Best Since 1988
The Best British X-Country Result Since 1988
Musgrave 51st in Men’s 30km Mass Start Pursuit Race
Today’s 30 km pursuit race was a gruelling affair. With temperatures reaching 11 degrees above freezing many of the athletes struggled to complete the Whistler course. Andrew Musgrave (19, Aberdeenshire) put in a big and gutsy performance coming home in 51st place, the best position a GB cross-country skier has attained since the last time the games were in Canada (Calgary, 1988).
Andrew approached the end of the first lap in the middle of the second pack in 43rd place. Things were looking very good until an Italian skier pushed him over in an attempt to move into the classic lane. Muzzy recovered from the trip but was now in 58th and skiing alone. He skied alone for most of the next 11km of the classic.
After the transition into skate (free technique) Andrew gradually fought his way back up the field. During the second and forth lap he began overtaking people. The final lap required fighting spirit as the trails were now becoming soft and difficult.
Coach Roy Young said “Andrew did fantastically today, not only did he recover from a fall that left him working by himself for the majority of the race, but he had an upset stomach which had made preparation difficult this morning and some of the race very painful. Andrew is, of course, his biggest critic but knows he would have broken into the top 50 today if it were not for the push early on. Earlier on this season I joked about doing rugby training for the mass starts, but maybe we need to review the idea.”
All in all it was a great day and the support crew did a brilliant job getting drinks to Andrew in the boiling heat of the “Spring Olympics”!
