Author: Sadie Bjornsen

Yesterday was the 30k National Championships here in Sun Valley…. which is about twice as long as I have ever raced before. Going into this race I have been a bit worried. For the past two months I have been pretty much doing race after race allowing for not much “training”. What that means is I can’t remember the last time I skid 30k in one session… let alone skid more than an hour and a half in one session. I have done plenty of long sessions over the year- but I was struggling to wrap my brain around racing 30K AT ONE TIME! I think my teammates were actually getting annoyed of me asking “what should the pace feel like? Should I be in pain? Should I be suffering as early as 10k?” Not to mention we are racing at altitude, and the course has more than enough climbing- so that threw the experience even more curve balls. The answer to all these questions was different from person to person. But the one piece of advice that seemed consistent with every person was that a 30k is like reading a book- you have the good chapters and the bad chapters. You may feel like crap at 20k and feel like a champ at 25k. You may start cramping really bad at 27k and still manage to finish with a hard punch. In order to get the whole story, you have to read through all the chapters… there is no skipping.

Skiing in the lead pack for the first half of the race- Nat Hertz photo

So this is exactly what happened. I went in with a blind eye and had a ball!! I decided I was just going to try to hang onto the lead pack for as long as I could. This year I have been working a lot with my distance racing and things have come a long ways since last year. There is still a lot more to work on- but yesterday I finally got to try it out. The first half of the race I got to ski with a group of 6 girls. Kikkan, a swedish girl skiing at Utah, Diggins, Holly, and Morgan Arritola and me. As we approached the steepest pitch of the last long hill on the second lap I wasn’t able to hang on any longer. The good news is one of my other teammates, Fitz was also just off the pace of the lead pack- so I got to ski the remaining two laps with her, before she ditched me in the final climb on the last lap.

Pack still together on the first lap- Dave Wheelock photo

It was fun though. There is a lot that can happen in a 30k, and your head can take many directions of thought. From “holy crap- now I know what they were talking about when they said your muscles would cramp”, to “I can’t wait for that coke feed”, to “one last time up this hill Sadie, you can do it”. Good fun- I am excited for more tries!

Today we have a day off, and then tomorrow the true Spring Series starts. 2.8k prelim, 10k mass start classic, day off, Classic Sprint, and then the final day will be a race up the alpine hill.

Doing some training with the ladies in the sun.

Five of the APU girls, and Chandra Crawford are staying together at the Sun Valley Inn. We have been having lots of fun entertaining ourselves between the races. It is always fun at the end of the year to “enjoy the experience” a bit more. With less pressure on the racing, and more focus on the celebration, you are able to soak in the sun and truly live it up!

YES- sunshine!

Pre-race dinner w/ our bath robe gowns

Keep the sunshine coming!

After arriving in Sun Valley late last night, we were awoken by quite the surprise. Not only was it no longer storming like it was on the drive up from Boise last night- but the sun was-a-beaming down! I have been to Sun Valley once before when I was super young, so I have never skid the race courses before, but we headed out for a sneak preview today. From what I have heard it dumped about two feet in the last couple of days, so the snow was soft- but the skiing was awesome! It was amazing out, warm enough to ski without jackets and pants- something I haven’t done for quite some time now. I can’t even remember the last time I did a workout without my jacket… maybe on Eagle Glacier last summer. This is why I love the west so much though, makes me miss home a bit 🙂

Our first race is the 30k on Sunday, so from now until then we will try to acclimate ourselves and prepare for the fun races later this week!

Stadium Access

Keep the sun coming!!

What a great video by Kikkan Randall about skiing. It has been fun to get to know Kikkan over the course of this year from summer training to racing on the road with her in Europe. I truly am inspired by not only the way she skis, but also by who she is. I am lucky to be able to train along side her and learn from her as a racer and a person. This video is just a little glimpse into the life of “Chikkan Randall”

I am finally starting to catch up on life since just recently returning to Anchorage after nearly 4 months straight on the road. I feel like for the past month I have been in a dream… where everything is moving so fast and its just too good.

Some of the US ladies after races

During my two weeks in Oslo for the World Championships I was in such a daze that I struggled to really let my emotions catch up and feel how amazing it was. Once the week of racing started… everything started moving so fast that I couldn’t keep up. I couldn’t even describe anything from the week other than AMAZING. It is hard to put words to what it feels like to ski through a tunnel of at least 10,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs. The feeling is just amazing. All I could think was how lucky I am to be involved in the sport that I am.

Giving my autograph to my first fans 🙂

One of the german skiers and I joining the celebration out in the woods on our recovery ski

Fans, Fans, Fans

Great spectating from the roof of the athletes cabin

World Champs Womans Squad

The Norwegians are incredible. They are so passionate about the sport, they just love it. The majority of my races fell on days that it was so foggy you couldn’t see much further than 5 feet in front of you. I imagined this would hold back some spectators… but with no fail all the norwegian fans were still out there screaming their faces off into the fog. I am convinced they had no idea who they were cheering for, or if they were even cheering for anyone. Maybe they just screamed straight for two hours. Regardless, they were still keeping the spirit going.

Warming up in the fog

Me on the big screen

Besides the sprint race I got to start two other races during the week. The 10km classic and the Team Sprint.

The 10k was awesome. I started bib 26, so pretty early. The course was by far the hardest course I have ever skid.. so I just went out and tried to ski hard from the start. I kind of knew there would be a point where I would blow up… but I was hoping the noise of the fans would keep me going. Which is exactly what happened. I crossed the line in first place as I came in before many of the lead skiers- but I got to sit in the leaders chair for a while, which was super fun. I have never gotten to sit in the leaders chair before, and yes it is just as comfy as it looks 🙂

A clip from the TV of me crossing the line in 1st place

Relaxing in the Leaders Chair

Two days later I got to start the classic team sprint with Kikkan. I have done one team sprint before nearly 3 years ago. I have to say this team sprint at World Champs was an entirely different race though. These girls went out my top speed sprinting pace from the start. Team sprinting is difficult because you have to race 3 times in the Semi-Finals. Then if you make the A-Finals, you do the same thing again, 3 more hard efforts. I was a bit nervous, knowing I would have to save some energy for such a long race. Semi-finals were great. Kikkan and I managed to gradually move up through the race and come in 3rd, moving us onto the finals. When the A finals came around 45 minutes later, I struggled a bit more. By the last lap of the finals… the wheels started to fall off. It was all I could do just to get to the finish to tag Kikkan. We still managed to finish 9th at the end of the day, which was fun. I think with more endurance training, this could be an awesome race for us. It sure is tons of fun though. Gives you six chances to ski right in there with some of the best sprinters in the world.

Kikkan and I with some American Spirit 🙂

Team Sprinting in the fog!

As the week concluded, it was so sad to leave Holmenkollen. THinking back to two months ago, when I first got named to the team, so many people told me this was an experience I would remember for the rest of my life. They were right! Not only was it amazing to be part of it, and get right into the heart of ski racing- but it was incredible to watch everyone else. Skiing around the trails on recovery days with Kikkan and listening to everyone chant her name was just inspiring. I think besides their own norwegian skiers, Kikkan may be their next favorite skier. Also watching Bjorgen and Northug do their warm- ups around you and then going on to working their magic in front of your eyes… its just something you can’t appreciate in full until you see it in person.

APU squad

Thanks to all the Norwegians for making it truly amazing- as well as all the americans who came over and cheered. Also thanks to all the people who sent good luck over facebook or emails, it was so fun to have so many people following!!

We took a trip to the Ambassadors house midweek. Here is World Champs announcer, and good friend Peter Graves with Holly and I

Ladies team

Introduced into the world of World Cup racing in Drammen, Norway- introduced to World Champs racing in Holmenkollen…. I think I may be the luckiest person alive 🙂

From here I chill out and train for 2 weeks here in Anchorage before going to my final week of racing in Sun Valley for spring series.

Joining the true norwegian style with my new Onesie

Thanks to all the coaches and wax techs for making the week rock!!

Yesterday was the first day of World Champs here in Oslo, which was the skate sprint. I am still in shock from the whole series of events that took place… I think it is still sinking in.

All the events here are being run mid-afternoon, so it leaves a nice long morning to sleep in, relax, watch some Glee, and shake some nerves before heading up to the venue. Going into these events has been really nice for me, because I have had the goal of simply soaking it in. Being my first world cup last weekend, and my first World Champs this week- I am living the full experience… just feeling the water out. This leaves little pressure- allowing me to ski my own races depending on where my head is the given day. It has been soooo fun!

Lars, Jessie and I in front of the kings castle downtown Oslo

Thursday night we had opening ceremonies downtown, which was lots of fun. Oslo is a very impressive city, with all the old, beautiful buildings. In my short time downtown Oslo earlier this month… where I managed to get myself super lost, I somehow missed all the cool things. So, this time I knew what I was looking for- mainly the kings castle. As we arrived downtown there were hundreds of school children, nearly 30 for each country participating in the Championships. Our kids were super fired up about the US and they had amazing english- so we had lots of fun predicting who was going to win all the races this week! I was impressed how many people lined the streets to watch us march through…. little did I know what was coming.

Yesterday was a whole new meaning of cheering and crowds. As I arrived at the venue, I tried to stay calm and avoid the large crowds…. but when it came down to warming up- there was no more avoiding it- no more hiding. As I skid around the 1.4km course time after time- I found myself skiing faster and faster. With such a hilly course, I would normally walk the hills for the first 20 minutes… but it was IMPOSSIBLE! I felt like the thousands of people in bleachers and lining the course were sitting watching me. There wasn’t more then 50 skiers on the course… so I felt like I had the telescope on me. It was simply intimidating! Not to mention, if you happened to be skiing near a norwegian- the crowd would go wild…. even when we were just warming up!!

Stadium

Petter Northug getting his cheer on for the USA

When it came down to race time- I was ready to go. Having a crowd like that cheering so loud makes is awesome. It makes you feel like you can’t let up- because the spectators sure as hell were not going to let up!!! The qualifier went sweet for North America. We managed to qualify 3 canadians, and 3 americans- so we were super fired up. After a short break, it was off to the heats. Having never started heats in world cup- I was more excited then nervous. I simply had no idea what to expect. All I knew was I was starting with the infamous Kowalczyk as well as the girl that had gotten second in the World Cup last weekend… so I had my work cut out for me. As they introduced each of us one at a time at the line, it all hit me. I think if I would have had a few more seconds to wait there.. I may have shed a tear. But, before I knew it the gun was fired and we were off. Having a good start, I hit the corner right in with the lead pack… stepping in right in front of Kowalczyk. (which was my claim to fame for the day-maybe even for the next year). For the next three minutes it was a blur… I just went with it. Accelerated when they did, and tucking in behind when they did. Not surprisingly, when we neared the end I wasn’t quite able to hold on to the lead pack- and crossed the line in 5th.. putting me in 24th for the day. More then the result I was blown away by the experience. It was simply unbelievable to see what “Norwegian Spirit” does to a race! It turns it into the Superbowl of Nordic Skiing. Just incredible!

Looking over the stadium from the wax cabins

Nearing the end of my quarter-finals

Unfortunately Kikkan fell during the quarterfinals, wrecking her chance for the gold- but I think every person out there knows she would have been a true threat. It was incredible to watch her true sport shine through as she brushed it off and continued to say “it happens”. Kikkan has never ceased to impressed me since the minute I joined APU 8 months ago! It has been incredibly fun for me to watch her win world cups first person. Not only because it is incredible to watch- but because she has proved it to me that champions are human. I have always looked at the norwegians and believed they must be from another planet…. they must be doing rocket science. But Kikkan has proved to me that its humanly possible. I train with her day in and day out- and she is not performing rocket science. She is simply working her ass off, and has been for years now. So as sad as it was to see her fall, she still is one of the fastest sprinters in the world.

Team APU

So with a strong start- the US is pumped for the many more races to come.

My next race will be Monday, which is the 10km classic. In the meantime, it is the womans pursuit race tomorrow, and the mens pursuit on sunday.

One of the camps out on the distance course

World Cup #1

Holly and I soaking it in

Last weekend I had my debut into the world of World Cup racing. Honestly I can’t quite put words to what it was like. I think I may be the luckiest person alive to have my introduction into the world cup life in Norway. In a country where cross country skiing is the most important thing in every person’s life… you can only imagine what would happen when a World Cup comes to town. To say it simple, 15,000 people set up tents, camps, and line the 5 kilometers of trail. I have been to one Seahawks game in my life, and I would compare the sound to that… only it is in another language- so the buzz has a different tone. It is by far the coolest thing I have experienced in my life so far though. I could get used to this lifestyle!

Watching the sprint race… along with thousands of spectators behind me.

World Cup Sprint group for the weekend- Jessie and I in our first World Cup sprints 🙂

The fans were incredible, but the athletes were even more incredible. I have watched hundreds of world cup races on TV and video’s, and to be honest, I even considered it a chance to be able to ski with them for a bit. But when I had the chance to watch them ski in person… I was in awe. These girls are incredibly fast- they are MOVING! It is a whole nother league that I have never seen before. This is the most exciting part to me though. Now I “know what it looks like”. It’s super exciting to watch it, and now know what I am aiming for. The fun part about this year being my first in so many things, is I have no pressure, but I am just going out there and doing the best I can. I have to say, watching Kikkan win a world cup right in front of my eyes was so awesome! I have skid on a team with her now for a year, so I have watched her train, and watched what she does. It was awesome to watch the true “kikkanimal” at work. That girl is GOOD!

Kikkan on the big screen- showing some love for Subway

The only down part to having my first world cup experience in Norway… is the competition is about the hardest it gets on the world cup circuit. With Norway hosting the races, they get to start about 20 athletes in both the mens and womans fields. As everyone knows, Norwegians have an incredibly deep field of talent… so in most of my races- there were about 15 norwegians ahead of me. So… I learned quickly- results are not something to be studied in Drammen. The important part is I am in a good place going into World Champs… which actually starts today. They have late starts every day- so I am using my long morning to get some homework done and catch up with some things.

Soaking in some sun the day of the sprint race- awesome day!

It has been super fun to meet up with all of the nordic combiners, jumpers, and the rest of the nordic squad. We have quite the group of athletes over here! It is going to be a fun week of racing!

World Champs 2011 here we come!!!

Coach Bus taking us anywhere and everywhere we need. World Cup athletes get TAKEN CARE OF!

Team Norway Bus- I like to pretend these guys are all cheering me on 🙂

Here are a couple pictures from our past training days in Beito. We trained here for 3 days following the race because it is a nice low key, low stress area with great skiing. Temperatures have been super cold, which has made for some amazing classic skiing!! Skating sounded like such a bad idea every day with such slow, soft snow…. so I have been sticking to the classicing 🙂

Tomorrow we leave for Drammen where we will be competing in World Cups Saturday and Sunday. Finally, my first world cup start!! I can’t wait. Saturday is a 10k classic, Sunday is a skate sprint. The team will be picking up the APU group, (Kikkan, Holly, Lars and Erik) which I am super pumped about because it has been so long since I have seen these guys!

Soaking in some Sun with the Frosty Weather- Scott photo

Beautiful Beito View

Norwegian Nordic Love

Valentines Ski with Tadlet- frosty cold!

Tad and Jessie doing some easy skiing on course

At this moment I am sitting on the couch listening to some chill tunes with my feet up, soaking in some sun in Beitostolen, Norway. I must say… don’t think life could get much better at this moment! I am a lucky person to be involved in such a sweet sport! For the past 3 months I have moved from house to house, venue to venue, and country to country racing- and I am now truly starting to appreciate it. Some of the first countries were a bit uncomfortable and extraordinary, which left me with a bit of a homesick feeling… but lately I have been getting super lucky!

I have always liked the traveling part of ski racing. I think many people struggle with switching beds so often, and living out of a suitcase- but for me, I love it! I love how many different lifestyles we get to live, all the sweet places we see, and all the cool people we meet. If we raced similar venues every weekend, and traveled to simple places… it would be boring! I like constantly switching it up every week. I have to admit though… there are a lot of times I wish I could just have a switch of clothes. Wearing the same 3 shirts and 2 sweatshirts for 3 months is a LONG time!

Jessie and I in the stadium

Last week classes started back up for me at APU. All the courses I am taking this semester are online courses…but don’t let the word “online” fool you. Class still meets at a specific time, just “online”. What this means is my 7PM-9PM classes in Alaska meet at 5:00 in the morning Norway time. Because we don’t have internet directly in our room, I set my alarm-clock for 4:45 in the morning and wake up and head down the hill for class ☺ Good fun! The good news is I only have this for 3 more weeks here twice a week… so I think I will make it. But it is nice to have schoolwork to consume my time again. I always miss that stress when I am without it!

Yummy Norwegian Food

The past two days I have been racing here in Beitostolen for some Norwegian National Cup races. Many of the national team members are here, mostly the sprinting team, but lots of speedy people! It has been super fun though to see what racing in Norway looks like. I have always had an image in my head, but it is even more impressive then I imagined. Yesterday 890 people started!! That is sooo many skiers!

Stadium full of people

So Friday was a skate sprint, which went pretty well for me. I was 4th in the qualifier, and then moved down a bit in the heats. The heats were interesting, as the course was short- and there was no room for passing- so the order at the end of the first straight away was the order coming across the finish. In my semi-finals, I didn’t have the best start, so I came to the end of the straight away in 5th, and crossed the line in fifth…. which meant I moved down to 9th place for the day. The other US girls also did very well. Jessie Diggins got a bit tripped up in her semi’s, so wasn’t able to move on, but Ida got fourth in my heat and moved on as lucky loser- to finish the day in 5th.

Leading my quarter finals heat out of the stadium– Thanks to Scott for the sprinting photos!

Yesterday was the 5k classic, which also went very well. Once again the US ladies were packed in there for the top places. I came in 4th, about 36 seconds off the leading pace, with the other US ladies close behind in 8th, 11th, 16th, and 20th I believe.

Today I opted to sit out the 15km skate race to prepare for next weekends world cups and then world champs. I heard though that the ladies kicked butt again. Think Mo and Liz were 2nd and 3rd and Jessie won the juniors race. Its fun to see everyone on their game right now- think we will be bringing a strong team to Oslo, which will make that week so much more fun!
We train here a couple more weeks and then head back towards Oslo, to Drammen where I will enter my first World Cups next weekend!! Can’t wait!

So far my norwegian experience has been quite the adventure. Having never been to Norway before, I have failed to really use my brain, but instead run around in awe with my my eyes wide open. Nearly 60 hours into my trip now… I am just starting to loose the buzz. This country is amazing. I feel like I can’t stop looking around, and being in love, and simply not getting enough of every moment. There are nordic skiers everywhere! EVERYWHERE! Not only is everyone really nice, but they are all pretty, and they speak so nice. I have always enjoyed the sound of the norwegian language- there is nothing that reminds me of speedy skiing more!

So my first day with my brain turned off turned into quite the adventure. In my two activities of the day, one skiing, and two exploring downtown- I managed to get myself extremely lost- both with Jessie Diggins (who I believe is in the same state as me at this point). The skiing consisted of me strapping on some classic skis and taking off on the “Norwegian Highway”, which can simply be described as a classic trail, tracked three tracks wide, with approximately 500 skiers on it.! Thinking nothing off it, I set out on my skis, chatting away with Jessie, and loving every moment of the perfect tracks, great terrain, and beautiful skiing. About an hour into it I decided it was time to turn around…. but what I didn’t really realize is that during the past hour I had taken maybe 20 turns, all of which I didn’t pay attention to… and not only that- I had no idea what the place was called where I started. All norwegian words have lots of j’s, k’s, and i’s in them so its hard to even tell them apart. After asking nearly 10 people, all of which sent me different directions, I decided to just head in one direction and hope to god it would eventually take me there.! To my surprise 30 minutes later I started recognizing some of the trails!! I had made it home.

One of the many signs that make no sense!

Thinking I had figured it all out- I laughed it off and forgot to really ask what the place was called where we were staying…. which was my first mistake when Jessie and I headed out that afternoon for Oslo on the train system. The older girls told us “go on train 3, stay until the last stop, and you will make it home”. Trying to keep things exciting, Jessie and I tried to escape buying tickets, and just be sly. After being tourists, snapping lots of shots, hitting up all the souvenir shops, searching for the norwegian bjorn borg underwear, and buying some good chocolate- we set out for home. Following the signs to “3” we jumped on a train that did not look anything like what we started on. Realizing this just as the train started moving, we were stuck… and the ticket man was walking towards us. Somehow we escaped the madness and jumped off as quickly as we could at the next stop. Turns out that train was headed towards Trondheim… which is a long ways away from Oslo, and our hotel! Running around for about 30 minutes asking everyone where to go, when we didn’t even know what the name of the place was called quickly became pointless. Finally, when Jessie and I became super panicked, I spotted a woman wearing ski boots. Trying to describe to her what hotel we were at… we finally figured out we were on the underground train station, and we should be on the above ground… who woulda known there was two separate things!!

OSLO! National Theatre

sooooo Jessie and I slapped hands and headed in the right direction. Let me assure you, the first thing I did when I got back was ask the name of where we were and say it in my head 20 times to assure that I knew it!! Sandsvan!

Unfortunately we left the next day though….!!

We are now in Beitestolin for the Norwegian National Cup races which start tomorrow. Skate sprint, 10k classic, and 15k skate. Competition will be stiff, as always when norwegians are involved. Word is, there are close to 800 starters… should be good fun! We are staying in this sweet hotel with all the Norwegians, so I get to sit and eat dinner across from Astrid Jacobsen! Good fun 🙂

More to come soon!

Wow, its time for the Championships!! From here on out, its the big stuff. After finishing my first block of preparation races, I am now headed into the european block of racing. Right now I am sitting in the Portland, Maine airport waiting to start my journey to Helsinki, Finland for a preparation training camp before U23 World Champs. It’s a bit sad to split from my team after living in close quarters with them for the past 10 weeks- but also fun to see them all go their different directions for racing as well. Some of them I will meet up with as soon as U23’s, and others I will reunite with in Oslo for World Champs

Yesterday marked the first day of 2011 U.S. Nationals here in Rumford Maine. I must say I have never raced on so little snow in my life, but race managers managed to throw together a super impressive race out there!

Today was the second day of the mini tour here in Rossland, a 5k skate. It was one RIPPIN course, a 12 minute 5k.!!! I pretty much went with the goal of going as hard as I could the entire time, knowing there was no time to conserve energy. As Erik Flora would say, “go like-a-hell”. After 12 minutes of aggressive V2ing, some solid hop skating, some seriously gnarly corners, and one super steep climb- I crossed the line 5th place, only 3 seconds out of 2nd. What this means is tomorrow’s handicap start is going to make for some exciting times. 

For tomorrows 10k classic, from what I have heard, Holly will go out first, I will head out second-7 seconds back, and Diggins will be close behind-12 seconds back from me. From there out, girls are packed in super tight. The first one to cross the line wins the overall tour. Should be some fun times!

Congrats to APU skiers H. Brooks and Lars for their wins!

Thanks to Rob Whitney for the pics from the race today.

div style=”text-align: center;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TQ1ZYSa5Y6I/AAAAAAAAAlA/2mhzJbNAfkI/s1600/DSC_1501.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 203px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TQ1ZYSa5Y6I/AAAAAAAAAlA/2mhzJbNAfkI/s320/DSC_1501.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552192189414073250″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divToday was the second day of the mini tour here in Rossland, a 5k skate. It was one RIPPIN course, a 12 minute 5k.!!! I pretty much went with the goal of going as hard as I could the entire time, knowing there was no time to conserve energy. As Erik Flora would say, “go like-a-hell”. After 12 minutes of aggressive V2ing, some solid hop skating, some seriously gnarly corners, and one super steep climb- I crossed the line 5th place, only 3 seconds out of 2nd. What this means is tomorrow’s handicap start is going to make for some exciting times. divdivbr //divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TQ1ZBu8aoTI/AAAAAAAAAk4/AI6U15DripY/s1600/DSC_1493.JPG”img src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TQ1ZBu8aoTI/AAAAAAAAAk4/AI6U15DripY/s320/DSC_1493.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552191801933865266″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; ” //a/divdivFor tomorrows 10k classic, from what I have heard, Holly will go out first, I will head out second-7 seconds back, and Diggins will be close behind-12 seconds back from me. From there out, girls are packed in super tight. The first one to cross the line wins the overall tour. Should be some fun times!/divdiv style=”text-align: left;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TQ1Zu1QNfOI/AAAAAAAAAlI/RSz0nunlryU/s1600/DSC_1770.JPG”img src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TQ1Zu1QNfOI/AAAAAAAAAlI/RSz0nunlryU/s320/DSC_1770.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552192576721616098″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 320px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Congrats to APU skiers H. Brooks and Lars for their wins!/span/divdivbr //divdivThanks to Rob Whitney for the pics from the race today./div/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2018521813175454198-6064425135032061266?l=sadiebjornsen.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

Today was the first day of the three day mini tour in Rossland BC. After last weekends races in Silver Star, the APU team hit the road and headed the four hours east to our current venue called Black Jack for our final races before Nationals.