful white snow attracted spectators and skiers for the Capitol Square Sprints. The World 100M cross-country skiing sprint record held strong on Friday night, against a talented field.
Kevin Hochtl of Rossignol posted the fastest time of the day of 12.04 seconds, but was unable to beat his own 100M World Record of 11.94, set at West Yellowstone in 2005.
“It was fun out there tonight and nice to be back in Madison. The course was a little slower than in West because the snow was softer, and slightly downhill. I think if it is slightly uphill you can get up and over your ski better and have more power. Still it was a good day for me and I look forward to a great weekend of racing.” –Kevin Hochtl
Hochtl pushing hard in the Capitol Square Sprint 100M World Record Attempt
Laura Valaas of CXC found a familiar spot on the top of the podium winning the women’s competition in a time of 14.68. She was just two-tenths of a second from Sadie Bjornsen’s World Record of 14.48 also set at West Yellowstone in 2005.
“It is amazing to see how quickly the organizers were able to bring snow in and set the course. This is my first city sprint and it’s fun to be racing under the lights and in front of shops and spectators. I am looking forward to the longer sprints this weekend, in particular the team sprint with my CXC teammate Caitlin Compton.” –Laura Valaas
The Capitol Square Sprints Winter Festival continues with the Freestyle Team Sprint Saturday evening and an individual Classic Sprint on Sunday. For more information and a detailed event schedule check out www.CapitolSquareSprints.org
Results
Men
1. Kevin Hochtl 12.04
2. Colin Mahood 12.43
2. Colin Mahood 12.43
3. Garrott Kuzzy 12.91
4. Eric Strabel 12.93
5. Ken Statz 13.00
6. Mark Iverson 13.01
6. Anders Haugen 13.01
8. Tim Woodbury 13.25
9. Ian Case 13.38
10. Bryan Cook 13.44
Women
1. Laura Valaas 14.68
2. Caitlin Compton 15.44
Photo Credits (www.competitiveimage.us/)