““No. Skiing is a doglife, I wish I was dead. Say hi to who the hell you want to!””br/br/ – emArthur in a radio interview with swedish radio replying to the question if he wanted to send a greeting to someone./em
Category: XCFeeds
A collection of live feeds from cross-country ski blogs around the web.
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Leaving Canmore
This past weekend were the final races before the Olympics. World Cup 15k skate and classic sprint races in Canmore. Perfect conditions and an amazing setting. I was hoping for a better result than I had (35th) but it was not to be. At Nationals I was way too nervous and started out too fast, fading in the later half of the race. My plan for Friday was to be more relaxed and ski my way into the race. Turned out I was a little to relaxed. After my warm up and once I had made my way through ski marking I had a few minutes to wait before starting. Others were nervously getting their warm ups off and running, jumping and stretching. I sat on the retaining wall and watched them. I started conservatively and never managed to pick up the pace as I had planned. I think the speed was conservative given that I have done my prep work at sea level to be ready for the faster skiing in Whistler, but my body wasn’t ready for that speed at altitude and it was just too much… Days that that are frustrating when they happen but they can teach you a lot. Among other things I relearned that I need that nervous tension to perform. I don’t think it will be a problem to get that next week at the Olympics.
The Olympic team is all together now at the Paintbox Lodge in Canmore before we head to Vancouver tomorrow to get “processed” and make our way to the Village on Wednesday. It has been good to get back around the crew and get in a few relaxed days of training before things get crazy. Until then…
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More Shooting! (and skiing)
It was sort of tough for me to miss out on racing in the huge field at Trapp’s this past weekend, but I chose instead to do a few more biathlon races while I had the chance. Luckily these ones were just in Jericho, not Minnesota, so I was even able to make it back to Trapp’s in time to watch most of the boys’ race. The races were Nor Am’s, and there were a few Quebecois skiers, but the fields were still just as small as is typical for Biathlon races in North America. Nonetheless, there was some tough competition, so I was excited to have good races both days!
Saturday’s race was a sprint, which means I shot twice and skied 3 laps of a 2.5k course. With one miss, I ended up second for the women.
Sunday’s race was a pursuit format, which means I shot 4 times and skied 5 laps of a 2k course. I didn’t shoot quite as well, but with 5 misses I was still happy with it, and I ended up second again. On the last standing shooting, I came in to the range at the same time as Annelies Cook, who ended up winning. It’s sort of exciting when that happens, because we were basically taking turns shooting, and trying not to miss! She shot clean, and I had one miss, but it was still fun!
Watching the boys race at Trapp’s afterward made me a little bit jealous of the hundred of competitors and beautiful courses there, but I’m really starting to like the excitement and variability that shooting brings to races!
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Biathlon Finds a Home in Northern Maine article in the N.Y. Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/sports/olympics/07maine.html?scp=1sq=Biathlon%20finds%20a%20homest=csediv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6813061107698506856-2995175067236186769?l=mwscbiathlon.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
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Pictures from the Weekend
Here are some more pictures from last weekend. Thanks to Herve Pelletier for most of the SMS shots and Phil Bowen for the pictures of Andy at Canmore.a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BQmcMFnpI/AAAAAAAACTw/prNeIuptHYE/s1600-h/mac1.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BQmcMFnpI/AAAAAAAACTw/prNeIuptHYE/s400/mac1.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435933371568332434″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BQPfhhq7I/AAAAAAAACTo/r1k4j_f1ZpA/s1600-h/walker.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BQPfhhq7I/AAAAAAAACTo/r1k4j_f1ZpA/s400/walker.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435932977326566322″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BQCcpqInI/AAAAAAAACTg/YrilUE2oKAo/s1600-h/heather.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BQCcpqInI/AAAAAAAACTg/YrilUE2oKAo/s400/heather.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435932753217069682″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BPyifGFgI/AAAAAAAACTY/dlVoOCcFAjc/s1600-h/gage2.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 400px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BPyifGFgI/AAAAAAAACTY/dlVoOCcFAjc/s400/gage2.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435932479905469954″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BPnCt7-QI/AAAAAAAACTQ/S1cI3bPYl9k/s1600-h/issy.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BPnCt7-QI/AAAAAAAACTQ/S1cI3bPYl9k/s400/issy.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435932282399226114″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BPc_umNfI/AAAAAAAACTI/thgOG24NvN8/s1600-h/rachel2.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BPc_umNfI/AAAAAAAACTI/thgOG24NvN8/s400/rachel2.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435932109797996018″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BPMC4S5VI/AAAAAAAACTA/u4Ux2ul5UB8/s1600-h/brooke.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BPMC4S5VI/AAAAAAAACTA/u4Ux2ul5UB8/s400/brooke.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435931818586203474″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BO7RvvAAI/AAAAAAAACS4/3TlRN_Yo3VE/s1600-h/Cam_pan.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BO7RvvAAI/AAAAAAAACS4/3TlRN_Yo3VE/s400/Cam_pan.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435931530519052290″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BOndkXWGI/AAAAAAAACSw/m1EgMDM7B0k/s1600-h/Gage.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BOndkXWGI/AAAAAAAACSw/m1EgMDM7B0k/s400/Gage.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435931190095206498″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BOS2Es_zI/AAAAAAAACSo/cnpfAIw2ntY/s1600-h/rachel.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BOS2Es_zI/AAAAAAAACSo/cnpfAIw2ntY/s400/rachel.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435930835896041266″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BN64plTJI/AAAAAAAACSg/pEF_ICqzpZI/s1600-h/IMG_2750.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BN64plTJI/AAAAAAAACSg/pEF_ICqzpZI/s400/IMG_2750.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435930424270736530″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BLMsYO4EI/AAAAAAAACSY/l2tS_1eI-jc/s1600-h/IMG_2734.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BLMsYO4EI/AAAAAAAACSY/l2tS_1eI-jc/s400/IMG_2734.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435927431679500354″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BHmFX9qzI/AAAAAAAACSQ/xX3SZIwBm9k/s1600-h/IMG_2746.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3BHmFX9qzI/AAAAAAAACSQ/xX3SZIwBm9k/s400/IMG_2746.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435923469839477554″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3AdD7szJxI/AAAAAAAACSI/7dqYQ7m2vOE/s1600-h/20100206-IG2G0210-1-3.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3AdD7szJxI/AAAAAAAACSI/7dqYQ7m2vOE/s400/20100206-IG2G0210-1-3.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435876703638595346″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3AcNIwpDgI/AAAAAAAACSA/6fjgYREACYE/s1600-h/20100206-IG2G0210-1-2.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3AcNIwpDgI/AAAAAAAACSA/6fjgYREACYE/s400/20100206-IG2G0210-1-2.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435875762251566594″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3AazBMOC-I/AAAAAAAACR4/SFNswubLtOg/s1600-h/sophie.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3AazBMOC-I/AAAAAAAACR4/SFNswubLtOg/s400/sophie.jpg” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435874214031526882″ //adiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-8440100966923788081?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
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To all who have supported and encouraged me over the years,
Onion River Nordic skiers going above and beyond as usual! Thanks guys!! -
Sandwiched between defending silver and gold!
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Good signs
Unexpected, unsolicited support of the entire US Cross Country World Cup team (well, the men’s team, anyway), as seen on a store front in downtown Canmore.
Snow and tracks in downtown Canmore. If you’re into skiing on the street, check out the Madison Winter Festival, February 20-21 around the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.
We are still in Canada, eh?
phil bowen photograph – teamtoday.org
Finishing strong in Canmore. We’re kicking back today and tomorrow, then heading to Vancouver on Tuesday. Even without the races, we’re enjoying some more beautiful days here in Canada. Looking forward to a little Super Bowl action later this afternoon. Who Dat?! Saints Dat.
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A look at the new NNN/NIS Xcelerator Bindings
a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/S2-JudjOSjI/AAAAAAAAAbs/-LvIbisInWA/s1600-h/skis+009.JPG”img style=”margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 188px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/S2-JudjOSjI/AAAAAAAAAbs/-LvIbisInWA/s400/skis+009.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435714706558831154″ border=”0″ //aMore than any other single piece of equipment that I’ve seen for the coming (2010/2011) season, I’m really stoked to see the updated NNN/NIS bindings.br /br /They’re called the NIS Xcelerator Bindings. Made by Rottafella of Norway, these will be seen with Rottafella, Rossignol, Madshus, etc. labels, but they’re all the new bindings with different labels.br /div style=”text-align: right;”br //divI’ve been using this set of bindings for a couple weeks. Moving them from one pair of skis to another (aha… …yes, lets not forget about span style=”font-style: italic;”that /spanbenefit of the NIS system), trying them on different skis, in different locations (fore/aft). They seem really reliable and I’ve had no problems at all.br /br /The new binding are great for a few reasons:br /br /First, they’ve got a new clamp mechanism that grabs the boot’s bar in two places, out on the edges, for great clamping security. Holding on to the bar on both edges makes a lot of sense. Compared with the old NNN and existing Salomon bindings which hold on to the boot with one big tooth in the middle, the new system bites a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/S2-JQN0JZUI/AAAAAAAAAbk/bJAMQt5lcy0/s1600-h/skis+015.JPG”img style=”margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 134px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/S2-JQN0JZUI/AAAAAAAAAbk/bJAMQt5lcy0/s400/skis+015.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435714186938770754″ border=”0″ //aonto the bar tightly on the far ends of the bar. This minimizes the packing-in of snow, and it makes a very secure engagement. This isn’t art – it’s science and engineering.br /br /Second, they save a lot of weight. The new NNN/NIS Xcelerator bindings are 150 grams per pair lighter (measured!) than the current Pilot skate bindings! That’s over 5 ounces! That’s just a crazy weight savings, and it’s done without performance sacrifice. In a funny juxtaposition, Rottafella has used some metal parts in high stress places to simplify the design (the clamp lever) and allow a more solid engagement without the linkages that are required to make things work when similar assemblies are made of plastic. A simpler, more heavy duty design results in a lighter final product.br /br /(As a note, yes that span style=”font-style: italic;”is/span a pizza box under the binding in the photo — a kitchen table photo shoot while packing for Whistler.)br /br /Third, the bumper. The elastomer bumpers provide all the flex control, and do it with a one-piece interchangable elastomer. Simple to replace, but not something that’s going to pop out. It’s really clever and smartly done. And NO MOVING PARTS!br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/S2-LZ3lCV1I/AAAAAAAAAb0/KYpgm76_8Oc/s1600-h/xcelerator.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 565px; height: 139px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/S2-LZ3lCV1I/AAAAAAAAAb0/KYpgm76_8Oc/s400/xcelerator.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435716551791761234″ border=”0″ //abr /Finally, it all looks great. They pared down the extra weight and made it simple, but it remains sleek and nice looking. As has been the rule with the NNN iterations, there aren’t any boot compatibility issues. You can use your oldest pair of NNN rollerski boots with the new bindings, no problem.br /br /Hey, these are really new. The date-code that’s embedded in the molded plastic parts show that the mold date is Dec 2009, which means that these bindings were born just over a month ago. I’m not positive that this is a production version, or if it’s a pre-production delivery (for the trade shows, and to get some feedback, etc…).br /br /What would I change? I think I’d make the metal clamp mechanism a little more polished and clean, and maybe even fabricate it from stainless steel. Other than that? Nada. These bindings are very very good as delivered.br /br /Right now it seems that more than half of the World Cup skiers are on NNN/NIS bindings. With this new NIS Xcelerator model, the balance of power is likely to swing even further in that direction. It’s not just a home run, this binding is a grand slam.br /br /br /h3 class=”post-title entry-title”
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Ralph Lauren insisting that our Olympians look like children…
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Mt. Washington and Team Processing
Jeremy Teela, Me, and Tim Burke
Hi Everyone.
Just a quick update from Vancouver. We spent the last ten days on Mount Washington, Vancouver Island, B.C. training. It was a great camp and I feel ready for the Games as we head towards Whistler. After the island training, we took a quick flight back to Vancouver where we have spent the last few hours undergoing Team Processing for the Olympics. We now have all the apparel and will soon be heading up to Whistler and the Olympic Village, our home for the next three weeks! I am excited and ready for the Valentines Day Olympic Opener – 10km Sprint on February 14th!
-Lowell
Me and Jeremy with some new winter gear
Mt. Washington
15 ft. of snow on the Lake Trail on Mt. Washington
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Look PRO to be PRO. Martin Benes, Bates College Nordic…
img src=”http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxgczsnXNr1qzt3xbo1_500.jpg”/br/br/pLook PRO to be PRO. Martin Benes, Bates College Nordic Assistant Coach./p
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Campra, Switzerland
We arrived in Campra yesterday afternoon. Like all the other places we have been in Switzerland, It is beautiful. Yesterday I was able to get in a hour and a half distance ski and today two hours. I’m feeling good now and recovered from my nasty sickness. I got to spectate the 15k skate skate today. It was a deep field of competitors, and most of the European Juniors that raced at World Juniors raced here. Sam skied a solid race with what seemed like very even splits. This is the first hotel that I have been able to get consistent internet so I’m going to try and add some pictures from earlier in the trip.divbr //divdivdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Campra/span/divdivbr //divimg style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S261HYQi4II/AAAAAAAAAGg/D9Cl7qEhCAo/s400/DSCN2436.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435480938658324610″ /img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S260uw4QXdI/AAAAAAAAAGY/V0nkH9Z5Px4/s400/DSCN2433..jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435480515770605010″ /div style=”text-align: center;”Lots of skiers out on the trails today/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S262pzGGAkI/AAAAAAAAAGo/C6j1AZxoo9s/s400/DSCN2432.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435482629489427010″ /divPretty intense downhill/div/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S260ud4TBrI/AAAAAAAAAGI/1FbsvBpOmcY/s1600-h/DSCN2425.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S260ud4TBrI/AAAAAAAAAGI/1FbsvBpOmcY/s400/DSCN2425.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435480510670505650″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S260t0YarNI/AAAAAAAAAGA/FdI1FcKYBiI/s1600-h/DSCN2419.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S260t0YarNI/AAAAAAAAAGA/FdI1FcKYBiI/s400/DSCN2419.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435480499530935506″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Graeme Killickbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S260tt4ly6I/AAAAAAAAAF4/9wkgj6wDoiM/s1600-h/DSCN2391.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S260tt4ly6I/AAAAAAAAAF4/9wkgj6wDoiM/s400/DSCN2391.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435480497786833826″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Glarus/Klausen, Switzerland/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zMEfZFGI/AAAAAAAAAFw/Mo-dDxgEoRY/s1600-h/DSCN2364.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zMEfZFGI/AAAAAAAAAFw/Mo-dDxgEoRY/s400/DSCN2364.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435478820227978338″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”In the waiting room at the hospital/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zL9GJazI/AAAAAAAAAFo/yJ7FF8yAMIM/s1600-h/DSCN2362.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zL9GJazI/AAAAAAAAAFo/yJ7FF8yAMIM/s400/DSCN2362.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435478818243046194″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zLeHMp-I/AAAAAAAAAFg/OiUQ8hc1Keo/s1600-h/DSCN2357.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zLeHMp-I/AAAAAAAAAFg/OiUQ8hc1Keo/s400/DSCN2357.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435478809925953506″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Sam and I went on a sweet sledding trip/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zLBK0K0I/AAAAAAAAAFY/KHlP0cCp49k/s1600-h/DSCN2343.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zLBK0K0I/AAAAAAAAAFY/KHlP0cCp49k/s400/DSCN2343.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435478802156497730″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Sam on top of the world/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zKjzx7HI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/7ufoZUvFtIs/s1600-h/DSCN2332.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26zKjzx7HI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/7ufoZUvFtIs/s400/DSCN2332.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435478794275253362″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”In the gondola/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w9X3g6OI/AAAAAAAAAFI/dKUuAjrp7rI/s1600-h/DSCN2327.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w9X3g6OI/AAAAAAAAAFI/dKUuAjrp7rI/s400/DSCN2327.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435476368708135138″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w81YihDI/AAAAAAAAAFA/kz22qx-vxdY/s1600-h/DSCN2326.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w81YihDI/AAAAAAAAAFA/kz22qx-vxdY/s400/DSCN2326.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435476359451411506″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w8SVW8KI/AAAAAAAAAE4/aVvR2smN6YI/s1600-h/DSCN2324.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w8SVW8KI/AAAAAAAAAE4/aVvR2smN6YI/s400/DSCN2324.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435476350042828962″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w8NM95jI/AAAAAAAAAEw/CnzCuB_VtcM/s1600-h/DSCN2316.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w8NM95jI/AAAAAAAAAEw/CnzCuB_VtcM/s400/DSCN2316.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435476348665456178″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Our Cabin/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w7vLCMoI/AAAAAAAAAEo/ilh9TDkK_iI/s1600-h/DSCN2308.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 394px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26w7vLCMoI/AAAAAAAAAEo/ilh9TDkK_iI/s400/DSCN2308.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435476340604285570″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Loading up the van/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Hinterzarten, Germany/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26uMW_ukdI/AAAAAAAAAEg/qh4_TG9lnEY/s1600-h/103_0036.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26uMW_ukdI/AAAAAAAAAEg/qh4_TG9lnEY/s400/103_0036.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435473327637303762″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”A pretty famous church in Freiburg, Germany/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26tIfF-4fI/AAAAAAAAAEY/vimjdljNMRE/s1600-h/103_0025.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26tIfF-4fI/AAAAAAAAAEY/vimjdljNMRE/s400/103_0025.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435472161579917810″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Some hunters tree house behind our hotel/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26tH0sdd0I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/05csoJLMPG0/s1600-h/103_0024.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26tH0sdd0I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/05csoJLMPG0/s400/103_0024.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435472150198581058″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”The train bridge behind our hotel/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divimg style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26tGkvoevI/AAAAAAAAAD4/TeBhyvsjN5w/s400/103_0010.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435472128737049330″ /div style=”text-align: center;”The town 20 min away from the World Junior Venue/divimg style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26tHQSGCmI/AAAAAAAAAEI/mndAJdJSAzU/s400/103_0015.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435472140424317538″ /div style=”text-align: center;”Some sweet Clocks/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26tHI4jsSI/AAAAAAAAAEA/cQWdVJVV8FI/s1600-h/103_0014.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/S26tHI4jsSI/AAAAAAAAAEA/cQWdVJVV8FI/s400/103_0014.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435472138438160674″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”br //div/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2910103639238326543-4928720712015975729?l=methowolympicdevelopment.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
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Canmore World Cup Sprint
fasterskier.com
Another beautiful day for the Classic Sprint in Canmore. The day started well with two US women, Kikkan and Holly, as well as five US men, Torin (2), Andy (10), Simi (24), Cook (27), and Kuzz (26) out of a strong field of 70 some. Kikkan and Torin both ended up in 11th and the rest of us dropped back a bit. Still, a solid day to have so many qualifiers as we head to Vancouver next week.
Here are a couple of shots from the day:
US Team coach Pat Casey provides an interview for fasterskier.com. Topher and the Fasterskier crew have been doing a great job covering cross country skiing at all levels this winter. Be sure to check them out to get your Nordic fix. The early morning sunlight provided a cool pre-race atmosphere at the venue.
World Cup quality tracks. This is how good they looked at the end of the day. Solid.
Behind the perfect conditions all week here in Canmore stand over 450 volunteers. These guys worked hard over the past two years to make this weekend such a success. Congrats to Canmore local Sara Renner for her 3rd place finish today!
Men’s A-Final, fighting for 2nd place. Sweden’s Emil Johnnson was already 10 seconds ahead of the pack and cruised in for his 3rd Canadian World Cup win in three years. He sure put the hurt on the rest of us.
We’ve got another two days to relax here in Canmore before we head to the big show in Whistler on Tuesday.
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One Word: Domination
The sprints today could be summed up as utter dominance by the winners. World Cup fans haven’t been treated to that kind of skiing in a sprint event for a very long time, if ever. Justyna Kowalczyk proved that there is no limit to her powers as she keeps hitting the podium the majority of the races she enters while Emil Jönsson improved his record on Canadian snow as he picked up his third win in four races.
The conditions were perfect for another day of racing in the Rockies. The air was hovering around -2°C while the snow was -4°C, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the tracks were pristine. The North American athletes showed up very strongly in the qualification with Canada having four women and five men in the top 30 while the Americans put two women and five men in the heats.
Women
Kowalczyk absolutely dominated the qualifying by a very impressive 4.5 seconds over second place Petra Majdic. Anna Olsson qualified third while Fabjan continued her good run of form and qualified in fourth. The only big name not to crack the top 30 was Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle who missed qualification by half a second.
The quarter-finals were pretty straight forward and highlighted by Sara Renner easily winning her heats in front of the home crowd. The quarters were clean affair until the final heat which saw a massive tangle between Anna Olsson and Kari Vikhagen Gjeitnes which resulted in a broken pole for the Swede and took both athletes out of the race.
Kowalczyk showed no signs of weakness as she dominated yet another heat in the semis. With Smutna out lunging Fessel for the final qualifying spot. Havoc wreaked again on the final corner as the women were four wide going under the over pass and Majdic went down. I’m not sure if it was from contact or if she caught an edge. Either way, she looked not too happy as she came across the finish line.
The finals capped off another great weekend for the Pole as she won in shocking style. She smashed the rest of the field to win by an amazing 7.6 seconds. By the time the others had crossed the line, Kowalczyk already had the sponsors skis in hand celebrating the victory. Sweden’s Ingemarsdotter earned her first individual podium and finished in second while Sara Renner earned the bronze medal. It was a great day for the Canadian as it appears she in the best form of the season and was able to get on the podium in front of the home crowd.
Results
1. Justyna Kowalczyk
2. Ida Ingemarsdotter
3. Sara RennerNorth American Watch: Obviously the big headlines will feature Renner and rightly so, but Daria Gaiazova showed that she’s ready for the big show as she had a great qualifier for the second World Cup weekend in a row as she was ninth fastest but ultimately ended up in 12th. Kikkan Randall had a good day and quietly went about skiing to her second top 10 of the season.
Men
Emil Jönsson was expectedly the strongest qualifier while Torin Koos had a great qualifier and was in second. Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltarinen had a great qualifier and was the third fastest. The quarters gave the spectators a sneak peek of what Jönsson was capable of as he led the heat from the gun, then let up and started taking his poles off a good 50 meters before the finish line. Andrew Newell continued his same old story as he qualified well – in 10th – but failed to make it far in the heats as he did not make it out of the quarters.
Similar to the women’s quarters, all was smooth sailing except one heat. The fourth heat was extremely tight with all six athletes in a tight pack coming down the final hill into the finish straight. Italy’s Pasini caught and edge and subsequently took out the skiers behind him. Those skiers who were behind him happened to be two Canadians in Kershaw and Crooks. You gotta feel bad especially for Crooks who was having a great race in his tightly contested heat and was in the top three as the athletes crested the final hill. This was probably his biggest race of the year as he failed to make the Canadian team for the Olympics.
Jönsson continued his dominance in the semis as he led from wire to wire before easing up for the win. The second semi saw Dahl win handily with Lind in second.
The final included three Swedes (Jönsson, Lind, Petersen) and it was a sight to behold. The utter dominance that Emil Jönsson showed was impressive as he actually raced all the way across the line for the first time on the day and won by a whopping 6.6 seconds over Dahl who was able to hold off Cologna as the Norwegian grabbed the silver. Cologna earned his second bronze in as many days and looks in good form for the Olympics.
1. Emil Jönsson
2. John Kristian Dahl
3. Dario ColognaThis type of performance will make it exciting to see if a field of the world’s best will be able to deal with Jönsson; in particular, Ola Vigen Hattestad. The Swede’s turbo is better than ever and the hills in Callaghan Valley will play in his favour for that reason. Will Jönsson’s skiing play with the heads of the other athletes?
North American Watch: It was an impressive day for Koos who put in a great qualifier and finished a decent 11th overall. This is his best World Cup result in just under a year. Kuhn also had a great day, he had a strong first half of his quarter but was overtaken in the final stretch as he didn’t have enough gas to compete for a top two spot and ultimately ended up 0.2 seconds out of a lucky loser position. Same can be said about Widmer and McMurtry who were in the mix until the final stretch.
Nevertheless, it is very promising to see five Canadian make the top 30 in the sprints. Hopefully a sign for the future.
With the Olympics only five days away, I’m sure there will be a lot of talk and predictions in the upcoming days so stay tuned, it is now the calm before the storm.
Til Then.
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The cah-nah-dians know what’s up. The entire world cup hits the…
img src=”http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxft72EEIw1qzt3xbo1_500.jpg”/br/br/pprebr/The cah-nah-dians know what’s up. The entire world cup hits the Drake br/on Saturday night after the races. Tradition. (via Trainwreck out in Canmore.)br//pre/p
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Classic 5/10 km at Trapps
a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24NULCNAAI/AAAAAAAACRw/tL3cSIO8KMk/s1600-h/IMG_2728.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24NULCNAAI/AAAAAAAACRw/tL3cSIO8KMk/s400/IMG_2728.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435296440493342722″ //aToday we had a combined Eastern Cup, UVM Carnival race. It was cold and clear and 468 racers enjoyed the perfect and stable conditions. It is always fun to get everyone together. It is good for competition and it is fun to see our alums and their families at the race.br /Talk of the day had to be the fact that Heather Mooney and Corey Stock placed 4th and 7th overall for women. I would imagine that will keep people talking for awhile!br /Our team did well, but not as well as we would like. We’re planning to come out charging for tomorrows skate races.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24NBtz9KII/AAAAAAAACRo/pTCMdPBHvT8/s1600-h/IMG_2729.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24NBtz9KII/AAAAAAAACRo/pTCMdPBHvT8/s400/IMG_2729.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435296123411310722″ //aGreat tracks and great skiing at Trapps.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24MpuvxoTI/AAAAAAAACRg/2m8pyfiS5dk/s1600-h/IMG_2742.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24MpuvxoTI/AAAAAAAACRg/2m8pyfiS5dk/s400/IMG_2742.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435295711345353010″ //aAustin hammering an uphill.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24MD5INojI/AAAAAAAACRY/PNj69PM3IL0/s1600-h/IMG_2732.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24MD5INojI/AAAAAAAACRY/PNj69PM3IL0/s400/IMG_2732.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435295061297177138″ //aWalker got to start just as alum Chase Marston skied through so he got a ride for a couple of kms.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24LKQVwX9I/AAAAAAAACRQ/YpBA-Zr09ok/s1600-h/IMG_2724.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S24LKQVwX9I/AAAAAAAACRQ/YpBA-Zr09ok/s400/IMG_2724.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435294071095582674″ //abr /Familiar sight for the J2 girls podium. These 3 have been the top 3 in almost every race and they are skiing fast. Today it was Heathers turn to win, but Corey was only 5 seconds behind and Maddie had a fine race too. This is probably the first time ever that two J2 girls have been in the top 10 at a college carnival.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-1697992189058414768?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
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CANMORE WORLD CUP!!
The Canmore World Cup is in full swing here and the American team has begun to throw down with some awesome results yesterday in the 10/15K skate. Today is the classic sprint and 5 men and 2 women qualified in the top 30 so will do the rounds in 45 minutes. I am headed up to watch, the weather is perfect and I have an off day today. Yesterday was a tough day for me, but it’s funny how the sun can brighten up any mood, and watching others kick ass in their own races. So, today is a new day, and today I am a spectator. Here are a few views of the course and the weather. It doesn’t get any better for cross country skiing.
This photo is dedicated to Paul Mangi who passed away on Wednesday. I remember very vividly walking into Mangis after school with my dad to buy a loaf of bread and seeing Paul and his wife Elaine. They would always hand me a roll, fresh out of the oven, and I can still taste them to this day. My thoughts are with you Elaine and your whole family.
Pat Casey: Glamour Coaching!
Flags for all the countriesMen’s 15K skate
Bomber tracks!
Moon rise
View from Tomas Grandi’s parent’s bed and breakfast. If you ever come to Canmore be sure to look “The Paintbox Lodge” up for accommodations!
