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Mar
03
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Burke Posts 4th Place Finish in Oslo Mass Start
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By Linda Jager |
Mar 03, 2013,
12:00 AM ET
OSLO,
Norway (March 3, 2013) - Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) had an outstanding
performance in today's 15-kilometer mass start, posting a 4th place finish with
a time of 40:07.8 with two penalties. Burke turned up the heat in the
second half of the race, climbing from 16th to 4th place and posting the
fastest skiing time of the day. Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic
posted a career first World Cup win today with a time of 39:48.7 and one
penalty. World Cup leader Martin Fourcade (FRA) took second with a time of 40:02.4/+3.
Erik Lesser (GER) took third (40:05.5/+1).
"
I am very happy with my fourth place today, but of course it was a little
painful to miss out on the podium by a few seconds," said Burke. "Our
technicians did a fantastic job of getting me on some fast skis today, and I
also felt very good right from the start. Going into the last loop, I was not
really thinking about the podium because I thought that group was too far away.
After the big climb, I noticed that I had gained a lot on that group, so I
attacked with everything I had to catch up. Unfortunately, I did not have much
of a sprint left in my legs after I caught the group but I am still happy with
fourth. Most importantly, I have felt great in on the skis in my last few
starts so I am really looking forward to these last two weeks of racing."
Lowell
Bailey (Lake Placid,
NY) had strong performance in the first half of today's race, cleaning his
first two stages and reaching 5th place going into stage three. Bailey picked
up three penalties at each of his last two stages and dropped to finish at
27th place (42:53.7/+6). Extended results from today's mass start
are posted here.
Following
today's mass start, Burke ranks 15th in overall World Cup standings and Bailey
sits 29th overall. Team USA now travels to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games
venue in Sochi, Russia, for IBU World Cup 8 starting with the men and women's
individual events on Thursday, March 7. A full schedule for World Cup 8 can be
found here.