Original Story at FastSkier – http://fasterskier.com/2011/02/ussa-supertour-ellefsson-reid-win-classic-races-in-aspen/

Sylvan Ellefson (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) continued his winning streak from last weekend’s Boulder Mountain Tour in Sun Valley, Idaho, winning the 10K classic race in 27 minutes and 13.8 seconds. Glenn Randall (BSF) was second, some eight seconds behind Ellefson. Reid Pletcher (CU) was third.

“It’s nice to be racing back in Colorado, and it was such a picturesque day,” Ellefson said to FasterSkier after the race, noting that the altitude made the already tough course profile particularly punishing.

“It’s pretty brutal, but that’s what I was born and raised on,” he said with a laugh.

Ellefson believes prior exposure to altitude was a big benefit on the challenging course, and knowing how bodies respond to the thin air at 8,000 feet.

“Honestly, part of the winning trick was definitely to be safe and be a little conservative on the first lap. It’s hard to go all out on the first lap and hold it,” he said. “My strategy was to ski technically sound, big and strong. It was going well, so then I could go down harder on the second lap.”

With the confidence from last week’s Boulder Mountain Tour and today’s SuperTour victory, Ellefson is looking forward to day two of the USSA SuperTour in Aspen: The 21-kilometer Owl Creek Chase.

“I’m really excited. I feel fast. It’s a brutal course and there will definitely be some head games and some cynical games out there, but I’m excited to get it going and see what happens,” Ellefson said, noting that this will be his second attempt at the Owl Creek Chase.

“The take away from last year is that I need to find a group to ski with and not ski the course on my own,” Ellefson said.


By Inge Scheve · February 12th, 2011