Category: XCFeeds

It really is a scary thought that the world’s best sprinter (Hattestad) couldn’t pass Northug on the final straight today. If the world’s best sprinter can’t who can? On the other side, a somewhat controversial end to the women’s final saw Muranen attempt to skewer Majdic after she was “cut-off” on the final corner but more on that in a bit. br /br /span style=”font-weight:bold;”Women /spanbr /br /The race saw a home-town girl be the fastest qualifier in Muranen who has impressed and been a resurgence this year in the skate sprints. The most disappointing and worrying result today (other than Kikkan’s 49th) was Bjørgen, who by her standards, is having a nightmare season. She mustered a 45th and over 11 seconds back of Muranen. Not long ago was she the one who was the sure bet to win these types of races. Cross-country skiing sure is a funny sport. Kowalcyzk only managed an 11th today and could only manage a 24 points gain on Saarinen today. I expect that gap to close a lot more tomorrow. br /br /The controversy in the women’s sprint started in the semi-finals when Kalla’s start gate failed to open and put her flat on her face. This essentially put her out of contention for an A-final position; but naturally, a complaint was filed by the Swedish team and Kalla was allowed given a 7th starter position in the A-final. I must say that was a fair decision and the correct one given by the judges. Anything less would have been unjustifiable as Kalla had no fault with the wand malfunctioning. That meant only five in the B-final. The promising Marthe Kristoffersen won the B-final edging out Kuitunen. br /br /The next disputable point occurred with about 300m left in the women’s A-final when Majdic had a slight edge on Muranen on the giant turn before the home straight. Majdic decided to go for the best race line. Bad news for Muranen was that Majdic’s best race line involved her cutting Muranen off. This caused Muranen to loose a bit of moment (so Majdic would ski over her tips) and let Follis in second place. Rightly so, Muranen was P.O’ed and took a couple stabs at Madjic’s back before getting back into her stride. Had on of those blows hit Majdic, it surely would’ve broken skin.br /br /Even though Dixon and Goldstrom said that was Majdic did was justifiable, I have to disagree. This event land-straight in the grey area of FIS race rules. On one hand, the rules say racers are entitled to the best race line, while another rule says that one must not impede a fellow racer. Hmmmmmm…I believe Majdic was in the wrong and feel for Muranen (even though she got a little chippy and pushed Majdic and had some hasty words for her in the finishing pen) because she was taking her best race line, but so was Majdic. Perhaps it was a little personal vendetta for Majdic as a similar incident occured last season in a sprint race, but the athletes roles were switched. br /br /Majdic won to not only record another win in her impressive year, but also take over the World Cup Overall bib as she now has a 74 point lead over Saarinen. br /br /

A

Bryan Cook, Gus Kaeding, Caitlin Cassidy, and I drove out to Vally Spur near Munising, MI today to ski.  The annual Taste and Glide event was taking place, and the Nordic Ski Club of Milwaukee was in town for the festivities.  The temperatures got up to almost 40 degrees but there was still tons of snow and perfect grooming.  Conditions were slow, but we do not mind trading speed for sun at this time of year.  For those of you who have never been there, the Valley Spur trails have something to offer for everyone.  There are some difficult trails with long climbs and winding fast downhills.  They also have beginner loops and some longer, more scenic, flat trails.  They groom nearly every day and they have one of the warmest warming houses I’ve ever been in.  It is a very nice day trip from Marquette or weekend get away from anywhere in Wisconsin.

Maria Stuber (CXC Elite), Caitlin Cassidy (NMU), Sandy Sugden, and Anne Riendl (Nordic Ski Club of Milwaukee and Lapham Ladies) at Taste and Glide Food Stop #1.

Caitlin and Maria

Caitlin Cassidy

The Chevy Blazer that Valley Spur uses to groom their trails (Photo credit: www.valleyspur.org).

When the skiers hit the start line, it will mark only 15 days until the end of another magical World Cup campaign. Last year saw the rise of North American male sprinters rise to form with both Newell and Kershaw making it to the A-final. Is a repeat performance on the horizon? With Newell only skiing two races (individual sprint and 4x10km relay) in Liberec, his legs should be really fresh for the race. The men’s field is packed with 87 athletes and all the usual suspects. The women’s side has 63 athletes but some notable absentees for tomorrow, particularly Saarinen. She has come down with the

With only eight races left in the World Cup season, many athletes are gearing up for the finish. It’s a busy schedule with all eight races falling into a 15 day span. A lot can happen in this time, sure the World Cup Sprint trophies are all but wrapped up and will be going to Majdic and Hattestad, but the World Cup Overall trophies are still in play, particularly the women’s with Saarinen, Kowalczyk, Majdic and Kuitunen in contention. Here’s how the different rankings break down going into the final World Cup period…br /br /span style=”font-weight:bold;”Women/spanbr /br /

Didja notice how many different bibs were worn – and sponsors advertised – during the Liberec races? Lots. Short version: the Germans and Austrians love their ski racing. Long version:men’s 50kmInterSport: “IIC-INTERSPORT International Corporation is the purchasing and management company of the INTERSPORT-Group. With its retail turnover of EUR 8.54 billion and more than 5’000 associated retailers

I have been working with 3 different doctors in the Twin Cities.  All are very experienced with compartment syndrome and popeliteal entrapment syndrome, and after reviewing the results from all the tests they are confident that I have popeliteal entrapment syndrome.  They all agree that surgery to fix popeliteal entrapment is what I need to get back to the high level of racing I can be (and want to be) at.  But just to be sure, I have one more ultrasound test on Monday morning.

My season is over for this winter.  The painkillers I’m taking for my constantly hurting legs doesn’t heal the hurt that I have to be done racing untill next winter.  But next winter I will be back… Stronger and faster than ever before!

Skiing in the U.P. has been amazing lately. It’s been warm and sunny and the kick waxing has been easy.  By the looks of it we are going to have a really nice Spring.  Start planning your U.P. Spring skiing vacation now.

From Left to Right: Marie-Helen Soderman, Anna Karin Berglund, Maria Stuber, Morgan Smyth, Kirsten Fjeldheim, Caitlin Cassidy, Ingrid Fjeldheim, Laura Dewitt, Lindsey Dehlin, and Jenny Ryan. Ten people from different places and differnt teams, out working hard and helping eachother reach their goals (Photo credit: Lindsey Dehlin).

I admit, aside from the pictures (which may be more interesting than my writing, and I’m okay with that), I’ve been pretty lazy about posting from over here. Granted, I have posted more pictures of Switzerland than I have for quite some time, so I’m going to give myself a pat on the back for actually using my camera. But enough apologizing and excuse making, time to write something a little more.

embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf” width=”400″ height=”267″ flashvars=”host=picasaweb.google.comRGB=0x000000feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fanniebunce%2Falbumid%2F5309828475606334577%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss” pluginspage=”http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer”/embedbr /Last all team practice of the 08/09 season… team photos, hotdogs and fun at Sun Mountin Lodge!div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/489212310283984495-5415204090279155290?l=methowvalleynordicteam.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf” width=”400″ height=”267″ flashvars=”host=picasaweb.google.comRGB=0x000000feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fanniebunce%2Falbumid%2F5309823024019949393%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss” pluginspage=”http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer”/embedOn February 24th MVNT celebrated the last big ski of the season. Over 100 kids skied to the Town trailhead from as far away as Chickadee, and points in between. The Tree Candy Fairies heard we were coming and left prizes along the trails. Birthday balloons greeted coach, Rob Crandall, upon arrival.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/489212310283984495-9031504346216812463?l=methowvalleynordicteam.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

Kris is bored. As far as I can tell he’s been spending a fair amount of time on the phone. It surfaced, in one of several conversations we’ve had (so far) today, that my number is on speed-dial. Not surprising, considering how frequently we talk. I’m number 9 on Kris’s speed dial.

Number 9 ???!?

OK – the phone probably has number 1 pre-set to voicemail. Julie must be number 2, and his mom must be number 3. Who the hell are 4,5,6,7&8? Kris claims that number 9 is actually a really good number – you know – corner position and all. I think he’s backpedalling like crazy.

We have arrived back in Marquette for a few weeks of training after competing up in Houghton, MI at the Central College Regional races.  These races were open for anyone to compete so CXC teammates Maria, Gus, Brian Gregg, Kristina Owen, JoJo Winters, and I headed up to race a 5/10km classic and 10/15km mass-start skate.  Gus, Maria, and I would like to big a give thank you to Mike and Christine Young who allowed us to stay with them for the weekend.  They were unbelievable hosts and even sent us home with a growler of Keweenaw Brewing Company Blonde Ale.  Thank you very much!

The races came and went as all of us were still feeling quite tired from the Birkie.  The highlights were my 3rd place in the 10km classic and my 2nd place to Brian Gregg in the 15km skate.  Maria scored a solid 2nd in the 10km skate followed my Kristina and JoJo in 3rd and 4th.  Martin Banerud from NMU won the 10km classic by a mere 0.4 seconds, and Laura DeWitt took the 5km classic while Lindsey Dehlin won the 10km skate.  It was a great weekend for NMU as they qualified a full team of six athletes for NCAA’s in Rumford, Maine, while also winning the combined Regionals team title.  We wish everyone good luck at NCAA’s!

embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf” width=”288″ height=”192″ flashvars=”host=picasaweb.google.comRGB=0x000000feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fmtnmind%2Falbumid%2F5309353771870215073%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss” pluginspage=”http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer”/embedbr /br /The MVNT travelled to Bend on Feb. 19-22nd, for the NW High School Championship Races and the last Junior National Qualifier of the season. Thirteen MVNT skiers raced in Bend, and nine qualified for Nationals: Eric Bjornsen, Evan Turner, Matty Coleman, Willie Devin, Casey Smith, Nina Ekblad, Kelsey Dickinson, Sage Abate and Jacqueline O’Keefe. Congratulations to all for a great training season! br /br /Stay tuned for updates from the Junior Nationals in Truckee, CA, March 9-14th.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/489212310283984495-2322090624221550212?l=methowvalleynordicteam.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

An Inspiring Experience

An Inspiring Experience

An Inspiring Experience

Kris had surgery this morning. I’ve talked with him a couple of times on the phone, and it’s been comical. Between the dwindling effects of anaesthesia, the first dose of heavy duty pain medication, and his third cup of post-surgical coffee he’s been fairly hyperactive and nonsensical. All things told it sound (as far as I can tell) as though things went well. They found extensive scarring in his anterior compartments, apparently providing an immediate explanation for at least part of his condition. They released everything available to release, but I don’t know exactly what that means, and neither does Kris. The cross-fade from anaesthesia to caffeine and oxycontin has put Kris in the mood to climb on an airplane and get back over to Europe for the Trondheim 50K. Or maybe, on second thought – the Vasaloppet – that’s pretty much a double-pole race, right? His HR was 28 during surgery, and responded to the first two cups of coffee and consciousness by climbing all the way up to 35. He’s fit, and he’s about to be really bored. 8 days until Julie arrives to keep him company (or whatever).

Race reports coming soon … but why can’t they make race sites like this in the US?