The knee passed the test.

That was the primary objective last week, as Tommy Gogolen returned to competition at the Telemark World Cup in Steamboat. But as it turned out, the Breckenridge tele racer also skied to his career-best World Cup finish and had solid results throughout the week against top-tier racers.

“I didn't know if I was going to be able to compete the day of (the race),” Gogolen said. “The knee was feeling good enough, but the World Cup level is just another level. The snow is injected. I was ecstatic coming into the first race and laying down a 10th-place finish.”

As the Summit Daily previously reported, Gogolen took a 10th-place finish in the first day of racing in the classic event, his best discipline, which consists of a GS course with a jump in the middle, followed by a skate portion. Racers are penalized for not clearing a line roughly 25 yards downhill off the jump.

Gogolen went on to take 14th on the second day of classic racing and 15th in the sprint classic (same as the classic but with a shorter skate).

“Being up in the altitude, training up here, it just suits us local athletes better compared to come of the Norwegians who ski at sea level,” Gogolen said.

Taking on ‘the wrap'

On Friday, Gogolen skied to an 18th-place result in the sprint classic parallel, a new event for the tele circuit, being held for the first time in the United States. Missing the cut for finals, which were held under the lights, he was disappointed with that result.

“It's super sketchy. Two guys going head-to-head, going off the same jump. It's gnarly,” Gogolen said. “Sixteen guys qualify for (the finals), and they go head-to-head through the semis and down to the last two guys. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the night event. I had some big mistakes. It was bummer, especially for the local fans to have another American in there.”

Gogolen said the most intense part of the race is finishing the GS and barreling into the “wrap,” a 270-degree, bowl-like turn in which the racers enter side-by-side in order to slow them down prior to the skate.

“It's super dangerous. Whoever gets into the wrap first gets better position (heading into the skate), and there's definitely some elbows flying left and right,”

They had to stop the race midway through that evening to put up extra B-netting because one of the racers got launched out of the wrap.

“I mean, he got chucked,” Gogolen said. “It was a super scary moment because he got slingshoted out because he had all this speed and G-forces going in. There were two guys. He took the high line and got bumped straight out.”

Telemark officials are hoping this new sprint classic parallel discipline will make a bid for the Olympics sometime in the near future. If the sport can grow in popularity, its chances a pretty good, as the IOC has been favoring timed events over judged events.

“One of the highlights from the whole week was one of our American girls (Zoe Taylor) from Atlanta, Ga., living in Steamboat, getting the win. What's cool about the event is that not always is the best skier going to win. There are a lot of variables; guys crash because it's head-to-head.”

Gogolen finished the weekend by crashing during his first run in the wrap in the sprint classic (single racer, shorter skate). But with a scorching ninth-place second attempt, he improved his overall standing to 15th that day.

“We had some Breck locals who made the trip over, which was awesome to see people supporting us,” Gogolen said. “Most importantly it was a success story for my knee.”

Gogolen will race again at U.S. Nationals the first week of March at Gunstock in New Hampshire.