GRP Snow: Period 2 Update
The period of racing after the New Year brought the Green Racing Project to many places across Europe and the US: from Montana to Slovakia and beyond. These races are the meat of the season for most athletes, especially in biathlon, which has a busy three-week racing period leading into the 2025 World Championships, taking place in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
Biathlon World Cup
IBU BMW World Cup racing kicked off in Oberhof, Germany for the fourth stop of the World Cup tour. GRP athletes Grace Castonguay and Jackie Garso competed in Oberhof, which featured the region’s typical inclement weather during the second week in January. Although Margie Freed originally qualified, she missed these races to compete at US XC Nationals in Anchorage, Alaska and Jake Brown took the week off from racing to recover from illness. In the Sprint, won by Paula Botet in her debut World Cup race, Jackie placed 90th and Grace 81st.
After Oberhof, racing continued in Germany at the historic Chimgau Arena in Rupholding, Germany. Margie and Jake were back in business, along with Grace. Jake had a notable performance in the Men’s 4x7.5k Relay, where he skied a remarkably fast leg only a few seconds slower than the great Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway. Margie and Grace placed 90th and 97th, respectively, in the 15k Individual.
The final stop of Period 2 brought the World Cup to Antholz, Italy. This race was the test event for the biathlon races at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games set to take place next year. Jake had another standout weekend in Antholz as the top American in the 10k Sprint, placing 26th, and then following that up with 28th in the 12.5k Pursuit. Grace and Margie placed 84th and 92nd in the 7.5k Sprint.
World Cup results and data
World Cup livestream
IBU Cup
Racing for the IBU Cup started off in Arber, Germany. Luke Brown and Bjorn Westervelt were the only GRP athletes to race in the first week of the Period 2. They would be joined later by Kelsey Dickinson, Jackie, and Michaela Keller-Miller. Bjorn, in his first international races of the year, started the week with an excellent 22nd place in the first of two 10k Sprints. Luke’s top result was 51st in the second Sprint.
The tour then moved on to Osrblie, Slovakia. In the Short Individual, Kelsey, Jackie, and Michaela placed 23rd, 27th, and 61st, while Bjorn was the top American man in 35th. In the Men’s Sprint, American Paul Schommer (Team Birkie) had a breakout result of 7th, just missing the flowers (top-6) by .3 seconds. Bjorn also had a season best result of 17th.
After a week-long break (or training camp) in Obertillach, Austria, the IBU Cup team traveled to Martell, Italy for the Open European Championships. OECH attracts many top-level athletes in biathlon and those seeking to add a championship medal to their competitive resume. Each team is allowed to start a team size of 6 people per gender, so this allowed even more race opportunities for US athletes.
The week opened with a 15/20km Individual. Chloe Levins (Independent) was the top American woman, placing 24th out of 92 competitors. Kelsey was the second American in 37th, followed by Jackie in 52nd. Michaela was unable to start due to illness. In the men’s race, Paul was the top American, in 24th out of 108 total racers. Bjorn placed 60th and Luke 94th.
Following the Individual were the Sprint and Pursuit races. A top-60 in the Sprint allows one to move on to the Pursuit. Only Chloe placed high enough (46th) to race in the Women’s Pursuit. Jackie placed 67th, ahead of Kelsey in 74th and Michaela in 91st. In the men’s field, Paul was the top man in 51st. Bjorn just qualified for the Pursuit in 56th while Luke placed just outside in 72nd . Both Paul and Bjorn climbed places in the Pursuit, finishing 29th and 29th, respectively.
The normal IBU Cup schedule resumed after OECH a few hours away from Martell in Ridnaun val Ridanna, Italy. Luke, Kelsey, Jackie, and Bjorn all qualified for the week of racing that included a Sprint, Pursuit, and Mass Start 60 (MS60). Top results from the week included Kelsey placing 30th and Jackie 46th in the MS60, and Bjorn setting a high mark of 22nd, also in the MS60. The highlight of the weekend for everyone was Paul placing 3rd in both the Sprint and Pursuit races. In the Pursuit, Paul led multiple laps of the race, before being caught by two of the top Norwegians near the finish, to end up 3rd. This weekend ended a multi-year flower ceremony drought on the IBU Cup!
Biathlon racing picks up with the 2025 World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland before the final trimester of World Cup and IBU Cup racing.
SuperTour
GRP Ski found themselves in Bozeman, Montana after the conclusion of US XC Nationals in Anchorage, Alaska. Temperatures were below 0°F in the days leading up to the races, but managed to move into legal temps by the weekend. Racing started out with a 20k Freestyle Mass Start in which Braden Becker placed 20th and Tim Cunningham 52nd. After clouds and snow flurries on day 1, day 2 brought sunshine for the Freestyle Sprint. John Schwinghamer had the highest result of the day, narrowly missing making the final due to a broken pole in the final stretch, but still ending up 8th place. Joe Lynch qualified for the heats, eventually placing 21st, with Braden following him in 26th. Tim just missed the heats in 42nd. Racing wrapped up with a 7.5km Classic Individual Start, again with sunshine and cold snow making it a great day for classic skiing. Braden led the GRP in 14th, followed by John in 47th, and Joe in 65th.
Other notable results from cross-country include Braden placing 6th at the Boulder Mountain Tour 34k point to point skate race. GRP also made an appearance at the American Birkebeiner, where Luke joined Braden in the famous 50k journey from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin. Braden went on to place 11th with Luke 15th in a stacked field that included talent from Canada and Europe.
Next up for cross-country is SuperTour Finals in Lake Placid, NY taking place March 25-29th.