BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Denver Pioneers ski team gets set to begin the 2025 Montana State Invitational this weekend with Nordic races at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center.
The MSU Invite is the fourth active meet during the RMISA season and will also be the first one to wrap up. The cross-country races start on Friday with the men's and women's 20-kilometer freestyle mass start and concludes on Sunday with the 7.5K classical interval start. The alpine races are set for Feb. 3-4 at Bridger Bowl Ski Area in Bozeman.
Denver put together another solid performance last weekend by finishing second in the Nordic races at the Utah Invitational at Solider Hollow Nordic Center. The Pioneers compiled 331.5 points and are just 57.5 points behind the host Utes for the meet lead heading into the alpines events next month.
Senior
Andreas Kirkeng won his third race of the season in the men's 15K freestyle on Sunday and freshman
Eve-Ondine Duchaufour placed third in the women's race. The bronze-medal performance by Duchaufour marked the first podium by a Denver women's Nordic skier since
Vera Norli in the 10K classic at the 2022 Utah Invitational.
Overall, DU recorded 11 top-10 finishes across the four races in Utah, including the first of junior
Micah Steinberg's career in the men's 7.5K classical on Saturday. The Pioneers' Nordic squad began the season with a first-place performance at the Alaska Anchorage Invitational on Jan. 2-5.
Live results for the MSU Invite can be found
here while video will be available for both
Friday and
Sunday's races.
On Saturday, there is non-MSU Invite race as freestyle sprints will take to the Crosscut course as part of the U.S. Super Tour series.
Montana State Invitational Schedule
Friday, Jan. 24
10:00 a.m. MT – Women's 20K Freestyle, mass start
11:30 a.m. MT – Men's 20K Freestyle, mass start
Saturday, Jan. 25
U.S. Super Tour Freestyle Sprints (Non-MSU Invite race)
9:00 a.m. MT – Men's qualifying begins
9:45 a.m. MT – Women's qualifying begins
Sunday, Jan. 25
9:00 a.m. MT – Women's 7.5K Classic, interval start
10:30 a.m. MT – Men's 7.5K Classic, interval start
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