Despite Mother Nature’s fury, it’s already been a fascinating and historic weekend of racing on the famed Eagle River Derby track, but Sunday’s 3 p.m. World Championship final is what it’s all about. Dreams will be realized, hearts will be broken and one person will lift the Snow Goer Cup about their head, signifying that they are the 57th World Champion at Eagle River, Wisconsin.
But, for the first time ever, that person won’t necessarily be a dude!
More than 30 racers signed up to race the Pro Champ class and sliced and diced through qualifying races all weekend. Two-time defending champion Blaine Stephenson earned the first spot on the front row for Sunday’s World Championship by winning a weather-delayed Sweet 16 final Saturday afternoon. Then Saturday night the rest of the field was set through 9 quarterfinal and three semi final races.
In the end, 10 folks qualified for the front row — and what a field it is! It features the first woman EVER to qualify for the big dance in Sabrina Blanchet from Quebec. It includes two two-time champions in Blaine Stephenson and Nick Van Strydonk — with Stephenson looking to become the first in the event’s long history to win three straight. It includes first timers, like Blanchet, Nick LaGoy, Matt Goede, Filipe Roy-Lalonde and Justin Peterson. And, it has very fast veteran racers like points champ Gunnar Sterne, Colt Dellandrea and Travis MacDonald looking for their first World Championsip title. Two more racers will be added in a Sunday LCQ race — they’ll start on the back row.
As a part of the tradition, Snow Goer produces an annual Tip Sheet that is distributed at the facility, with fictional odds on each front-row starter. Our picks are in the captions below. Make your picks in our Fantasy Snowmobile Racing Challenge game, or sidebets with your friends, and then check back Sunday night on Snowgoer.com for the event’s most complete coverage.
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