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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: Canadian Nationals

  • Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Team sprint yields another win for Kern with Sonnesyn for SMS T2, University of Utah’s Jager and Keefe take men’s race

    Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Team sprint yields another win for Kern with Sonnesyn for SMS T2, University of Utah’s Jager and Keefe take men’s race

    “You need some Gordie Howe elbows out there today” said the commentator on the live feed at one point during Friday’s Team Sprint in Whistler.

    You know, just in case you needed a reminder that this is Canadian Nationals.

    Alongside his legacy as one of hockey’s greatest players of all time, leaving his mark on the sport as an indomitable force with both his goal scoring and dynamism on the ice,   Howe was known as an — ahem — impassioned athlete. One achieves a “Gordie Howe hat trick” by scoring a goal, making an assist, and engaging in a fight within one game. In short, he was a bit of a wild card, and he wasn’t going to let someone else stand in his way en route to the net.

    In watching the Team Sprint livestream, you can see why a similar need to protect one’s space was relevant. The wet and variable spring weather in Whistler created a tricky mix of fast, wet, and mushy snow conditions that combined with fast mass start sprinting to produce racing that tested a skiers balance and “feel” as much as their lungs and muscles. Or more succinctly, racing that was fun, and a little bit chaotic. Staying upright and not losing your own footing or being taken out by another skier might be more important than technique or tactics.

    Andy Newell (BSF Pro – Coach), Julia Kern (SMS T2), and Cendrine Browne (Fondeurs-Laurentides) chat on the warm up before the freestyle team sprint. (Photo: Doug Stephen / VR 45 Photography)

    Adding another layer to the challenge, the Team Sprint was raced “Dresden-style”, where two partners took turns on a 750 m lap until the pair of them had completed eight total laps. The Nordic skiing equivalent of a short-track skating relay, and with the same flow to the action.

    Early attacks could fizzle out through all or any of factors like a bad transition, fatigue, or a tangle up with another skier. All those factors had the equal and opposite effect as well; no team was truly out of it until they crossed the finish line. A late surge between two teammates could pull together a race, and often did when the fields of 15 teams were unleashed on the course today.

    The 750 m course was an abbreviated version of the sprint course seen on Wednesday. Each lap left the stadium and shot up a steep but short climb which lengthened into a false flat where the mushy snow on course saw some skiers muscle out a V2 while others kept to a light-footed hop-skate. Then skiers shot down a sweeping downhill where the course widened to allow for two different lines, before doing a long left turn into the finishing straight.

    Every skier completed an individual lap of this course in the morning, which when combined with their team partner, yielded a seeding time. With no semi-final, the top 15 fastest combined teams qualified for the Open A finals.

    The women’s team sprint podium saw a win for SMS T2, with Yukon Team 7, University of Utah 1, Craftsbury Green Racing Project, and University of Utah 2 rounding out the top five. (Photo: Joern Rohde / Nordiq Canada)
    Open Women’s

    In the women’s qualifier, Julia Kern (SMS T2) completed the course in the fastest time, 1:21.70. That combined with 8th place Alayna Sonneysn (+3.45 seconds) to give their SMS T2 team the top seed for the women’s A final (combined time 2:46.85). Second seed (combined, +3.73) was earned by Nakkerertok 32’s Hannah Shields (7th, +3.12) and Zoё Williams (13th, +4.01), with third seed (combined, +4.12) going to the University Utah I team of Karianne Dengerud (2nd, +2.34) and Sydney Palmer-Leger (23rd, +5.23).

    When the top-15 teams started in the A final, Alayna Sonneysn shot off the front for SMS T2, which stretched the field out immediately and may have helped avoid the pile ups that had been a feature of the Challengers and College Cup heats earlier in the day. Sonneysn was covered by Yukon Team 7 (Whitehorse), with Sonjaa Schmidt catching Sonnesyn as they rounded the corner into the first exchange. Schmidt also pulled back the entire group, and so the racing was extremely tight as they handed off to their teammates. SMS T2 and the Yukon Team continued to push the pace at the front, with the University of Utah I (UU I, Palmer-Leger and Dengerud) and University of Utah II (UU II, Novie McCabe and Julia Richter) teams bridging the gap to form a four-team group leading the race.

    Team SMS T2, Julia Kern and Alayna Sonnesyn, after taking the win in the SuperTour Team Sprint in Whistler, BC on Friday. (Photo: Nordiq Canada / Nathaniel Mah).

    From there, as the teams swapped partners through laps three, four, five, and six, a strategy of attrition started to emerge from the SMS T2 team of Kern and Sonnesyn. At each exchange, they jumped off the handoff, hopped up the hill, and continuously pushed the pace. Their gap slowly opened at the front, until, like looking up after being taken by a riptide, the mass of racing behind them was unexpectedly distant. By Sonnesyn’s final trip around the course at lap seven, their win was all but secured.

    Sonnesyn said that the goal from SMS T2 was to remain consistent throughout the race, saying in an interview with Nordiq Canada that “I just wanted to be patient. I was a little surprised at the pace we went out [in] because I knew four laps on this course was going to catch up to us quick, but I kept telling myself ‘be patient, go the same pace.”

    In the push for the overall podium behind, a new player had entered the scene. On lap five, Craftsbury’s Caitlin Patterson pushed across the gap to the UU I, UU II, and Team Yukon group. On lap six, her partner Alexandra Lawson held there. As the scrambling partners went out for their final lap on lap seven, UU I and UU II had formed a gap, but when the skiers handed off for the final exchange, a four-team pack came back together with UU I, UU II, Team Yukon, and Craftsbury I.

    Then, it split once again.

    Team Yukon’s Dahria Beatty came off the downhill on course wide to try and take an inside line into the final turn. UU I’s Karianne Dengerud took the downhill corner more inside, and tried to beat Beatty to the inside on the final turn. In the end, Beatty won, and then closed in the final stretch to take Team Yukon (Schmidt & Beatty) to second place (+11.99) behind the first place SMS T2 (12:22.16). UU I (Palmer-Leger & Dengerud) took third (+12.78). 

    The Yukon Team 7 duo of Dahria Beatty and Sonjaa Schmidt were second overall in the women’s team sprint, taking home the Canadian national title. (Photo: Nordiq Canada / Nathaniel Mah)

    The resounding win for the pairing of Kern and Sonneysn punctuated a tremendous week for Stratton Mountain School, and in particular for Kern. Apart from a second place behind teammate Jessie Diggins (SMS T2) in the 10 k skate on Monday, she has won every race at these SuperTour finals, despite tricky and variable conditions. 

    Team Yukon’s (Whitehorse) second place overall gives the pairing of Dahria Beatty and Sonjaa Schmidt top Canadian honors, adding to Beatty’s accumulation of National Championships this week.

    Open Men

    The men’s top individual qualifier was Logan Diekmann (BSF), with a time of 1:12.83, who combined with his BSF Pro I teammate Finn O’Connell (51st, +5.93) to take 5th seed (+4.44). They ran behind the top seeded (2:27.15) University of Utah I (UU I) pairing of Noel Keefe (4th, +0.67) and Luke Jager (5th, +0.82). Second seed (+2.42) went to the SMS T2 team of Finegan Bailey (6th, +1.01) and Bill Harmeyer (14th, +2.91), and third seed went to the Team Brew-ski Canmore (+3.43) pair of Russell Kennedy (3rd, +0.57) and Reed Godfrey (27th, +4.35).

    Xavier McKeever (Foothills Nordic) works with teammate Tom Stephen to win the Canadian National Title in the team sprint. (Photo: Doug Stephen / VR 45 Photography)

    With qualifying times extremely tight across the board, the A final promised to stay close throughout the whole 8 laps.

    Noel Keefe mirrored Alayna Sonnesyn’s move from the women’s final, looking to get ahead of any tangles by pushing the pace from the start for UU I. Once the field was out of the stadium, Keefe tucked in behind Orford’s Leo Granbois, and Orford and UU I went into the first exchange with a slight gap.

    Keefe handed off to Luke Jager, who looked relaxed as he allowed the field to come back together again. Animating the move that closed the gap was Northern Michigan University (NMU) skier Kristoffer Karsrud, who alongside his partner Kjetil Bånerud ducked and weaved at the front of the pack throughout the duration of the race.

    On the 5th lap, another UU team, UU II, moved to the front of the pack, as Brian Bushey put in a surge. When Bushey and Keefe handed off to Bjørn Riksåsen and Jager, the race looked like it may turn into a UU team practice for the last couple of laps. That was, until Scott Patterson flew in from Alaska Pacific University (APU) in his last time around the course on lap seven. Following Patterson’s move was Bånerud from NMU, and as the four team pack of UU I, UU II, APU, and NMU went into the final exchange, it became clear; the Team Sprint would well and truly live up to the sprint moniker.

    Jager for UU I came out of the exchange with a slight advantage over the field. APU’s Logan Hanneman countered that by exploding up the climb leaving the stadium. Jager used the downhill to catch Hanneman, with Rikssasen (UU II) and Karsrud (NMU) in tow. Jager, the youngest of the bunch but with plenty of sprint experience, got the inside edge into the final turn. He exploded off of that corner into the final stretch, lifting a ski and two poles as he came across the line to take the win for UU I (11:15.32).

    Luke Jager closes for the University of Utah 1 team, taking the win alongside teammate Noel Keeffe. (Photo: Doug Stephen / VR 45 Photography)

    Hanneman finished in second (+1.39) for APU, and the NMU team finished third with Karsrud crossing the line (+1.45) right behind.

    Outside of the mix for most of the race, the Foothills I team of Xavier McKeever and Tom Stephen deftly moved through the pack to come in fifth overall and claim the Canadian title on the day.

    The University of Utah pairing of Jager and Keefe were especially happy to win this edition of the Team Relays, saying to Nordiq Canada that “It’s a mix-up [in these relays]. Since the race got canceled at SuperTour finals two years ago, we had this race in our scopes. The qualifier went well, we had good skis, and the race turned out great.”

    University of Utah’s Noel Keefe and Luke Jager took the SuperTour and overall win in the team sprint, with APU’s Scott Patterson and Logan Hanneman in second. (Photo: Joern Rohde / Nordiq Canada)

    Full Results:

    Qualifiers | Finals

     

  • Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Julia Kern wins again, while Xavier McKeever takes first Canadian title in Classic Sprint

    Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Julia Kern wins again, while Xavier McKeever takes first Canadian title in Classic Sprint

    Julia Kern (SMS T2) and Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse) fist bump at the finish of the women’s classic sprint final. (Photo: Doug Stephen / VR 45 Photography)

    Racing at the joint Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals resumed on Wednesday, showcasing some of the best racers in North America facing off for a classic sprint. 

    As the Whistler Olympic Park was home for cross country skiing during the 2010 Vancouver Games, the classic sprint course on Wednesday was one that played host to an important stepping stone in North American skiing history. In that competition, both American and Canadian skiers solidified the inroads they had made into the top echelons of the sport through the burgeoning discipline of sprinting. Names like Kikkan Randall (USA), Daria Gaiazova (CAN), Chandra Crawford (CAN), Devon Kershaw (CAN), and Simi Hamilton (USA) all qualified for heats, while gracing the television screens of many athletes who now, twelve years later, carried momentum from those inspiring performances onto today’s start line in Whistler.

    If my waxing nostalgia about those 2010 Olympics is making you open a new tab to see if they’re available to revisit on YouTube, let me help you: they are! But before you go, let me send you an assignment: watch how Marit Bjørgen and Justyna Kowalczyk race the final on the 1.2 k course (the men raced a 1.4 k course). Ok, here’s the link (46:16 for the final, and yes, the genders are flipped in the title).

    What you’ll have seen if you completed this FasterSkier sidequest (trademark pending) is that the rolling course at Whistler presented two distinct tactical options for the skiers who made it into the heats on Wednesday. One: the Kowalczyk – attack on the steep climb that left the stadium to try and create a gap on the field that would hold as you went into the first downhill and leave you with an advantage on the second (and final) climb, or two: the Bjørgen –  hold onto the pace-setter until the second hill, when a punchy attack could leave a skier with a distinct advantage going into the mostly downhill approach to the stadium and subsequent final stretch. The latter approach worked in 2010 for Bjørgen, but 2022 was twelve years on and a different field with the SuperTour.

    Before we got to the heats, however, we, and the skiers, had to go through qualifying. 

    The Classic Sprint started off with the women’s champion in the 10 k Classic yesterday, Julia Kern (SMS T2). And after every racer in the women’s field completed the course, Kern finished in first too (3:11.14). Her qualifier was commanding, with second place Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse) +6.58 seconds back. In third place was Alayna Sonnesyn (SMS T2) (+7.54), in a field that otherwise was tight all the way through to the last heat qualifier, 30th place Mariah Bredal (BSF) (+21.37).

    The men’s field that followed proved to be an even tighter affair. At the top of the field, less than a second split first place Andreas Kirkeng (Denver University) (3:09.82), second place Luke Jager (University of Utah) (+0.41) and third place Logan Hanneman (APU) (+0.88). It was only +11.97 seconds back to the last heat qualifier in 30th place, Montana State’s Reed Godfrey.

    The women’s US SuperTour podium saw Julia Kern take the top step ahead of Caitlin Patterson and Sydney Palmer-Leger. (Photo: Joern Rohde / Nordiq Canada)
    Women’s Open

    In the women’s open quarterfinals, the top qualifiers were able to win their heats handily. Julia Kern turned in the fastest quarterfinal in the field, finishing first in a time of 3:29.93, ahead of Novie McCabe (+1.93), who advanced to the semifinals by taking second place. Kern’s fast pace-setting in heat one proved to animate the field from the gun, and third place Zoë Williams (Nakkertok) was rewarded for keeping pace with one of the lucky loser spots (+3.56).

    That pattern held in the 2nd heat, when a pack loaded with talent including Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury), Alexandra Lawson (Craftsbury), Sydney Palmer-Leger (University of Utah), Sophia Laukli (University of Utah) and Cendrine Brown (Fondeurs-Laurentides) set a furious pace from the start and held it all the way through. In a five-person sprint, Patterson took first (3:32.13), and Lawson second (+0.55), to take the automatic semi-final bids. In third place, Sydney Palmer-Leger (+1.47) took the other lucky loser spot.

    When the first semi-final took to the start-line, it was filled with five skiers from those first two quarterfinals, with the sixth, 16-year-old Samantha Smith (Sun Valley), having won the third quarterfinal (3:36.43). It was no surprise then, when the “fast from the gun” tactics of those quarterfinals followed into the semis. Julia Kern (SMS T2) again attacked as soon as they hit the first incline out of the stadium, and held her lead throughout. The only skier that proved to be able to match her pace through the course was Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury), and it would be those two who took the automatic advancement places to the finals; Kern in first (3:34.27) and Patterson second (+3:35.27).

    Behind them, two of the youngest bright stars of US women’s skiing had shown their intrepid ability to match their older counterparts, with Palmer-Leger (UU) taking third place (+3.47) and Novie McCabe (UU)  taking fourth (+3.74) in a sprint ahead of Samantha Smith (Sun Valley) (+4.03). For their efforts, the third and fourth place pairing advanced to the finals.

    In the second semi-final, previous Canadian Sprint National Champion Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse) was able to take first place (3:38.39) ahead of second place Laurence Dumais (Fondeurs-Laurentides) (+0.34) for the second heat in a row. They finished strong in a pack that otherwise remained tight throughout, and created separation in the last stretch to finish ahead of third place Alayna Sonnesyn (SMS T2) (+1.18) and fourth place Katharine Ogden (SMS T2) (+3.45).

    The final field then, was set. For the overall win, four US women – Julia Kern (SMS T2), Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury), Sydney Palmer-Leger (UU), and Novie McCabe (UU) – and two Canadian women – Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse) and Laurence Dumais (Fondeurs-Laurentides) – would compete. That latter pairing also made the matter of the Canadian Sprint National title on the line simple; a duel between Beatty and Dumais.

    Julia Kern strikes again in the women’s classic sprint, taking the win ahead of Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) and Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse). (Photo: Doug Stephen / VR 45 Photography)

    Kern, spurred on by her success racing hard from the gun all day, went for it again. In an interview with Nordiq Canada she said, “All day I just wanted to ‘send it’ – practice skiing hard and not taking any chances out there. My form and fitness is really good so I wanted to try and not leave it until the end.”

    The whole field was tasked with matching her confidence…and her speed. As in the semi-finals before, just one was up to the task the whole 1.2 k through; Caitlin Patterson. Behind her, Dahria Beatty led a charge to try and keep pace, but as she said in an interview with Nordiq Canada “I was confident in my finish but trying not to lose time on the uphills today. Unfortunately, [in the final], I let a gap open up to Caitlin [Patterson] and wasn’t able to close back on that.”

    And “send it” Kern did in the final. Kern took the pace out hot from the start. With a look over her shoulder, she saw that she had gapped the field by the top of the long striding climb, a position which she held, despite a bobble on the tight left hand curve on the subsequent descent, comfortably through the finish to win by several seconds.

    Patterson having lead the chase group after a gap throughout the heat, found herself sprinting with a powerful doublepole into the stadium to hold her ground in second place.

    Behind them, the race for the last podium spot coalesced around Beatty, Palmer-Leger and McCabe. As they entered the stadium together, Beatty stuck to a strategy that her coach pointed out earlier in the day, “it was working really well to try and go in the outside in the finish chute because people hadn’t skied there in the qualifier.”

    With that bit of tactical maneuvering, she opened up a gap on the two UU teammates behind her, and came across the line in third place overall (+6.16). In doing so, she also came across with a Canadian National title – her second Canadian Sprint title (and first classic). Following her in the Canadian Nationals race was second place Laurence Dumais (Fondeurs-Laurentide), who finished the finals heat in 6th place (+21.57). Based on her time in the semi-final, Zoë Williams (Nakkertok) took third place.

    Kern’s win marked her second in a row at SuperTour finals this week, which have been marked by all sorts of varying conditions that she has used to her advantage, saying to Nordiq Canada:

    “I love variable conditions. Everyone says if it’s a rainy day, it’s a Julia Kern day – I’ve thrived under those conditions before…it makes you have to adjust your skiing and that makes you a better athlete.”

    The Canadian women’s sprint podium, with Dahria Beatty coming out on top in the classic sprint. (Photo: Joern Rohde / Nordiq Canada)
    Men’s Open

    The men’s quarterfinals saw a similar pattern to the women’s, with experienced sprinters grouping together in heats, attacking early, and producing fast times that punctuated the number of racers they sent to the semi-finals. For the men that happened in quarterfinal two, with Graham Ritchie (Georgian Nordic), Antoine Cyr (Skinouk), Kjetil Bånerud (Northern Michigan), Bill Harmeyer (SMS T2), and Étienne Hébert (Montériski) all pushing each other to the line. When the five skiers came into the final stretch, it ended up being Ritchie (3:23.11) and Cyr (+0.32) who took the first and second spots, respectively. Both lucky losers came from the heat, with Bånerud in third (+0.95) and Harmeyer fourth (+1.73).

    Ritchie, Cyr, and Harmeyer would all meet again in the first semi-final. There, they were joined by Andreas Kirkeng (DU), Logan Diekmann (BSF), and Magnus Bøe (CU). With tight racing throughout, Kirkeng was able to gain an advantage and hold off all challengers as he advanced to the final in first place (3:22.97) ahead of second place Antoine Cyr (+0.83). The aggressive tactics of Ritchie and Cyr again proved to push the entire field forward, with Ritchie the benefactor when his third place finish (+1.47) secured him a lucky loser spot alongside fourth place Logan Diekmann (+2.76).

    The second semi-final, meanwhile, was a duel between the young stars from both sides of the 49th parallel. American Luke Jager (UU) and Canadian Xavier McKeever battled to a sprint finish in which Jager took first place (3:23.34) and McKeever took second (+0.50) to advance to the finals.

    Jager and McKeever stepped up alongside Antoine Cyr (Skinouk), Andreas Kirkeng (DU), Graham Ritchie (Georgian Nordic), Magnus Bøe (CU) and Logan Diekmann (BSF). The two young skiers showed no signs of timidness against their older competitors. Jager launched an attack on the first hill that opened a gap as the field rounded the corner leading into the final climb. McKeever was back in the field, looking to “limit damage, if I’m honest” as he said in an interview with Nordiq Canada.

    He followed Graham Ritchie, who was leading the charge to try and catch up to Jager. When they crested the hill, Ritchie, McKeever, and Kirkeng had all managed that feat – joining up with Jager as they went into the downhill leading to the stadium.

    McKeever was still at a disadvantage though, back in the pack, when the curious mix of rain, ice, and sunshine that had worked the snow at Whistler park all day became a factor. As McKeever said to Nordiq Canada, “going into the downhill I had insane boards, and was able to glide back up to the leaders and double-pole from a good position.”

    Xavier McKeever (Foothills Nordic) takes the classic sprint win with Antoine Cyr (Skinouk) on his tails and Luke Jager (University of Utah) chasing in the lane to his left. (Photo: Doug Stephen / VR 45 Photography)

    When he found himself in that good position he could hardly believe it, “I was just stoked to be in the final and top-three in Canada. Going into that finish was insane, and I knew I had to get to the finish line as quickly as possible to try and steal [the National title].”

    What he categorized as stealing, we’ll categorize as earned. The 18 year-old out-sprinted North America’s best head-to-head, winning the overall race, and his first Canadian National title in a time of 3:19.72. Behind him in second place was fellow Canadian Antoine Cyr (+1.38), with Luke Jager rewarded for his long-range attack with a third place overall (+1.99). Graham Ritchie, finishing fifth overall, rounded out the Canadian Nationals podium (+4.13) after a day of leading out attacks in every heat he raced.

    It a promising indicator for Canada’s young up-and-comers with McKeever taking on a field of North America’s best and eeking out a win. For McKeever though, the race was only a preparation for bigger things to come, saying post-race that, “I’ve had some really good sprints this year, so I just wanted to try and challenge myself [racing up] since this is the course that we’ll be racing at World Juniors next year.”

    The Canadian national podium for the classic sprint saw the young Xavier McKeever take the win ahead of Olympic classic team sprint duo Antoine Cyr and Graham Ritchie. (Photo: Joern Rohde / Nordiq Canada)

    Racing continues Friday with a freestyle team sprint, which can be live-streamed here.

    Full Results:

    Qualifiers  | Open and U20 Heats

     

  • Martin and Kern Stride to the Top on Day Two in Whistler

    Martin and Kern Stride to the Top on Day Two in Whistler

    Carrying the momentum from the first day of racing into a second distance event, athletes lined up once more at the Whistler Olympic Park for a 10 / 15-kilometer interval start classic. Over 130 men and 90 women participated in the open categories, representing clubs across Canada and the United States. 

    Adding a springtime layer of complexity to remind us that we are officially past the equinox, temperatures in Whistler hovered above freezing while a mix of precipitation fell off and on throughout the day. Webcams of the venue showed the spectacular mountain backdrop hidden amongst dense clouds and conifers still laden with the week’s snow.

    It’s a humidity-temperature combo that makes classic waxing tricky. Consequently, many athlete chose to use “hairies”, which are known as “rub skis” in Canada, essentially foregoing kick wax and opting instead for a sandpapered kick zone. For those with strong striding technique, this achieves grip without as significant a risk of icing issues, as klisters can be known create in such conditions. 

    Top Canadian U20 racer Xavier McKeever (Foothills Nordic), who was 13th overall today, explained how this changes the game for those who haven’t had the experience: “You have to be a bit more careful with your kicks and a bit more gentle, because they can slip out really easily. That was the biggest focus for me [today], just to try and ski technically well.”

    Craftsbury’s Adam Martin takes the 15 k classic win in Whistler. (Photo: Doug Stephen / VR 45 Photography)

    Following 10 k sitting and standing events contested by Nordiq Canada’s Para Nordic athletes, the open men’s category headed out for the three 5 k loops. In a close race for the top podium spot, Craftsbury’s Adam Martin took the win with a time of 40:29.3. Martin was chased by today’s Canadian National Champion, Antoine Cyr (Skinouk) who hunted his times from 19 bibs behind.  

    Though Cyr led through the first 10 k, a strong closing lap from Martin moved the American to the lead in the splits, with Cyr skiing the third fastest final lap to take second (+1.3). Canmore’s Russell Kennedy was third overall (+13.1) for the second spot on the Canadian podium, while fellow Canmore athlete Sam Hendry, who now trains with the University of Utah, was third for Canada in fifth overall (+48.0). Both Cyr and Kennedy had also raced onto the podium in yesterday’s 10 k free. 

    “I felt really good today,” Martin wrote to FasterSkier after the race. “Particularly in the second half, I started to figure out how to best race this course and these conditions, and I found a good place mentally to push. I’m really happy with the outcome – that was a dream to win.”

    The men’s 15 k classic podium in Whistler: Adam Martin (CGRP) took the win ahead of Antoine Cyr (Skinouk), and Russell Kennedy (Canmore Nordic). (Photo: Joern Rohde / Nordiq Canada)

    A successful season of SuperTour racing has Martin ranked at the top of the rankings, and earned him starts in post-Olympic World Cup events. After taking third at the American Birkie, Martin headed to Norway to race the 50 k classic at Holmenkollen, where he finished 26th. The following weekend, he skied to 44th in the 15 k free in Falun, Sweden. A week later, Martin is back with his Craftsbury team and standing atop the US SuperTour podium. 

    “It’s nice to return from the World Cup and still feel in good shape. After two 50 k’s, and travel, and a season that I’m really happy with, everything is a bonus at this point. I think it’s great that we are able to combine with Canada for these races. There are a lot of guys at a similar level, so it makes for some tight, fun racing.”

    A 23-year-old Quebec native, Cyr’s best results have been in classic this season, namely an 11th place finish in the opening World Cup 15 k classic in Ruka, Finland, and racing with Graham Ritchie to put the Canadian team in fifth during the Olympic classic team sprint in Zhangjiakou. After the team sprint, he was praised by both his teammate and coach Erik Bråten, along with armchair quarterback Devon Kershaw, for his classic technique.

    “Classic is always good for me and is a race I love,” Cyr said of today’s 15 k in a post-race interview with Nordiq Canada. “It was tough conditions this morning, and a good skier normally comes out on top in hard conditions. I was able to ski well, focus on the race, and came second overall, which is a little bittersweet because it was a really tight battle in the end. But it was really fun, the track is amazing. It’s an Olympic standard track, so it’s just really good.”

    Antoine Cyr races for the Canadian National Title in the 15 k classic in Whistler. (Photo: Nordiq Canada / Nathaniel Mah)

    In his second lap, Cyr had caught yesterday’s winner, Rémi Drolet (Team Black Jack), whom Cyr credited in supporting his strong result today.

    “When I saw was closing the gap on him on the first lap, I decided to go a little harder than I planned to catch up with him. [I then tried] to relax behind him for a lap or half of a lap.. In the end, I was missing a little bit on the last lap. I think that that helped for sure, skiing with someone strong like Rémi.”

    Finally, Cyr spoke to the importance of an international field featuring all age groups coming together this week, particularly on the heels of a two-year hiatus due to pandemic restrictions.

    “It is so good for the young kids — us older guys, we’ve been racing on the World Cup, but like the juvenile and junior, they almost have no races in Canada. To have a big event like this is just amazing and we’ve been looking at the younger guys’ results for an hour yesterday, seeing who’s in good form, and who’s coming up, and you are the next guys to be like taking over. So for them, it is awesome, and for us too, racing with the US is always — it should always be like this.”

    Joining Martin for the SuperTour podium, BSF Pro Team athlete Finn O’Connell was 7th overall (+1:06.4) and second American, with University of Utah’s Luke Jager half a second behind in 8th overall (+1:06.9).

    Julia Kern strides for the win in tricky conditions during the 10 k classic in Whistler. (Photo: Doug Stephen / VR 45 Photography)

    In the women’s 10 k, SMS T2’s Julia Kern skied a strong second lap to take the win in her second consecutive day on the podium, stopping the clock at 29:54.3. Her club and national teammate, Jessie Diggins, took the second step finishing +18.3 back, while University of Utah’s Sophia Laukli skied to third (+1:03.2).

    Looking at tough conditions, Kern explained she raced by trial and error today, exploring which techniques were most efficient on different sections.

    “I kind of had an open mindset going in today,” she told Nordiq Canada after the race. “I knew that the tracks might be a little bit punchy or washed out in sections, and so I was double pulling wide or double polling narrow or just like power striding on the flats if it was getting too punchy out there. So just trying it all.”

    She continued that she was looking to “have fun, send it from the start, and see if I could hold that pace the whole time,” which she ultimately proved able to do. It’s the time of year where the hay is in the barn training-wise, and athletes have had a long season, leaving them in varying states heading into the last hurrah. On whether she was looking to just have fun at these races, or whether it was a serious quest for the podium, Kern said “both”.

    “I think the end of the season is always really fun. It’s so cool to have this many athletes here. And I’ve been feeling really good the last few weeks and so enjoying racing when it does feel good and when I’m able to push really hard. We’re all really tired at the end of the season, but also, when the body’s in form you might as well take advantage of it and send it on the course.” 

    The women’s 10 k classic podium on day 2 in Whistler: Julia Kern (SMS T2) took the win ahead of Jessie Diggins (SMS T2) and Sophia Laukli (Univ. of Utah). (Photo: Joern Rohde / Nordiq Canada)

    Winning back-to-back Canadian National titles, Katherine Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok Nordique) was again on top for the Canucks, finishing sixth overall (+1:17.5). Finishing in the same order as yesterday, Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse Ski Club) was second for Canada in eighth overall (+1:55.0), while Cendrine Browne (Fondeurs-Laurentides) rounded out the podium in ninth overall (+2:14.5). 

    “I went out really hard knowing that that’s what I had to do if I wanted to make the podium,” Stewart-Jones said of her race. “I had a good first lap, and I definitely slowed down a lot on the first part of the second lap. I was just tired and was having a hard time staying in the zone and keeping the rhythm, but I was able to pull it together a bit for the second half of the second lap. So I was really happy with that. And I was happy with how hard I pushed. I just didn’t have it quite in me today, and sometimes that happens.”

    On the importance of focusing on her technique on this type of course with sub-optimal conditions, she continued, “It’s really important, especially on the climbs. The grip isn’t always perfect in these conditions, so you really have to make sure to stay on top of your skis. If you get tired and you start leaning forward, then it makes it even harder to kick… And then on the flatter sections, it was a bit awkward, and you had to expect that. Either you’re striding awkwardly or you’re doing a kick double pool, but your poles are sinking. You have to just really focus on committing to whatever you decide to do and not like trying to switch too much between.”

    Speaking to already standing atop two podiums, Stewart-Jones responded with pride, while also acknowledging that the overall win would be sweeter.

    “Oh, it’s definitely nice to be winning the national championship title… because we’re racing against the Americans, I obviously care about the overall too, so maybe it feels a little less exciting, but for sure, I’m proud of that.”

    Katherine Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok Nordique) takes back-to-back national titles in the women’s 10 k classic in Whistler. (Photo: Doug Stephen / VR 45 Photography)

    In order to get closer to the overall podium, she said he would focus on resting as much as possible and maintaining the head space to perform her best. “It’s been a long season and I haven’t raced this much in a long time. I think everyone’s pretty tired. But also just being able to also be mentally strong [over the next races]. And yeah, you never know what’s gonna happen.”

    Racing continues Wednesday with individual classic sprints, which will be live-streamed by the Black Tusk Nordic Events Society. If you’re looking for additional video updates, follow along on the Nordiq Canada and Black Tusk Instagram pages. 

    Full Results

  • Tour d’Uncertainty 2020: A Personal Journey

    Tour d’Uncertainty 2020: A Personal Journey

    Road Trip Day 1 (Tuesday)

    It all started at home, grinding out quality training hours in spectacularly good ski conditions. The plan was simple: A skiing road trip with three World Cup events, followed by Nationals/SuperTour finals at home, culminating in a 50km against the best skiers in North America. Start Wednesday March 11th, arrive home on the 24th, and closing out the racing season on April 2nd.

    Skiing at home before leaving for Nordork's Dream Trip. This is Sovereign Lake, March 9th, 2020.
    Skiing at home before leaving for Nordork’s Dream Trip. This is Sovereign Lake, March 9th, 2020.

    With restricted training opportunities during the trip, it was important to log quality hours before heading out for what would be a two week ‘masters taper’. 

    The first stage of the trip was driving to Canmore. With the Monashee, Selkirk, and Rocky mountain ranges separating home from Canmore, it is always good to have flexibility to travel between storms. With a snowfall warning and 25cm expected late Tuesday through Wednesday, we decided to drive early Tuesday. The plan worked. We were ahead of the storm by Revelstoke (two hours into the trip) and had bare and dry roads for the majority of the drive. We arrived in Canmore before noon, local time, and we set out for a ski. 

    Canmore is an unusual ski area in that it is located in a precipitation shadow and relies almost entirely on snowmaking. Before the 2016 Ski Tour Canada, locals told us that it hadn’t snowed since December. It was easy to find the race course a week out from that event: A thin line of snow snaked around the course and the 4km night loop. As we only make the drive for events like World Cups and nationals, we had never seen Canmore fully open.

     Seeing every trail open was a shock, but a good one. Everyone had said the skiing was great this year, but the same people describe Frozen Thunder as great. 2016 was a pretty good visit, but as it was the end of the Tour de Food Poisoning, we didn’t fully appreciate having a few rec trails open. (Food Poisoning? Our delayed arrival in Gatineau for STC 2016 resulted in us sharing dinner with the Swedish team. We then had 8 days where we couldn’t stay hydrated and the Swedish team had terrible results for the full tour. Charlotte Kalla described her experience on that tour as ‘shit’. I didn’t have the courage to ask how literally she meant that.)

    Canmore was spectacular and ready to go. This will be a sprint point at the top of a long climb.
    Canmore was spectacular and ready to go. This was a planned sprint point at the top of a long climb.

    After skiing a few laps of the Canmore race course, it was not possible to escape that superhero feeling. With real snow, the descents are much less thrilling and the heart rate actually drops. Climbs become a matter of floating a good tempo while watching sunlit mountains, not just eyes down chasing clean snow.

    After so many visits, it suddenly became clear why people choose to live in Canmore. Skiing up a climb and remembering Beckie Scott blowing up the group on that exact spot way back in 2005, I felt the road trip was worthwhile just to see Canmore at its best.

    Almost back to the stadium and it is hard to stay focussed on skiing when the scenery looks like this. Canmore March 10th, 2020.
    Almost back to the stadium, but it is hard to stay focused on skiing when the scenery looks like this. Canmore March 10th, 2020.

    After the ski, new realities began to set in and it became clear we would have to skip the Minnesota leg of the trip. Missing the first US World Cup since 2001, missing Jessie Diggins finally racing at home, missing the Europeans experiencing the hotbed of US skiing, missing a chance to ski in a place I have never visited.

    It was a blow, but you can’t ignore expert advice. Visiting Minnesota would almost certainly come with a 14 day quarantine that was not compatible with the primary season goal of racing the 50km at Nationals on my home trail system.

    This decision was shortly followed by the announcement that Norway had done the wise thing and stopped their team from travelling to Canada. Anyone who was exposed to Coronavirus in Oslo during Holmenkollen would start to show symptoms in Québec.

    Road Trip Day 2 (Wednesday)

    The Bow Trail has this little offshoot to see a 360 degree view. March 11, 2020.
    Canmore’s Bow Trail has this little offshoot to see a 360 degree view. March 11, 2020.

    Day two of the road trip was a bonus day at Canmore as our original schedule had us driving in the morning. The ski plan was for zone 4 intensity while staying out of sight of the elite distance skiers (Canadian and otherwise) training here. This was a calming session before what was going to be a difficult afternoon interview with the Canmore event chair, Norbert Meier. 

    The news got better while I was offline skiing those amazing rec trails (Bow and Rundle!), with a pandemic officially declared and approval to continue with the all three World Cup events confirmed. The result was a shorter and easier interview with Meier, followed by confirmation that the Italian team was taken out by Italy’s lockdown despite arriving in Québec.

    Two nations down (Norway and Italy), one destination removed –but the trip goes on.

    Québec City LOC confirmed athletes were skiing in sunshine, the spectators would be safe, and that a new mixed zone design would keep both athletes and media safe. Sovereign Lake confirmed that Nationals was approved to proceed.  Canmore was predicting great weather and the sun was out. All good news until the USA closed their borders against Europe. The Minnesota World Cup was cancelled shortly after.

    Road Trip Day 3 (Thursday)

    Day three started with an early dash to the airport and a chance to think about the cancellation of the Minnesota WC. As we listened to the ‘switch devices to airplane mode’ announcement, an email arrived with subject line ‘Nordiq Canada Cancels’. Our skis were loaded, the doors were locked, and we were about to take off. Definitely too late to hear news from Québec.

    A stolen 30 seconds of internet later, the full message was worse: Nationals and SuperTour finals were cancelled.

    My home club worked hard to win the bid for Nationals and put together the event: Partnering with SuperTour, finding sponsors, preparing trails, upgrading one of the BR 400 snowcats, setting the race loops full FIS-width through six weeks of almost daily snowfalls.

    I personally committed to racing the 50km in August, resulting in a new training plan and a lot of time spent preparing to race a very different style of course than masters are accustomed to. None of that matters. Decision made. Dreams broken. Partnerships strained. When we finally return, it will be to a club staring down a large financial problem and angry friends. Cancellation insurance does not usually pay out on global events or government decisions, but there were photos of the waxing tents set up on Wednesday and that money is spent.

    Success is easy. It is easy to divide up profits in a joint event. All the partners stay friendly even if they argue about who gets how much money. Dividing up losses on a cancelled event is ugly. Volunteers lose heart when their hard work evaporates. Sponsors think twice about future events. Money already spent is simply lost.

    This is a common occurrence in winter sports and it is my club’s turn to feel the pain. Will it hurt less in Minnesota? Nope. Will I know less people who are hurt in Minnesota? Yes, but all those volunteers, sponsors, and organizers feel just as bad as my friends at Sovereign do. And myself: I only spent about 20 hours on the bid process and would have spent a few more hours collecting social media content for final promotion. Despite this tiny investment, I feel the pain. Most of my social circle invested far more time than I did and their pain will reflect that. 

    For me, there is more pain to come. I will find a silver lining to all those training hours. The thrill of being the only racer with a three digit license number will somehow balance the fact that the club can’t afford to refund registrations and Nordiq Canada will not refund that license I will now never use. The total pain of racing a 10km to earn essential CPL points will be re-interpreted as a character building experience. 

    Next year, there were going to some fun new events at the club. Can they happen as the club rebuilds financially? Probably not, but we won’t know until after closing day on April 12th when the accountants will have the full picture.

    Next year’s national team selections rely heavily on results at Nationals. Period 1 selections likewise. Nordiq Canada will have to pivot away from the rebuilding plans to deal with short term challenges. 

    So many athletes mentioned to me that one specific event at Nationals was one of their season goals. Sorry, goodbye to all that.

    Sport is often about dealing with disappointment. Ingvild Flugstad Østberg followed up the joy of finally winning the World Cup overall with missing the start and end of this season for health reasons. Klæbo acted his age and broke fingers gifting Bolshunov the overall title in what would have been a spectacular battle, following up last year’s battle that fizzled out with one day to go when Bolshunov broke a pole.

    What we admire about athletes is their ability to bounce back, to find a way to fight again. Not all succeed, which is why we celebrate those who do. Away from the perfection of Instagram and the TV cameras, the pain, the uncertainty, the self-unconfidence all play out before the tough ones find their way back to the hard work which is both path and reward.

    For the people who host events, there are only bright lights and TV cameras when everything has turned to custard. Their wins are not noticed, their failures are celebrated. Where do these people find the courage to bounce back and try again?  

    Beyond these worries, day three continues to be exciting. On landing in Toronto, we read an announcement that people arriving in Québec should self-quarantine for 14 days and that indoor events with more than 250 people must be cancelled, shortly followed by the suspension of the NHL season. 

    To fly on or turn back? Canmore announced their own cancellation during this brief stop. Meier sent an apology, as he got the first warning that precipitated this decision only a few minutes after our interview Wednesday.

    A call to Jeff Ellis, Nordiq Canada’s Event Director, confirmed that Québec City (QC) was proceeding as an outdoor event. Simple answer, get on the (delayed) connection to QC with Jessie Diggins (who had been keeping her social distance in the waiting area like the total professional she is) and hope for the best. At the QC airport, NC’s Dave Dyer was there to pick up his colleagues from the flight. He laughed when he saw we had a ski bag. Does he know something we don’t? Always.

    QC is a great place to visit and a better place to eat. We had a good dinner next to the French Ski Team’s wax techs and ignored their speculation about meetings while reading about BC’s new 14 day self-quarantine rules. One of the nice things about four World Cup events in a five year period is that we have favourite places to eat and drink here.

    Day Four (Friday)

    The finish in Québec City, a few minutes after the season finished early on Friday the 13th.
    The finish in Québec City, a few minutes after the season finished early on Friday the 13th.

    We woke to freezing rain and a press release stating  Canada’s ski team was dropping out – a stance taken in solidarity with Norway, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, and the United States. The rain turned to snow before the LOC, Gestev, sent their own press release at 8am cancelling the event.

    Many athletes were braving the wind and driving snow to get in a morning ski while FasterSkier waited for an interview with FIS Cross Country Race Director Pierre Mignerey. Ellis filled in some time explaining the details of the cancellation.

    At the event hotel, there was time to catch up on the news and grab a few interviews. Here’s what I learned: Canada decided at the team meeting at 8pm Thursday that pulling out of the event was the only option. As much as NC, FIS, and the LOC have contracts requiring them to make every effort to go ahead, the team has to protect the athletes. FIS was notified after that meeting. NC sent out the press release at 1am, and FIS formally cancelled at 8am.

    Ellis also explained the personal side for the Canadian athletes, who paid for their own flights and accommodation.

    “Our athletes here, we feel bad for them. I have one world cup start, as a nations group starter. Was I a competitive world cup skier? No, I was third last, but I can say I did a world cup. I empathize with our athletes, that this was their chance to get one. At the same time, we have to keep them here, knowing that they’re going to have to back through international airports. We can say they are safe in the bubble here, but we have to think about what we are sending them home to. The longer we keep them here, we are putting them at risk if we start to see shutdowns in the country. At the end of the day, that’s more important.”

    An ugly scenario, but at each point people made the only decision they could. While governments had been signalling that travel and assembly guidelines would change, it is not possible to cancel a multi-million dollar event based on speculation. 

    “What changed in 8 hours yesterday, from BC, to Ontario schools closing for two weeks, to curling, to figure skating, we don’t want to be the last one standing in this regard, it’s not an enviable position to be in,” Ellis said about BC’s 14 day self-isolation rules, the World Curling Championship in two BC cities, and World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal.

    In large events like these, there is a complicated dance around the contracts between partners. The only accepted reason for the LOC to cancel is the legal concept of ‘force majeure’, which is something beyond the control of the LOC. This could be a lack of snow causing a jury decision, a safety issue, or a government decree. At Holmenkollen, it was the City of Oslo that ordered the event closed to spectators. in Québec, the withdrawal of six teams precipitated the declaration.

    It seems likely that event contracts for sports and conferences will be worded differently in the future.

    As Mignerey said, it is a small family driving around and skiing in different places. At the sudden end of a long season, there were a lot of hugs and a lot of people carefully not shaking hands. Standing on the edge of this crowd feels like being a plus-one at a family reunion: Everyone is friendly and welcoming, but there is a closeness and history that the guest is not part of.

    The silver lining, because we always need some light on dark days, is that I shot video from a World Cup venue. If Jessie Diggins can dredge up some positive to have a friendly conversation shortly after having her dreams crushed, I can enjoy this twisting road trip that didn’t quite live up to the brochure.

    How to sum up?

    Athletes had their dreams crushed. Some will never get their first World Cup start.

    Organizing Committees worked hard and were inadvertently rewarded with deficits and disappointment. Fans lost the chance to see some great racing on fabulous snow.

    In the bigger world around us, the picture is different. People are watching family members die. Workers are ordered to self-quarantine without pay. Hospitals are being overloaded and doctors are having to choose which patient gets the life-saving equipment.

    So yes, the cancellations personally hurt, they hurt many of my friends more, but I will find my way back to the positive. Soon.

    Day Five, Saturday

    Looking back down the big climb on the 2020 sprint course. Without the race grooming, this is urban crust skiing at its best.
    Looking back down the big climb on the 2020 sprint course. Without the race grooming, this is urban crust skiing at its best.

    After a great tortière and some Griffon Rousse beer last night at one of our favourite restaurants, the world was in a positive light again. Symbolically, the sun came and went during a morning ski on the race course. By 11am, most of the athletes, fans, and teams had left, which means the internet is suddenly faster at the hotel. Many of the countries that had discussed closing borders followed WHO guidelines and left them open with self-quarantine requirements. We were able to reschedule our flight to Saturday afternoon for a tiny fee (thanks WestJet) and will soon be in driving distance of home. 

    Federico Pellegrino posted his road trip story on Instagram, revealing that he didn’t want to leave Italy when it was already clear that the COVID-19 situation was going to get worse everywhere. As a skier who saw his home ski area closed on March 7th as part of Italy’s lockdown and a resident on the edge of the most affected part of Italy, he knew that the English-language media was understating how bad the problem was.

    They are calling my flight.

  • Masters Racing: Getting Lapped At Nationals

    Masters Racing: Getting Lapped At Nationals

    It starts and ends here, in the Sovereign Lake stadium.
    It starts and ends here, in the Sovereign Lake stadium. The snowpack was 22% above normal on February 1, 2020.

    A middle of the pack master would have to be an idiot to sign up to race 50km against the best skiers in North America on a FIS-approved World Cup course. The top skiers will be fresh from World Cup Finals in Canmore and competing for important titles, national team selection, and future World Cup starts. With 2020 Nationals combined with US SuperTour Finals, the field will be deep. So why is my name on registration list?

    The 7.5km loop for 2020 Nationals is easy, by elite standards. Host club coach Greg Kilroy guarantees a big pack will hit the final climb together.
    Not much climbing here. Sovereign Lake coach Greg Kilroy guarantees a big pack will hit the final climb together.

    The Sovereign Lake ‘West 7.5km’ loop is easy by World Cup standards. There are no long steady climbs like Canmore. There are no unending series of steep climbs like Holmenkollen. The ‘final four’ climb at Sov requires many transitions, but doesn’t have the bite of Val di Fiemme’s A climbs. There are no tricky downhills like Whistler Olympic Park. The Upper 2.5 is easier than the Upper 5 used at Norams. The Lower 5 is flatter than the Lower 2.5 and 3.75 that were used for the 2005 World Cup. Put those pieces together and the result is a loop that flows over small undulations with only two gentle A climbs and five rolling B climbs for 1,438m total climb over 49km. There won’t even be man-made snow or a narrow ribbon of trucked in snow. For elite skiers, it doesn’t get much easier than this: Day8-FIS_7.5km

    With the race loops set full width for Nationals, there will be lots of room for the lead pack to pass lapped skiers. Yes, there are two classic tracks on the right edge.
    With the race loops set full width for Nationals, there will be lots of room for the lead pack to pass lapped skiers. Yes, there are two classic tracks on the right edge.

    By master’s standards, the course no longer looks gentle and forgiving. Pushing past the redline for a moment too long will result in seconds lost on every subsequent transition. Failing to push over the top will cost even more seconds. 

    So what kind of idiot would sign up to be lapped by the very same elite skiers he has been interviewing for eight seasons and timing for even longer? 

    Maybe the kind who celebrates making the top half of his age group in the local loppets. The kind who expects to lose a minute per kilometre to elite skiers on loppet courses, even when those skiers are just cruising in the pack for much of the race. The kind who bemoans less than perfect skis on race day because he doesn’t have the technique or engine to push past.

    Maybe the kind who can’t let go of the fact that he couldn’t get it done when he was young and had endless training opportunities. Other people simply skied faster. Pierre Harvey and Donald Farley were six years on either side of me, and they are remembered because they delivered when the opportunity was there. Harvey has nothing to prove and can have fun skiing local events. I am still trying to prove something, possibly that I still have relevance on SlowerSkier.com, where it is all about getting more time on course for your money.

    Maybe the kind who didn’t get to race Nationals at his hometown club as a junior because BC decided to give starts to only the top four skiers in each age group. 

    At the end of the analysis, I know better. I laughed at the idea that I would ever join the Canadian tradition of having some podgy middle-aged man start the 50km to show just how big the gap to elite is. And then one sunny summer intensity day on a dusty trail with the masters group, my coach told me I should enter: “If you work hard this year, you will only be lapped once.” And then my mouth said yes while my brain was screaming no.

    On April 2nd, look for me chasing that reverse podium, seven (7) times up that final four climb carrying the lanterne rouge.

    This video is from April 7th, 2019, with a below normal snowpack for April.  2020 is looking to be better.

    Most xc skiers are nice people, even the top racers. Does this have something to do with getting your ego handed to you in travel-sized pieces on a fairly regular basis? And if so, will I be a better person on April 3rd?

    To start at Nationals, a Canadian skier simply needs a CCC license and points on the Canadian Points List, a new requirement introduced in 2019. As the CPL will be updated after the World Cup Final in Canmore, there is still time to improve your ranking, which uses the average of the best 7 Tier 2 or higher results in the last 12 months. While all races are technically open to qualified masters, only the long mass start is really friendly to older athletes (30km for women, 50km for men).

    Non-Canadian skiers need active FIS points, which are automatically included in the CPL. Should Alexander Bolshunov decide to show up for a week of natural snow, he will be seeded first.

    Please note that if you sign up without both a valid license and active points, the host club will thank you for your donation but Nordiq Canada will not allow you to start.

    As I just renewed my license after a 36 year lapse, I will be skiing in the open category at BC Championships on the Telemark trails in March to earn some points. It is possible that the masters category will be assigned points at select Tier 2 events (as a separate wave), but the only safe bet is registering in the open category. 

    My three digit CCC license number looks a little out of place on the registration list where most of the athletes have numbers above 30,000.

    Fun fact about aging: My retirement race was 1984 BC Championships, also at Telemark Trails. This was the first time I used two skate (aka V2 alternate in the USA, skate 3 in Scotland, and gear 4 for HC Holmberg) during a points race.

    1984 was near the end of the golden age of ski racing. Classic racing had not yet been invented and the marathon skate dominated all. We were still using a short section of kick wax as that was essential to be competitive on the steeper climbs. There was no internet and no YouTube. We only saw skiers on TV every four years at the Olympics, but didn’t record it because VCR’s were too expensive for home use. There were also no mass starts other than relays.

    One of my teammates, who was also one of the first victims of my coaching, was trying hard to push his limits and started us down a path to figure out a way to add poling to speed skating technique. Once we had the basics down, Joe would shout ‘Gaétan Boucher’ with a dubious French accent anytime he found a trail wide enough and firm enough to use it on. (This was just after the 1984 Olympics where a Canadian named Gaétan Boucher had dominated the speed skating events.) In this era, most courses were set by snowmobile, not snowcat, and often the only snow firm enough to plant a pole was the edge of the classic track.

    It wasn’t until the final race of the season, and the final race of my career, that opportunity knocked. Joe won his age group in dominating style and I finished 5th in mine. It would have been my best result of the season, but the guys who had just barely beaten me all season started 30 and 60 seconds behind me and got the split information they needed to close the gap over the final 3km. 

    This new ‘out of the tracks’ skating would get a (confusing but official) name the next season and be joined by ‘one skate’ (aka V2 in the USA, skate 2 in Scotland, and gear 3 by HC Holmberg). For Christmas in 1985, Joe came back from a national team camp and taught me the final piece of the puzzle, a new climbing technique called ‘offset’, just like paddling a canoe. Suddenly, skating was possible on every steep hill and grip wax was gone forever. Best Christmas present ever.

    In December, skiers have to climb the steps into the Daylodge after the race. It gets easier by February, which could be important for masters after 50km of foolishness.
    In December, skiers have to climb the steps into the Daylodge after the race. It gets easier by February, which could be important for masters after 50km of foolishness.
  • 2018 Canadian Nationals Weekend Recap: Days 1 and 2

    2018 Canadian Nationals Weekend Recap: Days 1 and 2

    Patrick Stewart-Jones (l), skiing for his club team Nakkertok, and Scott Hill (r) of Barrie Cross Country (BXC) going head to head in the men’s classic team sprint on Saturday at Canadian Ski Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Nakkertok won and BXC placed second. (Photo: Doug Stephen)

    Canadian Ski Nationals (Thunder Bay, Ontario): Team sprints + 5/10 k classic 

    Canada’s 2018 Ski Nationals opened this past weekend at Lappe Nordic in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with classic team sprints on Saturday followed by 5- and 10-kilometer classic interval starts on Sunday.

    Nakkertok topped the podium in both the open men’s and women’s team sprints. In the men’s final, Nakkertok’s Dominique Moncion-Groulx and Patrick Stewart-Jones won by 1.95 seconds over Barrie Cross Country (BXC) in 14:50.79. BXC’s Ryan Jackson and Scott Hill teamed up for second place, and Skibec’s Alexis Morin and Antoine Brand raced to third (+2.57).

    Katherine Stewart-Jones (22), skiing for her club team Nakkertok, while leading Annika Richardson (Hollyburn Ski Club) and Mathilde Petitjean (r) of C.N.M.S.A. during the women’s classic team sprint at 2018 Canadian Ski Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ontario. (Photo: Doug Stephen)

    The Stewart-Jones family was also a big winner on Saturday, with Nakkertok’s Zoë Williams and Katherine Stewart-Jones (Patrick’s sister) racing to first in the women’s final in 13:04.72. They finished 2.37 seconds ahead of Katie Weaver and Annika Richardson of the Hollyburn Ski Club in second place, and Marie Corriveau and Mathilde Petitjean of Club Nordique Mont-Sainte-Anne (C.N.M.S.A.) raced to third (+7.42).

    On Day 2 and the first official day of Canadian Ski Nationals, Hill (BXC) took his second-straight win of the weekend, topping the men’s 10 k classic with a time of 26:45.1 for his first senior national title. He finished 7.2 seconds faster than Alexis Dumas, of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) in second, and an early race leader, Knute Johnsgaard of the Canadian World Cup Team, placed third (+12.0)

    Johnsgaard clocked the fastest split at the race’s halfway point, while Hill’s 5 k time was almost 10 seconds slower. But over the final 5 k, Hill’s lap time was nearly 22 seconds faster than Johnsgaard’s. Dumas skied a consistent race, with the fourth-fastest first lap and second-fastest second lap.

    Knute Johnsgaard (Canadian World Cup Team) racing to third in the men’s 10 k classic on Sunday at Canadian Ski Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ontario. (Photo: Doug Stephen)

    Jackson (BXC) finished fourth (+14.7), and Jess Cockney of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) and Canadian World Cup Team placed fifth (+22.2). Leading the National Team Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay on its home trails was Evan Palmer-Charrette in sixth (+24.8), and Lappe Nordic’s Michael Somppi (AWCA) placed seventh (+29.1). Gareth Williams of Telemark Nordic and the Canadian U25 Team finished eighth (+39.5), American Brian Gregg (CXC/Team Gregg/Loppet Nordic Racing) was ninth (+44.7), and Jack Carlyle (AWCA) 10th (+49.5).

    Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt of Rocky Mountain Racers (RMR) collected her first senior national title with a 13.3-second victory in the women’s 5 k classic. She finished in 15:07.5, ahead of American Caitlin Gregg (CXC/Team Gregg/LNR) in second, while Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay) was the second Canadian and third overall (+17.9).

    NTDC Thunder Bay had two in the top four with Alannah Maclean in fourth (+19.8). Annika Hicks (AWCA) followed in fifth (+22.2), Frédérique Vézina (CNEPH) was sixth (+30.8), Sophie Carrier-Laforte (Skinouk) seventh (+33.0), Maya MacIsaac-Jones (RMR/Canadian U25 Team) eighth (+37.4), Laura Leclair (CNEPH) ninth (+58.1), and Williams (Nakkertok) 10th (+1:07.2).

    Nationals continue Tuesday with 10/15 k freestyle pursuits, followed by skate sprints on Wednesday and 30/50 k classic mass starts on Saturday.

    Audio livestream

    Full race schedule

    Photos

    Results:

    Day 1: Classic team sprint

    Day 2: 5/10 k classic

     

    Spectators during the classic team sprint at 2018 Canadian Ski Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ontario. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
  • Canadian Nationals: Notes, Quotes and Gallery

    Canadian Nationals: Notes, Quotes and Gallery

    Graeme Killick leads out the 50 k mass start (Photo: W. James MacLean)
    The start of the men’s 50 k freestyle mass start last week at Canadian Ski Nationals in Canmore, Alberta, with Graeme Killick (1) at the front (Photo: W. James MacLean).

    CANMORE, Alberta — Canadian Nationals went to Canmore for 2017 and Canmore delivered. Famous for challenging courses, well-trained volunteers, and erratic weather; the Canmore Nordic Centre showed all three at their best during the eight-day event.

    Each day delivered warm sun, cold winds, snow flurries, and warm winds (often all occurring in a single race lap) to more than 600 racers. The first races each morning were held on fast, transformed snow that transitioned to slow and soft in the afternoon. While 30 of Canada’s top skiers missed the first two days of racing, with a new relay cross event and freestyle interval starts, while competing at World Cup Finals in Quebec City, the real action was in the younger categories with more than 100 racers in each.

    Retired biathlete Zina Kocher and Para-Nordic Ski Team guide Graham Nishikawa collected the open category national titles, while the University of Denver’s Moritz Madlener, a U.S. student from Germany, won the overall.

    On Tuesday, March 21, most of the World Cup Finals racers arrived in time to compete in the 10/15 k classic interval starts, with Devon Kershaw and Emily Nishikawa recovering to take the open-category gold medals.

    The next day, Emily Nishikawa took her second-straight title in the classic sprint, despite being visibly tired in her fifth race in six days. All six women in the A-final had completed in Quebec three days earlier. While the three medalists were posing for a photo, one was overheard saying, ‘We have two days off!’

    In the men’s A-final, Madlener took the overall victory ahead of his University of Denver teammate Dag Frode Trollebø. Evan Palmer-Charrette placed third overall, and as the top Canadian, he earned the national title.

    Thursday held classic sprints for the younger categories and Friday was a rest day for the volunteers.

    Saturday, March 25, brought the 30/50 k freestyle mass starts, with Emily Nishikawa completing her hat trick and another World Cup Team member Graeme Killick showing off some little-known sprinting talent to win his first 50 k.

    Complete results

    (See also: the race analysis link for each day. Want to know who was climbing fastest? Descending fastest? Slowest? Won the climbing prime? It is all here for the distance day.)

    Quotes

    On the importance of nationals

    “When I was a juvenile, I just had learned so much meeting the national team skiers, seeing them ski around, see what they do for warmups, how they race. … So I just want to be here for the next generation and be able to meet anyone who wants to say hi.” — Emily Nishikawa (Canadian World Cup Team)

    “We had 110 girls at the Fast and Female event yesterday. It was really amazing to see so many girls out there. I hope that everyone’s enjoying their nationals and gets some inspiration from watching myself, and Emily, and Graeme, and everyone else who’s been racing overseas race. Especially, too, some of those juniors who had the opportunity to do the World Cups in Quebec. For everyone else in Canada to be able to race them and see where they end up and have that as a marker is really exciting.” — Dahria Beatty (AWCA/National U25 Team)

    “We use these as training races, we need to stay competitive with the best in the country, and that’s what we’re here to do.” — Graham Nishikawa (Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team guide for Brian McKeever)

    On winning a national championship

    “It’s my fifth race in six days, so I’m really tired, but I couldn’t be happier right now. To win two back-to-back national titles yesterday and today is really cool.” — Emily Nishikawa, after the sprint

    “It was a tough end to the season, but nice to finish on a positive note here. It is incredible to win all three.” — Emily Nishikawa, after two rest days

    “Awesome to be Canadian champion, surprise for sure in a classic sprint for me. Definitely not quite the Canadian field you’d see at a lot of Canadian nationals, a lot of guys sick and injured after World Cups on the weekend, but awesome nonetheless.” — Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay)

    “I’ve never won the 50 before. I’ve have medals in the other races … I’m super happy to get a 50 k win, that’s something that’s been a big goal of mine. I didn’t feel so good coming into this week, so I’m just really happy that it worked out today.” — Killick (World Cup Team)

    “It feels great. Super good race for me on Sunday [March 19] and I’ve had a great week overall.” — Graham Nishikawa

    On the races

    “I wouldn’t say I’m a sprinter, but today with these soft, slushy conditions, it kind of played into my favour. I love classic sprinting, I always have.” — Emily Nishikawa, after winning the sprint

    “I had a good tactic for the final downhill, I found some faster snow outside the track. I did a little slingshot off Dahria. She’s usually so good at tactics, I was thinking, ‘What would Dahria do today?’ and did what she would normally do.” — Emily Nishikawa, after the sprint

    “The prologue was really tough. We had a very tough race yesterday, so the prologue was just getting through it. And then I recovered better than I thought, it got better from each heat to the next.” — Moritz Madlener (University of Denver), after winning the men’s sprint A-final

    “The prologue was very tough. I had a good one, but it was definitely easier in the semifinal. Actually, at the end of the final it was more of a distance race than a sprint race. I think people were hurting a lot, there were very tough conditions, we had sugar snow up our legs, and I was just trying to get up the hill as fast as possible.” — Dag Frode Trollebø (University of Denver), who placed second overall in the sprint A-final

    “I tucked in behind the two guys from Denver. I knew they were going to put in a surge on the climb. I went inside to try and go past them, but they were smart, took the two outside tracks which were still there, inside was really soft. I cut over to get behind them, but I lost a couple metres and just wasn’t able to get that back.” — Palmer-Charrette, after placing third overall in the sprint, first Canadian

    “I double poled the qualification, it was a good decision for me, I ended up ninth. Very good quali for me. I just can’t describe the heats, it was so perfect for me today. It was perfection, from the start to the end.” — Antoine Briand (CNEPH), after placing fourth overall in the sprint, second Canadian

    “Canmore is one of the toughest places to race. The hills are relentless and it suits my skiing. I attacked on the wall of the last lap, which is the toughest part of the course. I was trying to save some energy before that. I just went for it, and didn’t look back.” — Emily Nishikawa

    “Emily won in the end going up the wall. She put on a hard sprint, and I, well, I haven’t really been training [laughs]. My legs seized halfway up and I was like, OK, let’s just get to the finish line.” — Zina Kocher (former Biathlon Canada national team member), after placing second to Nishikawa in the 30 k freestyle mass start

    “Six [races] in eight, nine days. I’m pretty tired, I had no idea how my legs would react to the race, but I allowed myself to surprise myself, and better than I thought. The legs were good.” — Frédérique Vézina (CNEPH), after placing third in the 30 k 

    “Probably shouldn’t have started. I went hard off the start, tried to stay with the group, and was absolutely exhausted today. I was already dropped off the pack by the sprint prime, so I tried to go for it. After that, I just skied out the course, I wasn’t really racing anymore, I didn’t have anything left. I just tried to finish it, it’s never fun to drop out at the end of the season, so I thought it was worth skiing it out. It’s a nice day at least to ski, so many people cheering me on.” — Beatty, who placed 12th overall in the 30 k freestyle, and second in the “Queen of the Wall” climbing prime, behind Sophie Carrier-Laforte

    “I don’t think I’ve ever beaten Andy [Shields] in a sprint. He’s got some speed. I knew it was my only shot, I tried attacking a couple of times and never really had the energy to go away with it, so I just decided to sit in and see what happened. Luckily, Shields had a good attack on the last climb there [pointing] and I was able to, he pulled us away from third place. It was just between us on the finish. I wasn’t counting on myself in the sprint, for sure.” — Killick, after outlasting Shields for the 50 k win

    “I’m happy with how it ended up, but I felt pretty not in control the whole way. Early on, I had some energy so I tried to push it and then that was maybe a bit much. It’s hard to break away when the group comes back on the downhills, so it’s kind of tough for that. I’m just happy with how it ended up.” — Killick

    “Graeme, he’s got some good chops [in sprinting]. That’s not the first time he’s outsprinted me to the end. He had the jump on me with the draft, and his skis were a little quicker than mine as well. I’m happy to be on the podium, would have been nice to get the win, but G-Kill had the tactics and he had the jam to stay with it when I pushed it on the last two climbs. He skied the tactics a little better than I did, I guess, and got the win.” — Andy Shields (Lappe Nordic), after placing second in 50 k freestyle

    Gallery

    Daily collections by W. James MacLean

  • Canadian Nationals: 10/15 k Freestyle Photos

    Canadian Nationals: 10/15 k Freestyle Photos

    The second individual race of Canadian Ski Nationals — and third overall counting the team sprint — took place Tuesday with the 10/15-kilometer freestyle interval starts in Whitehorse, Yukon. Dahria Beatty, of the Canadian Senior Development Team and Alberta World Cup Academy, and Alex Harvey, of the World Cup Team, tallied victories. For Harvey, it was his second in a row.

    Special thanks to W. James MacLean for sharing the following photos.

  • Once in His Son’s Shoes, Pierre Harvey in Awe

    Once in His Son’s Shoes, Pierre Harvey in Awe

    Alex Harvey and his father, Pierre, embrace after Alex won the 3.3 k freestyle sprint at the World Cup Finals on March 16 in Falun, Sweden. Harvey is a local hero in Québec and returned for Canadian nationals there the following week.

    MONT SAINTE ANNE, Québec – Standing on the hill above the stadium at the Canadian Ski Nationals in March, Pierre Harvey smiled as he soaked up the sights and sounds buzzing around him.

    Earlier that morning on the last day of competition, his only son, Alex, purposely tied his best friend and teammate Devon Kershaw for the 50-kilometer classic victory. Several hours later, Pierre Harvey, a three-time Olympian whose name belongs to the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre, stuck around his home venue.

    This was where Alex, a 2010 Olympian who finished sixth overall on the World Cup last season, started the sport nearly 20 years ago. Back then, he used to ski for about 15 minutes before hopping into a baby glider behind his parents. By the time he hit double digits, Alex was well on his way into becoming a Canadian superstar in both skiing and cycling.

    After claiming Canada’s first gold medal at U23 World Ski Championships, Alex notched another national first with Kershaw at the 2011 World Championships, where they won the team sprint. Last season, the national team member clinched his first World Cup victory at the age of 23 – almost exactly 25 years after his father did the same thing in Falun, Sweden.

    At the 2012 World Cup Finals, Alex won the 3.3 k skate prologue and Kershaw placed third to once again make Canadian history. Pierre dominated the 30 k freestyle in Falun in 1987 and again in 1988, about six months before Alex was born.

    After going to the 1976 and 1984 Olympics in cycling, Pierre became the first Canadian to compete in another Olympics the same year in the winter of ’84. He went to the 1988 Olympics as a cross-country skier and retired from the sport following that season.

    Reflecting on what his son had accomplished already, Pierre, 55, said it was hard to believe. He hadn’t anticipated Alex, who also made the Québec National Cycling Team, would necessarily stick with skiing.

    Alex Harvey talks to reporters after winning the 15 k freestyle at Canadian Ski Nationals in Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec, on March 20. He finished the week by sweeping every event he competed in (including a first-place tie with teammate Devon Kershaw in the 50 k classic mass start).

    FasterSkier: What’s it like being at nationals as a father?

    Pierre Harvey: I live here, it’s my hometown, but to see my son … it’s quite unbelievable what he’s doing in the last two, three years. Every year, he’s improving. Like three years ago, he was 40th in the World Cup and now this year, he finished sixth and he won a World Cup. It’s a progression, a really fast progression. Usually it takes maybe 10 years to do what he did in the last three years. Sometimes I think it’s almost too fast, but it’s the way it is and it’s good.

    FS: What kind of advice have you given him?

    PH: I don’t give so much advice. He has a good coach [Louis Bouchard at the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre in Québec] and we just try to make a good environment for the athlete. I’m a member of the Pierre-Harvey Training Centre, it’s my name, but I’m just one of the guys on the board. We just try to have the best environment for the athlete, best coach and a good support team, wax men and all of that and a good training opportunity and make a group where they really have fun together. I think the most important thing is to have fun. The day you don’t have fun, you will never improve anymore.

    But advice, no, I talk with Alex, but not even every day. When he’s away from home for 10 months, a year, I talk with him maybe two, three times on the phone and just send an email after a tough race and say, ‘You know, take it easy, it’s a long season and all those guys are really strong around you. You’re not alone.

    ‘If you would win everything it would not be fun anymore. Those guys train as hard as you do and they’re top athletes. Just try to learn from them and try to see how you can improve, but don’t think that you can win all the time. It’s not possible.’

    A guy like [Switzerland’s Dario] Cologna is doing that and Cologna, even five years ago, he was not winning all the time. Alex is 23 years old so he still has to be patient.

    FS: What about coaching tips?

    PH: I never want to be a coach for [Alex]. It’s too much. We have to keep a distance and let him do his own thing and do what he likes.

    I’m surprised that he keeps skiing because he started so young. I thought that around 16 years old he would decide to do something different because here we have ski school so you can go to school and train so two days in school, two days in training so skiing in winter so these programs are really good.

    That’s why in Québec we have lots of good athletes in any sport because of these school programs, but on the other hand, I thought that you do so much that when you get to 16, 18 years old, it’s too much and you want to do something different, especially you don’t want to do what your father did. Usually a kid would try to do something different than his father or mother, they want to do their own thing. That’s why I’m surprised that he kept enjoying that and doing that.

    FS: Why did Alex keep skiing?

    PH: I guess it’s because when he was 16 years old, he could go to a World Junior Championship in biking in the fall and then World Junior Championship in the winter in skiing so it was those nice trips. It was like the carrot that makes you go, ‘OK, one step more, one step more. Next year maybe I’d like to do that.’

    It’s like you always want to do more, and I don’t know the real reason why he kept doing it, but anyway, he did it.

    FS: What did you think of Alex’s homecoming at Mont Sainte Anne with all of the fans and media and even one of his sponsors in a helicopter?

    PH: Every year, it’s getting bigger and bigger because we’ve got so much coverage, media coverage, it’s unbelievable. We’re used to seeing a professional hockey player have coverage, but for another athlete in Québec at his age, there is no other athlete that gets so much coverage.

    I don’t know how he does it, maybe he’s nice with the media, but he has so much coverage. That’s why people come and see it. For sure, I’m quite impressed by him because of all that he does. He keeps going to school, he’s skiing and sometimes I think it’s almost too much.

    FS: We heard your two daughters helped welcome Alex home at the airport in Québec. What are they up to these days?

    PH: They all do skiing and biking. Laurence was [training] to go to the Canadian championships in biking. She did the World Cup here as a junior last summer and she broke her elbow. Her goal was to go to the world championship in biking. Laurence is training all year round.

    Sophie doesn’t race anymore, but she used to race in Canada Games and Canadian championships biking and skiing. She quit racing because for her she didn’t enjoy the pressure. She put so much pressure on herself. We go skiing and biking together really often and she enjoys the sport.

    FS: And Alex is going to law school?

    PH: He’s been [studying at Laval University in Québec City] for two years, and he has six to eight years left. … He’s in no rush because he said, ‘Even if I finish tomorrow, I will never work until I stop racing.’ His plan is to go to the next Olympics and if he still enjoys it, maybe another one.

  • Best of Canadian Nationals in Photos

    Best of Canadian Nationals in Photos

    Young fans cheer for the men's 50 k classic podium at the 2012 Canadian Ski Nationals on March 24.

    MONT SAINTE ANNE, Québec — Already missing the warm weather and spring racing that took place at Canadian Ski Nationals in Québec from March 17-24?

    FasterSkier took plenty of photos and pared them down to some of the best from each of the senior/open races. Take a look on our “Best of 2012 Canadian Nationals” SmugMug site.

    All Canadian Nationals photos

    For results and start lists, visit Zone4.ca

     

     

     

  • Foreigners Add to Canadian Nationals, Reflect on Week

    Foreigners Add to Canadian Nationals, Reflect on Week

    French delegation at Canadian Ski Nationals (from left to right): National team sprint coach Matieu Fort, Baptiste Gros, Renaud Jay and Roddy Darragon after the skate sprints on Thursday.

    MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec — It all started with a little buzz about Québec hosting a World Cup.

    After the province’s native Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw struck gold in the team sprint at the 2011 World Championships in Olso, Norway, Cross Country Canada and the International Ski Federation got to talking.

    The World Cup should feature a few races in Canada, and why not consider bringing it to the eastern part of the country?

    Once FIS accepted Québec City’s application to hold a sprint weekend Dec. 8-9, 2012, the race was on to generate more attention toward the brand new site.

    The director of events at CCC, Dave Dyer said the association almost immediately turned to Sport Canada, which governs the country’s sport policy and supports athletes and programs financially.

    They needed international hype and some competitive racers to see Québec beforehand.

    With the help of an under-$50,000 grant from Sport Canada’s International Hosting Program, CCC was able to pay the way of seven foreign athletes and three coaches to the Canadian Ski Championships, which ended Saturday in Mont Sainte-Anne, Québec.

    Norwegian National Junior Team members Sindre Bjornestad Skar (l) and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget after placing first and second, respectively, in the 30 k classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Saturday.

    The first to jump at the offer, Norway sent four racers – two juniors and two under-23’s – to Canada along with two coaches: head U23 coach Sjur Ole Svarstad and national women’s sprint team coach Roar Hjelmeset.

    France was next in line for a trip to Canadian nationals. The team’s head sprint coach, Mathieu Fort, accompanied three athletes: Roddy Darragon (World Cup sprint specialist and two-time Olympian) and U23 racers Baptiste Gros and Renaud Jay.

    Dyer said this wasn’t the first time Sport Canada had helped CCC host international competitors, but it was by far the most significant.

    “We did it last time we were here [at 2007 Canadian nationals] in Mont Sainte-Anne and got a very modest amount of support,” he said. “But I think that as the profile of our sport and the team increases, people are taking notice. It certainly has helped us on the overall funding perspective as far as support for the team.

    “I think the success we’ve had at the World Cups and hosting the World Cups has proven the benefits of inviting Europeans to come ski on our turf,” Dyer added.

    He designated Canadian National Ski Team coach Eric de Nys to invite teams, and de Nys said he spoke with several coaches at U23 World Championships in Erzurum, Turkey, in February. The idea was to entice juniors to give them a taste for jet lag and racing outside of Europe.

    “We had this pot of money and we were able to sort of talk to the Italians, the French, the Swedes, the Norwegians, the Germans, Japanese,” de Nys said. “Lots of them couldn’t come because they had nationals and OPA finals and things like that. But the French, the moment I said it, they’re like, ‘Yeah, we’ll come.’ ”

    With pre-existing good relations with Norway and France, this furthered the effort to bridge the global gap. It also gave Québec race organizers a chance to host athletes in preparation for its upcoming World Cup, with individual and team freestyle sprints.

    Dyer said this year’s sprint competition featured timed splits thought the heats, requiring more precision than seeding athletes by qualification time. A CCC Officials Level 3 Certification course was also in action at nationals.

    Organizers and officials had just one day to practice at the Plains of Abraham, where the World Cup is scheduled, after unseasonably warm weather melted most of the snow on the historic park in downtown Québec City.

    While they managed to hold classic team sprints there March 17 on a 1-kilometer loop, the open freestyle sprints were moved about 45 minutes away to the trails at Mont Sainte-Anne on March 22.

    Dyer said the experience with timing, officiating and helping international athletes find their way around was useful nonetheless for organizers. It also made nationals one of the most competitive in years.

    In his 30th year with CCC, Dyer said this was by far the association’s biggest international hosting effort. In 1986, they brought four Norwegians to nationals in Whitehorse, Yukon. The only other Canadian championship that was nearly as competitive was the one before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

    By bringing overseas skiers here, Dyer said it benefited Canada’s own athletes.

    “Whereas we might send 10 athletes to the World Juniors or to the U23 champs, there’s probably 85 juniors [at nationals] that get a chance to rub shoulders with Norwegians and find out they’re not superhuman,” Dyer said.

    First Impressions

    For most of the Europeans on the start line, it was their first time in Canada. Several soaked up the opportunity to race against some of the world’s best, including Kershaw, Harvey and Len Valjas.

    “It’s a good experience because I never ran with in a final of the same level,” said 21-year-old Gros, of France, after placing fifth in the skate sprint A-final behind the three Canadian National Team athletes.

    Earlier this season, Gros finished 13th in a World Cup freestyle sprint in Szklarska Poreba, Poland. His teammate, Darragon was fifth in Poland and 11th in the sprint at Canadian nationals.

    Roddy Darragon of France crashing and burning near the B-final winner of Thursday's skate sprint at Canadian Ski Nationals, Drew Goldsack. Darragon placed fifth in the B-final and 11th overall, and literally got a rug burn on his knee after cutting his race suit above the knees on the balmy afternoon.

    While he had raced in other parts of Canada before, Darragon said coming to Québec was a first. On the tail end of his season, he was mostly interested in racing for a chance to see the World Cup venue.

    “When the coach told us that [we were invited], we said, ‘Yes, we go, immediately,’ ” Darragon said with a smile. “We wanted to travel and wanted to discover the country.”

    Although Darragon and his teammates didn’t get to ski on the Plains, he said they drove by it. Before flying back to France on March 23, the day before the distance mass starts, Darragon cut off his race suit above the knees. Shorts were better in hot weather, and 20 degrees Celsius was much warmer than what they were used to in France in March.

    “It will be a great souvenir,” Darragon said of his suit, looking down at his bloody knee after falling across the finish of the B-final.

    He said he’d be back next year, possibly a few weeks before the World Cup to train.

    On the Norwegian side of the wax cabins, all four of their athletes raced the classic distance races on Saturday. In the 30 k junior men’s race, National Junior Team skiers Sindre Bjornestad Skar and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget captured first and second.

    2012 Canadian Nationals women's 30 k classic mass start podium (from left to right): 2. Britt Ingunn Nydal (NOR), 1. Chandra Crawford (CNST), 3. Ragnhild Haga (NOR)

    In the women’s 30 k, Britt Ingunn Nydal and Ragnhild Haga of the Norwegian National Development Team placed second and third, respectively, after Chandra Crawford (CNST).

    “We probably knew we had a better chance here than at the sprint,” said Haga, who recently placed 33rd in a World Cup 30 k at Holmenkollen in Oslo. There, Nydal was 38th.

    “We’re very happy being on the podium, both of us,” the 21-year-old added.

    She and Nydal, 22, had one more 30 k remaining in Norway later this week. They planned to leave Sunday, but not before some sightseeing and a night out in Québec City.

    “It has not only been the races, we’ve been able to look around also,” Nydal said. “It has been an amazing week.”

    As for what they’d remember about their first trip to Canada, Haga said the heat. Skar said the size of things.

    “Everything is big,” Skar said. “The cars and the roads and the shops, everything is much bigger than in Norway. In Norway, everything is not so big.”

    “But it’s really nice here,” Nydal added.

    “The weather is great,” Skar continued.

    In southern Norway, he said there was no snow. Haga said skiing in such balmy conditions throughout most of the week reminded her of orienteering in the summer.

    “It’s a little weird to go cross-country now,” Nydal said.

  • Biathletes Shine In Cross Country at Canadian Nationals, SuperTour Finals

    Rosanna Crawford – here in her 10 k pursuit victory – won all three races at Canadian Biathlon Championships, before shifting gears to contest cross country nationals. In the sprint, she qualified seventh and placed tenth.

    Much like the U.S. and Canadian ski teams, many members of the North American biathlon squads have returned from Europe and decided to hop in some straight cross country races. Here’s a roundup of the results.

    – At SuperTour Finals in Craftsbury, Vermont, U.S. national team biathletes Susan Dunklee and Annelies Cook have contested both races so far in the mini-tour. Dunklee recently returned from Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, where she raced Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the final World Cup races of the season; before that she was in Ruhpolding, Germany, for World Championships, where she placed fifth in the 15 k individual. Dunklee finished fifth in the 3.2 k skate prologue, 19 seconds behind Jessie Diggins, 12 behind Holly Brooks, and 11 behind third-place Sadie Bjornsen. In the 9.6 k classic mass start, Dunklee placed 15th, just over three minutes behind Bjornsen.

    Cook also raced at World Championships, where her top individual finish was 62nd but she turned in a seminal leg in the women’s relay, which placed 11th. Cook had then returned to the States to sweep the sprint, pursuit, and mass start races at U.S. Nationals for biathlon, picking up three quite dominating wins. In Craftsbury, she placed 13th in the prologue, 26 seconds behind Diggins, and 20th in the classic mass start, about three and a half minutes behind Bjornsen.

    – After sweeping their respective mass start, sprint, and pursuit races at Canadian Biathlon Championships in Valcartier, Quebec, Rosanna Crawford and Marc-Andre Bedard made the short drive over to the same event for skiing. They understandably decided to skip out on the 5/10 k classic race, which fell just two days after they had finished their own national championship series, but made their debuts in the 10/15 k skate.

    Bedard, in this instance racing for Skibec, finished fourth behind Alex Harvey, Ivan Babikov, and Devon Kershaw. He was 2:25 behind Harvey and 40 seconds behind Kershaw. Bedard had not been particularly happy with his ski speed at biathlon World Championships two weeks earlier, where his times were consistently the slowest of the Canadian men and he had a top finish of 52nd. But at his national biathlon championships, Bedard had said that he seemed to be in better form. In the skate sprint, he raced to 50th place in qualifying, and wound up 41st once the juniors were removed from the results – a bit under three seconds away from making the quarterfinals. Bedard sat out the 50 k.

    Crawford started out by placing 15th in the 10 k skate, 1:48 behind a victorious Emily Nishikawa. She instead made her mark in the skate sprint, where she qualified in seventh, 7.92 seconds behind her sister, Olympic gold medalist Chandra Crawford. “Got to battle Chandra in the semis, but sadly was not aggressive enough!” Rosanna Crawford tweeted after the race. Her effort was good for tenth overall. Unlike Bedard, Crawford decided to pony up for the long mass start, and was excited to battle her sister; while Rosanna didn’t necessarily expect much in a 30 k classic race (the longest female biathletes race is 15 k, and they always skate in competition), Chandra is known as a sprinter. The older sister, however, skied to a convincing win while Rosanna placed 15th.

    – Several of Canada’s junior biathletes also made the hop over to Mont Sainte Anne for cross country nationals.

    Sarah Beaudry of the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club, who finished 26th in the youth sprint at World Junior and then skied up to 20th in the pursuit, placed an impressive ninth in the junior girls’ 5 k classic, 54 seconds behind Marte Haakenstad Braaten of Norway and 42 behind the top Canadian, Katherine Stewart-Jones of Nakkertok. In the junior girls’ 10 k skate, she matched that result by placing ninth again, this time 2:47 behind Suzanne Stevenson. In the girls’ sprint, Beaudry qualified in second and finished fourth. In the same division, Youth Olympic Games teammate Danielle Vrielink placed 14th in both the 10 k and the sprint.

    Representing Rocky Mountain Racers, Stuart Harden, the Canadian who almost won the Youth Olympic Games pursuit but was relegated to seventh after skipping a penalty loop, made a habit of matching that result. In the junior boys’ 7.5 k skate, he placed seventh, 50 seconds behind Alexis Dumas of Skibec. Then he qualified in 14th in the junior boys’ sprint before winning the B-Final and placing seventh overall. Canmore biathlete Aidan Miller placed 24th in the 7.5 k skate.

    In the junior women’s sprint, Canmore teammates Julia Ransom and Emma Lodge met in the B-Final and placed 8th and 10th overall. In the 20 k classic mass start at the end of the championships, Ransom, who was the silver medalist in the youth women’s pursuit at World Junior Championships, placed 10th, just under five minutes behind runaway victor Maya MacIsaac-Jones. Lodge finished 25th.

    Canmore’s Maxc Davies and Skibec’s Albert Bouchard placed 11th and 20th in the junior men’s sprint. Davies then placed 23rd in the junior men’s 30 k classic race.

    2012 World Junior Champion in the men’s individual, Kurtis Wenzel, raced as a senior at cross country nationals and placed 35th in the sprint. Wenzel, who had picked up a medal in the senior division of biathlon national championships a week earlier, finished the week by matching that in the 50 k classic mass start.

    Finally, Canmore biathlete Kirsten Gillett placed second in the juvenile girls’ sprint, but first place went to American Brooke Mooney, so Gillett was named Canadian champion. Gillett placed 15th in the interval start skate.

  • Buddies to the End, Kershaw & Harvey Tie at Canadian Nationals

    Buddies to the End, Kershaw & Harvey Tie at Canadian Nationals

    Canadian National Team members Devon Kershaw (l) and Alex Harvey snowplow before the finish of the 50 k classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Saturday. The finished together to tie for the win at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec.

    MONT SAINT-ANNE, Québec – To say that Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey are close would be a massive understatement.

    When Kershaw decided to pack it in for the season, Harvey and some of his other teammates on the Canadian National Ski Team convinced him to reconsider.

    They found Kershaw on the start line Saturday as fired up as ever for the 50-kilometer classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals. After skiing together with a lead pack for more than 10 kilometers, Kershaw and Harvey turned to each other. One had to go to the bathroom; they figured the other did as well.

    Second and sixth respectively in the overall World Cup standings, Kershaw and Harvey stood in the woods together, off the trail, taking care of business.

    A moment later, they were back on course, but found they had some catching up to do.

    One of their World Cup teammates, Ivan Babikov boosted the pace when the two took a pit stop. Coming into the stadium at 15 k, he led a tight group of 15, and Kershaw and Harvey trailed nearly 15 seconds behind.

    Devon Kershaw (r) and Alex Harvey lock their legs together to cross the line at the same time and tie for the 50 k classic mass start victory at Canadian Ski Nationals on Saturday.

    That didn’t last long into the fourth of 10 laps, when the duo blew past the leaders and skied away to a 3-½ minute lead. They finished nearly 2 ½ minutes in front of anyone else, and once again, they did it together.

    Side by side entering the finishing stretch, Kershaw and Harvey snowplowed just before the line, wrapping their arms around each other’s shoulders and trying to cross at the exact same time. They were awarded a tie with a time of 2:14.45.96.

    Dan Roycroft of Zone4 timing said photo finish doesn’t work when racers are moving that slowly.

    Harvey and Kershaw found it a suitable way to end their seasons, and Babikov “Tebowed” across the line in third (+2:27.10).

    “I didn’t think I was gonna drop [Kershaw]; Devon didn’t think he was gonna drop me so we’re like, might as well just go for the tie,” Harvey said.

    The hometown hero from Club Nordique Mont Ste. Anne, Harvey also wanted to thank the fans for all of their support throughout the week and season. He and Kershaw actually had two options, he said. Their head wax tech, Yves Bilodeau, could stop them about 100 meters before the finish and restart them for an all-out sprint, or they could do what they did.

    Harvey was happy with how the later turned out.

    “Devon’s had such a good season; he’s had an amazing career also, but this year was just tremendous and it’s just a way to celebrate him,” he said. “We push each other really hard every day and both try for the same thing … to improve every year and excel in our sport. It was fun to share the moment.”

    Kershaw figured they would give Harvey the win. For most of the race, he heard spectators calling Harvey’s name.

    “I found it really funny, barely anybody was cheering for me,” Kershaw said with a laugh. “It felt like I was racing in a different country. That was pretty interesting.”

    Devon Kershaw (l) and Alex Harvey smile while starting their last lap with a comfortable lead in the Canadian Ski Nationals 50 k classic mass start on Saturday.

    Kidding aside, he was amazed by the energy of the week and thrilled he could soak it in for the last 10 kilometers. The two had broken away from the pack before the 20-k mark and skied hard for another 10 to 15 kilometers before asking each other what they wanted to do.

    “We’re like, ‘Well the race is over, no one’s going to get us so we just cruised,’ ” Kershaw said. “Then we decided, ‘Ah, we might as well tie the thing because it’s been such a great season.’ ”

    Nothing was premeditated, Kershaw said, since he wasn’t even sure he was going to race until before he went to sleep the night before.

    “It just didn’t sit well for me to end,” Kershaw said. “Just seeing all the youth here so excited about ski racing and just the excitement at Mount Saint-Anne. … I’m like, ‘Ah, I can suffer through 50 k,’ and actually, I felt amazing today.”

    While the two up front chatted about the season and their back problems (Kershaw’s bothered him a little, Harvey’s didn’t), a group of four a few minutes behind remained in a battle for third.

    After Babikov and Senior Development Team members Graham Nishikawa, Brent McMurtry and Kevin Sandau took turns leading for most of the race, Babikov saved a little extra for the last lap and attacked on the first hill out of the stadium.

    He built a gap and finished 9.41 seconds ahead of Nishikawa (Alberta World Cup Academy) in fourth. Sandau (AWCA) was fifth and McMurtry (Pierre-Harvey NTC) placed sixth after falling on a long, steep and curving downhill on the second to last lap.

    Ivan Babikov (CNST) celebrates as he finishes third in the 50 k classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Saturday.

    “I knew I had to try to hurt a bit on the uphill because I knew those guys were going to be stronger on the finish,” Babikov said.

    When Kershaw and Harvey first took off, Babikov said he immediately tried to keep up. The rest of the group opted they were better off conserving their efforts.

    “When they attacked, if I tried to stay with them it would have been the demise of my 50 k,” Sandau said. “There was 35 k to go almost, I didn’t want to ski that much hurting.”

    “You knew it was going to happen, did you see Kersh before the race?” Babikov asked Sandau and McMurtry.  “He was freaking out. When Kersh is freaking out he’s gonna freakin’ go out. When he freaks out, he cares.”

    Babikov was pleased with how he placed considering.

    “Those guys are the strongest in the world right now so no disappointment there,” he said. “It was a decent week. Good way to finish the season for me. I struggled the last few races on the World Cup. I didn’t finish a couple, had some health issues, but it was fun here, super-nice crowd, better than some World Cups.”

    Nishikawa said he also felt good about his performance. He knew one of them would go for it on the last lap; it was just a matter of who had anything left.

    Graham Nishikawa (AWCA/NST) leads the field after the second of 10 laps in Saturday's 50 k classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals. He went on to place fourth.

    “After the Harvey-and-Kershaw surge, things calmed down a bit,” Nishikawa said. “We could get back in and relax. It could’ve gone either way for me, I haven’t been feeling super, I didn’t know if I would totally bonk. … I’ve had some horrendous 50 k’s in my life that have gone the other way.”

    McMurtry said the writing on the wall regarding Harvey and Kershaw was clear early on.

    “They do everything together,” McMurtry said. “I don’t know if you saw them come across the line; bro-mance, maybe even a step higher than that.”

    After McMurtry finished 3:22.62 after the winners, Jesse Cockney (AWCA) placed seventh (+4:33.25). Cockney bridged a 40-second gap on Michael Somppi (NDC-Thunder Bay), who skied alone behind the chase pack for at least 20 kilometers.

    Somppi finished eighth (+4:36.51), Colin Abbott (Whitehorse) was ninth, and Harry Seaton (NDC-Thunder Bay) was 10th.

    Men’s 50 k results

    Saturday’s complete results

    2012 Canadian Nationals 50 k classic men's podium (from left to right): 6. Brent McMurtry (CNEPH), 1. Alex Harvey (CNST), 1. Devon Kershaw (CNST), 3. Ivan Babikov (CNST), 4. Graham Nishikawa (AWCA), 5. Kevin Sandau (AWCA)
  • Crawford Meets Goal, Wins 30 k Classic Mass Start at Nationals

    Crawford Meets Goal, Wins 30 k Classic Mass Start at Nationals

    Chandra Crawford (l) leads with Norwegian Britt Ingunn Nydal (far right) on the fourth of six loops in the 30 k classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Saturday. Dasha Gaiazova (second from right) and Norway's Ragnhild Haga (second from left) stay close behind.

    MONT SAINT-ANNE, Québec – If there was a date circled on Chandra Crawford’s calendar, this was it.

    Well, it may have been one of many, but she at least took a mental note and had plenty of ambitions for Saturday’s 30-kilometer classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals.

    A Canadian National Team member and 2006 Olympic gold medalist in the skate sprint, Crawford had been thinking about the 30 k since last June. Third in the long-distance classic race at nationals two years ago, the 28-year-old wanted to win it this time.

    Despite jet lag, Crawford felt energetic at the start and jumped out to an early lead. Teammates Dasha Gaiazova and Perianne Jones followed close behind with two Norwegians, Ragnhild Haga and Britt Ingunn Nydal.

    On the third of six laps, Jones dropped off the back while the remaining four stayed together. Crawford said everyone was good about sharing the workload up front, but she liked to lead.

    Leading Gaiazova and the Norwegians by about three seconds at the start of the last lap, Crawford decided to go for it. She attacked on the uphill and Nydal worked hard to follow, but in the end, Crawford said her skis were faster on the backside downhills.

    Chandra Crawford (CNST) after winning the 30 k classic mass start for her first long-distance national title at Canadian Ski Nationals at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, on Saturday.

    She skied away to the win, 13.74 seconds ahead of Nydal in 1:36.51.66. Haga was third (+54.42) and Gaiazova placed fourth (+1:00.85). Jones was fifth after skiing the second half of the race alone, finishing 5:27 after Crawford.

    “This has been a secret goal of mine to win this race,” Crawford said. “Like, ‘I want that 30 k classic, I want it,’ and worked on my classic relentlessly for 12 years so it’s nice to see it’s starting to be more comfortable.”

    She said it was important to improve her distance racing if she wanted to get faster in the sprints. After placing 50th in a World Cup 10 k classic mass start in Rogla, Slovenia, this year (which she noted was third to last), Crawford turned around and placed second in the freestyle sprint the next day for her first podium in four years.

    “The value of making the heart and lungs work so much there’s no arguing with,” Crawford said. “The ‘Kikkanimal’ [Kikkan Randall] approach is not for everyone, but as much as I can assimilate that kind of work ethic into my racing and race as much as I can, I’m seeing benefits all over the place.”

    The victory was Crawford’s second straight at Canadian nationals after winning Thursday’s freestyle sprint. Haga, a 21-year-old Norwegian National Development Team member with World Cup experience, said she knew what Crawford and Gaiazova were capable of.

    “We knew they had a good sprint at the end,” Haga said after her second podium at nationals. She was third in the 5 k classic individual start on Monday.

    “My strategy was at least to try to go quite fast on the last loops,” Haga added. “But they were strong today.”

    2012 Canadian Nationals women's 30 k classic mass start podium (from left to right): 2. Britt Ingunn Nydal (NOR), 1. Chandra Crawford (CNST), 3. Ragnhild Haga (NOR)

    While she managed to hold off Gaiazova, Haga couldn’t keep up with her teammate on the last lap. After struggling with the pace early on, Nydal said she felt better as the race wore on.

    “At the start of the last lap, [Crawford] broke away,” said Nydal, 22, who represented Norway with Haga at the 30 k World Cup race at Holmenkollen in Olso, Norway, earlier this month.

    “I tried to break away, and me and her had a fight to the top, but she was so strong in the last kilometer double poling,” Nydal added. “I didn’t have a chance against her.”

    After hard-packed and slick conditions for the men’s 50 k on Saturday morning, conditions softened by the afternoon, leading many women to ski outside the track.

    Crawford saw that as an advantage. She had skied outside of the track while in Europe with little snow in November.

    “It’s so good to embrace adversity and make it hard,” Crawford said. “It’s cross-country skiing. You don’t want to go out there and make it easy. Train accordingly and that could be a real boost on days like this, 30 k outside the track.”

    In Gaiazova’s first 30 k of the season, she said she forgot how to pace it and may have started too hard. Regardless, she had fun.

    “It was fast for first 15 k’s and it felt really good until the last loop,” Gaiazova said. “It was at the end where Chandra started to push a little more and I just realized that I kind of had the same speed left, but couldn’t give it a little extra.”

    More than anything, she was excited to take part and complete the week, which was mostly about the development of the sport, Gaiazova said.

    “I remember when I was younger and when Beckie [Scott] and Sara [Renner] came over it was a huge deal for me to get a picture with them and get them to sign my skis,” she said. “I think it’s important that we do that for the kids, and it’s important that we come to nationals and race and lead by example for the next generation.”

    Zoe Roy (RMR) leads Alberta World Cup Academy skiers Emily Nishikawa (c) and Kate Brennan (l) up a climb on the middle of their fourth of six laps.

    Following Gaiazova and Jones across the finish line, Emily Nishikawa of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Senior Development Team placed sixth.

    In the last 5 k, Nishikawa pulled away from Zoe Roy (Rocky Mountain Racers) after skiing in a chase group with her for most of the race.

    Roy was seventh, Alysson Marshall (AWCA/NST) finished eighth, Erin Tribe (NDC-Thunder Bay) was ninth and Andrea Lee (Lakehead/NTDC) was 10th.

     

    Women’s 30 k results

    Saturday’s complete results

     

  • Harvey Edges Kershaw for Canadian Nationals Sprint Title

    Harvey Edges Kershaw for Canadian Nationals Sprint Title

    Alex Harvey (l) on his way to outsprinting fellow Canadian National Team skier Devon Kershaw (r) for the victory in the A-final of the 1.4 k freestyle sprints at Canadian Ski Nationals on Thursday in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec. Phil Widmer (second from left) and Len Valjas (third from left) skate to third and fourth place, respectively. (Photo courtesy of David Greer)

    MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec — Alex Harvey had a lot going for him on Thursday.

    The hometown course and its accompanying fans, the helicopter and a little luck were just a few of the things in the 23-year-old’s favor in the 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint final at Canadian Ski Nationals.

    Alex Harvey (l) edges Devon Kershaw (r) in the A-final of the 1.4 k freestyle sprints at Canadian Ski Nationals on Thursday.

    Heck, organizers even pushed the weeklong event back in March to accommodate Harvey and his national team’s return. When Harvey nearly missed his quarterfinal on Thursday, they gave him the benefit of the doubt and made several announcements calling him to the start line.

    After winning the qualifier, Harvey had the luxury of driving a short distance home before the heats started about 1 ½ hours later. He brought a few buddies with him.

    It’s almost an understatement to say Harvey is a celebrity in Québec; he has his own autographs tent at nationals and a cartoon-version of his face on a “Canadian Power” T-shirt with teammates Devon Kershaw and Len Valjas.

    He won his first 2012 national title in Tuesday’s 15 k freestyle race; why not pick up another in the sprint?

    Men's skate sprint podium at 2012 Canadian Ski Nationals (from left to right): Devon Kershaw (2nd), Alex Harvey (1st), Phil Widmer (3rd), Len Valjas (4th), Baptiste Gros of France (5th), Sindre Bjornestad Skar of Norway (6th)

    Harvey tuned out the outside distractions and embraced every piece of positive energy around him to roll through the heats on top. Elbows flailing in the last stretch of the A-final, Harvey edged Kershaw in an-all out free sprint to the line by 0.17 seconds.

    Phil Widmer of the Alberta World Cup Academy was third (+1.58) and the defending national classic sprint champion, Len Valjas, was fourth (+2.2).

    Harvey said the key to his A-final victory was timing. After Widmer and Valjas initially jumped to the front, Harvey and Kershaw found themselves toward the back with Baptiste Gros of France and Sindre Bjornestad Skar of Norway, which finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

    Kershaw said some “shady moves” left him without a pole heading into the first climb, but his coaches anticipated the rough spot and immediately handed him a replacement. For the second-straight heat, Kershaw switched out poles shortly after the start and finished with a mismatched pair.

    “We were both on our side of the trail and [Kershaw was] slowly kind of drifting into me,” Harvey said. “I couldn’t go in the woods and I just must’ve hit his pole. The first two-thirds of the race was really slow. He was back in the lead like a minute after.”

    Alex Harvey (l) tries to stay on his feet while breaking his pole just after the start of his quarterfinal in the 1.4 k freestyle sprint at Canadian Ski Nationals on Thursday.

    While Kershaw used his frustration to move from last to third behind Valjas and Widmer, Harvey tucked behind in fourth. He noted the draft off the downhills, not so much because of the wind (with Harvey’s sponsor’s helicopter hanging low overhead to the watch the action), but rather because of the heavily salted snow, which made the track almost icy.

    “It’s a really high-speed course so I tried to stay out of trouble and in the lead,” Harvey said, after losing the basket of his pole early in the quarterfinal.

    On the final climb out of the stadium in the A-final, Harvey continued behind Kershaw, who surged ahead and created a gap.

    “I was third behind Lenny so I tried to go around him, but by the time I did, Devon was gone,” Harvey said. “I worked really fast over the top and then I was able to get in his draft just at the last second before the last downhill, and I was able to slingshot by him at the finish.”

    Alex Harvey (r) looks at his broken pole just after the start of the 1.4 k freestyle sprint quarterfinal at Canadian Ski Nationals on Thursday. American Sam Naney (Methow) skis on.

    Kershaw thought he could hold off Harvey for the last few hundred meters, but lost his balance on the slick course and couldn’t recover from the minor slipup.

    “My legs were dead, I was dead,” Kershaw said. “And then I saw Alex, just kind of this binding sticking out beside me and that was it. The prince wins, that’s OK. When you’re in Québec you don’t mess with that kind of stuff.”

    After Valjas had his pole and both skis stepped on near the finish, he said there were some obvious frustrations at the finish. Going up the last hill, Valjas opted to go up the middle, reasoning that no one could get by.

    Harvey and Kershaw passed him on either side, with Harvey first catching Valjas’s pole and Harvey and Kershaw accidently running over his skis. He immediately dropped to fourth as Widmer moved up with them.

    “It’s a frustrating way to end the season, but it’s all for fun here,” Valjas said. “I think we forgot it halfway around that course. We started stepping on each other … All yelling at each other when we cross the line. It happens.”

    Widmer said he was fortunate to do well enough in the heats and start in the first row of the final. Because of the course’s width and a tight right turn after the start, two rows were necessary to start six racers at once.

    After placing second in his quarterfinal to Valjas and edging him by 0.02 seconds in the semifinal, Widmer tried to control the pace early in the final. Valjas moved ahead on the first hill, and the two switched leads before Valjas took the front once more into the stadium. There, Kershaw and Harvey decided the race was on.

    “Once they go then it’s time to try to stay with them and fight for podium and the win,” Widmer said. “I was happy with third and the finish was quite fast. I didn’t use my poles at all. I should have thrown them in the woods and saved some weight.”

    Len Valjas (l) leads the men's A-final off the first hill into the stadium. Phil Widmer, Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey, and Sindre Bjornestad Skar follow, respectively. Baptiste Gros (not shown) finished fifth.

    He said placing third to Harvey and Kershaw was “motivating for the future,” especially going into summer training. Widmer posted the second fastest qualifying time, 0.02 seconds after Harvey, who won in 2:51.27.

    Another top qualifier in fourth, Jesse Cockney won his quarterfinal and advanced with Gros, but did not make it out of the semis after placing third to Harvey and Gros. Drew Goldsack was fourth in that heat.

    In the second semi, Kershaw had his first mishap of the day, getting tangled with Valjas just after the start. Kershaw broke a pole and dug deep to finish fast enough in third to make the A-final.

    Kershaw said his season was most likely over. He did not plan to do the 50 k classic mass start on Saturday.

    “I’m dead,” Kershaw said. “I was on fumes and now the fumes have dissipated into the air.”

    Looking back on the season, he hadn’t really absorbed everything he and his national team achieved yet.

    “I honestly haven’t had a chance to reflect, but I’m just so proud of what our team has been able to do,” Kershaw said. “To see Len’s results at the end of the season was spectacular, Alex to be sixth overall at 23 years old is unbelievable, and for me, it’s just been a big goal of mine for a long time to be in the top three overall and to be second in the distance cup, too, and six podiums.

    “To be honest, second in the World Cup finals is a really big thing for me,” he added. “It was a big goal because I just sucked in Falun [Sweden] the last few years. There’s a lot of positives, for sure.”

    Valjas was still in awe at what they had accomplished.

    “It’s been a historic year for the whole team and I’m so glad I was able to be there with all the guys,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it just on my own and it helps knowing that you’re training with the world’s fastest guys.”

    As for Harvey, he was still living in the now, running from warm-up to warm-down with media and autograph-seekers on his heels, and video shoots with sponsors on his off days.

    “It’s good to win at home,” Harvey said with a laugh. “It’s good for me to win in front of the fans.”

    Complete sprint brackets/heat results (scroll down for men)

    Men’s qualifier results

  • Crawford Soaks Up Atmosphere at Canadian Nationals, Wins Sprint

    Crawford Soaks Up Atmosphere at Canadian Nationals, Wins Sprint

    Chandra Crawford (r) of the Canadian National Team celebrates her victory in the 1.4 k freestyle sprint final at Canadian Ski Nationals on Thursday at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec. Her teammate, Dasha Gaiazova (second from right) was second, Jennie Bender of CXC (second from left) was third and Ida Sargent (USST/CGRP) in green was fourth.

    MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec — Whipping along the first of two downhills on a chemically enhanced sprint course at Canadian Ski Nationals on Thursday, Chandra Crawford could feel the vibrations in the stadium.

    Everyone there could.

    A helicopter soared directly ahead, swaying above one end of the 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint loop to the other for an unrivaled viewpoint of the nation’s cross-country skiing finale. Spectators buzzed that the mayor of Québec was inside.

    A sponsor for Canadian National Team member Alex Harvey hovers in a helicopter above the women's B-final freestyle sprint at Canadian Ski Nationals on Thursday at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec.

    In fact, it was the CEO and president of Alex Harvey’s sponsor, a paper company called Cascade. His last name was Lemaire, which means “the mayor” in French.

    Crawford didn’t care who was inside. This was cool, the Canadian National Team member thought.

    Surging ahead of Ida Sargent (U.S. Ski Team/Craftsbury) to take the lead in the A-final, Crawford one-skated beneath the swirling chopper, playing the White Stripe song “Blue Orchid” in her head.

    You got a reaction, you got a reaction, didn’t you?

    While people on the sidelines held onto their hats and race organizers chased runaway V-boards, Crawford attacked the final hill and skated away to national title.

    She beat runner-up and teammate Dasha Gaiazova by 1.37 seconds, completing the course in 3:30.7. Earlier in the day, Crawford won the sprint qualifier in 3:17.15, nearly two seconds ahead of the second-fastest female in the time trial, Sophie Caldwell (Dartmouth College).

    Crawford went on to win her quarterfinal and semifinal, beating Alysson Marshall (Alberta World Cup Academy/Senior Development Team) for the top spot in the first heat and Gaiazova in the second.

    In the A-final, Crawford did her best to lead the six-person field, getting out front to start and then tucking behind Sargent before kicking hard out of the stadium. American Jennie Bender of Central Cross Country (CXC) worked her way to third (+2.44) and Sargent finished fourth (+2.96).

    “The finish was so exhilarating with the helicopter and everyone cheering,” Crawford said after defending her national freestyle sprint title from 2010.

    “I was just like, ‘Oh I can go race again I just felt so good.’ ”

    Last year, Gaiazova was the classic sprint champion at nationals, and Crawford took second. Both were coming off long trip back from Europe on Monday and raced in Tuesday’s 10 k freestyle race. Crawford wouldn’t have done it any differently.

    “Québec is so fun to race in, the best place in the country to race in, I just love it so much,” she said. “Canmore’s amazing as well, Callaghan’s great, but the passion of the Québec people for the sport; there’s a helicopter. It’s kind of another level. It’s nationals and there’s a helicopter. I think that’s quite impressive.”

    Chandra Crawford (1) leads the skate sprint A-final at Canadian Ski Nationals on Thursday at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec. Jennie Bender (r) finished third after Dasha Gaiazova, and Ida Sargent (l) was fourth. Britt Ingunn Nydal (NOR) in bib 14 was fifth and Alysson Marshall (10) placed sixth.

    She fueled her optimism with some melatonin sleeping pulls for a good night’s rest and woke up excited to race. She always felt grateful to do so, she said. Just because the season was winding down, Thursday was no different.

    After clocking the fastest qualifying time, Crawford made a point to lead each heat from the start. She was tired and wanted to control the pace.

    She advanced out of the quarterfinal with Marshall, who ultimately finished sixth in the A-final, and set out in the semifinal with her younger sister, Rosanna. In their first race together, Rosanna, a Canadian biathlete, moved up alongside her sister in front and went on to place fifth in the heat.

    The three women in front, Chandra, Gaiazova, Marshall and Norwegian Britt Ingunn Nydal, advanced to the A-final. Rosanna finished 10th overall.

    “I was surprised to qualify in seventh and fourth Canadian,” Rosanna said. “I knew it was going to be hard, the stamina all the way to the finals if I made it. The quarterfinal was fine, but the semi was a little bit rough. I wasn’t used to people pushing and shoving so I should have been a little bit more aggressive, but it was fun.”

    “My sister was awesome,” Chandra said. “I’m so happy for her and she skied so well. When I went to the front, I tried to preserve a space for her, but she just blew those booster jets in the middle. I have the same physiology, I know how that feels.”

    In the final, Crawford tried to play a similar pacing game, and Gaiazova followed.

    “Dasha’s really strong so if she had the lead, she would probably grind me into a fine grain of pain,” Crawford said. “But because I had the lead, I took it out pretty slow.”

    That was OK by Gaiazova.

    Canadian women's sprint podium at 2012 nationals: 1. Chandra Crawford (CNST), 2. Dasha Gaiazova (CNST) at left, 3. Alysson Marshall (AWCA) at right

    “I’m really, really tired and burned out from the whole season so I knew I didn’t have much energy to begin with,” Gaiazova said. “I had to be strategic where I make my moves and try to conserve as much as I can in the beginning and fight for it at the end.”

    Had the course been a little bit longer or involved more climbing, Gaiazova said she probably could have challenged Crawford more.

    “I’m really happy with my silver,” she added. “It was good considering that we just flew in from Europe. … This morning I felt absolutely horrible, and actually now after racing, I feel much better.”

    Bender, who won her qualifier and semifinal, was relieved to make the podium after placing 12th in the 5 k classic individual start on Monday. She had taken some time off after winning the American Birkebeiner 54 k classic race in late February.

    Based on the way she felt in Monday’s classic race, she wasn’t sure that was the best decision.

    “I was kicking myself like ‘Nooo, I’m really hoping that this didn’t screw me over,’ ” Bender said. “I was hoping for a good race today so I could feel like, ‘OK, I’m back in it.’ ”

    She was sixth in the qualifier to initially calm her fears. Last year, Bender finished third to Gaiazova and Crawford in the classic sprint at nationals, and was happy to repeat the feat.

    “Everyone who’s good in Canada is here,” Bender said. “It’s definitely fun to see how they sprint.”

    On Thursday, Bender and Sargent had to skip the awards ceremony to drive back to Craftsbury, Vt. There, they would gear up for the SuperTour Finals, which start with a freestyle prologue on Saturday.

    Jennie Bender leads Ida Sargent in their semifinal at the Canadian Ski Nationals 1.4 k freestyle sprint on Thursday.

    A clear-cut leader coming into the finish of her quarterfinal, Sargent was surprised to advance to the semi. About 50 meters before the finish, she poled between her legs while transitioning from a free skate and fell forward.

    “I faceplanted, got a bloody nose and still made it,” Sargent said. “It took me a while to get up so I took my bib off. I thought I was done. That was kind of a nice surprise.”

    Sargent, who qualified in fifth, also fell in the qualifier after she caught her ski in a rut on a corner before the finish. She rebounded from the adversity, placed second to Bender in the semi and landed a spot in the A-final.

    There, she started in the back row behind Crawford, Gaiazova and Bender, but managed to pull ahead after the last hill.

    “I finally got by them and went for it but ran out of steam just in the last bit,” Sargent said. “I was also a little timid in the lanes; those lanes were really icy. I probably should have gone for it more, but I just didn’t want to faceplant again.”

    Sargent said racing against World Cup sprint veterans like Crawford and Gaiazova was always a great experience. She also appreciated advancing through the heats.

    “On the World Cup, I never made it to the final so more heats than I’m used to,” Sargent said. “That’ll be good going into Craftsbury.”

    Complete sprint brackets/heat results

    Women’s qualifier results

  • The Big Guns are Back: Notes, Quotes & Video from Canadian Nationals

    The Big Guns are Back: Notes, Quotes & Video from Canadian Nationals

    MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec — While Alex Harvey was the man of the day at Canadian Ski Nationals on Tuesday, Devon Kershaw, Lenny Valjas and the remaining World Cup crew (including Chandra Crawford, Dasha Gaiazova, Alysson Marshall and Kevin Sandau) also met a strong welcome after flying into Québec late Monday night and racing the next day.

    Cross-country ski fans, friends, family and media outlets came out to Mont Sainte-Anne to catch a glimpse of the nation’s top skiers in their flashy red suits. Several competitive skiers showed up as well for a shot at contending with some of the world’s best.

    Some quotes from the 15 k:

    Marc-André Bédard (Canadian Biathlon Team/Québec), 4th

    The first thing I did was ask Alex if he was coming to nationals. He was like, ‘Of course I’m coming.’ I was like, ‘OK, I need to go just to see how I do against them.’ That was fun. I’ve been friends with him since I was a kid when we were in Mont Sainte-Anne together.

    There’s lots of biathletes who make podiums on lots of World Cups … so we know that the top biathletes are pretty much the same as the top cross-country skiers. I’m not a top biathlete; I’m just hoping to do good and those guys [Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey, etc.] are the best skiers so it’s really cool to be not so far behind them.

    I wish I could do more cross-country, but it’s rare that the opportunity comes, especially with the strong guys. 

    [Note: Bédard said he last competed at Canadian cross-country nationals in 2007.]

    David Greer (Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre), 5th

    Alex was really moving today. He started 45 seconds behind me and caught me at about 2 k. I tried to stay with him for about 10 seconds and decided I’m probably better off just racing my own race. That wasn’t very encouraging, but later in the race I felt better and better and then got encouraging splits.  

    End of the season, a lot of people are fried and not super pumped about the racing, but it was definitely super fun having those guys here because we don’t get to race with them very often. You see them racing World Cups all year so it’s the one chance we have to measure ourselves against them. I was definitely looking forward to it.

    Brent McMurtry (Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre/Senior Development Team), 6th

    I was getting splits off of Devon and Ivan [Babikov] I was third. Devon caught me for 30 seconds after two-and-a-half kilometers or something, but I was not going the same speed as him. It was good motivation because once he caught me and went by, I was able to keep him in sight for the next two laps so I sort of knew I was at least a little bit competitive. 

    Devon was second in the World Cup, Alex last weekends had two podiums. You know that when you’re two minutes back, it’s two minutes off the best in the world. It’s not where I want to be and not where I think I can be, but at the same time, it’s not so bad.

    I’m staying at Alex’s house; they’re good friends of mine. It was funny sitting around at breakfast [Tuesday] morning with Devon and Alex. Their season is done and talking about things other than skiing and just life. It’s nice to have them around. 

    Erik Carleton (Rocky Mountain Racers/National Para-Nordic Team), 8th

    It’s my only chance to race against our World Cup team. … I knew it would be, for sure, at a different level. When Alex passed me [about halfway through], I just saw the pace he was going. I stayed with him a bit, then the last lap was pretty tough after that. … You can just see he’s really efficient and he keeps pulling away. He was gone on the last lap.

    Tuesday’s complete results

     

  • Harvey Embraces Homecoming, Wins 15 k at Canadian Nationals

    Harvey Embraces Homecoming, Wins 15 k at Canadian Nationals

    Canadian Nationals
    Canadian National Ski Team member Alex Harvey rounds the stadium at his club's trails in Mont Sainte-Anne, Québec, in the 15 k freestyle individual start on Tuesday. Harvey won the race by nearly 33 seconds.

    MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec – Alex Harvey had no idea what he was in for. Or maybe he did.

    Fourteen hours after he and several other Canadian National Team members stepped off a plane in Québec City and concluded a 32-hour trip back from the World Cup Finals in Sweden, Harvey was back in his native Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Québec, preparing to race again.

    If it had been up to Harvey, he would have slept in a little later. His mom woke him up with a kiss on the cheek at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday before she left for work. Regardless, he was pretty excited about his his first day at Canadian Ski Nationals, hosted by his Club Nordique Monte St. Anne.

    Alex Harvey talks to the media after posting what turned out to the fastest 15 k freestyle time at Canadian Ski Nationals on Tuesday.

    The 23-year-old generated about as much hype as one can expect at a cross-country ski race in North America. Several news outlets flocked to the Quebec City International Airport at 10:30 Monday night to see Harvey and his celebrated teammates, including overall World Cup runner-up Devon Kershaw and Lenny Valjas.

    Late Wednesday morning, Harvey’s fans followed him to the trails where he warmed up. They asked for his autograph, snapped photos and showered Kershaw with attention as well.

    After both finished Wednesday’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start, Harvey and Kershaw hardly made it out of the finish pen. Sweaty and spent after racing in nearly 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), both found they were even more sought after as two of the top finishers.

    Harvey crushed his competition with the help of resounding cheers every time he skied through the stadium, winning the three-lap race in 40:54.1. His World Cup teammate, Ivan Babikov was second, 32.9 seconds back, and Kershaw finished third (+1:44.8).

    “It was hard,” Harvey said of the combination of travel, lack of sleep and challenging snow conditions on Tuesday. “I talked with Devon after the race. It might have been the hardest race of the season for both of us. It was so slow out there.”

    Alex Harvey (CNST) on the second of three laps in the 15 k freestyle individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Tuesday.

    Harvey pulled through by pushing hard from the start. Five kilometers in, he led by 18.6 seconds over Babikov, Tuesday’s 10 k classic champion. Kershaw was 19.7 seconds back in third, affirming that the local hero was truly on a roll.

    He kept up the pace through the second lap, coming into the stadium 11.7 seconds ahead of Babikov. Kershaw was still in third, but nearly 52 seconds back.

    “I didn’t know how it was going to be here,” Harvey said, referring to his recent highs, including a World Cup Finals victory in Falun, as well as some of the lows this season.

    “It ended up being good and with the fans, the crowd, just everybody being so psyched. I didn’t have a choice to ski fast or not,” he said.

    Just minutes before his race, Harvey spoke to a group of young children in French. They sent him off with a chant that echoed around the stadium throughout the afternoon: “Ahh-lex! Ahh-lex!”

    “They had banners and singing songs so it was really special to see all these 8-year-olds just having the best time,” Harvey said. “It motivated me for the win, for sure.”

    Kershaw said the homecoming experience was humbling. Seeing how famous Harvey was in Québec and how excited people got about him, the team and the sport, was great for cross-country skiing, he said.

    It also made Harvey that much harder to outdo.

    “There was no chance I was going to beat Alex today,” Kershaw said.

    With a tendency to open hard in races, especially individual starts, Kershaw discovered he was six seconds down on Harvey about 2 or 3 kilometers in.

    Canadian National Team member Devon Kershaw (l) leads Eric Wolcott (Black Jack) up a hill during the 15 k freestyle individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Tuesday.

    “He closes way harder than me so the victory was going to be Alex’s, absolutely,” Kershaw added.

    While skating in soft conditions wasn’t his specialty, Kershaw said he felt good until about 7 k, where he broke a pole. The handle ripped off and he skied the next kilometer without a pole.

    “There was nobody out there; it’s not the World Cup,” he laughed.

    When he did get a pole, it was 140-centimeters long, which was about 20 centimeters too short. He found better replacement soon after and finished the race with a 157 ½.

    “It was a real struggle today and the conditions were really hard,” Kershaw said. “It’s kind of frustrating for some bad luck to happen, but the World Cup season’s over so let’s not get too greedy.”

    Babikov was happy with his result considering he started ahead of Kershaw, Harvey and nearly 160 others in the men’s open race.

    “I was just trying to ski my race, ski strong throughout the whole three laps,” Babikov said. “It was really hard to do because it’s so soft and it was hard to pole. It didn’t matter if you had poles or no poles.”

    Canadian Nationals
    Ivan Babikov (CNST) wears the leader's jersey at Canadian Ski Nationals in the 15 k freestyle individual start on Tuesday after winning Monday's 10 k classic race. Babikov placed second on Tuesday.

    He was impressed with his teammates’ performances after one long day of travel.

    Upon leaving Falun, Sweden, at 2 a.m. on Monday, they flew to Frankfurt, where their flight to Canada was delayed. Once in Montreal, the men’s and women’s national team members found they had five hours to kill because of a missed connection. Harvey said they enjoyed some St-Hubert Chicken for a pre-race meal and arrived in Québec City around 10:30 p.m.

    By the time Harvey fell asleep, he said it was 6 a.m. Falun time.

    While he and the rest of the national team planned to recover for Thursday’s sprints, recently moved from Québec City’s Plains of Abraham to Mont Sainte-Anne, several outsiders to Canadian cross-country were also looking forward to the competitive sprint day.

    Canadian biathlete and World Championships team member Marc-André Bédard was encouraged by his performance in Tuesday’s 15 k, where he placed fourth (+2:25.7) despite starting nearly 45 minutes after the frontrunners. Because he and several other biathletes didn’t have FIS points, they were seeded near last.

    “What was really hard was to pass people all race,” Bédard said. “It felt like I said ‘track’ 200 times today.”

    Without any splits throughout the race, he had no idea where he stood or where he finished for several minutes after the race.

    “I had no expectations … I was hoping to be in the top 20, top 30, it’s hard to say,” he said. “I’m really tired, too. I wanted to have fun and I’m really happy with the result.”

    Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre athletes David Greer and Brent McMurtry placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Baptiste Gros of France was seventh and Erik Carleton (Rocky Mountain Racers/National Para-Nordic Team) finished eighth before catching a flight to Finland with Brian McKeever for the IPC World Cup on Thursday.

    Michael Somppi (Thunder Bay National Development Centre/NST) was ninth and Kevin Sandau (Alberta World Cup Academy/NST), who flew in with the national team Tuesday night, was 10th.

    Men’s 15 k freestyle results

  • Babikov Back on Track at Canadian Nationals; Wins 10 k Classic

    Babikov Back on Track at Canadian Nationals; Wins 10 k Classic

    Ivan Babikov (CNST) shortly after starting the 10 k classic at Canadian Ski Nationals in Mont Sainte-Anne on Monday. Babikov was the eventual winner in 28:38.6.

    MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec – Four days after flying home from Europe, Ivan Babikov was back in action at Canadian Ski Nationals on Monday.

    The 31-year-old national team member was also back to his winning ways, hitting his stride as usual at the domestic championships and claiming his seventh Canadian title.

    Out of nearly 160 men in the 10-kilometer classic individual start, Babikov was the fastest, completing the two loops in 28:38.6.

    Runner-up Erik Carleton (Rocky Mountain Racers/NST) finished 8.1 seconds back, and Michael Somppi (Thunder Bay National Development Centre/NST) was third (+21.8).

    By the time Babikov started Monday morning, the snow had softened under sunny skis and the wear about 200 racers before him. Babikov started near 30th in the randomized men’s race, which followed the women and junior girls.

    Out on the course, he found several hills no longer had tracks; herringbone was the only option. That didn’t make racing any easier, but he acknowledged it was the same for most of the men’s field.

    “I felt like I could fight,” Babikov said. “It was tough conditions and [I wasn’t] feeling great after the flight and jet lag … but it was enough to win and I’m super happy.”

    Ivan Babikov (CNST) finishes while Dudley Coulter (NDC-Thunder Bay) recovers on the ground after the Canadian Ski Nationals 10 k classic individual start on Monday in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec. Babikov won and Coulter was seventh.

    Babikov said the victory most in principle and to those that idolized World Cup athletes like him.

    “It’s good to see kids looking up to you,” Babikov said. “It’s not for me; it’s more for the other youngsters coming up. A title is a title. It’s cool to be a national champion.”

    Personally, the win was another high in Babikov’s rollercoaster season. After skiing one World Cup race in March and scratching out of his last three, the Russian-born skier didn’t end the season as he had hoped. A second bout with a virus or flu kept him from finishing his last race in Oslo, Norway: the 50 k classic mass start.

    “That was the hardest part,” Babikov said. “I didn’t make the finals and I didn’t finish some races, which never happened before. I was disappointed, but it happens. Better this year than next year or an Olympics year.”

    Fortunately, he had nationals to come home and look forward to. Babikov said he felt relaxed going into Monday’s race and focused on staying calm throughout the challenging 10 k.

    At the halfway point, he was 15.1 seconds out of first behind Patrick Johnson of Middlebury College in Vermont. Babikov closed the gap over the last 5 k and ended up beating Johnson by 32.6 seconds. Johnson finished fifth after another American collegiate skier, Eric Packer (Dartmouth).

    Carleton forced his body into high gear as well, and to his surprise, it responded. With just two men starting 15 and 30 seconds ahead of him, he passed them both.

    “I didn’t really feel that great … I wasn’t that comfortable,” Carleton said. “But on a 10 k, you have to be able to go that hard, and it’s nice that I had that today.”

    Erik Carleton (RMR) on his way to a second-place finish in the 10 k classic individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Monday.

    During the race, he mostly worried about Brent McMurtry, who started two spots behind him. Eighth after the first lap, McMurtry finished 11th overall.

    “I was thinking he would likely catch me today,” Carleton said. “It was just always skiing scared and, ‘You’ve got to just keep moving, he hasn’t caught you yet,’ kind of thing.”

    A National Paralympic Nordic Team member and guide for Brian McKeever (Foothills/NPNST) on the IPC World Cup, Carleton knew this race could be his last before flying to Finland. While he hoped to squeeze in Tuesday’s 15 k freestyle individual start, Carleton also had a plane to catch with McKeever at 4 p.m.

    Carleton said they were flying out of Québec on Tuesday to compete in the World Cup. The open men’s races start at 12:30 p.m.

    “It was kind of, make the best of these two days,” Carleton said. “Hopefully, we have time to fit in that race tomorrow.”

    Somppi in third initially aimed for the top five in the short-distance classic, which he said wasn’t his specialty. Upon hearing that he was in second throughout the race, Somppi set his sights a little higher.

    “I couldn’t really hear who was leading,” Somppi said. “I knew I was in the mix anyway. I didn’t think I’d be on the podium.”

    Michael Somppi (NDC-Thunder Bay/NST) out of the start in the 10 k classic at Canadian Ski Nationals on Monday in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec.

    He wasn’t complaining. Starting about 10 racers from the front gave Somppi plenty of splits and motivation to feed off.

    “Going into nationals I was hoping to take a medal, but I don’t think I really believed in myself,” he said. “I knew it was possible, but I knew everything would kind of have to work out perfectly for it to happen. Today it did.”

    The race was Somppi’s first individual event since nearly a month ago at the 50 k American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wis. Racing in Saturday’s team sprint helped him transition into racing mode again, he said.

    “I think I’ve done a good job of peaking for the nationals,” Somppi said. “Hopefully the rest of the week will be just as good.”

    Packer finished 6.9 seconds after from Somppi in fourth. Graham Nishikawa (AWCA/NST) was sixth, Dudley Coulter (NDC-Thunder Bay) was seventh, Harry Seaton (NDC-Thunder Bay) was eighth, David Greer (CNEPH) placed ninth and Jesse Cockney (AWCA) was 10th.

    Men’s 10 k classic results

     

  • Sargent, Jones Claim 5 k Titles at Canadian Nationals

    Sargent, Jones Claim 5 k Titles at Canadian Nationals

    2012 Canadian Nationals
    Ida Sargent (USST/CGRP) fires out of the 5 k classic individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Monday in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec. Sargent went on to win in 15:16.0.

    MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec – After a whirlwind tour of Europe, in which Ida Sargent of the U.S. Ski Team/Craftsbury Green Racing Project came home just once for U.S. Nationals in January, the 24-year-old took on relatively simple task in Canada on Monday.

    She needed to pass one person and push hard in a 5-kilometer classic individual start.

    With soft conditions and temperatures upwards of 7 degrees Celsius (45 degrees Fahrenheit) at Canadian Ski Nationals, that was easier said than done. Sargent also needed fend off several top-notch competitors behind her.

    In the randomized start, which put the best seeds first but not necessarily in order, Sargent started second in a field of 99 women and successfully clocked the fastest time to win outright in 15:16.0.

    Perianne Jones (CNST) just out of the start of the women's 5 k classic race at Canadian Ski Nationals on Monday in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec.

    Perianne Jones of the Canadian National Ski Team and Nakkertok was the closest contender, finishing 13.9 seconds back in second. The top Canadian, Jones claimed her first national title.

    Rounding out the podium, Emily Nishikawa (Alberta World Cup Academy/Senior Development Team) was third (+26.0).

    Slated to start third after Annika Hicks (AWCA) and Dasha Gaiazova (CNST), respectively, Sargent found that she had only Hicks to chase. (Gaiazova and Chandra Crawford scratched while traveling back from their last World Cup races in Europe.)

    Sargent said she caught Hicks within the first kilometer and stayed focused from there. What she lacked in expectations, she made up for in grit.

    “I was just out there by myself trying to stay motivated,” Sargent said. “You’ve just got to keep going fast and ski your own race. … It was hard, but it’s short.”

    Unsure if she’d race at all a few days earlier, Sargent opted to join her Craftsbury teammates in Canada and see how she felt. She decided to race the 5 k and was considering Thursday’s freestyle sprints to stay sharp for the upcoming SuperTour finals in Craftsbury, Vt., March 24-31.

    After a full season on the World Cup circuit, Sargent was happy to soak in a more laid-back atmosphere at nationals.

    “I was just having fun and enjoying being home,” said Sargent, who hails from just south of the Canadian border in Orleans, Vt., about a four-hour drive from Mont Sainte-Anne.

    “Not really too focused on results at this point,” she added.

    Jones did her best to downplay the pressure of being a favorite as well. The lone World Cup national team member at Monday’s races (as well as Saturday’s), Jones started in bib No. 9 and picked off a few people to finish first among the Canadians.

    She said Sargent helped her do so. Around 1 k, Jones heard she was 3 seconds behind the American. The gap grew to 20 seconds, which motivated Jones to dig even harder at the end.

    “Five-k racing is pretty fun because you can just hammer from the gun and see how long you can last,” Jones said. “It felt like I should be the one on the top of the podium today.”

    Jones was excited to race against her teammates, Crawford and Gaiazova, next in Tuesday’s 10 k interval start skate.

    “It’ll be fun out there,” Jones said.

    Alberta World Cup Academy teammates Emily Nishikawa (r) and Annika Hicks push to the finish of the 5 k classic individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Monday in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec.

    Nishikawa said Monday was about finding her groove, which was a little hard to do on a hilly one-lap course in draggy snow.

    “I felt like I didn’t really get into that top gear,” Nishikawa said. “It was such a short race, but I think it was a really good warmup for tomorrow and looking forward to that race.”

    She started two places after Sargent and also lacked splits, but Sargent’s time turned out to matter most. Nishikawa first heard she was 7 seconds back at 1 k, and then up to 26 seconds behind the leader.

    “It’s awesome to have all these fast girls here from the states,” she said. “Tomorrow the guys from the World Cup [including Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and Len Valjas] are coming in so it’s probably the most competitive nationals we’ve had.”

    On the international podium, Amy Glen (University of Vermont) was fourth, Hannah Dreissigacker (CGRP) finished fifth and Sophie Caldwell (Dartmouth College) was sixth.

    Kate Brennan (AWCA) was the third Canadian and seventh overall. Erin Tribe (Team Hardwood) placed eighth, Maria Stuber (CGRP) was ninth and Amanda Ammar (Canmore) was 10th.

    Women’s 5 k classic results