Hoffman leads men in 15k Freestyle
Fri, Feb 27, 2015 - By USSA
FALUN, Sweden (Feb. 25, 2015) - Noah Hoffman (Aspen, CO) led the U.S. contingent in Wednesday's FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 15k freestyle race with a 34th place finish. Hoffman, who spent the season sidelined with a leg injury, went early as bib seven in the interval start race. Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, WA) finished 47th. Kyle Bratrud (Eden Prarie, MN), racing in his first-ever World Championship event, finished 52nd and Kris Freeman (Andover, NH) finished 59th.
Noah Hoffman competes in the 15k freestyle race in Falun. (Getty Images-Matthias Hangst)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Noah Hoffman finished in 34th place in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 15k freestyle race.
- Erik Bjornsen finished 47th.
- Kyle Bratrud finished 52nd in his first World Championship event.
- Kris Freeman finished 59th.
- Johan Olsson of Sweden skied to an impressive 17 second victory over France’s Maurice Magnificat. Anders Gloeersen of Norway was third.
QUOTES
Noah Hoffman
Today was very average. My energy felt super consistent and I believe I skied a quality race, but I was consistently too slow. I paced the race well. It was a step in the right direction from Saturday’s 30k. I’m hoping to build on it again in the relay and 50k.
Kyle Bratrud
I wanted to go out relaxed then hopefully catch a ride, I got a ride from Manificat for a little bit but I saw he was on the podium so he obviously took off.
I was wondering if Erik Bjornsen would catch me, but I ended up holding him off the whole way. As the race progressed, it ended up just staying in front of Erik as long as possible. It was a well-paced race for me. I’m happy for my first effort at a major championship.
RESULTS