IRS #4

October 6, Soldier Hollow, UT

Well, its been over a month since the last installment of the IRS. We had hoped to hold the fifth race a few weeks ago, but negotiations with the month of September fell through when they weren't willing to meet our numbers for an appearance fee. Apparently, the ninth month did not realize the far-reaching benefits of having the International Rollerski Series grace its days. Already people are looking back fondly on July and August as carefree, sunny days, mainly because they held IRS races. Unfortunately, September did not realize this until it was too late and will now be remembered only for killing off summer and sending millions of children back to school. After September's insulting offer, we had no choice but to hold out for more money, which October was willing to give us after less than a week of negotiations. So race five was on . . .

After his dominant performance in the last race, Andrew Johnson had to be considered the favorite for today's race. He also won a head to head match-up versus Kris Freeman in a classic time trial two weeks ago. In that race, they were even after the first of two laps, and Johnson managed to pull out a three second victory when Freeman took spill on the second lap. Freeman went down quicker than the Red Sox in September, thus deciding the race. Other than the fall, that race was a dead heat which meant that today's race, which was also classic and on the same course, would be a heated rematch. But would Loomis or Smith be able to overtake the US Development boys? Only one way to find out.

Johnson was the first to attack the tough hills at Soldier Hollow and he set a killer pace. Freeman was next and managed to stay within striking distance on the first lap. Loomis and Smith were noticeably off the pace after one lap. On the second lap, Johnson kept up his torrid pace until the end, clocking the exact same time on the second lap as on the first. Freeman, on the other hand, dropped off slightly, giving Johnson his second win in a row. The real battle, though, was for third. After completing the first lap in the exact same (slow) time, both Loomis and Smith turned it up a notch on the second lap. Smith was sure that his increased speed would let him overtake Loomis, but Loomis cranked it up even more, clocking the fastest non-Johnson lap of the day to edge out Smith by three seconds.

So there it is, Johnson wins again, followed by Freeman, again, while Smith finishes last, again. A month or so ago, it looked like Smith had the series title sewn up, yet now he can't get out of his own way. What has happened? Has he stopped training completely? Did he peak in July? Is it the infamous Nordic Equipment catalog cover jinx? And what about Johnson? Is he beatable? Are his skis legal? Does he really prefer Christina Aguilera over Britney Spears?

We won't know for sure until the next and final race.



			2000 International Rollerski Series October 6, Soldier Hollow, UT Well, its been over a month since the last installment of the IRS. We had hoped to hold the fifth race a few weeks ago, but negotiations with the month of September fell through when they weren't willing to meet our numbers for an appearance fee. Apparently, the ninth month did not realize the far-reaching benefits of having the International Rollerski Series grace its days. Already people are looking back fondly on July and August as carefree, sunny days, mainly because they held IRS races. Unfortunately, September did not realize this until it was too late and will now be remembered only for killing off summer and sending millions of children back to school. After September's insulting offer, we had no choice but to hold out for more money, which October was willing to give us after less than a week of negotiations. So race five was on . . . After his dominant performance in the last race, Andrew Johnson had to be considered the favorite for today's race. He also won a head to head match-up versus Kris Freeman in a classic time trial two weeks ago. In that race, they were even after the first of two laps, and Johnson managed to pull out a three second victory when Freeman took spill on the second lap. Freeman went down quicker than the Red Sox in September, thus deciding the race. Other than the fall, that race was a dead heat which meant that today's race, which was also classic and on the same course, would be a heated rematch. But would Loomis or Smith be able to overtake the US Development boys? Only one way to find out. Johnson was the first to attack the tough hills at Soldier Hollow and he set a killer pace. Freeman was next and managed to stay within striking distance on the first lap. Loomis and Smith were noticeably off the pace after one lap. On the second lap, Johnson kept up his torrid pace until the end, clocking the exact same time on the second lap as on the first. Freeman, on the other hand, dropped off slightly, giving Johnson his second win in a row. The real battle, though, was for third. After completing the first lap in the exact same (slow) time, both Loomis and Smith turned it up a notch on the second lap. Smith was sure that his increased speed would let him overtake Loomis, but Loomis cranked it up even more, clocking the fastest non-Johnson lap of the day to edge out Smith by three seconds. So there it is, Johnson wins again, followed by Freeman, again, while Smith finishes last, again. A month or so ago, it looked like Smith had the series title sewn up, yet now he can't get out of his own way. What has happened? Has he stopped training completely? Did he peak in July? Is it the infamous Nordic Equipment catalog cover jinx? And what about Johnson? Is he beatable? Are his skis legal? Does he really prefer Christina Aguilera over Britney Spears? We won't know for sure until the next and final race.