Alaska Sports Hall of Fame

Gus Schumacher

Anchorage’s Gus Schumacher turned in his third consecutive top-15 World Cup result, this time skiing to a career-best eighth-place finish in the 15K classic at the Tour de Ski in Italy.

The 20-year-old cross-country skier gradually worked his way to the front, going from 31st at the 5K mark to 16th at the 10K mark to eighth at the finish.

He finished 11.4 seconds behind the winner and was fewer than eight seconds from taking a spot on the podium.

Coupled with his 10K classic win at World Juniors last year, Schumacher sure looks like the future for American men when it comes to distance skiing.

This is his first season on the World Cup circuit.

Schumacher, of Service High fame, is a member of the Alaska Winter Stars.