Elliott and Brooks lead U.S. surge in 39th annual American Birkebeiner

Tad Elliott and Holly Brooks interrupted their European pursuits to race the 39^th American Birkebeiner, and scored great rewards for their air miles.

The former Olympians and U.S. Ski Team members won the men's and women's freestyle races in the Birkebeiner on Saturday, in nearly ideal conditions on the 50-kilometer course from Cable to Hayward.

Elliott, 23, became just the second American male to win the Birkebeiner in 22 years, and led a U.S. sweep on the podium, despite a strong international contingent on the start line. The unofficial winning time was 2:04:48, well off the record 1:56:06 Fabio Santus set when he beat Elliott two years ago.

The man who Elliott beat across the line on Saturday, Matthew Liebsch, of Plymouth, Minn., broke the European dominance in Hayward back in 2009 and helped Elliott to victory on Saturday.

He counseled the Team Salomon skier to hold back until the race hit the 34K mark, then tangled with Lars Flora and allowed Elliott to break free for a 10-kilometer solo ride to Hayward.

"At that point, you're pretty committed to that move," Elliott said, noting his priority was to avoid a sprint to the line. "If you watch the video, I was all sorts of fired up."

With the victory, Elliott will have a $7,500 check to use on his return flight to Europe and a return to World Cup racing for the U.S. National Team.

Brian Gregg, from team CXC, finished third, giving his family two medals on the day.

His wife, Caitlin, chased up Main St. in an effort to repeat her 2011 victory, but lost by a ski length to her Olympic teammate, Holly Brooks.

The close friends enjoyed the day out front and in the sunshine, then gave the crowd on Main St. an exciting show.

Brooks, from Anchorage, Alaska, had been there before. In 2010, she lost to Rebecca Dussault in a photo finish.

"I remember laying on the ground, thinking 'I lost that by an inch,'" Brooks said. "Back home, there's a big group of Alaskans who still remind me."

Now, they can forget.

Brooks posted an unofficial time of 2:18:53 to lead a U.S. sweep on the women's podium.

In the men's 54K classic race, a freshman from the College of St. Scholastica, in Duluth, beat one of the legends of the sport, Vegard Ulvang, but will only have bragging rights for his efforts.

Joe Dubay skied wearing a bib registered to his college teammate Chris Paar and was disqualified, although he bested the former Olympian.

That gave the victory to David Chamberlain, a four-time U.S. Champion. Ulvang was second and Murray Carter, of St. Anne, Canada, moved into third. The unofficial winning time was 2:51:15.

Dubay did get an autograph on his race bib and some skiing tips from Ulvang. He even made it to the press conference before race organizers caught wind of his scam.

"It was an honor to be able to race with someone like that," Dubay said.

An honor, but not honorable.

Ulvang, 48, hung with a pack of six skiers who closely watched the man with six Olympic medals, three gold, for his secrets.

"Then these two young guys were too fast in the sprint," Ulvang said. "I'm very, very happy and I'm very, very tired. We had a nice time actually. It was a fight."

In the women's classic race, Carolyn Ocariz honored her former coach at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay by taking the win ahead of Brandy Stewart and Hilary Patzer.

Ocariz wore an orange arm band with the initials B.R. 10-19-2010, in memorial to Butch Reimer, who died on that date after being diagnosed with leukemia.

"It was to remember him and know that he's out there looking after us," Ocariz said.

Notes: The champions led a record field of nearly 9,300 skiers who were encouraged to "ski like Landgraf" at the start line in Cable. The message was delivered by Laurie Landgraf, the widow of Dave Landgraf, who had skied in every Birkie before being killed in a bike crash in August.

Laurie Landgraf served as the honorary starter, and reminded the mass of enthusiasts to follow the spirit of her husband.

The Landgrafs' children, Cole and Emalea, shared their father's red founder's bib and led the initial wave of skiers into the woods.

With Dave Landgraf's death, there are now just two skiers who have completed every Birkebeiner since the first in 1973. John Kotar and Ernie St. Germain drew cheers from their followers over most of the 54 kilometers.

A helping pole: Liebsch may be compelled to share a bit of his $4,500 for second-place with Santiago Ocariz, who gave up a pole without hesitation after Liebsch broke one in the tangle with Lars Flora. Ocariz finished 11^th.

He and his wife, the women's classic winner, will set off next week to roller ski across the country to raise money for the Food for the Poor Charity, which provides food and health care in South America.

As Brian Gregg put it: "Santi is a really good dude."

Ulvang's impressions: Just months after skiing 800 miles to the South Pole, Ulvang made his first trek to Hayward and the largest Nordic ski race in North America. He came away impressed.

"The atmosphere is fantastic here," Ulvang said. "The course is fantastic, so wide, so smooth. I really enjoyed the skiing, actually."

Ulvang came to the Birkebeiner as the Skiers for Cures ambassador, and helped raise money for the National MS Society, much like his fellow Norwegian, Bjorn Daehlie, in 2009.

He was surprised to find a rabid fan base so far from home.

"I signed more autographs here than I did the last 10 years in Norway," he said.

Course conditions: Ned Zuelsdorff, executive director of the Birkebeiner, looked at the stream of finishers and said with a smile: "This is the best race I've ever seen."

It was only a slight bit of hyperbole.

There might have been a better day for the Birkie in the past 39 years, but one would be hard-pressed to identify it. The temperature at the start was plus 11, nearly 20 degrees warmer than the 2011 deep freeze, and the late finishers skied under sunshine and a warm 23 degrees.

Ten miles to the south, snow is non-existent. On the Birkie course, it was perfect. A light dusting on Tuesday and Friday added a fresh layer over a hard base, and few could order better conditions for a long ski in the North Woods.

Birkie fever: The top skiers spend months and miles chasing top-30 finishes in the World Cup, slots on the Olympic teams and national honors. The Birkebeiner isn't on that competitive level, but provides the elite skiers a unique and welcome experience.

"I just love the energy," said Brandy Stewart, second in the women's classic race.

"Skiing is a tough sport. You're out there training in the cold, often by yourself. It's great to see skiing beyond the top 100 in the national field. I'm part of this thing, and there are people from eight to 80."