Andrew Musgrave, Britain’s top skier on the British Cross Country Ski Team, proved his worth against some tough competition in his first World Cup race of the season in Beitostølen, Norway on Saturday 21 November.
At 19 years of age, Musgrave was the youngest competitor in a field of 100 starters in the 15 km free technique race. Finishing 6.58% behind the winner and earning 52.64 FIS points in the process, made this his best points in his 11 World Cup races to date.
Roy Young, Head coach of the British Nordic Ski Team, describes the scene and the day’s events: “Beitostølen is a good, twisting 5km course with some sharp bends on fast descents, a big uphill and a swoop downhill to a 180 degree turn just before turning up to the stadium. Andrew started out in control and kept up the pace throughout the whole race. He managed to progressively gain time over his competitors on each of the three laps, partly by pushing hard on the hill climbs. It was a good day for Andrew who raced well in a challenging field, with a mature head on his shoulders.”
Musgrave shows typical humility in summing up his performance “Today went quite well, but I feel I have more to give, and hope to improve as the season progresses.”
Musgrave’s result last weekend keeps him safely within the qualifying standard for the Olympic Winter Games and the leading contender for one of three likely cross country ski places in Team GB. Selection for the second place is between Alex Standen, Andrew Young, Callum Smith, Marc Walker and Simon Platt. On the ladies side, there is an absorbingly close contest emerging between Fiona Hughes, Posy Musgrave and Sarah Young to secure the third place. The athletes will have another chance to meet the Olympic qualifying standards in Gålå, Norway on 28/29 November, and Särna and Idre in Sweden the following weekend.
http://www.snowsportgb.com/nordic/world-cup-team-nordic/andrew-musgrave
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