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.
BEND, Oregon — In this von Ballcap episode, we sit down with newly retired pro-skier Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess in his hometown of Bend. At 32, Dakota, or “Dak” as he’s most often called, had been on the scene for over a decade. In that time, Blackhorse-von Jess won the support of his peers and fans as a skier’s skier. The man is nothing but energy and intellect wound into a 5-foot-9-inch body that ultimately became a sprinting force.
Andy Newell (near) and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess during official training at the 2016 Ski Tour Canada in Gatineau, Quebec. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
His story resonates because Blackhorse-von Jess’s story is the one you might want to tell the kids: stick to your goals, stay true to your values, and although you might achieve some of your dreams, some will be left unfulfilled. He raced at the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden, he won skate-sprint national titles in 2013 and 2015, and a classic sprint title in 2015, too. Beyond the titles, he landed on the national sprint podium four times: placing second twice and third twice. However, an Olympic birth eluded him.
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess in bib 1 (as the day’s top qualifier) leads Bend Endurance Academy teammate Akeo Maifeld-Carucci (10) in the classic sprint at the 2016 Auburn Ski Club SuperTour in Truckee, California.
We’re talking about a person who gave up a full ride to the University of Washington, that brought with it a postgraduate job/internship at the “JPL”, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in favor of the ski-racing chase. Never look back and work for what you earn. Blackhorse-von Jess took a gap year, landed at Dartmouth where he skied for four years, and the rest is sifted through in the podcast. Not all of it, of course, but we sift through a whole bunch.
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (30) off to a quick start in the quarterfinals at 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden.
Left to right: Tyler Kornfield (APU), Reese Hanneman (APU) and Ben Saxton (SMS) as the top three finishers in the men’s 1.6 k classic sprint final on Monday, the last day of 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — No two races are exactly alike, the saying goes, and there’s a lot of truth to this cliché. But if you step back just a little bit, two race days can start to look awfully similar to one another.
For example, for the second time this week, a Hanneman brother won the sprint qualifier, Reese Hanneman won the final, and Alaska Pacific University (APU) put three athletes in the final and two on the podium on a perfect day for sprinting at Kincaid Park. That was the story on Monday, when Reese Hanneman led teammate Tyler Kornfield and Ben Saxton of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team across the line in the men’s classic sprint at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships. But it was also the case on Friday, when Reese was first and Kornfield was third in the freestyle sprint. It’s been a good week for the Hanneman family.
The classic sprint, the final race of this year’s U.S. nationals, had a slightly more subdued feel than the three that preceded it.
The fields were 50 percent smaller; a combined 160 athletes skied in the qualifier on Monday compared to 337 on Friday, as many juniors opted out of a race whose results did not bear on qualification for international trips and championship teams, and some athletes had already left town. The spectator numbers were smaller, measuring in the dozens rather than the hundreds after three days of packed parking lots and raucous crowds, as the first day of school following winter break sent local students back to the classroom. And the athletes were tired, too, after a full week of racing.
“I was just running on fumes out there, especially after the 30 k yesterday,” fifth-place finisher Kevin Bolger, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) told FasterSkier after the men’s final.
But cross-country skiers are nothing if not resilient, and so, just after 10 a.m., Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) once again led 95 men out onto the qualifying course at 15-second intervals. The temperature was 10 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the display on the stadium scoreboard. The sun had yet to rise and start burning off the morning’s dense fog. It felt cold.
“It’s a very quintessential Alaskan day,” women’s domestic podium bronze medalist Becca Rorabaugh (APU) said after. “It’s like an Alaska temperature, and I feel like a lot of the Alaskan teams have great skis, it’s hard-wax skiing, and it’s just a classic race day. It’s very Alaskan.”
Hanneman Brothers Headline Qualifier
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdsyQTkB945/
APU skiers did very well in the time-trial portion of the morning, which has added, if not exclusive, significance for Olympic qualifying purposes slightly a month before the 2018 Winter Olympics begin in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Reese Hanneman, 28, who grew up in Fairbanks, covered the brand-new, 1.6-kilometer sprint course in 3:21.93, a time good for the fastest qualifying mark on the day. And he did so by nearly three seconds. Next best was his APU teammate and younger brother, Logan Hanneman, 2.84 seconds back. Third was his APU teammate Tyler Kornfield, 4.23 seconds off Reese’s mark.
Alaska Pacific University’s Reese Hanneman during the men’s 1.6-kilometer classic sprint heats on Monday at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. Hanneman won the qualifier and eventually, the final for the national title.
In light of the bonus points awarded for U.S. nationals podium performances, FasterSkier’s unofficial calculations put Logan first on the 2018 Olympic Winter Games domestic sprint qualifying list, with 80 points (45 for first at U.S. nationals and 35 for second), and Reese second, with 71 points (45 for first and 26 for third).
In Monday’s classic sprint, Benjamin Ogden (SMS) was fourth in qualifying, 5.12 seconds back. Blackhorse-von Jess was fifth (+5.16), Zak Ketterson of Northern Michigan University sixth (+7.56), Cole Morgan (SVSEF) seventh (+7.61), David Norris of APU eighth (+7.85), Saxton ninth (+7.88), and Bolger tenth (+9.09).
Just like the skate sprint, Brian Gregg, of Central Cross Country (CXC), Loppet Nordic Racing (LNR) and Team Gregg, was the final athlete to make the heats, 16.53 seconds back in 30th.
“I would say all the top sprinting guys, everyone’s focusing kind of on the qualifier, more so than normal,” Reese said on Friday after he had qualified third in the skate sprint. “There’s no margin for error, and you just have to ski it absolutely as fast as possible. It’s definitely different tactics than in the heats… but if you’re fast, you’re fast.”
Reese Hanneman Wins Everything En Route to Final
On Monday, Reese was pretty darn fast. He won his quarterfinal, the first of the day, as well as his semifinal, the first of the day, to make the final with the maximum amount of rest possible. And then, of course, he won the final as well for his fourth national title — and second of 2018 nationals.
In the day’s first quarterfinal, Reese was in the lead by the first turn at 200 meters, followed closely by Bolger. The two of them had a big lead by the time they were coming off Gong Hill. The rest of the field caught up to them somewhat by the finish, but Reese and Bolger still took the top two spots with relative ease.
In the second quarterfinal, U18 skier Ogden led the field into the first turn, with Morgan and Bill Harmeyer, of the University of Vermont, right behind. Ogden was still into the lead coming back into the stadium, but Kris Freeman (Caldwell Sport) had caught up into third. Coming into the finish, Freeman won a four-way lunge for second over Thomas O’Harra (APU), Ben Lustgarten (CGRP), and Harmeyer. O’Harra’s third place in a fast heat was good enough to send him on to the semifinals with the day’s first lucky loser spot.
In the third quarterfinal, Andrew Egger (Colby College) took the lead out of the stadium, but it was Blackhorse-von Jess in the top spot by the time they came back. Blackhorse-von Jess entered the finishing stretch with a 10-meter lead. Ketterson took second, 1.2 seconds back, with Egger another second back by the finish.
From left to right: Logan Hanneman (APU), Like Jager (APU), Ben Saxton (SMS Elite Team) Nick Michaud (BSF), Scott Patterson (APU), and Jack Hegman (SVSEF) at the start of their quarterfinal in the men’s 1.6-kilometer classic sprint on Monday at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.
In the fourth quarterfinal, Saxton and Logan Hanneman left the stadium with the early lead, alongside a quick-starting Luke Jager (APU), one of three U18 skiers who made the senior heats. It was Saxton in the lead coming back to the stadium two minutes later, with Logan leading Jager. Saxton came into the finishing stretch with a healthy lead, but Logan made a powerful move to pull around him and come alongside. Saxton won the heat by 0.37 seconds over Logan. Yesterday’s medalist, Eric Packer (APU), was out in third.
The fifth quarterfinal was heavy on local pride, with three APU skiers and a fourth from University of Alaska Anchorage. Erik Axelsson (Montana State University) led Kornfield and Logan Diekmann (University of Utah) into the first uphill. But two minutes later it was all APU, with Kornfield, David Norris and Forrest Mahlen with a sizeable lead on the rest of the field. Kornfield took the win; Mahlen came around Norris for second, but Norris moved on with the day’s other lucky loser spot. Axelsson was nearly five seconds back of Norris in fourth.
In the first semifinal, Blackhorse-von Jess flashed his ski speed and momentum by dropping into a tuck within the first 200-meter straightaway in the stadium, then still led the field over the top of the first, smaller climb. Ogden and Reese Hanneman were nearby. When they returned to the stadium, Reese had a 20-meter lead over Ogden on the downhill. As happened throughout the day, though, that lead shrank to half that size by the time the skiers entered the finishing stretch. But Reese still had the lead, which he held to the finish. Bolger was second, 0.32 seconds back. Ogden was relegated for obstruction.
The second semifinal featured a predominantly blue color scheme, between four suits from APU and the blue accents on Saxton’s SMS suit. Saxton again led out of the stadium, with Ketterson and Kornfield close by. By the time they came off Gong Hill two minutes later, it was Kornfield in the lead, with Ketterson close behind him. Kornfield led into the finishing stretch, but Ketterson overtook him to place first in the heat.
Behind them, Logan Hanneman made a strong push for third. He closed down Saxton, edging him by 0.04 seconds for third behind Ketterson and Kornfield. In practice, both Logan and Saxton advanced to the final as lucky losers; Norris’s fifth place in this heat would have won the day’s first semifinal by nearly a second.
Reese Hanneman Wins Final, Again
Slightly after 2 p.m., six men lined up in the south end of the Kincaid Stadium. From racer’s left to right, it was Logan, Kornfield, Ketterson, Reese, Bolger, and Saxton in the starting blocks. The sun was out, the temperature was in the high teens, and the course was firm and fast. There was no wind. Conditions were once more basically perfect.
The field had a clean start at the sound of the starter’s pistol, double poling in six separate lanes over the first 200 meters slightly downhill through the stadium. As the racers turned right to go up the first hill it was the Hanneman brothers in the lead, with Kornfield immediately behind them and Ketterson to Kornfield’s right. The pack double poled up the first part of the climb, then strode up and over the top of the hill.
A quick descent followed, then a high-speed, double-pole section leading to the start of the course’s main hill. Reese pushed the pace going up the hill, and not everyone was able to respond.
“I basically started at the base of the big climb,” Reese recalled of the 24-meter vertical gain B-climb in the middle of the sprint course. “I just kind of led in the climb and then just threw down the hammer and just tried to drop everyone going up that thing, and just continue to pound it over the top and take it all the way home.”
The largest climb on the course is “tough for classic skiing,” Bolger explained. “That hill definitely adds a different dynamic to your whole approach to every heat you do. To be able to ski up that hill four times, strong, it’s a challenge.” (Bolger added that he didn’t think anyone would have attempted to double pole a hill of that size, saying that “it’s a challenging enough hill to where it’s going to rule out double poling for anyone.” But just to be sure, race organizers placed a no-double-pole technique zone up the entire length of the climb for both the qualifier and the heats.)
By the time the field descended the waterfall downhill back into the stadium, Reese had a substantial gap over Kornfield, who in turn had a sizeable lead over Ketterson.
Kornfield made up some of this gap going down and around the final 180-degree turn, but Reese still entered the final straightaway with a sizeable lead. Saxton had moved into third, ahead of Ketterson, by the time they reached the 100 meters to go mark.
Reese Hanneman (1) of Alaska Pacific University celebrates his second sprint title of the 2018 L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships on Monday with a win in the classic sprint final, just ahead of teammate Tyler Kornfield (r) in Anchorage, Alaska. Ben Saxton (SMS Elite Team) rounded out the podium in third. (Photo: Michael Dinneen Photography)
Kornfield barreled down the slight uphill of the finishing straight with grace and fury, closing in on Reese with each extension of his lanky frame. But he was still in the same finishing lane as his APU teammate, getting closer to Reese, but still immediately behind him. With roughly 20 meters to go, Kornfield moved one lane to his left, then lunged as he approached the finish. But Reese’s lead was still too much, and he crossed the finish with his second sprint national title of the week.
Reese’s time for the final was 3:20.62. Kornfield was 0.2 seconds back in second.
Some distance behind them, Saxton crossed the finish line in third, 4.78 seconds back of Reese, with a slight lead over Logan and Bolger. Ketterson finished sixth, 6.83 seconds back, in his second sprint final of the week.
“He is obviously on super-good form right now,” Reese continued. “I just have to know that I have a little more speed than he does. … But he’s really cranking right now. He is skiing great, but it definitely motivated me to know to just drive that thing so hard in the final.”
The second national title in as many races was “an answer to a lot of prayers from this morning and in the heats,” Reese said. “I just feel really lucky and stoked that I could put it together and be in such good form right now in January. It was a great day, an amazing day.”
Tyler Kornfield leads his APU teammate Forrest Mahlen in the men’s 1..6 k classic sprint on Monday at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.
Although Kornfield was second today, he “probably got the all-around performance of the week for the men,” Reese said of his teammate. Kornfield reached the podium in every race this week save the opening 15 k freestyle individual start, where he was 14th.
Kornfield’s race series was “a dream come true a little bit,” Kornfield told FasterSkier, “a little unexpected, but I knew I had it in me. The start of the season didn’t go as planned, I got sick for a month before it started, I also sprained my wrist for another month and so I was pretty frustrated with the lack of performances, but I knew there was something there and it was just a matter of time.”
“In this sport there are a lot of ups and downs,” he continued, “and it’s really easy to get caught up in the downs and not realize that just because you have a few bad races doesn’t mean you lose your ability to succeed, so just have to keep your head up and keep trying and hoping for the doors to open.”
When it comes to possibilities for potential Olympic selection, “I don’t know anything,” Kornfield said. “I can let you know in a couple weeks.”
Mathematically speaking, Kornfield currently ranks second to APU teammate Scott Patterson on the most recent version of the Olympic selection distance points list, which reflects both distance races from U.S. nationals.
For now, Kornfield plans to leave Alaska on Tuesday (that is, today) for a previously planned trip to Austria. He plans to work out precisely what races he will contest soon; he had planned on racing a Ski Classics marathon, but is currently uncertain where he will be racing next.
While Kornfield’s week at U.S. nationals exceeded his expectations, Monday’s third-place finisher, Saxton, didn’t have the week he was hoping for.
“I came here, like many people, with goals of heading to Korea and representing the country racing in the Games,” Saxton said after the final. “I fell short of that this week and that’s nothing to be ashamed of, but I was really disappointed I wasn’t in the mix as much as I would have hoped to be. This week was difficult because I don’t feel like I put forth a representative effort.”
Saxton was quick to offer sincere congratulations to the skiers who had had more success this week.
“I am incredibly proud to know and am happy for Logan and Scott and Reese and all of the other champions from this week,” he said, “and incredibly happy that those are going to be the skiers going to over to represent us. I think it’s just, from a personal standpoint, people can understand I was disappointed not to feel like I had my absolutely best days out there, but I am really proud to end the day on a podium, representing the hard work that all my teammates and my coach and the program at Stratton have done all year, and to reward them for that work and that effort is a great feeling.”
Saxton also enjoyed the “playground mentality” of the sprint day.
“I think a lot of the times racing we can get lost in the technical aspects of it,” he mused, “but one of the reasons I love racing heats so much is, it just kind of reminds me of being back in elementary school and pointing to something in the far end of the playground, basketball hoop, or whatever it is, and just saying, ‘Let me race you there.’ And there’s no rules, there’s no anything, it’s just the feeling of you and the other person just going all out, and that’s a beautiful way to live and that’s a beautiful way to compete, and sprints are a wonderful thing like that.”
Strong Alaska Performances Throughout the Week
What a difference a year makes. One year ago this week, in the classic sprint at Soldier Hollow, APU didn’t put any athletes into the heats for the first time in at least a decade, done in by a combination of illness, seeding, weather conditions, and wax choice. This time around, head coach Erik Flora’s squad sent eight men through to the heats, six to the semifinal, three to the final, and two to the podium.*
The classic sprint capped a successful week for APU, and for Alaskan skiers more generally. Caitlin Patterson, who skis for CGRP, took all four gold medals for the women. Then APU skiers took all four golds on the men’s side, between Scott Patterson on Wednesday, Reese on Friday and Monday, and Kornfield on Sunday. Chelsea Holmes, Kornfield again, Hannah Halvorsen, Rosie Frankowski, Eric Packer, Becca Rorabaugh, and Kornfield again also stepped on the domestic podium for APU. All told, that’s 15 out of a possible 24 medals going to athletes who hail from or ski in Alaska.
(Although if you slice the data another way, there were also seven out of 12 possible medals in women’s races won by CGRP, between Patterson’s quadfecta and Kaitlynn Miller’s trifecta.)
This week’s results “just show the depth” of the team, Reese told FasterSkier after his race. “It speaks to the hard work of our coaches, especially Erik Flora. That guy will not be outworked, he just puts so much into us. I’m just really happy that we can have a week like this and go four for four in the men’s with APU, just to show that what he is doing works and how hard he works for us. … To get to this point that we can do that and crush all week and just give them a good show is really rewarding.”
“We’re all Alaska born-and-raised,” Reese added of the APU men. “Can’t beat that.”
*(Full disclosure, this reporter skis on the APU Masters team, and receives direct coaching from Flora roughly once a year at Masters Camp.)
Reese Hanneman (c) of Alaska Pacific University celebrates his win in the men’s freestyle sprint final on Friday at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships. He finished 0.08 seconds ahead of Kevin Bolger (r) of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation for the win at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Michael Dinneen Photography)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Friday was a good day for Team Hanneman and its friends. Younger brother Logan Hanneman won the qualifier, older brother Reese Hanneman won the final, and Alaska Pacific University (APU) put three skiers in the final and two on the podium in the men’s freestyle sprint on a bluebird day at Kincaid Park on Day 2 of racing at the 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships.
A long day of sprint racing got underway with the men’s qualifier at 10 a.m., precisely 10 minutes before the official sunrise. But it was already brighter then than at any point during the day on Wednesday, when a sodden snowfall blotted out most of the daylight and APU skier Rosie Frankowski openly mused about wearing a headlamp during her warmup.
Friday, by contrast, brought light fog in the morning, burning off to reveal full sunshine during the heart of the day and bring actual warmth to the hundreds of fans lining the sprint course around Kincaid Stadium and up and down the Gong Hill. Temperatures had reached as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit during the night before, and were never much above 19 degrees during the day Friday. The course of mostly manmade snow, with a mixture of natural snow from the roughly three inches that fell on Wednesday, was firm and fast. There was no wind. In stark contrast to the slush racers experienced on Wednesday, conditions were essentially perfect.
Logan Hanneman Fastest in Qualifying
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) led out the field of 191 men with bib No. 1 for the qualifier. Less than an hour later, APU skier Logan Hanneman had proven fastest in the individual time-trial portion of the day.
The Hanneman brothers after Friday’s skate sprint at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, where they live and train with Alaska Pacific University. Reese Hanneman (l) won the men’s final and younger brother Logan (r) won the men’s qualifier.
Logan’s time on the 1.6-kilometer course was 3:07.40. The 24 year old was followed, on the imaginary but meaningful “qualifier podium,” by Kevin Bolger, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) in second, 0.48 seconds back, and Reese Hanneman in third, 1.13 seconds behind.
The rest of the qualifying top 10 were Nick Michaud (Bridger Ski Foundation) in fourth, Martin Bergström (University of Utah) in fifth, Dag Frode Trollebø of the University of Denver (DU) in sixth, Cole Morgan (SVSEF) in seventh, Tyler Kornfield (APU) in eighth, Eivind Romberg Kvaale (DU) in ninth, and Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars), Wednesday’s top junior in the distance race, in 10th.
Brian Gregg, representing Central Cross Country (CXC), Loppet Nordic Racing (LNR) and Team Gregg, took the coveted 30th and final qualifying spot, 8.82 seconds back from Logan. Nicholas Sweeney (DU) was another second-plus back in 31st.
This laundry list of results is of more than academic interest if you are a male sprinter trying to make the U.S. Olympic team for next month’s Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. As FasterSkier recently explained, the points list for Olympic selection “will only consider qualification-round finish placing,” and not an athlete’s final position based on racing in the heats. Notably, while both Logan Hanneman (fifth in his semifinal) and the day’s fastest female qualifier, Anne Hart (third in her semifinal), did well, neither of them made their respective final.
APU’s Logan Hanneman (l) leading the University of Vermont’s Bill Harmeyer in the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint quarterfinals on Friday at the 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. After winning the qualifier, Hanneman was eliminated in the semifinals.
If there was one person who had seen Logan Hanneman’s speedy qualifying time coming, it was his older brother.
“He’s one of the best qualifiers,” Reese, 28, said of Logan before this season began. This was true on Friday even though Logan was racing with a dislocated rib, according to Kornfield.
“So the fact that he won the qualifier is unbelievable,” Kornfield said after.
The added significance of the qualifier result for U.S. Olympic selection purposes, coupled with the desire to still have enough energy left to ski well through three rounds of heats, was on the radar of all three eventual podium finishers.
“I would say all the top sprinting guys, everyone’s focusing kind of on the qualifier, more so than normal,” Reese said on Friday. “There’s no margin for error, and you just have to ski it absolutely as fast as possible. It’s definitely different tactics than in the heats… but if you’re fast, you’re fast.”
According to Bolger, who finished second in both qualifying and the final, the significance of the qualifier “absolutely” affected his approach to the day overall.
“Definitely wanted to go into the qualifier and have a strong result,” Bolger said. “I was happy with being second, just barely behind Logan, which I was bummed about but also super happy – there’s a lot weighing on it. So to be able to have a good qualifier, and then still be able to, I think, ski strong throughout the heats, and then into the final – I think that says just as much. So overall I’m really happy.”
“All the pressure was on the qualifier,” echoed Kornfield, who finished third in the final after qualifying in eighth. “I’m normally not very good at qualifying, so the chance of me making that [No. 1 qualifying] spot would have been a moonshot, but I was happy with how I qualified. I know that if I qualify well, then my heats go well, so I was just, after qualifying well, trying to get back and focus on the heats.”
Reese Takes First Throughout Heats
Of the three podium finishers, Reese and Bolger had the smoother paths throughout the day. Reese was first in his quarterfinal and first in his semifinal to automatically advance to the final, winning each heat by less than 0.2 seconds. Similarly, Bolger won his quarterfinal, then was second to Reese in a fast semifinal, 0.17 seconds back.
Left to right: Eivind Romberg Kvaale (University of Denver), Nick Michaud (Bridger Ski Foundation), Reese Hanneman (APU), Kevin Bolger (SVSEF) and Tyler Kornfield (APU) during their men’s 1.6 k freestyle sprint semifinal on Friday at the 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.
Kornfield skied fast enough in his semifinal to earn a lucky loser bid for the final in fourth, after finishing second behind Reese in his quarterfinal. The top-four men in that second semifinal all finished within less than a second of Reese as the winner, and both lucky losers — Kvaale in third and Kornfield — came from that heat.
Throughout the rounds, Reese skied fairly close to the front throughout the day. In his quarterfinal, the men’s fifth of the day, he was one of three skiers near the lead as the pack took a righthand turn heading up and out of the stadium. He was second coming off the course’s largest downhill back into the stadium, then turned on Beast Mode, approaching the final straightaway to pull into the lead and take the win in 3:10.62. Kornfield was second, 0.19 seconds back.
In the semifinal, similarly, Reese skied in the top three throughout the race, ultimately leading the four-man group sprint to the line for first.
Reese Hanneman Holds Off Bolger
Nearly four hours into the day, six men lined up for the final, now under bright sunshine. From skier’s right to left, it was Eric Packer (APU), Zak Ketterson (Northern Michigan University), Bolger, Reese, Kvaale, and Kornfield lined up across the south end of the capacious Kincaid Stadium.
That’s three APU skiers with national titles to their name, last year’s classic sprint national champion in Bolger, one skier whose previous best at U.S. nationals was 15th (Kvaale), and a 20 year old whom the livestream announcers called a “surprise finalist” (Ketterson).
The field had a clean start off the line, and into the slight-downhill straightaway through the Kincaid Stadium. After approximately 200 meters, the racers took a righthand turn up to the base of a gradual, all-V2, two-stage uphill. At this point it was Ketterson in the lead, with Kvaale and Reese tucked in immediately behind him, and the other three athletes following no more than a ski length further back.
By the top of this climb, it was still Ketterson in front, with Reese following and Packer up into third position.
Roughly one minute later, it was Ketterson in front coming down the waterfall downhill back into the stadium at high speeds. There was a gap of five meters back to Kornfield and Reese, who jostled slightly on the descent but did not fall, and Bolger and Packer immediately behind them. Ketterson was technically still in front, but five meters’ separation at those speeds meant little, and the lead pack was effectively still five athletes strong.
By the time the racers had negotiated a broad 180-degree turn and climbed back up into the stadium, Hanneman was in the lead coming around the final curve. Bolger was second, with Ketterson and Kornfield just off to his left.
Reese Hanneman (c) takes first, roughly half a ski length ahead of Kevin Bolger (r), with Tyler Kornfield (l) third. Zak Ketterson (second from l) and Eric Packer (third from l) are immediately behind Kornfield, with Eivind Romberg Kvaale farther back. (Screenshot: U.S. Ski & Snowboard live stream)
Hanneman came into the final straightaway with a slight lead, and took the middle lane. He skied smoothly through the finish, but Bolger was coming on strong to his left in the outer lane.
Reese kept his slight lead all the way to the finish. Bolger lunged better, but Reese skied faster. Bolger’s lunge got him to within less than half a ski-length of Reese by the finish, but Reese took the victory.
To Reese’s right, Kornfield led Ketterson and Packer in the next lane to the inside. Kvaale skied in leisurely at the back after suffering an untimely broken pole.
Reese’s winning time was 3:11.33 for the 1.6 k course. Bolger was 0.08 seconds back, with Kornfield another 0.8 seconds behind him for third. There was a gap of over a second to Ketterson and Packer, then another 12 seconds back to Kvaale.
Reese aimed to continue his frontrunning ways in the final, he explained to FasterSkier in a post-race interview.
“Everyone’s fighting for the front half because you know that’s kind of where you’ve got to be,” he said. “Everyone’s too fast; you know you’re not going to come from sixth. So I just fought really hard to stay kind of in the front half, throw down the move on the last hill coming into the finish, and it paid off.”
The men’s freestyle sprint podium at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships, with Reese Hanneman (c) in first, Kevin Bolger (l) in second and Tyler Kornfield (r) in third on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska.The men’s freestyle sprint podium at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships, with Reese Hanneman (c) in first, Kevin Bolger (l) in second and Tyler Kornfield (r) in third on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska.
Reese said he was thrilled by a day in which he won the national title — his third — and Logan won the qualifier.
“He’s one of the best in the country,” Reese said of Logan, “and he and I have been going back and forth in the sprints for a while now. He’s the defending champion in this event from last season, so I knew he was a factor. He’s a powerful skier, and it’s awesome to see him do well. I think we’re both better because we’ve been fighting with each other for years.”
Bolger explained he approached the final differently than his other heats.
“Honestly, I just tried to stay relaxed,” the 24-year-old Wisconsin native said. “I tried to kind of keep an open mind and not put too much into it, overthink it. … I wanted to ski kind of my own race and let things unfold in front of me, and then take chances where I could.”
In practice, this put Bolger in fourth coming off the big downhill back into the stadium. But he trusted his skis, and his finishing skills, and was able to move back into second within just a few hundred meters.
“I kind of got, not pushed to the back a little bit, but kind of toward the back,” he recounted. “But coming toward those last few corners I was right in there. And I was confident in my skiing and I knew I was strong, I felt strong, so I was kind of able to push those corners hard.”
Kornfield, similarly, said, “This is a hard course, so you just had to keep pushing to the finish.”
“The way the course starts, it doesn’t start too hard, it’s pretty flat for the first part. And the uphill is so big that – for some reason you can’t break away on that,” Kornfield added of Kincaid’s brand-new sprint course. “You couldn’t gain that much time; I think people were just conserving until that last 200 meters. It always bunched up with about 200 meters to go, and it was only about who had the best kick and who got lucky with the hole shot. If you tried to get yourself in good position by the final, you would have a good go at the finish.”
Reflecting on the vagaries of sprint racing, he noted, “This is an incredibly fair course. It’s incredibly wide, and it was a lot of fun, but we don’t race those kind of back-and-forth heats that often. So I was just pretty relieved to make the podium, because anything could have happened. You could have snapped a pole easily, you could have fallen. It was kind of a relief just to make it to the final in the first place, and then to make it on the podium was unbelievable.”
Kornfield, 26, who was born and raised in Anchorage and has raced at Kincaid Park dozens of times, summoned the same adjective when asked if he had ever seen a crowd like this at Kincaid for a ski race before.
“This is unbelievable,” Kornfield said. “I remember back [at U.S. nationals at Kincaid] in 2010, and I felt like it was just a wave of noise coming in. This is even more. It’s incredible that people were here and out here. I’m so excited that Reese and I could make the podium and make ’em proud.”
(A sportswriter for the local Anchorage Daily News with 30 years’ experience called it “One of the biggest spectator crowds ever to gather at Kincaid Park.”)
Kornfield likely has fond memories of 2010 for many reasons; he won his first national title then. Friday’s third-place finish marked his seventh time on a U.S. nationals podium, including two national titles. Reese, similarly, took home his third national title (after the 2014 classic sprint at Soldier Hollow in Utah and 2016 skate sprint in Houghton, Michigan), and recorded his eighth national podium. And Bolger notched his second-career podium finish at U.S. nationals, after winning the classic sprint at Soldier Hollow last year.
New Sprint Course Meets with Rave Reviews
As FasterSkier recently explained, Friday marked the debut of the new sprint course at Kincaid. And the athletes approved.
“It was a great course,” Reese said. “Really hard – I would say probably the hardest sprint course we’ve had at nationals in a while. It rivals Fairbanks last year. But there’s a big hill, something you would see on a World Cup, or [World] Championships, so that made it hard. Super-fast downhills. … I think it’s one of the best courses we’ve had in a while. There’s some gradual terrain, there’s a hill, an A-climb, one of the biggest climbs I’ve seen on a sprint course in the U.S., probably ever. I think it’s a great course. It’s fair, everybody likes it, it’s fun. But it skis really well, it’s fast. You can’t get too much better than that.”
“It’s a good course,” concurred Bolger. “It’s really fun. Good hills, good downhills, good cornering. I think it kind of gets at, you’ve kind of got to be a good all-around skier to kind of be able to go from the qualifier to the final.”
“This is an incredibly fair course, it’s incredibly wide, and it was a lot of fun,” said Kornfield.
Athletes will get another shot at it on the final race day of U.S. nationals, the classic sprint on Monday. Classic distance races (20/30 k mass starts) are the next races up, starting at 10 a.m. Sunday morning.
The Hanneman brothers after Friday’s skate sprint at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, where they live and train with Alaska Pacific University. Reese Hanneman (l) won the men’s final and younger brother Logan (r) won the men’s qualifying round.
U.S. Cross Country Championships (Anchorage, Alaska): Freestyle sprints
Caitlin Patterson racked up her second-straight national title at this year’s 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships and Reese Hanneman topped the men’s freestyle sprint final on Friday at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska.
In the first of two sprints at 2018 U.S. nationals, Patterson, the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) skier who won the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle on Wednesday, posted a 3.56-second win in the women’s 1.5 k freestyle sprint final on Friday.
After qualifying 12th, 5.76 seconds back from Anne Hart of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, who won the qualifier in 3:22.10, Patterson won both her quarterfinal and semifinal, both times ahead of University of Denver (DU) junior Jasmi Joensuu in second.
The two advanced to the final, where Patterson reached the finish line first once more in 3:20.93, about 3 1/2 seconds ahead of Joensuu in second and 4.19 seconds ahead of Petra Hyncicova, a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder, in third. Craftsbury had two in the final with Kaitlynn Miller placing fourth (+4.35). U20 skier Hannah Halvorsen of Alaska Pacific University (APU) and the U.S. Ski Team (USST) finished fifth (+7.66), and Kelsey Phinney of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) placed sixth (+9.78).
Hart won her quarterfinal then placed third in the first semifinal, behind Miller, who won that heat, and Hyncicova in second, to miss advancing to the final. Hart had won the qualifier by 1.78 seconds over Joensuu in second.
In the men’s 1.6 k skate sprint, Logan Hanneman (APU) won the qualifier in 3:07.4. Kevin Bolger (SVSEF) qualified in second (+0.48), and older brother Reese Hanneman (APU) was third (+1.13).
In the quarterfinals, Reese won his heat by 0.19 seconds ahead of his teammate Tyler Kornfield, and Logan finished second, 0.42 seconds behind U18 skier Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars), as the winner of the first quarterfinal. Bolger won the fourth quarterfinal.
Reese raced to another win in the second semifinal, 0.17 seconds ahead of Bolger in second. APU’s Eric Packer won the first semi, 1.66 seconds clear of Zak Ketterson of Northern Michigan University (NMU) in second. Logan finished fifth in that semifinal, 4.48 seconds out of first, trailing Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) in third and Schumacher in fourth.
In the final, which included three APU athletes out of six total, Reese nipped Bolger by just eight-hundredths of a second for the win in 3:11.33. APU had two on the podium with Kornfield in third (+0.88). Ketterson finished fourth (+1.92), Packer was fifth (+2.34), and DU sophomore Eivind Romberg Kvaale was sixth (+14.08).
U.S. nationals racing continues Sunday with the 20/30 k classic mass starts.
The men’s classic sprint podium at 2018 Canadian NorAm Trials on Friday at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, with Julien Locke (second from r) in first, Russell Kennedy (r) in second, Bob Thompson (c) in third, Evan Palmer-Charrette (second from l) in fourth, and Dominique Moncion-Groulx (l) in fifth. (Photo: Canmore Nordic Ski Club/Instagram)
Canada’s NorAm Olympic trials opened Friday at Mont Sainte-Anne in Beaupré, Quebec, with Dahria Beatty (Canadian World Cup Team/Alberta World Cup Academy) winning the women’s 1.35-kilometer classic sprint and Julien Locke (Canadian U25 Team/Black Jack) topping the men’s 1.35 k classic sprint final. While Beatty has already secured her spot at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Locke has not — but the win didn’t ensure he’ll be selected to the team. In a tiebreaker, it looks like he is second on the men’s sprint list at trials to Russell Kennedy, of Canmore Nordic/Team R.A.D.
Based on its published nomination procedures for the 2018 Olympic Games, Cross Country Canada (CCC) will consider both qualifying and final results in its “sprint selection ranking process”. In the men’s qualifying round on Friday, Kennedy qualified first (in 3:02.81 minutes) and Locke followed in second (3.06 seconds back). Kennedy later placed second to Locke in the men’s final. Effectively, that meant they were tied, should CCC select another male sprinter to its Olympic team. But the tiebreaker is the qualifying round, which Kennedy won.
To reach the final, Kennedy placed second in his quarterfinal, behind Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH), and Locke was second in his quarterfinal as well, behind Andy Shields of Lappe Nordic. All four automatically advanced to the semifinals, where Kennedy posted a 1.12-second win over Bob Thompson, of the National Team Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay, and Locke edged Jess Cockney (of the Canadian World Cup Team, who prequalified for PyeongChang) by 0.34 seconds.
In the final, Locke notched a 1.17-second win over Kennedy, crossing the line first in 3:04.16. Thompson took third (+2.49), Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) was fourth (+5.74), Dominique Moncion-Groulx (AWCA) was fifth (+7.2) and Cockney sixth (+55.97). Len Valjas, who is recovering from a shoulder injury and is prequalified for PyeongChang, won the men’s B-final for seventh overall.
In the women’s race, Beatty qualified first in 3:41.55, then won both her quarterfinal and semifinal before topping the final as well in 3:45.02, 0.64 seconds ahead of Maya MacIsaac-Jones (U25 Team/Rocky Mountain Racers) in second. Katherine Stewart-Jones (U25 Team/NTDC Thunder Bay) finished third (+1.2) in the final, Cendrine Browne (U25 Team/CNEPH) was fourth (+4.58), Annika Hicks (AWCA) fifth (+10.21), and Andrea Dupont (RMR) sixth (+12.18).
Browne posted the second-fastest qualifying time, 3.13 seconds back from Beatty. Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (RMR) qualified third (+8.08), but was disqualified in her quarterfinal. MacIsaac-Jones qualified fourth (+8.49), putting her total points for the day — based on CCC’s selection ranking — at 6. Browne scored 6 points as well (for qualifying second then finishing fourth overall), but with the better qualifier, Browne is expected to be deemed the winner of that Olympic sprint spot. Laura Leclair (CNEPH) qualified fifth (+10.57), and Stewart-Jones ranked fifth (+13.8) in the qualifying round.
NTDC Thunder Bay’s Katherine Stewart-Jones (l) and CNEPH’s Cendrine Browne, both the Canadian U25 Team, after the NorAm Trials classic sprint at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec. (Photo: Mario Walker/NorAm MSA 2018 Facebook)
Browne won her quarterfinal by 1.5 seconds over Hicks, and the two met again in the semifinal, which Browne also won, this time by 2.81 seconds over Hicks. MacIsaac-Jones posted a 0.25-second quarterfinal win over Dupont, then finished second in her semifinal, 0.22 seconds behind Beatty.
Fresh off racing Period 1 of the World Cup, Browne, 24, is best known as a distance skier, but she’s been on the NorAm sprint podium before. She last won a sprint qualifier and finished second overall at two years ago at the Canmore NorAm in December 2015.
In an email, CCC High Performance Director Thomas Holland confirmed Browne and Kennedy were the sprint-selection winners next in line for Olympic quota spots.
“Cendrine has officially been named the winner of the Olympic sprint selection event.
The only catch is that Cross Country Canada’s official selection cannot be announced until FIS (the international ski federation) announces its final quota re-allocation at the end of January.
The most recent version of the FIS quotas, dated yesterday morning (Friday) allocates only eight quotas for Canada. IN THEORY, that quota could be lowered further still, in which case certain named athletes could be left out.
Which is why Cendrine will have to wait until late January to shout her news from the rooftops!
Her victory in the sprint selection is doubly important as it puts her in the Number 3 spot on the women’s team, behind Dahria Beatty and Emily Nishikawa, according to Amendment #2 of Cross Country Canada’s Olympic selection criteria.
If the FIS quota were to be lowered to 7, for example, it would be the women’s distance winner who would lose out.”
The NorAm trials for Olympics as well as Junior and U23 World Championships resume Monday with skiathlons, followed by skate sprints on Tuesday. Sunday’s 10/15 k classic individual starts were postponed to Wednesday.
Tim Burke shooting clean in standing for his second-straight stage en route to a fourth-place finish in the men’s 10 k sprint on Friday at the IBU World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)
In his first race of the new year, Tim Burke raced to fourth — his best result in four years — in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Oberhof, Germany.
The 35-year-old American started 22nd out of 103 and shot clean to cross the finish line in third, 20.1 seconds behind France’s Martin Fourcade, who also shot clean and finished in 25:03.3 minutes — a time that would hold up against the entire field as the fastest and give the Frenchman his second win of the season.
Fourcade had bumped early race leader Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø to second, after Bø missed two targets on his initial prone stage then cleaned standing (2+0), but skied the fastest overall course time to reach the podium. Burke’s time was 9.9 short of Bø’s.
Ultimately, Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen as the 58th starter bumped Bø to third and Burke off the podium, finishing second, 8.1 seconds behind Fourcade, also with clean shooting.
Canada was led by Scott Gow in 32nd (+1:48.7), who had a single standing penalty (0+1), and his brother Christian Gow finished 36th (+1:50.3) with one standing miss as well (0+1). Brendan Green was 57th (+2:30.4) with three penalties (1+2), and in his first European World Cup race, Carsen Campbell finished finished 94th (+4:05.3) with two misses (2+0).
The U.S. started two men on Friday, with Sean Doherty finishing 84th (+3:24.4) with four penalties (3+1).
The Oberhof IBU World Cup continues Saturday with the men’s and women’s pursuits.
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) racing a World Cup classic sprint in February 2013 in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo: Felgenhauer/NordicFocus)
For this Wednesday Workout, we’re bringing back a speed-inducing bounding session Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess shared with us four years ago. These days, Blackhorse-von Jess, 31, is still racing out of the Bend Endurance Academy under the guidance of Ben Husaby. Read the original workout here.
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[circa October 2013]
This edition of Wednesday Workout was submitted by Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess, the man who dominated the coveted Frozen Thunder classic sprint last week in Canmore, Alberta, and had time to take names: beating U.S. Ski Team members Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton in the process (to be fair, they were on skate skis, but hey, that’s racing). The Norwegian website Langrenn even gave him a shout out on Facebook (translation, “Dakota Blackhorse, lovely name for a cross country runner”).
Upon catching up with Blackhorse-von Jess, who flies solo under coach Ben Husaby at the Bend Endurance Academy in Oregon, we asked him what gives and why he’s so fast this time of year.
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (l) gets the inside line while rollerskiing head-to-head with Skyler Davis (c) and Sam Tarling earlier this month at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: Tom Kelly/U.S. Ski Team)
“We’ve really been focusing the last 4 years on systematically building my aerobic fitness,” Blackhorse-von Jess, 27, wrote in an email. “Coach Ben and I started with a focus on volume on base training and through the years have progressed to a level where I can sustain high levels of quality work – and clearly it’s paying off.
“All of the indicators in training have been pointing to increased aerobic capacity and efficiency at sustained intensity efforts, so the takeaway is validation of the success of our model thus far,” the Dartmouth grad added. “Racing is so much fun, being back on the road and seeing all my friends and getting back in the wax room with Scott Johnston and Sam Naney of MOD, and for sure being in the mix with Andy and Sim who set the bar for the rest of us was awesome.”
Well said, Blackhorse-von Jess.
Now here’s what he does:
The Workout: Threshold Plus (bounding in mixed terrain)
Explained: The transition into fall training for us means a change in the level of intensity. For the first time since the training year started in May, I get to play in the area of threshold – and threshold plus. Over the 10 years Coach Ben and I have worked together, we’ve developed both long term (year-to-year) and short term (month-to-month) training progressions. As with all things in life, experience is the best teacher and we have learned so much over the years by constantly adding new pieces cherry picking the best ones. This organic and highly collaborative style of training functions, in no small part, because of the way we have grown to understand the work we’re doing.
I mention this because feeling the workout is hands down the most important part. Yes, I use a heart rate monitor when I’m training – especially in intervals. It’s primary function, however, is actually post-workout where we can better determine if we are achieving our goals. There is a whole lot more than goes into creating a training plan that I’ve gone into here, not the least of which is understanding the science. The what and the why of different types/styles of workouts are important for Nordic skier development, but once those have been decided the how makes all the difference.
Wednesdays we hit the trails: pole bounding in mixed terrain.
Warmup: Approx. 30 minutes with 10 minutes or so of bounding specific warmup: ski walking, moosehoofing, and full on explosive bounding in addition to some muscle memory/technique drills
Intervals: 5 x 4-“ish” minutes over set terrain, with the primary goal being to spend as much time as possible at or above threshold without slowing down from interval to interval.
Recover 4-“ish” minutes between. “Active” recovery is key, but how active a person can be in recovery is totally individual – just try to keep the heart rate down in Level 2 or below and work out the lactate best you can. I walk/jog between… once I get my breath back.
(While I dearly love the flowing nature of intervals over constantly varying ground, it’s easier to measure the workout over set terrain. We found a perfect place to work on mid-interval acceleration and then survival, which was a big goal of Ben’s for me this fall as it has been a piece missing in my racing. I say 4-ish minutes because my finishing marker was just a hair over 4 minutes when I started… and I was about 15 seconds faster by the end.)
Doing It Right: Bounding in the woods is not necessarily a function of speed – you can almost always make the work harder by doing it “more correctly.” Just pushing harder usually means a breakdown in technique, which has huge application to ski racing where technique breakdown under duress can have catastrophic consequences.
That said, measuring time over set terrain really helps me understand the changes in feeling my body goes through as I fatigue. Keeping even splits, or dropping negative splits, over the intervals is still the goal.
The first couple intervals are usually about holding myself back (although not everyone experiences training the way I do, so take this with a grain of salt), I get to push a little bit in the third, push more in the fourth, and then dig deep in the last interval to keep getting faster.
By appropriately using the first couple intervals and the first minute or two of each interval to prime your system, there is a natural flow into anaerobia. We try to structure one workout a week to maximize the time spent anaerobic, and this one has been a real gem for us.
Cool down: 15 minutes-“ish.” However long it takes to get moving again and get some of the junk out of your body.
Canadians Fran Vukonic, Tallon Noble and Ian Williams after completing a trail run on Sept. 5 at Big White in Kelowna, B.C.,with the backdrop of the newest Kelowna fire on an otherwise bluebird day. (Photo: Gareth Williams)
Beyond the hundredth meridian, a traditional geographic line demarcating where the West begins, it’s been a hot and dry summer. Wildfires have raged from Washington to California, the Intermountain West, and in western Canada. The conditions remain ripe for extreme fire danger. Even if a wildfire didn’t burn near you, odds are the smoke found its way there.
Across the board and across the U.S., it’s been an off-the-charts summer. While many Americans have been consumed with hurricane coverage and concerns over the last several weeks, fires have scorched more than a million acres in Washington and Oregon alone this year, according to Quartz Media. That’s up from 513,226 total acres in 2016, but in 2015 and 2014, more than a million acres were affected.
NOAA wildfire smoke and the correlating Air Quality Index for Sept. 5, 2017. (Photo: NOAA)
Along with the devastated landscapes and loss, the wildfires’ byproducts of smoke and ash have made for smoggy, poor air quality. We’re talking about seriously hazy days when visibility often wasn’t more than a mile or two.
Training outside in less-than-ideal quality air can compromise an athlete. To better understand when it’s OK to go out or stay in, many skiers and coaches became intimate with the scientific benchmarks for air quality.
“I sort of have this rule where if I can see the glaciers on the mountain, I would rollerski but not do intervals,” Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess, who’s based out of the Bend Endurance Academy in Oregon, said on the phone last Friday. “My personal limit for being outdoors is that 75 AQI limit. That’s the unhealthy or moderate zone.”
Here’s a quick primer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed an user-friendly Air Quality Index (AQI). The index is color coded and provides a numerical value indicative of a region’s air quality. An AQI of 75 means the air has a PM2.5 concentration of 23.5 microgramsper cubic meter. Going further, PM2.5 refers to the size of particulate matter in the air. In this case, the 2.5 corresponds to particulate matter 2.5 microns or less in width. That’s small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs, even the bloodstream.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Index (Photo: EPA/AIRNOW.gov)
That 75 Blackhorse-von Jess limit falls midway into the moderate zone on the AQI.
“The higher end of moderate,” Blackhorse-von Jess clarified. “You see what the station says and then you walk outside and determine if it is going to work. Honestly, at this point, it’s been five weeks. I’ve done so much training indoors, that now it’s more of a mental break than a training deficiency.”
In places like Bend, Ore., where Blackhorse-von Jess calls home, some athletes have ignored the warnings.
“I saw guys out there riding today, I see them every time when I am looking for breaks in the smoke,” Blackhorse-von Jess explained. “I cannot believe that people are out there. I think people living in the smoke have accepted a lower standard and are going about their daily lives and actually, their daily activities in the smoke have come to accept the shittiness of the feeling they are experiencing. And for the professional athlete, it is something that you cannot afford, I don’t believe.”
Julien Locke (Canadian U25 Team) training at a hazy Haig Glacier camp in August. (Photo: Anthony Killick)
While several fires continue to burn, the smoke cleared in Bend on Sept. 9. During much of August and into the beginning of September, Blackhorse-von Jess relied on a SkiErg, running treadmill and a stationary bike for much of his over-distance training.
He is not alone.
“Actually today, it was still dark when I woke up, but when the sun came up there was actually blue sky,” U.S. Ski Team member Liz Stephen said Friday from her home in Park City, Utah. “Where other days, you weren’t even sure the sun was up. It was really nasty.”
Like other elite skiers across the West, Stephen had made use of indoor training opportunities. The day before Stephen spoke to FasterSkier, she logged four hours on a ski treadmill at U.S. Ski and Snowboard’s Center of Excellence (COE) in Park City.
The AQI is also careful to note what are called “sensitive groups”. That can mean older adults, children, or people with lung or heart issues. Those populations must take precautions when high exertion exercise and poor air quality mix. Being responsible for junior athletes places a premium on being cautious.
For Leslie Hall, director of the Methow Valley Nordic Team in Washington state, dealing with smoke and subsequent air quality issues have been an on-and-off again affair.
“We had a bad two week period at the beginning of August and it was leading into our annual Methow PNSA [Pacific Northwest Ski Association] Camp … so we had to make the call to move the camp,” Hall wrote in an email. “We ended up going to Oakridge, Ore., for the camp and had a great camp there with 32 kids but a fire started nearby there while we were there so we had one moderately smoky day and it has since gotten much worse there.”
Like her athletic and coaching counterparts, Hall keeps an eye on air-quality websites to determine if a practice is indoors our out. But kids are kids.
“It is quite hard to keep the kids motivated and they do not enjoy the gym workouts,” Hall noted. “But during the early smoke time, we knew we were going to go somewhere else to train fairly soon so we kept that in mind. This past week was good because there are a variety of kids running and different coaches which help. Also, intensity workouts on the exercise machines help the time go by quicker. There is plenty of complaining and calls to move East, but I think all the kids realize that we are very fortunate in general and it is hard to complain when the hurricanes are decimating the south and we just have bad air for a week or so.”
Reports from Canada mirrored the smoke-filled experience of skiers in the Western part of the U.S.
Air Quality Health Index 5 in Vernon. BC (Photo: Gerry Furseth)Air Quality Health Index 1, Vernon, BC (Photo: Gerry Furseth)
Gareth Williams, a member of Canada’s national U25 Team and a native of Kelowna, B.C., wrote in an email that the smoke was a near-constant companion this summer.
Gareth Williams (Canadian U25 Team) leads Fran Vukonic during an orange-tinted rollerski in Kelowna, B.C. (Courtesy photo)
“Summer has been great for me, I spent much of it on the Haig [glacier near Canmore, Alberta] in July,” Williams explained. “I’ve been in Kelowna the whole month of August and the smoke has yet to subside, it has actually gotten much worse recently. In past years the smoke has been bad, but I have never seen it like this. … I think the smoke isn’t as bad as some people have suggested, for me it’s not the greatest worry. I will be happy once it is gone though, getting a little tired of the orange lighting and not being able to see the sun!”
Michael Somppi, who trains with the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) in Canmore, altered his plans depending on conditions.
“Personally, I haven’t found the breathing to be too bad,” Somppi wrote. “That said, I am avoiding doing any hard intensity efforts on smoky days. Today was the first day (in Kelowna) I was forced to alter my training plans, as I had planned to do a rollerski time trial, and instead opted to do zone 3 because of the smoke. Even breathing semi hard felt sketchy with how bad the air quality is at the moment.”
Another member of Canada’s U25 Team, Julien Locke has literally trained above the smoke on occasion.
“I’ve been lucky in that the smoke hasn’t been too thick during most of the important training blocks so far,” Locke wrote. “I was at the Haig Glacier 4 times this summer and while we had some hazy days, for the most part, 2400m elevation was high enough to have clear skies.”
Bend Endurance Academy (BEA) athletes ready for a ride while standing in front of their “Adventure Bus”. (Photo: Mike Rougeux)
In the summer of 2013, Bend Endurance Academy (BEA) Executive Director Ben Husaby made what some may have considered a strange company purchase. The two-time Olympic cross-country skier bought an old yellow school bus, painted a pale-blue stripe lengthwise down its side and inscribed the organization’s moniker where an educational institution name once was.
Why? Was he planning to shuttle BEA student-athletes to and from school during his spare time?
Not quite. When Husaby founded the nonprofit organization in Bend, Ore., in 2009 alongside Brenna and Bill Warburton, he and BEA advocated for the affordability and accessibility of sport to kids. The addition of a bus to the organization created a means of free transport and the potential to incorporate youth who might otherwise miss out. In the summer, the bus would run daily, with BEA athletes boarding from various pickup spots and being transported at no extra cost to practice venues. In the winter, bus pickups and drop-offs would move to three times a week.
It largely symbolized what he and BEA wanted to do: get a greater number of kids outside and active, without breaking the bank.
“We have figured out how to run the organization through program fees, and our program fees are on par with [Bend] Parks and Rec,” Husaby recently said on the phone. “Even though [BEA] is nonprofit and we have a board of directors, we try really hard not to fundraise … the entire organization is really pushed by program revenue. I think people appreciate that.”
Ben Husaby (second from left) smiling with some of Bend Endurance Academy’s finest. (Photo: Mike Rougeux)
While Husaby didn’t drive the oversized, yellow-and-blue streaked bus — he left that to retired school-bus driver Steve Delery — he valued providing a greater number of families with the option to participate in BEA’s programs. The bus was just one physical example.
The mission of BEA is another. With the primary goal of providing its members a resource in “teamwork, personal growth and community responsibility,” Husaby hoped the program he created eight years ago would attract an audience beyond just the superstar athlete.
In keeping with this model, the organization has grown from 20 youngsters in its startup years to just under 1,000 unique enrollments this year. Husaby attributed this participant surge to the affordability and accessibility BEA promotes.
“We’re not performance driven,” Husaby said. “It allows for a horizontal platform. All kids need to spend more time outside. All kids need to put their screens down. All kids need to have interactions with quality mentors and you can do all of those things without necessarily being competition focused.
“It’s not a top-down organization,” the 51-year-old Minnesota native continued. “It’s mostly about teaching kids to enjoy endurance sports and that message has worked all the way through.”
Even if Husaby prefers the Academy to remain less performance driven than other clubs, its program still puts out national-caliber athletes. In the realm of nordic skiing, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess is one of them.
For close to 17 years, Blackhorse-von Jess and Husaby have worked together, originally while Husaby was still a coach for the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation (MBSEF) in the early 2000s — he was let go from MBSEF in December 2008 and started BEA the following month.
Prior to that, skiing came in the form of racing for Husaby. After moving to Bend in 1991, he qualified for two Olympics — 1992 and 1994 — and tried one final time in 1998 before focusing on marathon racing, including the American Birkebeiner, for the next two years.
“I was working for a friend in an automotive restoration shop when that fall [of 2000] the director of MBSEF contacted me asking if I wanted to coach the nordic program,” Husaby said of his start in coaching.
Husaby accepted the position, and while sitting in his office one afternoon, he met a visitor that ultimately influenced the rest of his coaching career. A stocky high schooler entered his room, voicing goal that made Husaby’s eyebrows go up.
Ben Husaby (l) and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess. (Photo: Mike Rougeux)
“[Blackhorse-von Jess] walked in and said, ‘I want to win Junior Nationals,’ ” Husaby recalled. “I sort of laughed because he was kind of a pudgy little kid … I mean I didn’t even know who he was. But I said, ‘OK,’ kind of laughing, and ironically, two years later, he was at World Juniors.”
The two went to World Juniors in 2006, before Blackhorse-von Jess headed east to attend Dartmouth College for four years, earning a degree in computer science. Upon returning to Bend in 2011, Blackhorse-von Jess rejoined Husaby and BEA. He earned a job as the organization’s associate director, a position in which he was responsible for bookkeeping, building the enrollment system and managing the program’s website.
However, as Husaby admitted, being Blackhorse-von Jess’s boss and coach proved to be difficult. Blackhorse-von Jess had an intense training schedule, but the work he needed to complete for BEA was equally important. Husaby was caught in the delicate position of understanding his employee’s outside stressors and their significance while also being charged with overseeing Blackhorse-von Jess’s salaried work.
Though not the singular reason, this is one point Husaby brought up as he discussed his recent decision to leave his post as executive director. Though he will continue to coach Blackhorse-von Jess through this Olympic season, he plans to leave BEA by Sept. 1 of this year.
“I think me leaving is actually going to make [Dakota’s] ski career a little bit easier as he winds it down,” Husaby said.
According to the 31-year-old Blackhorse-von Jess, this will most likely be his final competitive season and he hopes to end with a bang by qualifying for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
“I’m looking forward to doing something different this season,” Blackhorse-von Jess said earlier this week on the phone. “I mean, I know in many ways what we do this year is the same, but it’s our last year and it’ll be, farewell tour isn’t the best way to put that, but I think there is something special and different about it. I’m just excited to see what it holds.”
Though Husaby considers BEA his “phoenix”, he departs the head position with a sense of respect for what’s been accomplished and an excitement to spend the final months of his ski career back on the ground doing what he loves most: coaching.
“I’ve already noticed that for me, it’s going to be a lot easier to coach [Dakota] if I’m not his boss any longer,” Husaby said.
“I think the organization is ready for a manager that perhaps doesn’t have as personal of a connection as I do to Bernie [Nelson, BEA’s nordic director], Dakota, Bill [Warburton, cycling director] and Mike [Rougeux, climbing director],” he continued. “I’m leaving now because I’ve been either an athlete, or a coach, or a leader, or a supporter for 30-some years and it’s just time … it’s taken a lot to build this organization and I really honestly believe that I’ve taken it as far as I can.”
The organization is certainly a far cry from the volunteer-run, single-sport (nordic skiing) nonprofit it was in the beginning. Since its inception, cycling and climbing programs have been added to the academy, 45 seasonal, as well as two more full-time employees added to the original staff of three, and program participation has reached capacity.
“It’s big now and it needs someone that perhaps has a little more experience with growing the organization fiscally,” Husaby said. “We’re kind of through the whole founders’ phase. We were a scrappy, scrappy startup, and I was comfortable leading that, I think I just reached my capacity with the organization.”
Husaby will continue to aid BEA with coaching and moving into a new leased facility through the summer. Though no particular candidate has been singled out as of yet, the BEA’s Board of Directors is looking for someone who supports Husaby’s original mission and vision for youth.
“The biggest contribution Ben gave is defining a culture of the organization that is really long-lasting,” BEA Board President Cris Himes said on the phone. “What Ben has really done for BEA is to emphasize fun and joy and getting outside for kids at all levels, making it fun for them and helping them find their intrinsic drive.
“Really that’s been his number one contribution and that’s not going to go away,” she continued. “We are all expressing gratitude to Ben for what he has given this community and organization. It’s quite a legacy and a gift.”
Caitlin Patterson (front) racing to fourth place in the women’s 10 k at 2017 USATF Mountain Running Championships on June 3 in North Conway, N.H. That qualified her for the 2017 World Mountain Running Championships in July in Italy. (Photo: Michael Scott/miscottrunningphoto.shutterfly.com)
Just over 24 hours before race day, Caitlin Patterson’s mind was made. The pre-registration deadline for the 2017 USA Track & Field (USATF) Mountain Running Championships in North Conway, N.H., was up and she was going to spontaneously do it. Written down in her summer plan was to enter few footraces, and this one promised both a challenging field and relatively short, two-hour drive from her training base in Craftsbury, Vt.
The competition also offered an opportunity to tune up her race tactics. Patterson, 27, had raced to eighth in last year’s U.S. Mountain Running Championships uphill-only edition at Loon Mountain and was curious how she’d fare in a race with downhills (U.S. Mountain Running Championships alternate between uphill-only courses and ones that feature both ascents and descents).
While the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) skier planned on getting a lot out of the race, she hadn’t planned on getting selected to the U.S. World Mountain Running Championships team. But by the end of the women’s 10-kilometer run — a two-lap course which featured nearly 2,500 feet in total elevation gain — that’s just what she got. Patterson finished fourth overall, qualifying her for the 2017 World Mountain Running Championships in late July in Premana, Italy.
Caitlin Patterson during a trail run this spring. She recently qualified for the 2017 World Mountain Running Championships, scheduled to take place July 30 in Italy. (Courtesy photo)
“That was definitely a shock and not something I was expecting, to be able to run into fourth place,” Patterson said on the phone last week, three days after racing in North Conway. “That’s part of why I put myself in there, though, is because the race atmosphere can get you to do things you maybe wouldn’t otherwise.”
The three women that finished ahead of Patterson were all World Championships team veterans: Addie Bracy (last year’s U.S. Mountain Running champion) in first, Allie McLaughlin (2014 U.S. champion) in second, and Kasie Enman in third (2011 U.S. champion).
Patterson was the final woman to qualify, finishing in 56:42, 2 minutes and 46 seconds off Bracy’s winning time. Though perhaps a rookie in comparison to her competitors, Patterson didn’t let that detract her from racing how she wanted to.
“I did a lot of power walking in that race, just on the steep stuff,” Patterson said. “I could see the top-three women in front of me and I would say most of them were running it. But walking worked better for me and the way I’m built.”
With World Mountain Running Championships slated to take place on July 30, and the time coinciding with a rest week for Patterson, she plans to make the trip to Italy. The trip’s flights, food, and four days of lodging will be funded through the World Mountain Running Association and running organizations such as U.S. Track and Field and the All American Trail Running Association. In the weeks leading up the race, she hopes to do some training runs with Enman, who also lives in Vermont. The weekend before to the U.S. championships, Enman won the Vermont City Marathon.
“If nothing else, [I want to] chat with her about what to expect over there,” Patterson said. “I was entering this race partially … so I could run with some other women and learn from them.”
With those World Championships on the horizon, Patterson’s main focus this season remains skiing. She planned to enter a few more running races this summer before heading to New Zealand with her team in August.
“The Olympics are on the radar for this coming winter, but we’ll see what I can do,” Patterson said.
Scott Patterson (Alaska Pacific University/USST) during a crust-skiing adventure with his sister, Caitlin Patterson (not shown) this spring in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Caitlin Patterson)
Beyond making the 2018 Winter Olympics, she also is hoping to eventually make her way onto the U.S. Ski Team (USST). Her younger brother, Scott Patterson, was nominated to the USST B-team last month, and the news hit her as somewhat bittersweet.
“I was really happy to hear he made the team,” Patterson said. “Of course, I wish that I could be there, too, but I know the rationale behind that I haven’t quite made that jump yet.”
Breaking that bubble, as she acknowledged, is no easy task. There’s the nine-hour time change between her and her coach, Pepa Miloucheva, when she’s in Europe. There’s also the physical toll traveling takes on her body.
“I feel like every year I should get better at traveling, and I do to some extent … going back and forth to Korea [for the PyeongChang World Cup] was great,” Patterson explained. “But for some reason the travel going from Period 1 back to the U.S. — so that was France back to Montana — that went really badly and I got very sick. That was very difficult, borderline devastating, for nationals racing.”
In a way, Patterson’s description of being an on-the-cusp athlete is somewhat of a catch-22: the only way to improve her international racing is to race internationally, but doing so can make domestic racing difficult, with certain domestic races being the ones she needs to do well in if she is to continue racing at an international level.
“I actually probably got the most nervous I’d been the entire season before U.S. nationals,” Patterson said. “After I’d been in Europe, where the racing is extremely tough and such a high level of competition, my expectations were, if I have a really great race, I can crack into the [World Cup] top 30 or so. Whereas coming back to nationals, I felt like I was the person who was in Europe and I’m one of the favorites.”
Caitlin Patterson leading her Craftsbury teammate Kaitlynn Miller during the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle at 2017 U.S. nationals in Midway, Utah.
Another point Patterson made was the idea of creating more opportunities for U.S. national-team and non-national-team members to compete against one another. This spring, Patterson received an email invitation to an athlete meeting led by athlete reps, Rosie Brennan (USST B-team member), Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy), and Anne Hart (Stratton Mountain School). Topics discussed included: SuperTour Calendaring, SuperTour Points, Seeding, Pole Length Rule, and Selection Criteria. Close to 30 athletes–from both the SuperTour circuit and USST–were in attendance, according to Patterson who also attended the meeting. Many present agreed with the following:
“We as a ski community, as much as possible, would like for the U.S. Ski Team athletes who don’t make the criteria to race upcoming World Cup races or don’t make the criteria to race the Tour de Ski, to be sent back and have to race U.S. nationals,” Patterson said. “Maybe that will happen, I won’t really believe it until I see it.
“It’s tricky,” Patterson continued. “Of course I’m still trying to figure it out myself. Kris Freeman made some good points that maybe the system of qualification isn’t working so well if so much has to be decided by discretion. But I guess in the end, the best way to do it is manage to race so fast, that it puts all doubt aside and show you just belong on there. Get off the bubble for sure, because there’s a lot of us trying to make that jump.”
Even if last season didn’t earn her a nomination to the USST, Patterson is happy with the progress she’s witnessed in her skiing over the past few seasons, last year’s being particularly gratifying.
“I really enjoyed my time in Europe during Period 1 this past winter,” she said. “It was a very positive experience and everyone was so excited to be there. And I think in many ways, it was a more positive experience than when I’ve been over there later in the season, when a lot of those athletes who have been racing in Europe really start to want to come home.
“I respect the coaches’ decisions and I think they have good rationale on their side,” she continued. “I’ve been making good progress with my skiing, but I know that I need to prove unquestionably that I belong there on the ski-team ranks. There’s an extremely strong women’s team right now, which of course is great, but makes it really hard to get onto it. So I’ll keep trying and keep doing everything I can. Luckily I have a very supportive team here in the CGRP. So I can keep pursuing skiing, but hopefully make it to the Olympics one way or another.”
Currently, CGRP sponsors, especially Concept2 and the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, cover CGRP athletes’ in season race and travel expenses. In the summer, lodging and food at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center are also paid for by CGRP financial supporters. For other outside expenses, Patterson relies on prize money she earns throughout the season.
“No one in the US is in cross-country ski racing for the money, we’re in the sport because it’s an amazing way to stay fit and get outside, push your limits and compete, and inspire and help others along the way,” Patterson wrote in an email on Thursday. “I’m really not sure how long I’ll keep skiing at this competitive level. I have no definitive plans to stop, but I also don’t plan to keep going forever, as there are many other meaningful things I know I can do with my life. For now I’m living in the moment and the immediate future, giving everything I have to the pursuit of skiing my best, and enjoying the process and the journey.”
Though perhaps headed to World Championships in a different sport than she would have expected, Patterson indicated that for now, her nordic ski career is where she will stay.
“I’m really not sure, I haven’t given that any thought before.” Patterson wrote of a future in mountain running. “Mountain and trail running has always been something that I’m fairly good at because I’m training to be a skier, and I have a natural tendency towards an aerobic body type. I enjoy the races, and would like to improve my speed and consistency at running races, but I can’t really imagine continuing to be a competitive athlete but not focusing on skiing.”
Spring Series opened earlier this week in Fairbanks, Alaska, with skiathlon races on Monday and freestyle sprints on Wednesday to wrap up the 2017 SuperTour season. Here is a photo gallery from Wednesday’s skate sprints, courtesy of Max Kaufman. Spring Series continues Friday with the co-ed mixed relay and Sunday with the 30/50 k freestyle mass starts, part of U.S. Distance Nationals.
Right to left: Ida Sargent (Craftsbury Green Racing Project/U.S. Ski Team) and Deedra Irwin (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) during their quarterfinal for the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: APU teammate Logan Hanneman and Scott Patterson during their quarterfinal of the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay), Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy), Paddy Caldwell, (SMS Elite/USST D-team), and Silas Talbot (Bridger Ski Foundation) at the start of their quarterfinal of the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Reese Hanneman (Alaska Pacific University) and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) duke it out during their quarterfinal of the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Right to left: Kikkan Randall (Alaska Pacific University/U.S. Ski Team) and Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Ski Academy/USST D-team) and Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) during their semifinal of the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Jessie Diggins (SMS Elite Team/U.S. Ski Team), Jessica Yeaton (APU), Erika Flowers (SMS Elite) , and Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) during their semifinal for the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Ski Academy/USST D-team) leads Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) during their semifinal of the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Kikkan Randall (Alaska Pacific University/U.S. Ski Team) and Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Ski Academy/USST D-team) and Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) during their semifinal of the the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Right to left: Scott Patterson (APU), Logan Hanneman (APU), Tad Elliott (SSCV), and Ben Saxton (SMS Elite) during their semifinal of the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Right to left: Norway’s Haakon Hjelstuen, Thomas O’Harra (APU), Matt Gelso (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation), Nick Michaud (Bend Endurance Academy), Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (BEA), and Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) during their semifinal of the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Jessie Diggins (SMS Elite Team/U.S. Ski Team) ahead of Kikkan Randall (APU/U.S. Ski Team) during the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Jessie Diggins (Stratton Mountain School Elite Team/U.S. Ski Team) leads Kikkan Randall (Alaska Pacific University/U.S. Ski Team) during the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Erika Flowers (SMS Elite Team) leads her teammate Sophie Caldwell (SMS Elite/U.S. Ski Team) during the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Ida Sargent (Craftsbury Green Racing Project/U.S. Ski Team) racing during the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Logan Hanneman (APU), Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay), Tyler Kornfield (APU), and Norway’s Haakon Hjelstuen go head to head in the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Canadian Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) leading Logan Hanneman (Alaska Pacific University) during the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Logan Hanneman (Alaska Pacific University) ahead of Canadian Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) during the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Tyler Kornfield (Alaska Pacific University) leads Norway’s Haakon Hjelstuen during the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Left to right: Norway’s Haakon Hjelstuen skis ahead of Tad Elliott (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) during the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at the 2017 SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Jessie Diggins (SMS Elite) leads fellow U.S. Ski Team member Kikkan Randall (APU) to the finish of the women’s freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
U.S. SuperTour Finals (Fairbanks, Alaska): Freestyle sprints
On Wednesday the 2017 U.S. SuperTour Finals, also referred to as Spring Series, the last of the year’s elite level sprints went down in Fairbanks, Alaska.
The women raced a 1.5-kilometer course while the men skied a slightly longer 1.6 k course, both run at the Birch Hill Recreation Area in Fairbanks.
Earlier in the week, Jessie Diggins of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team and U.S. Ski Team (USST) showed why she’s one of the World Cup’s top overall skiers as she dominated the SuperTour Finals skiathlon.
Once again, and early on, Wednesday’s sprint had the appearance of another race to lose for Diggins. She qualified first, completing the course in 3:34.09 minutes. Her nearest competitor in qualification was Kikkan Randall of Alaska Pacific University (APU) and the USST, 6.72 seconds back.
As the heats progressed the looks of a Diggins-Randall show was in the makes. Both skiers were convincing in their trajectory to the finals as they placed first in their respective quarters and semis. And in the finals it became a two-skier race with the pair skiing decisively off the front.
Diggins scorched the finals, toeing the line in 3:30.39 minutes, nearly four seconds faster than her qualifying time. Randall, who skied in a tight race with Diggins until the closing stretch, placed second (+2.39).
The women’s freestyle sprint podium at SuperTour Finals on Wednesday night in Fairbanks, Alaska, with Jessie Diggins (c) in first, Kikkan Randall (l) in second and Erika Flowers (r) in third. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Erika Flowers (SMS Elite Team) reached the podium in third (+15.65), ahead of her teammate Sophie Caldwell (SMS Elite Team/USST) in fourth (+19.03), Kelsey Phinney (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) in fifth (+23.06), and Ida Sargent (Craftsbury Green Racing Project/USST) sixth (+27.77).
“I thought it was normal, given I set the pace, so I did it to myself,” Diggins said on the phone, recalling the final. “I thought it felt like a pretty normal, brutal World Cup final. I was going out hard, playing for keeps, that is what you do when it comes to Spring Series, you still have fun but you race hard.”
Asked is she felt any added pressure to perform well racing stateside, Diggins noted she attempts to keep things in perspective.
“There is some pressure and at the same time there’s not,” Diggins added. “Because my goals for the year focused around World Championships and the Tour de Ski, that is where I am aiming to be fast and those are the targets I am intending to hit. So coming here, you are always wanting to ski fast … I feel like there is not an incredible amount of pressure because it is the end of the season and everybody is in a totally different place and mentally I am super excited for that place flight to Hawaii I am going to be on the day after the races. I think everyone is in very different places and I think it’s not fair for us to put pressure on ourselves. I think we just go out and have fun and race hard. This isn’t how you qualify for the Olympics and there is good reason for that.”
SMS Elite Team Head Coach Pat O’Brien provided some insight into the large time gaps in the women’s final.
“Coarse was pretty long and hard, I think it plays to people with some more muscular endurance and less fast twitch, especially this late in the season when people are tired,” O’Brien wrote in an email. “This isn’t a 3 min sprint on manmade that prioritizes finishing speed like a European World Cup. It was just straight tough out there! … No falls, just a bunch of tired ladies slugging it out at 8PM at night near the arctic circle. Hard work by all!”
Local skier Logan Hanneman (APU), who grew up and attended college in Fairbanks, made the hometown proud. He eventually pulled out the win in the men’s final.
Hanneman qualified fourth (+6.27) behind Simi Hamilton (SMS Elite Team/USST) who topped the qualifier in 3:11.35 minutes. (After the qualifier Hamilton pulled from the competition).
Logan Hanneman (APU) leads Canada’s Evan Palmer-Charrette (13) of NTDC Thunder Bay and Tyler Kornfield (16), his APU teammate, in the men’s freestyle sprint final on Wednesday at SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
In the men’s final, several skiers appeared to be in play for the win. Hanneman placed first in his quarter and semi. Canadian skier Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay), also looked like a threat as he proved a knock-out type closer. Another guest skier, Norway’s Haakon Hjelstuen, a former Michigan Tech skier, skied heady and strong.
Also appearing in the men’s finals were two skiers who are known to pounce when opportunity knocks: Tyler Kornfield (APU) and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy). Tad Elliott (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) completed the six-skier final.
Heading into the last technical descent on course Hanneman was third behind Kornfield and then Palmer-Charrette. A few tight corners remained with a climb back up to the finish.
“I ended up taking the last sweeping left corner very wide and accelerated as I moved right,” Hanneman explained in an email. “Then we were able to hit the bottom of the climb basically 3 abreast. Once I saw that I had a lane open I just opened it up and went for it!”
Here’s how the final played out: Hanneman placed first in 3:16.77 minutes, Palmer-Charrette was second (+1.08), Kornfield third (+3.84), Hjelstuen fourth (+3.98), Blackhorse-von Jess fifth (+6.38), and Elliott sixth (+7.17).
It appears Hanneman was able to channel his nervous energy into positive forward momentum.
“I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself to win this race,” Hanneman wrote of performing in front of his hometown crowd. “To have these races in my hometown is one thing, but then knowing that I could do well in the sprint added a lot of nerves to the equation. I definitely really wanted to perform well for the volunteers, the crowd, etc. they have supported me through all of the skiing programs here in Fairbanks for years and I really wanted to ski my best for them. I am so very happy that this is how it turned out!”
Hunter Wonders (APU) won the junior men’s sprint in 3:32.76 (he was also the winner of Monday’s 11.25 k classic) with a hard-charging final push, Max Donaldson (University of Alaska Fairbanks) placed second (+0.40) and Logan Mowry (Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks/FXC) was third (+4.76).
For the junior women, Hannah Rudd (University of Alaska Anchorage) took the lead on the final climb and secured the win in 4:08.46, Dottie Anderson (Loppet Nordic Racing) placed second (+1.96) and Jenna Difolco (Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks/FXC) was third (+7.64).
Racing continues Friday with a mixed gender/mixed technique relay.
The men’s freestyle sprint podium on Wednesday night at SuperTour Finals in Fairbanks, Alaska, with Fairbanks native Logan Hanneman (c) in first, Canada’s Evan Palmer-Charrette (l) in second and Tyler Kornfield (r) in third. (Photo: Max Kaufman)
Ben Lustgarten (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) with his $750-dollar check for winning the men’s SuperTour classic sprint on Saturday near Truckee, Calif. Stratton’s Ben Saxton (l) placed second and APU’s Reese Hanneman (r) was third.
Lustgarten, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, raced to a 1.58-second victory in the men’s A-final at the Auburn Ski Club in Soda Springs, Calif., finishing in 3:03.4. Ben Saxton, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, placed second, and Reese Hanneman, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), was third (+2.77).
Hannenman’s younger brother Logan also reached the final and placed fourth (+4.5), Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) was fifth (+5.86), and the third APU skier in the final, Tyler Kornfield sixth (+18.69).
Blackhorse-von Jess started the day off as the fastest qualifier in 2:58.8. Saxton qualified second, 4.1 seconds back, Logan Hanneman qualified third (+4.2), and Lustgarten fourth (+6.5). Blackhorse-von Jess went on to win his quarterfinal and place second in his semifinal, while Lustgarten and Saxton both won their quarterfinals and semifinals.
Jennie Bender (3) of the Bridger Ski Foundation leading Stratton’s Julia Kern (2) and Sun Valley’s Deedra Irwin (5) during the second women’s classic sprint semifinal at Saturday’s SuperTour near Truckee, Calif. Bender went on to win the semifinal, as well as the final.
In the women’s A-final, Jennie Bender of the Bridger Ski Foundation, coming off a classic sprint win at nationals, scored another victory in 3:29.07. She edged Craftsbury’s Kaitlynn Miller by just seven-hundredths of a second, and Stratton’s Julia Kern placed third (+3.42). Racing at home, Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy) finished fourth (+3.88). Craftsbury had three in the women’s final with Caitlin Patterson in fifth (+3.93) and Heather Mooney in sixth (+27.35).
Miller proved to be the woman to beat throughout the day, winning the qualifier in 3:30.9, along with her quarterfinal and semifinal. Kern qualified second (+3.2) and Bender third (+4.6). Bender went on to win her quarterfinal and semifinal as well before facing off with Miller in the final.
NorAm Western Canadian Championships (Whistler, B.C.): 10/15 k classic
It was interval-starts day at Western Canadian Championships at Whistler Olympic Park and national-team veteran Emily Nishikawa completed the four laps of the women’s 10 k classic in 30:35.5 to win ahead of teammate Dahria Beatty, 16.5 seconds behind. Maya MacIsaac-Jones completed the national team and Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) sweep in third (+1:36.5).
Sovereign Lake’s Hannah Mehain, of the national junior team, was the top junior for the second-straight day in eighth overall (+3:22.1).
In the men’s 15 k, Lappe Nordic’s Andy Shields won the six-lap race in 40:34.2, showing some of the form that won him the NorAm overall last season. National-team member Jess Cockney collected his second-straight podium, finishing second, 4.3 seconds behind Shields. Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) completed the podium in third (+55.1).
FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Ulricehamn, Sweden): 10/15 k freestyle
The men’s 15 k freestyle podium at Saturday’s World Cup in Ulricehamn, Sweden, with Canadian winner Alex Harvey (c), Norwegian runner-up Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l), and Sweden’s Marcus Hellner (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
First individual win of the season (second straight, after winning last weekend’s team sprint), fifth individual victory of his career. That’s the latest news on Canada’s Alex Harvey, who won the World Cup men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start on Sunday in Ulricehamn, Sweden, for his first victory in a 15 k skate race and fourth individual podium of 2016/2017.
To say Harvey is on a roll is an understatement. On Saturday, he beat Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby by 6 seconds after starting a minute behind the Norwegian defending World Cup champion. Harvey’s fastest time across the line in 32:46.2 held up through 76 finishers, with Sweden’s Marcus Hellner coming somewhat within range after starting a minute behind him. Hellner ended up 14.3 seconds back from Harvey at the finish for third place, behind Sundby.
Switzerland’s Dario Cologna missed the podium by 0.5 seconds in fourth (+14.7), and Norway’s 24-year-old Daniel Stock broke through in fifth (+16.2) for his first World Cup top 20.
Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave placed sixth (+18.7), Sweden’s Daniel Rickardsson was seventh (+25.0), Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh eighth (+32.2), Russia’s Petr Sedov ninth (+33.9), and Japan’s Keishin Yoshida 10th (+34.2).
American Erik Bjornsen landed in the points as he tied Norway’s Simen Andreas Sveen for 28th (+1:09.2), leading fellow U.S. Ski Team members Noah Hoffman, who placed 41st (+1:28.8), and Simi Hamilton in 53rd (+1:56.2). Also for the U.S., Matt Gelso, the Period 1 SuperTour leader from the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team, finished 68th (+3:00.3).
Harvey’s Canadian World Cup teammates Len Valjas finished 35th (+1:17.7) and Devon Kershaw 38th (+1:22.2). Knute Johnsgaard (Canadian U25 Team) did not start.
The women’s 10 k freestyle podium on Saturday in Ulricehamn, Sweden, with Norwegian winner Marit Bjørgen (c), Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (l) in second and Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
In her first World Cup race in over a month and at a brand-new World Cup venue, Norway’s 36-year-old Marit Bjørgen returned to her winning ways, topping the women’s 10 k freestyle on Saturday in Ulricehamn.
Bjørgen started 40th out of 61 finishers and took the lead from Finland’s Krista Parmakoski at the finish with a time of 23:46.3 minutes. Parmakoski, who started a minute ahead of her in bib 38, ended up second, 10.7 seconds back. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla reached the podium for the second time this season in third (+24.9).
“It is always great to win,” Bjørgen said, according to an International Ski Federation (FIS) press release. “I stayed at home for five weeks and was training. It is great to come back with a victory. I know that the training I had done was good. It was an amazing atmosphere today by the course. There were people cheering everywhere.”
Norway swept fourth through sixth with Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in fourth (+25.7), Ragnhild Haga in fifth (+32.3) and Heidi Weng in sixth (+34.0).
American Jessie Diggins raced to seventh (+34.9), ahead of Sweden’s Hanna Falk, who recorded her best distance result in eighth (+36.4). Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg finished ninth (+44.8), and Germany’s Sandra Ringwald was 10th (+56.6).
“I didn’t have the snappy good feelings I was hoping to have in my body today, but it was a solid race,” Diggins wrote in a post-race email to FasterSkier. “It’s always hard when you know that on your best days you are capable of more, but at the same time we had great skis, and it was really fun for me to be able to ski with my teammates today!”
The U.S. had three in the top 20 and four in the top 30 with Sadie Bjornsen in 12th (+1:00.5), Liz Stephen in 16th (+1:07.3) and Rosie Brennan in 24th (+1:30.7).
Cendrine Browne as Canada’s lone woman in the race achieved 35th (+1:52.0) for her career best in an individual race. Also for the U.S., Kikkan Randall placed 40th (+1:59.6) and Liz Guiney of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project 52nd (+2:33.2).
The photo finish of the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Saturday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy, with Germany’s Simon Schempp outlunging Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen. (Photo: ZDF broadcast screenshot)
For the U.S. men, top six was a target for the 4 x 7.5 k relay on Sunday in Antholz, Italy, according to US Biathlon Men’s Coach Jonas Johansson.
Mission accomplished. In the final team event before 2017 World Championships, Lowell Bailey, Leif Nordgren, Tim Burke, and Sean Doherty combined for sixth, finishing 1:04.9 minutes behind the German winners. The Americans used a total of 10 spares but avoided the penalty loop, as did the Germans who used seven spares to clean the eight-stage race and won it in 1:13.57.2.
Germany’s Simon Schempp narrowly outlasted Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen in the finishing stretch to secure the victory for Germany (with teammates Erik Lesser, Benedikt Doll and Arnd Peiffer) by one-tenth of a second. Norway finished second with nine spares and no penalties (with Lars Helge Birkeland, Henrik L’Abee-Lund, Johannes Thingnes Bø, and Svendsen), and Russia secured third (+33.6) with nine spares and zero penalties as well (with Maxim Tsvetkov, Evgeniy Garanichev, Dmitry Malyshko, and Anton Babikov).
Ukraine used a total of just five spares and had zero penalties for fourth (+46.7), and Austria took fifth (+49.2) with eight spares and no penalties, after Austria’s Dominik Landertinger skied away from Doherty on the final loop and finished 6.9 seconds ahead of him for fifth place.
For the U.S. men, sixth was close to their team-best fifth with the same lineup in last year’s World Cup relay in Presque Isle, Maine. The same group also took sixth in Ruhpolding, Germany, last year as well.
With all four making US Biathlon’s World Championships team, announced Saturday, they will likely be aiming for a best championships result early next month in Hochfilzen, Austria.
Canada (Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Macx Davies, and Brendan Green) finished 16th (+4:13.8) on Saturday with two penalties and 11 spares. Scott Gow skied them up to 15th by the second exchange but they dropped to 18th after Davies had two penalties on the third leg. With Green anchoring and using just one spare, they recouped two places before the finish.
In the women’s race, Germany’s Nadine Horchler achieved a lifetime dream with her first World Cup win, after starting in bib 30 and earning her start as a reserve athlete. Germany took first and second with Laura Dahlmeier in second, and the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalova placed third. Susan Dunklee of the U.S. was the lone North American starter and finished 24th after leading at the start of the second loop.
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup (Chaux-Neuve, France): Individual large hill/10 k
Saturday’s Nordic Combined World Cup podium in Chaux-Neuve, France, with German winner Johannes Rydzek (c), German runner-up Fabian Rießle (l) and Japan’s Akito Watabe (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)
The first part of Saturday’s Nordic Combined World Cup individual large hill/10 k competition was a shining moment for U.S. Nordic Combined skier Ben Berend, who jumped to second for a total of 127.5 points, trailing only Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber with 139 points in Chaux-Neuve, France.
Berend flew farther than Germany’s Eric Frenzel, who jumped to third on the Chaux-Neuve large hill.
Later in the day, they started the 10 k Gundersen in that order, with Riiber heading out first, followed by Berend 46 seconds later, then Frenzel 53 seconds back in third.
Germany’s Johannes Rydzek started 1:15 minutes back in 12th and skied the fastest 10 k to take the victory at the finish (in 23:01.7). He held off his German teammate Fabian Rießle by 2.8 seconds for the win, after Rießle started sixth and 1:01 back. Japan’s Akito Watabe reached the podium in third (+5.7) after jumping to seventh and starting the race 1 second behind Rießle.
Frenzel ended up fourth (+8.3), and the fourth German in the top five, Björn Kircheisen improved to fifth (+22.6) after starting 11th.
Riiber dropped to 15th (+54.0), and Berend fell outside the top 30 to end up 32nd (+2:26.0) with the 39th-ranked course time.
Berend finished 12.2 seconds ahead of his U.S. teammate Taylor Fletcher, who placed 34th (+2:38.2) after the jump put him in 48th.
Bryan Fletcher was 49th after the jump but did not start the 10 k.
The Nordic Combined World Cup continues Sunday in Chaux-Neuve with another large hill/10 k.
Ski Classics #5: La Diagonela (Zuoz, Switzerland): 50 k classic
[UPDATED] Under “blue skies, no wind and perfect track conditions” in the Swiss Engadin Valley on Saturday, according to a Ski Classics press release, Russia’s Ilya Chernousov and the Czech Republic’s Kateřina Smutná won the men’s and women’s La Diagonela, respectively, in Zuoz, Switzerland.
Chernousov, of Team Pioneer Investments, and Tord Asle Gjerdalen (Team Santander) led a large pack of men into the final major climb on the 50 k course. There, Gjerdalen attacked and Chernousov matched him, accelerating away from his competitors up the last steep pitch to the finish, according to the press release. He finished in 2:03:39.6 hours, holding off Gjerdalen by 1.5 seconds, while Øystein Pettersen (Team BN Bank) finished third (+3.0).
In the women’s race, Smutná (Team Santander) pushed to break up the field around the halfway point, where the men caught the women. Britta Johansson Norgren (Lager 157 Ski Team) hung with Smutná, but lost contact over the last 5 k. After finishing second in the last two Ski Classics races, Smutná took the win by 1:03.2 minutes in 2:20:49.2. Nordgren finished second, ahead of Sara Lindborg (Team Serneke) in third, who finished more than three minutes later (+4:17.4).
From left to right: Saturday’s third-place finisher Reese Hanneman (APU), winner Matt Gelso (SVSEF) and runner-up Tyler Kornfield (APU) on the podium at the men’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — With a little less than a kilometer left, the pack started to panic. Saturday marked the first SuperTour sprint of the season and the gap Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team veteran Matt Gelso had put on the five other skiers in the men’s sprint final was not getting smaller.
The winner of last year’s SuperTour sprint season opener, Reese Hanneman of Alaska Pacific University (APU), saw the nearly 15-meter lead Gelso had established halfway through the 1.3-kilometer men’s freestyle sprint final heat as a sign.
Tyler Kornfield (APU) racing during the qualifier of the men’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.
“I was in third or fourth thinking, ‘Uh, OK, we better start closing this down,’” Hanneman said during an in-person, post-race interview.
“Basically in the final it was five sprinters and then Matt,” Hanneman said. “So I think he knew that he had to go out like … and then I think none of us thought that [Gelso] could hold it all the way. … It was really impressive skiing by him to just go for it the whole time.”
Yet, as Gelso began to climb the final hill of the course on the Rendezvous Ski Trails, he proved his gap on the other five finalists would take a strong challenge to beat. Hanneman pushed around Morgan, Saxton and Blackhorse-von Jess, while racing behind his teammate Kornfield. The two APU racers began gaining on Gelso, but not soon enough.
With 100 meters to go, Gelso, a 28-year-old SuperTour regular best known for his distance skiing, left the two sprint champions chasing, and crossed the finish line first in a time of 2:36.85 for his first SuperTour sprint win.
“I was pretty fired up,” Gelso said after. “I didn’t know going into the semifinal and final if [leading from the start] was going to still work … but I had the body and the skis to stay consistent with my plan.”
Crossing 1.94 seconds after Gelso was Kornfield, who indicated that his second-place finish was his best performance on the West Yellowstone sprint course since the start of his sprint career.
“The first year [I raced] here I didn’t even qualify,” Kornfield said after. “This is the first year I’ve moved on from the quarters…[last year] I got taken out and I took Eric Packer out too.”
“I think none of us thought that [Gelso] could hold it all the way … It was really impressive skiing by him to just go for it the whole time.”— Reese Hanneman (APU), on Matt Gelso’s sprint performance Saturday
The final podium finisher for the day was Hanneman, finishing 2.27 seconds after Gelso and 0.33 seconds out of second place.
“I didn’t feel that good in the qualifier,” Hanneman said. “I was skiing a couple gears lower than I needed to be but then I started feeling better in the heats … I think after today I’ll definitely wake up and feel a little bit better.”
The final three finishers included Saxton in fourth (+5.1), Morgan in fifth (+5.34) and Blackhorse-von Jess in sixth (+22.85).
In the women’s 1.3 k freestyle sprint, it was Jennie Bender of the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF), who took first, besting SMST2’s Erika Flowers and Annie Hart.
Bender, 28, started the day by winning the women’s qualifier in 3:08.76, holding off Hart by three hundredths of a second.
“My goal is to do better in qualifying, and I did that today, so that was a big win for me,” Bender said. “I love this course and I hope to repeat last year, get back to Europe and race some World Cups.”
From left to right: Saturday’s third-place finisher Annie Hart (SMST2), winner Jennie Bender (BSF), and runner-up Erika Flowers (SMST2) on the podium at the women’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint in West Yellowstone, Mont.
After winning the qualifier, Bender’s course time only got faster. She won her quarterfinal in 3:08.24 and her semifinal in 3:06.86. By the time she finished the women’s final in first, she had covered the 1.3 k course in 3:04.78, almost four seconds faster than her qualifying time.
With a strong headwind challenging many of the racers who chose to lead, Bender decided in her final to follow the other finalists for the first half of the course before making her move.
“There’s a lot of wind happening so … you kind of have to play with the wind and whether or not you want to be the only one blocking it or not,” Bender said of the heats. “I led my quarter, and I was like ‘Holy sh*t, I took all the wind myself!’ so I was trying to kind of mess around with sitting behind people the next two heats, and that felt way better.”
While Bender’s plan for the final was to tuck in and conserve for the first half, then surge to the front in the second half, Hart decided to lead out of the start.
“Because we had some big headwinds [today] … the debate was whether to lead or follow,” Hart said. “I went into the rounds and decided to lead most of them, because I ski better generally when I kind of feel like I’m in control.”
Hart skied at the front of the pack up until the course’s last climb, where her teammate Flowers passed her on the right side and Bender cruised by on her left.
“I just, one, didn’t have much energy left, and two, there really wasn’t anywhere to go,” Hart said of her attempt to hold onto the lead. “I typically don’t do very well in West Yellowstone, so this year was by far the best first race I have had … I will take it.”
Jennie Bender (1) of the Bridger Ski Foundation leading her semifinal during the women’s 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.
Rounding the final turn, Bender took the inside lane while Flowers remained to the far outside left. The two raced head-to-head through the final 100 meters, lunging to the line for a photo finish.
Bender was eventually awarded the win and Flowers took second by a mere 0.09 seconds. Hart crossed in third, 1.94 seconds behind Bender.
“I needed a lane, so I moved outside early and zoomed up the hill as fast as I could, and then into the finish,” Flowers said of final move up the course’s last climb. “I don’t think I quite realized I was as close to Jennie as I was until about ten feet from the finish line. It was exciting, I’ve never thought of myself as a sprinter, so it was fun to do well.”
“She was behind me the whole time until that hill,” Bender said of Flowers. “And you just save so much energy, due to headwind, so I think that helped both of us. It’s funny, we talked about it before our quarter — she was in my quarter, I was like, ‘it’s better drafting,’ and it worked out!
“I feel pretty fit compared to previous years, I would say, and I’m hoping for a good season,” Bender concluded.
Also in the final was Hannah Halvorsen of the Sugar Bowl Ski Academy and U.S. Ski Team in fourth (+2.0), APU’s Chelsea Holmes in fifth (+3.86), and University of Colorado-Boulder (CU) skier Petra Hyncicova in sixth (+4.53).
Bernie Nelson (l) coaching Australian national-team skier, Alaska Pacific University member, and former Montana State University athlete Jessica Yeaton (r) at the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden. (Courtesy photo)
BEND, Ore. — A few things stand out while interviewing Bernadette “Bernie” Nelson, the newly hired head nordic coach at the Bend Endurance Academy (BEA): she’s intentional with her words, meticulous and grateful for the opportunities she’s been given as she develops into an emerging leader on the cross-country ski racing scene.
Growing up in Truckee, Calif., Nelson said she became hooked on nordic skiing because of the way her coaches used the Sierras as a playground — where play just happened to be training.
“Skiing wasn’t just skiing,” she explained. “We went running, and climbing, and biking, and we ran all our camps out of Yosemite, which was just the coolest opportunity ever.”
Beyond the physical settings and cross-training opportunities the Sierras afforded, Nelson mentioned that Truckee’s ski scene placed an emphasis on building a unified team. Nelson said that end goal — team spirit — began with parents emphasizing the organization rather than individual results.
“I feel like when I was growing up, something that worked in Truckee was that the parents weren’t just invested in their child — they were invested in the organization and the community and the process,” she said. “I feel like it shifted the focus from the child’s performance to the experience that the child was having. And so, having parents invested in that experience and invested in the greater organization kind of it took the emphasis off of, ‘My child won today.’ ”
In that healthy environment, Nelson thrived — she skied herself onto several Junior National podiums.
Coach and Collaborator
Bernie Nelson prepping skis while coaching at Montana State University. (Courtesy photo)
Nelson eventually went on to ski for the Montana State University (MSU) nordic ski team for two years. After that she focused on her studies while at the same time serving as the assistant nordic coach at MSU for another three seasons.
With a proven aptitude for managing athletes, school and the stress of travel and waxing, Nelson was hired by Bridger Ski Foundation’s (BSF) Dragan Danevski to head up the post-graduate and elite teams in 2014.
One difficult task Nelson was held responsible for was guiding a team of 18- and 19-year-olds in BSF’s post-grad program. Nelson says she built mutual respect with her athletes premised on a simple common goal.
“I want the athletes to develop just as much they want to develop,” she said of her coaching style: less dogmatic, more like a collaborator. “I hand them the keys and I’ll sit in the passenger seat. I’ll provide the roadmap to where they are going and where they need to turn and if they are driving too fast or you’re not paying attention anymore, the speed limit is 60 and you are going 25. And that’s how I run my program. It’s through mutual respect and mutual understanding and a lot of communication.”
For Nelson, communicating wasn’t simply about the day’s intensity session, or periodization within a complex training plan. Sometimes it was more basic.
“I’ve worked with [postgraduates],” she said. “So there is a lot of life things going on. ‘I’m out of the house.’ ‘I don’t know how to do laundry.’ ‘I cannot find a job, can you help me?’ ‘Can I list you as a reference?’ And so it’s just a big picture and I try to not be ignorant of any of the moving pieces.”
Two BSF athletes who built a strong relationship with Nelson will be moving to Bend this June to continue working with her: Nick Michaud and Akeo Maifeld-Carucci.
At BEA, Nelson says she’ll make good use of the multi-disciplinary hat she once wore at BSF in terms of meeting the demands of junior skiers and what they want out of the sport.
“Especially in junior skiing, their goals range from making JN’s, to racing a junior qualifier, to winning JN’s, to going to World Juniors, to making friends,” she said. “I mean, the spectrum is so broad and through all of it, you learn pillars that support your life later on.”
Time to Simplify
This past spring, before her move to Bend, Nelson’s life became more complicated. While in Canmore serving as a guest coach for the U.S. Ski Team at the Ski Tour Canada, Nelson had a health scare.
“I had a Grand mal seizure in Canmore,” Nelson explained. “I came home from the skiathlon, got out of the shower, they think that I just passed out from accumulation of stress and exhaustion, and hit my head and had a Grand mal seizure. And I was actually air flighted and medically sedated into a coma in Calgary. It was unfortunate timing in that I couldn’t go to [SuperTour] Spring Series and I think there were all of these rumors flying and circulating about why I was leaving BSF.”
Nelson wanted to make clear that her departure from BSF was amicable.
“I did not leave because of BSF — BSF was keeping me in Bozeman,” Nelson said. “I love that job. I loved that organization, and working with Dragan was a fantastic opportunity. And I’m excited to continue working with him.”
BSF’s program director, Danevski could not be reached for comment.
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess admiring turns with Bernie Nelson below Broken Hand Mountain in the Three Sisters Wilderness outside Bend, Ore. (Courtesy photo)
Nelson’s arrival in Bend was in many ways an attempt to simplify her life. Her partner is Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess, a perennial SuperTour sprint podium threat and longtime Bend resident. The couple saw each other either in Europe or at national-level races, or they endured the 800-mile road trip between Bend and Bozeman.
It was a combination of events that convinced Nelson to make the move: her personal relationship, the events in Canmore, and the job opening at BEA.
“I was more or less planning to come out here and then I had this seizure and it was like, ‘Yup, life is short,’ ” she said.
She explained that during her recovery — at least in the short-term — she couldn’t be alone or drive.
“It’s just that my life, a little bit, has just been kind of turned on its head,” she said.
Having Blackhorse-von Jess nearby to help with her recovery made practical sense. But on a lighter note, being in Bend affords Nelson the opportunity to foster their relationship.
“Part of me moving here takes the traveling out,” Nelson said. “Hopefully it allows him and us to kind of be a team here. In the sense that we can get things done together.”
Blackhorse-von Jess reiterated Nelson’s sentiments that their partnership in Bend will streamline their lives.
“Most of the upside is actually the intangible stuff,” Blackhorse-von Jess said. “We can facilitate workouts if necessary. If I need someone to drive a vehicle for example or run a lactate meter. The real benefit to having her here is that I don’t have to travel to Bozeman/she doesn’t have to travel here for us to see each other. And having two people in the house actually makes a huge difference with regards to food preparation and scheduling, and equipment maintenance. Those are the sort of tasks that you can share when you are in the same general field together.”
With World Championships this coming winter and 2018 being an Olympic year, Blackhorse-von Jess, 30, said he plans to continue training and racing for at least the next two years.
BEA Executive Director Ben Husaby will continue to supervise Blackhorse-von Jess’ training as he has for most of the 2013 and 2015 national champion’s career.
“I’m not coaching him, Ben is, and Ben does an awesome job,” Nelson maintained. “Maybe there will be days where we’ll be at the same place and I’ll take some video but I’m not going to coach him.”
Husaby’s hands will be full. BEA is a growing nonprofit with biking and climbing programs complimenting their nordic skiing offerings.
“Up until two years ago, I was everywhere,” Husaby said. “My primary focus was to grow the nordic program, to show its financial viability, and to lead the program … As time has gone on and our board has watched us grow and our program directors have had more needs, there were two options. I was either going to continue to be the program director and be the face of the nordic program, or I was going to shoot into the Executive Director role. And it’s been a relatively slow process, because selfishly, I really still enjoy coaching. It’s my passion.”
For the past two seasons, Jordan Buetow served as BEA’s head nordic coach. Buetow helped build the program and in his second season became the go-to face of the ski program as Husaby primarily coached Blackhorse-von Jess and tended to organizational duties.
Husaby said Buetow created a seamless transition for Nelson before he recently returned to his native Alaska.
Currently, Nelson is immersed with office work, learning about the broader details of BEA’s programs and community of parents and athletes, and writing training plans. She’ll be taking over more of the ski program’s coaching duties starting June 1.
Bernadette Nelson leading an OD workout for Bend Endurance Academy skiers. (Photo: Bernadette Nelson)
Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team) at left, bib 33, and former Canadian national team member Chandra Crawford (front, bib 32) leading the Fast and Female forerunners before the Tuesday’s classic sprint at Stage 5 of the Ski Tour Canada in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
CANMORE, Alberta — Throughout the first two days of racing in Canmore at the Ski Tour Canada, FasterSkier caught up most everyone competing for the U.S. and Canada. Here is what you haven’t read — quotes from the Stage 5 classic sprint and Stage 6 skiathlon earlier this week — listed in alphabetical order (of athlete last names).
Dahria Beatty (AWCA/Canadian U23 Development Team)
On her skiathlon (41st place)
“I’ll start with the positives: the second half of the race, the skating felt really good. I was able to get a second wind and be revived in the skate leg and really push hard and pick up some people.
“The classic leg unfortunately, the back didn’t hold up the entire 7.5 k, at about 3 k, it started to seize again so the second lap I was limited very much by my body and wasn’t able to reach my aerobic capacity so that was frustrating. I lost a lot of time there just not being able to move fully, but once I got to the skate I made up some time so I think it bodes well for the skate race in two days time.”
Jennie Bender (Bridger Ski Foundation)
On her sprint qualifier (51st place):
“I actually felt good. Flipped up onto my knee at the very top, but I felt good.”
On her skiathlon (54th):
“I haven’t done a pursuit in a really long time. The classic I knew would definitely be my initial struggle and then I was just kind of hanging on. I hung on. I’m feeling it but you know, it’s done.”
On how she’s feeling:
“My back is really tight, especially going from a really hilly hard classic to a skate. It’s something I’ve been dealing with all year.”
On her goals:
“My goal is to finish up the Tour. I knew that these last few days would be rough for me, but I’m in a better position than I was this time last year, so at the moment I’m in it for the long haul.”
“Felt good. Broke a pole in the start gate, so that was a huge bummer, but that’s how that goes sometimes.”
On his focus at this point in the Tour:
“Ski smooth. It’s easy to get to get punished out here with the altitude and the climb. When you watch the best skiers ski, they always ski beautifully and that was my mantra.”
On his results so far:
“I’ve had better distance results than I expected and it came a lot easier because I was just skiing smooth. I wasn’t trying to woodchuck my way to the front, you know? In the sprints I kind of over-skied the courses a little bit and it hasn’t worked out. I was really hoping today for something different. I felt great, I skied really hard, but there’s not much you can do at that point.”
Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Canadian U23+ Development Team)
Canadian National Development Team skiers Dahria Beatty (l) and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (r) during the women’s 15 k skiathlon on Wednesday in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
On her skiathlon (42nd place):
“It was a lot of fun. It was really hard as skiathlons always are and I tried really hard.”
On pacing the classic portion:
“I actually thought I paced it well, I was tempted to go harder, but I tried to keep it a race pace I could sustain so I could push it in the skate. But I thought that even though I had somebody to work with and my body was feeling good, my body wouldn’t follow what my mind wanted to do in the skate leg… Definitely a Day 6.”
Cendrine Browne (CNEPH/Canadian U23 Development Team)
On her skiathlon (38th place):
“It was so, so hard. The classic course is so hard, but I managed to stay with Emily and we skied together the whole race and I am happy with the result. It is my best World Cup result. I am getting closer to 30th place so that is nice.”
On mental preparation during a Tour:
“I just tell myself I will try and follow today, when it is a mass start it is easier mentally to follow. So I had Emily in front of me to follow and that really helped. Also I just tell myself, everyone is tired today so don’t discourage myself, I just try my best.”
Tad Elliott (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail)
On his skiathlon (58th place):
“Things are starting to turn around here during the Tour. I got to [return] to altitude. That was the best I’ve felt the whole Tour.”
On looking back at eventual winner, Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby, closing in on the second skate lap:
“I actually hit Patrick’s [Stewart-Jones’] pole. We knew they were coming, I was waiting for it, but I went as hard as I can to try to stay on that lap.”
On finishing out the race:
“I was getting splits and knew they were coming so I went pretty deep on that third lap. I’m a skate skier so I’m looking forward to a 15 k skate at altitude. That’s the race I circled all Tour. The goal was to survive today so goal accomplished.”
Brian Gregg (Team Gregg)
On his skiathlon (lapped; 68th place):
“It’s a hard course here. The slow conditions, it’s good to have a hard course for the race at this point, but I’d say the Tour sort of caught up with me. I didn’t feel it for today.”
On the freestyle half of the race:
“Normally I do [like the skate leg]. I didn’t quite make it to the skate exchange, but certainly I was looking forward to that because that’s where I can usually move up a little bit. The classic section was hard. Body wasn’t feeling good, the skis and our service crew did a really good job though.”
Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/U.S. Ski Team)
On her skiathlon (31st place and 0.1 seconds out of 30th):
I felt really good. I like these hard hills for sure. I kind of wish the skate course was on slightly steeper hills, I’m really looking forward to the 10 k skate. I had a 14th here in 2010 and that was kind of out of nowhere. I think it was one of [my] better distance results up until that point so I’m looking forward to getting back on those tough, hard climbs, kind of similar to Falun to some extent. My skis, wow, my skis felt amazing today. Just phenomenal. I have nothing I would’ve changed with the skis, that’s for sure.
On finishing one-tenth of a second outside the points:
“I have a broken toe right now so I’m a little apprehensive on some of the [downhill] turns. It’s just painful and I know it’s not as stable. I tried to get away on that last climb today, right before the final downhill under the bridge. I just wanted to be safe and I didn’t realize how close the girls were behind me so I think I maybe started my sprint a little too late and just didn’t anticipate there being that many girls right there. … I didn’t know [how close it was] until actually we were going at the line. I had to lunge at that point.
On her plan for Friday’s 10 k skate:
“Going forward, perhaps giving myself even a little bit more of a cushion on some of the uphills and having a little bit more stability in my skate boots will help with the toe issue. … The next race, I think it really comes down to the uphills on this course, and I’m looking forward to that so much.”
On her sprint qualifier (47th place):
“I felt pretty good on the climbs. That last little pitch though, I had to get out of the tracks and herringbone a bit. That definitely lost me some time. I’m definitely glad that my sprinting is over for this Tour, looking forward to some distance races now and the big hills at altitude.”
On racing in Canmore:
“I’ve had some awesome races here in the past. The last time I got to race here we had the same format with a 10 k skate. And I’m looking forward to some… I dunno… suffering I guess.”
Reese Hanneman (APU)
On his sprint qualifier (62nd place):
“I was not feeling too bad for so many races in such a tight amount of time and a lot of travel between almost every one of those. I was pretty optimistic this morning and did everything I could do.”
On his goals at this point in the Tour:
“Survive. I don’t know, I mean I was kind of focusing on today and from this point I’ll play it by ear, see if I can gut it out.”
On excelling in a World Cup Tour:
“The guys who are doing well are really just all around good skiers. … It just shows you that if you can do that, you be good at anything.”
Annie Hart (SMST2)
On her sprint qualifier (36th place):
“Damn, I really wanted to be in the top 30. … So close! I felt awesome. It’s a great course. Hard! Really hard. No rest. And every day is a new experience, new learning. I mean, if you hated it today, you girls should just quit the sport. It is so glorious outside. Almost just played hockey and went for a six-hour ski, but figured that would have made them a little mad.”
On her motto for the Tour:
“Just to leave it all out there and treat these as they are my first World Cups and just kind of figure out what I need to work on. Basically I have come away with a lot of confidence. I am close, it’s not like I am leagues away and going into the summer training like, ‘Oh crap, I don’t even know where to begin.’ It’s been really great learning. Take it each day at a time and keep on going.”
“If you hated it today, you girls should just quit the sport. It is so glorious outside.” — Annie Hart
Annika Hicks (Canmore Nordic)
On her skiathlon (49th place):
“I think it’s the first day I’m starting to feel the residual fatigue of the whole Tour. … I did the best that I could do today. I’m looking forward to a rest day tomorrow and starting again without a sprint race first so that could be good for me.”
On the course:
“The classic part was quite tough. I know the hills here pretty well and I knew the classic was going to be harder than the skate and it definitely was.”
On the advantage of racing on a home course:
“Coming down the corners I feel super confident, I could do them with my eyes closed. So that was good.”
Chelsea Holmes (APU)
On her skiathlon (33rd place; career best):
“Today was rough. I guess I was tired. Some days are better than others. It was fun. I’m glad to be here.”
On her biggest takeaway from the Tour so far:
“Just learning tons. It’s great all around.”
Jenn Jackson (NDC Thunder Bay)
On her skiathlon (52nd place):
“It was good. I hung in there. I definitely felt like I had more fight today compared to earlier in the week. The classic felt pretty good — I hit a rough patch going up the wall the second time, but turning over to the skate leg, my legs felt like jelly so I really struggled up those hills.”
On how she’s feeling after six races in the last week:
“My energy is actually pretty good. Without having to do heats, the sprint days are just one hard four-minute effort.”
Knute Johnsgaard (AWCA/Canadian U23+ Development Team)
On his sprint qualifier (48th place):
“I felt pretty good. The course held up pretty well. Up the hills it started to break down a little bit. So I tried to keep it smooth on the steep section and keep a narrow herringbone. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite fast enough to make the heats, but it was all right. Still a solid day.”
On racing at altitude:
“I think I did some good preparation at altitude, so now that we are in Canmore at 1400 meters, hoping to maybe have a little bit advantage there. But I am definitely feeling the effects of the last weeks of racing, but did what I could today.”
Russell Kennedy (Canmore Nordic)
On his skiathlon (52nd):
“It was a lot of work; the conditions were hard. I’m pretty pleased with it. I think definitely one of my better classic legs. I had to push myself a little harder than I wanted to but the skate was awesome, I love skating.”
On concerns about being caught on Lap 7:
“I was definitely relieved when we got into the exchange. I think that following [American Erik] Bjornsen and being right next to [inaudible] … I knew they weren’t going to let that happen so I just tried to hang on for dear life. It was tough knowing those guys were coming so we were pushing. In the end, Bjornsen skied a nice race. I’m sure Bjornsen wasn’t super stoked with it but I’m happy.”
On tactics: pacing or simply survival?
“In the classic I just tried to hang on for dear life, that was my tactic. I didn’t have the fastest skis on the downhill, but I had plenty of kick so tried to kick smooth on the long uphills and try to save energy for the skate leg, but by the time I got to the skate leg, I didn’t have much left anyway.”
Simon Lapointe (Skinouk)
On his sprint qualifier (70th place):
“Today was a tough course, but it was better today. Not quite the result I want.”
On Canmore’s elevation:
“You don’t feel it in the warmup, but in the race you feel it.”
On the Tour in general:
“I don’t think my shape is there anymore so I am a little disappointed with that, but that’s life.”
Matt Liebsch (Gear West)
On his sprint qualifier (83rd):
“I felt good which is probably a bad thing. I just was not moving very well. Skis were a little slippery.”
On his goal at this point in the Tour:
“Just try to stay relaxed and have fun, take it all in. I’m looking forward to that 15 k skate on Friday.”
On how he would describe the Tour:
“This is like a traveling circus. It’s awesome though.”
“I felt good which is probably a bad thing. I just was not moving very well.” — Matt Liebsch
Maya MacIsaac-Jones (Rocky Mountain Racers)
On her skiathlon (51st place):
“It was mostly challenging in the sense that I am pretty tired by this point in the Tour. This is the sixth race so I’m definitely starting to feel the fatigue, but on the bright side, it was so much fun and the skis were outstanding out there.”
On racing at home in Canmore:
“It has really been great to race here so far, to be able to race in my club suit and have the support everyone in town and especially from all my teammates from Rocky Mountain Racers, that has really been amazing for me.”
Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Green Racing Project)
On her sprint qualifier (38th place):
“It’s definitely a really hard course.”
On her goals:
“Just to ski as hard as I could and really learn from all the new experiences.”
On her experience at the Tour so far:
“It’s been amazing to race against the fastest women in the world and see how you stack up. It’s really amazing.”
Emily Nishikawa (Canadian Senior Development Team)
On her skiathlon (37th place):
“It was tough. I’m feeling pretty tired.
“It is a long season and this is the sixth race in a short number of days, but everyone is in the same boat. I’m just a bit flat today, but there are still two great races for me so it is not over yet.”
Katharine Ogden (Stratton Mountain School/USST)
Katharine Ogden (50) leads fellow American and Stratton teammate Annie Hart (48) during the women’s 15 k skiathlon on Wednesday in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
On her skiathlon (32nd place):
“It was so awesome. It was kind of annoying to be that close to the points … but I do need to work on finishing speed. But I’m still so excited. It was awesome to be able to ski with Caitlin [Gregg].”
On the skiathlon transition and skate leg:
“My exchange went really smoothly, surprisingly, because I haven’t done it in a year. But that went well and I got out with a group of a couple Americans. I think maybe Chelsea [Holmes] was there and then Caitlin caught up to us and I just was like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to stick right on her and see what happens,’ and it worked out really well.”
On her biggest takeaway from the Tour:
“All those little things that you try and work on, like the little weaknesses, they can definitely get magnified when you come [to the World Cup]. It’s good motivation.”
“All those little things that you try and work on, like the little weaknesses, they can definitely get magnified when you come [to the World Cup]. It’s good motivation.” — Katharine Ogden
Eric Packer (APU)
On his sprint qualifier (73rd place):
“Today was tough, for sure. The track condition really changed during the qualifier. We were on a bit icier snow in the morning and it kind of turned to slush and broke right when we were qualifying.”
On his motto for the Tour:
“Just try to take each day as it comes.”
Scott Patterson (APU)
On his skiathlon (55th place):
“I didn’t get lapped so that was good. First lap of the classic was pretty good, I think I was in the top 20 or at least top 30, but then second lap, it just kind of blew up on me. I struggled for a couple laps and then skis ended up slowing way down so classic was rough. Once I got to skate, things felt a little better. I was skiing with Michael Somppi and a few other Canadians around me, which was fun and we managed to hold off getting lapped.”
On race plan:
“I’ve kind of been going for the gamble-and-hope for a big one. You get a good day and things can go awesome.”
Kevin Sandau (AWCA)
On his skiathlon (40th place):
“It was a long day out there. I thought I had a good start, but then I figured out those guys were just chilling at the start. I was able to ski pretty close to the front, but then a few speed changes and I just didn’t have it, I was red-lining pretty early and I had to pull back if I wanted to survive.”
On how long he stuck with the pack:
“I’d say about the third lap and then gaps opened up. I was skiing in no-man’s land for way too long so burned energy like that, but once I got back with people I felt better.”
Ida Sargent (CGRP/U.S. Ski Team)
On her skiathlon (35th place):
“I felt like it was Stage 6 in the tour. I was really excited, because I’ve been feeling great all the way through qualifier yesterday. And then the past two days, the quarterfinal and then the race today, my body was really really tired. It was so nice to have my teammates out there; skiing with Caitlin [Gregg], Katherine [Ogden], Chelsea [Holmes] and Anne [Hart] at the end to keep me going. But the altitude and the hills and everything, I was just struggling out there. But my skis were great, so that really pulled me back in quite a few times.
“My classic legs were really tired out there, so when I switched to skate it was a nice reprieve where normally it’s kind of a struggle. I was like, ‘OK, I can do this for a little bit longer.’ I really lucked out with fast skis. And I am looking forward to an off day, and coming back and finishing strong for the last two.”
On the Tour in general:
“I’ve noticed before in the Tour de Ski, you have lows and highs. There is a lot of ups and downs for how your body feels. Each day can be totally different. I’m hoping that that’s what it is, and that I can come back strong on Friday.”
Andy Shields (NDC Thunder Bay)
On the sprint qualifier (64th place):
“I pushed pretty hard on the first lap and kind of held it together on the second lap. The top of the hill was pretty hard. Very, very hard course … I had a little bit of a race cough after that.“
On how he’s feeling so far:
“It’s a tough set of races in five days. Just take each race and trying to digest it as quick as I can and recover for the next one.”
On World Cup racing at the Tour in general:
“It’s been a lot of fun. It’s pretty sweet to have all these awesome athletes to see what they are doing. We don’t have a chance to race them very often.”
Michael Somppi (NDC Thunder Bay)
On his skiathlon (54th place):
“Honestly, the pace didn’t feel that crazy at the start. I was able to stay in the lead group the first lap and I had to push a little bit extra to stay in there, but that was my plan to go for it. It didn’t actually feel that bad and then the second time, the wall, it just hit me and I was going back pretty fast and losing positions. It took me about a lap to start to come around again and could ski hard again.
“I gave myself a chance to be top 30 and it just didn’t happen. I didn’t really think about the guys lapping us until I was going out on my last lap and I saw them finishing and I thought, ‘Holy …. that was a lot closer than I thought.’ The rest of the race I skied a solid pace and that was all I could do.
“I’m happy. It was probably the longest I’ve stayed comfortably in the lead group in a World Cup.
It was fun, I was right behind Northug for a bit, but it went backwards pretty quick after that.”
On pacing:
“If you are trying to get your best result, it is better to ski within yourself and pace better. That was Knute’s [Johnsgaard’s] plan and he dusted me today. But if you are going for a top 30, the spread isn’t that big so you have to go for it. You are going so much faster when you are skiing behind someone in the draft with less effort so you have to go for it.”
Katherine Stewart Jones (NDC Thunder Bay/Canadian U23 Development Team)
On her skiathlon (48th place):
“It was pretty rough, I’m starting to feel pretty tired today after so many races. Especially on the classic leg, the second lap, my legs and arms just felt so full of lactate I didn’t know if I was able to finish the race. I felt better after switching to skating and it was a lot of fun when I was able to ski with other people because it is very mentally tiring to ski alone.”
On the course:
“The skate course is super-fun actually. I like how there is not a lot of flats because it is hard to ski flats when you are tired but on uphills you can get into a rhythm and just keep going.”
Bob Thompson (NDC Thunder Bay)
On his skiathlon (lapped; 62nd place):
“It was definitely tough. I’m happy with the classic section. … Just didn’t quite have enough today. I got two laps in and was starting the third, when they came running at me to stop. I was kind of like, ‘No, I don’t want to’ but I skied up to Justin [Wadsworth] and he confirmed that, yes, I would have to stop … so it’s a little frustrating, but you got to just accept getting upset about it and you can’t change anything you just got to move on. I’ll focus on [Canadian] nationals now and recover a bit.”
On his first World Cup experiences:
“I’ve definitely learned a lot and know what I need to do to get to that next level now that I’ve seen it.”
Lenny Valjas (Canadian World Cup Team)
On his skiathlon (46th place):
“It was tough. In the classic I felt OK and starting the skate I felt really good and I tried to catch the Austrian skier, but as soon as I did he just blew my wheels off and I ended up bonking at the end.”
On trying not to get caught on the seventh lap:
“I was trying to salvage my position. I was sitting 41st for a while so I was trying to not lose too many spots. I was just trying to hold on and not let too many guys catch me.”
Jessica Yeaton (APU/Australian National Team)
On her skiathlon (47th place):
“It wasn’t my greatest. My hair tie fell out, so that was unfortunate. Comb it like a big ’fro. Coming in in style at least.”
On her biggest takeaway from the Tour so far:
“The biggest takeaway from this experience would be how awesome it is to have all the national group here. … To have the group in the end, it’s been really fun to see that kind of racing, and have way more World Cups in North America. Basically, that is way better!”
“My hair tie fell out, so that was unfortunate. Comb it like a big ’fro. Coming in in style at least.” — Jessica Yeaton
Bonus Round:
Andrew Musgrave (Great Britain)
On his skiathlon (42nd place):
“Terrible… I broke a pole in the classic and then I was in the back of the pack. I felt OK in the skate, but I lost so much time in the classic that there wasn’t much else I could do.”
On looking ahead to the final two stages:
“I’m going to have to go dead fast both days to make up for all the lost time from today. It was absolutely awful, so disappointed.”
Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team)
Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team) watching the Wednesday’s skiathlon races at the Ski Tour Canada in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
After forerunning the Canmore sprint:
“I’m feeling really good. Happy to be back, it’s like coming to a reunion. Seeing everybody, and the sun’s out. We just got our cool Fast and Female suits. So I’m just psyched to be here.”
Her take on the sprint course:
“That’s one heck of a hill so I think it’s gonna be [about] carrying momentum over the top, and then having a good burst for that second time up, and still having good power for the finish. It’s gonna be a challenging course today. But that’s good, that’s what the end of the season is all about!”
The opening ceremony at the 2016 Ski Tour Canada, held at the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of History in Hull, Quebec, just across the Ottawa River from Ottawa and a block for the sprint venue at Jacques Cartier Park. The evening included aboriginal dancers, Canadian Mounties, the introduction of athletes, and various speakers in front of a filled hall. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
(Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
(Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
(Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
(Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
(Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
(Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
(Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
With 49 North Americans competing at the Ski Tour Canada (26 Canadians and 23 Americans), there were a ton of tales to be told after the first two stages in Gatineau and Montreal, Quebec, respectively. FasterSkier did its best to check in with most of the North American racers.
Check out some of the best of our post-race interviews from Day 1 and 2 below (and a guide to team affiliations at bottom*).
For more on the top North American finishers, read our race reports:
“Being able to race in front of a home crowd and going around the course twice and hearing my name, like, left, right and center was pretty crazy. It was definitely just an incredible experience.” — Alannah MacLean (NDC Thunder Bay), after finishing 63rd in Gatineau sprint
“It was the loudest race I’ve ever done. It was crazy to hear all the noise. It was motivating.” — Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (CNST), 49th in sprint
“It was just really amazing to be at home and have so many people watching.” — Katharine Stewart-Jones (NDC Thunder Bay and originally from Nakkertok), 68th in sprint
“It’s really exciting because I get to race in front of my friends and family, which doesn’t happen very often, so that’s great to hear my name when I’m racing.” — Cendrine Browne (CNEPH/CNST), 55th in sprint
“It was an amazing atmosphere. So many people cheering, and I felt a little distracted…” — Dahria Beatty (AWCA/CNST), 45th in sprint
“The ambiance was pretty good and helped me a lot to do a good race.” — Simon Lapointe (Skinouk), 82nd in classic mass start
“Racing in front of a home crowd and just having so many fans out cheering for us is really special.” — Emily Nishikawa (CNST), 66th in sprint
“At every corner, at every point of the course there was a roar. It’s surreal racing in front of the home crowd. Looking to the crowd, and recognizing so many faces that are there to support you.” — Mark Rajack(Trinidad & Tobago/XC Ottawa), 86th in the sprint
“It’s just so great that we have such great volunteers and the organizing committees of all these places are really, ah, it’s fantastic.” — Devon Kershaw (Canadian World Cup Team), 50th in the sprint
“Having this many races here at home is a nice advantage for us, not having the jet-lag and [such]. It’s pretty special being able to race in front of the home crowd.” — Graeme Killick (CNST), 76th in the sprint
“Just tons of people cheering your name, and just cheering for Canada, so it’s really fun to be at home.” — Len Valjas (Canadian World Cup Team), 37th in the sprint
Americans:
Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST) racing to 59th in the women’s 10.5 k classic mass start in Montreal, Quebec, at the second stage of the Ski Tour Canada. (Photo: Flyingpointroad.com/NNF)
“It was exhilarating.” — Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST), 62nd in sprint
“It’s nice that people are speaking English and we can use our phones. There’s a lot more comfort involved than being over in like Finland or somewhere.” — Tad Elliott (SSCV), 81st in sprint
“The crowd is awesome. There’s so many Americans out here and it’s something special.” — Noah Hoffman (SSCV/USST), 74th in sprint
“Everything here is awesome. The fans are amazing, like half of them are from the U.S. I think, and the other half are from Canada so it’s pretty awesome to be here.” — Liz Stephen (USST), 59th in sprint
“I grew up in Vermont so it’s not that far. It really helps. It makes everything feel more comfortable. Any taste of home on the trail is amazing.” — Jennie Bender (BSF), 51st in classic mass start
“There were a lot of people cheering for us. A lot of Americans, a lot of Canadians. … Hope for even bigger crowds for the rest of the tour.” — Scott Patterson (APU), 75th in sprint
“It was awesome. You hear your name everywhere.” — Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy), 54th in the sprint
Bonus: Great Britain
“There were a few people cheering me on, that was nice.” — Andrew Musgrave, 44th in sprint
What can you say about this opportunity?
“These are my first World Cups so I’m just going out here and learning as much as I possibly can and seeing what the next level of skiing is.” — MacLean, 64th in classic mass start
“It’s a really good team atmosphere. Everyone’s really stoked to have the opportunity to do these races in Canada.” — Michael Somppi (NDC Thunder Bay), 68th in sprint
“To have 12 girls here is just incredible. It’s really important for our women’s program.” — Nishikawa
“To have such a huge girls team is so awesome. I don’t think it’s ever been this big, and we’re all super supportive of each other. I think it’ll be a super-fun Tour.” — Annika Hicks (Canmore Nordic), 71st in sprint
“I’m racing against people that are four years older and have lots more experience than me so I’m here for more experience.” — Marie Corriveau (CNEPH/Canadian National Junior Team), 67th in sprint
“This is my first tour of World Cups, my first World Cups ever. So really every race is kind of a new adventure.” — Annie Hart (SMST2), 61st in classic mass start
How are you feeling?
Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/U.S. Ski Team) training on the course in Quebec City. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
“I’m feeling really good. I have a ton of energy and I can tell that I want to just keep going and going and going, kind of that long-distance kind of style racing.” — Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/USST), 47th in classic mass start
“I’ve been getting over a chest cold after the last World Cup [in Falun]. I don’t know why, it was just a terrible recovery. I’ve been able to ski the last week, but I’ve only done two intensities and they both really sucked. So, all things considered, the lungs held up OK with the temperature, but I was just missing a bit of a snap.” — Valjas, after sprint
“I had a bit of issues with my back seizing. I’ve been struggling with that my last couple races.” — MacLean, 64th in classic mass start
“I had a couple crashes out there, broke a pole and my back seized on the second lap after the first crash. The first lap went really well actually, and I was right up there in the group and I felt like I was skiing well. After the tucking section, I came into the second lap and stood up and just, bam, my back completely seized. The last two laps were a real struggle.” — Beatty, 65th in classic mass start
“I don’t know what was going on, I was just so tired by the top [of the course]. …The body was doing something weird to me today.” — Andy Shields (NDC Thunder Bay), 76th in classic mass start
“I took a few spills, which sent me back a bit, but I felt good so I’m happy with that.” — Russell Kennedy (Canmore Nordic), 74th in classic mass start
What was your strategy?
“I took a lot of energy from the crowd and I just went out as hard as possible.” — MacLean, after sprint
“I really tried to stay composed. Everyone was rushing at the start. I kept my eyes opened, stayed on my skis and skied relaxed… Though I fell in the first lap like many others.” — Browne, 48th in classic mass start
“I just really wanted to survive it, you know, not get lapped. As silly as that seems, setting the bar pretty low, I haven’t had great classic races this year so it was a concern in the back of my mind and I’m happy to have survived. … I raced the first 3 k as if it was a 3 k race. I was kind of racing for my life out there, trying to get up as far up into the field as I could, as soon as I could to avoid crashes and bottlenecks and it worked.” — Bouffard-Nesbitt, 53rd in classic mass start
“I started really far back because I fell in the sprint … so it was just a matter of, let’s see how many spots I can move up, and I think I got about twenty so that was good.” — Bender, after the mass start
What were the course and conditions like in Montreal?
Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) on a cold training day in Quebec City on Thursday before the third stage of the Ski Tour Canada. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
“It was a really technical course. The downhills were really icy and really hard to stay on your feet at some points, especially after some of the grueling uphills. I managed to stay upright and it was a success in that sense, but I wasn’t able to hang onto the group for as long as I would’ve liked.” — Knute Johnsgaard (CNST), 69th in classic mass start
“I started pretty far back. I was seeded 75th and I noticed right up the first hill that I was in dead last. I’m thinking, ‘Oh man, something didn’t go right with that start.’ It was kind of a weird course with sharp downhills that got skidded to ice so it just scraped off all your wax and then it was like, herringbone and double pole, herringbone and double pole.” — Patterson, 55th in classic mass start
“The downhills were very icy and very sketchy. Some of the most sketchy downhills I’ve had in a race. It was very icy around the turns and we were just all doing our best to stay on our feet and try not to get in any pileups.” — Eric Packer (APU), 67th in classic mass start
“It was a tough day. I think the conditions made the course and the race even more challenging. But it’s always a learning experience for me, only my second World Cup today so I’ll take what I can get.” — Jenn Jackson (NDC Thunder Bay), 63rd in the classic mass start
“I really enjoyed the course and just the energy of everyone cheering. My family and friends were there to watch so it was really fun.” — Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP), 39th in classic mass start
What are your goals for the Tour?
“I think all the Canadian girls are searching for those top 30s, and if a few of us can get it that’s gonna be great.” — Andrea Dupont (RMR), 56th in the sprint
“Definitely trying to stay in the competition every race. … My goal is really a top 30, and I hope to get it one of these races.” — Beatty
What race are you most looking forward to?
“Very excited about having two 15 k skates.” — Brian Gregg (Team Gregg), 83rd in sprint
“The pursuit in Canmore. It’s a course I know pretty well, and I had some great races on the exact course like for trials and other events. So I’m really excited to race the pursuit.” — Killick
“I’m excited to go back to Quebec, but I’m really looking forward to Canmore. For me that’s home. That’s a home venue.” — Blackhorse-von Jess (of Bend, Oregon)
“The classic sprint in Canmore. That suits me, that is my best event I think.” — Bob Thompson (NDC Thunder Bay), 52nd in sprint
“I think each event presents it’s own learning experiences and challenges, but a classic sprint in Canmore — I really enjoyed the classic sprint in Canmore on the NorAms — so hopefully we can have some good races there.” — Jackson, 58th in sprint
“Just getting to ski a lot of World Cups is a pretty awesome opportunity. Definitely looking forward to more of the distance races.” — Ogden
“I’m quite looking forward to the skiathlon in Canmore, but there’s going to be a lot of good stages, good crowd here, so I think all of the stages will be fun if the crowd is good the whole way.” — Musgrave, after the sprint
“The other athletes here worked their entire lives to be here. I literally started [skiing] three years ago and I just showed up. So my goal here is to come here and do justice to the sport and not erode the validity and integrity of the sport that these athletes worked so hard to create.” — Rajack, after the sprint
Also:
We missed NorAm leader Kevin Sandau (AWCA), but this video he made before the Ski Tour Canada sums up a lot (click here to view on YouTube)
*Guide to North American teams:
Canada:
– AWCA: Alberta World Cup Academy
– CNEPH: Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (Centre National D’entraînement Pierre Harvey)
– CNST: Canadian National Senior Team
– NDC Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay National Development Centre
– RMR: Rocky Mountain Racers
USA:
– APU: Alaska Pacific University
– BSF: Bridger Ski Foundation
– CGRP: Craftsbury Green Racing Project
– SMS: Stratton Mountain School
– SMST2: Stratton Mountain School T2 Team (elite team)
American Simi Hamilton during his “victory lap” after finishing in the top three of the men’s freestyle sprint at the Ski Tour Canada World Cup stage in Gatineau, Quebec. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
For the men’s opening stage of the Ski Tour Canada on Tuesday, a 1.7-kilometer freestyle sprint, the end is the best place to start.
Adjacent a frozen Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec, those who withstood the -5 degree Celsius (23 Fahrenheit) cold, the tight corners, and the scrum-like jostling at the front of the pack went on to stand on the podium.
Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov won the speedy and tightly contested final in 3:09.36 minutes, proving it’s not over until it’s over — but more on that in a bit. Richard Jouve from France placed second, just 0.08 seconds back. But the big news for North America, U.S. Ski Team sprinter Simi Hamilton took third in a photo finish with both Ustiugov and Jouve. Hamilton was only 0.09 seconds behind Ustiugov and 0.01 seconds out of second place.
Hamilton: Waiting, Waiting, Then Pouncing
For the Aspen, Colo., native, Canada is as close to home-racing soil as he’ll get on this year’s World Cup. Considering he spends most of the offseason training with Vermont’s Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team, a long drive south, Hamilton came prepared for what he hoped would be a solid day in front of family and friends. And he didn’t disappoint.
In an in-person interview after the race, Hamilton, 28, explained the local support kept the stoke high.
“You always kind of want to play it cool and stay engaged and focused, but it’s so awesome when you run to the start or even when you are racing and you hear, ‘USA,’ and ‘Simi,’ ” Hamilton said. “I have a lot of friends and family out here. It’s just super cool to race so close to home and people are fired up. I think we are bringing a lot of good energy to cross-country ski racing on this continent, and it’s fun to be part of that movement.”
Simi Hamilton (U.S. Ski Team) racing to second in the men’s 1.7 k freestyle sprint qualifier on Tuesday at Stage 1 of the Ski Tour Canada in Gatineau, Quebec. Hamilton went on to place third in the final for his second podium of the season. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
Hamilton’s effort in the qualifier made a statement. He wore bib 2 throughout the heats as a result of his second-place qualifying time. Fastest qualifier, Norway’s Petter Northug set the best mark in 3:12.99. Hamilton was a bit more than an eyeblink behind, finishing only 0.45 seconds back.
Quarterfinal 3, Hamilton’s heat, featured Norway’s Emil Iversenas a main threat — Iversen qualified fourth (+1.40). And in Lahti, Finland, the site of the last World Cup sprint, Iversen won out the day.
Clearly in good form again on Tuesday, Iversen led Hamilton’s heat like a greyhound chasing the unreachable rabbit — just go, go, go. Hamilton remained in the back, shifting from third to fourth and back to third. On a portion of the course where two small straights are linked by a horseshoe-shaped bend, Hamilton said he began to learn how the course could be exploited.
“Today I kind of figured out in my quarterfinal that it’s good to conserve energy in the middle of the pack or close to the back of the pack,” Hamilton said in the post-race press conference. “And then I knew that I was skiing that horseshoe climb really well all day today. So I knew that I could put a move on there and I knew that a lot of other people were kind of letting off the gas a little bit on that climb and around the corner.”
That’s where Hamilton began to move up and position himself for the final straight. Iversen took the heat win in 3:13.73, but Hamilton, who finished second (+0.35), took the best how-to-race notes.
Hamilton moved onto the second semifinal where Northug, Jouve, and Norwegian Ola Vigen Hattestad awaited.
With the flat light dulling the course, the star of the show appeared to be Northug. Sporting retro-looking mirrored sunglasses, Northug seemed ready for prime time. Having won his quarterfinal in iconic Northug fashion — never seeming to exert real effort yet moving faster than the others — he won out again in 3:13.38.
In that semi, Hamilton played the same hand as he did in the quarters, with slightly less stellar results. He remained in the pack. He conserved energy. He navigated a pushy and tightly packed group of skiers, but he left his chances up to a nail-biter sprint down the home stretch. But the semi proved to be the faster of the two semifinals, by just under a second. Hamilton placed third, 0.42 seconds back, but his time was fast enough for a spot in the finals.
Remember, Hamilton’s wore bib 2 for the day — a reminder to those around him how fast he had skied previously to reach the final. Lining up with Hamilton was a burly set of skiers, any one of which could take the day. There was third-fastest qualifier Ustiugov, the first semifinal winner Finn Hågen Krogh of Norway, his teammate Hattestad, France’s Jouve, and the ubiquitous Northug.
For the first two thirds of the final, it appeared Hamilton had given his best shot. Never in the front, and at times seemingly at risk of dropping off, the group seemed too congested for any skier to move up from the back. Nearly two minutes into the final, Hamilton remained in sixth place.
But Hamilton was playing it cool, knowing that his peers were used to shorter sprint courses over in Europe.
“I knew that if I played my cards right, I could throw some moves kind of in that horseshoe climb,” Hamilton said in the press conference. “It was going well all day and I just kind of banked on having that in my quiver for the final. So I focused on conserving my energy until then. And then tried to lay down as big a move as possible coming over that hill.”
Hamilton did make a move. But rather than appear decisive, it appeared to get him into a mix of skiers so closely clustered, all of them could end up a World Cup yard sale. Yet his positioning and timing worked.
“It was a long course today. It’s something that we don’t see too much on the World Cup these days,” Hamilton said. “Most of our sprints this year have been about 2:30, so to have a sprint over three minutes was really cool. I think you have to think about some different tactics that you can play. So I figured out that that was kind of one my main strengths on the course today, and I really just relied on that in the final, to be able to put a move in and get ahead of some people there [on the horseshoe].”
Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov (3) celebrates his win by mere hundredths of a second over France’s Richard Jouve (not shown) and American Simi Hamilton (2), who lunged across the line and placed third for his second podium of the season. Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh placed fourth and Ola Vigen Hattestad (17) finished fifth, while Petter Northug was sixth. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
Into the home straight, Hamilton came charging up along the fence to challenge Ustiugov in the lead.
The only thing clear at the finish was that the athlete with the biggest stretch would finish best. The race ended in a six-way photo finish with all six finalists within 0.72 seconds of Ustiugov.
Hamilton’s lunge at the line? That was good enough for third behind Ustiugov and Jouve, and ahead of three Norwegians.
“It’s great seeing the Norwegians win,” Hamilton reflected in the press conference. “They are incredible skiers, they come from an amazing skiing culture, but it’s pretty cool to be on the podium with people like Richard and Sergey. I think we are showing the rest of the world that this sport can be won by people other than the Norwegians and it’s fun to be able to be a part of that.”
Tuesday was Hamilton’s second podium of the season and third-career sprint podium.
“I think we are showing the rest of the world that this sport can be won by people other than the Norwegians and it’s fun to be able to be a part of that.” — Simi Hamilton, second in the freestyle sprint at the Ski Tour Canada in Gatineau, Quebec
Ustiugov’s Day
A word or two about Ustiugov is well worth a mention. Like Hamilton, the 23-year-old Russian played his tactics well, qualifying in third then winning his fast quarterfinal in a three-way photo finish. (His quarterfinal time bested the fastest qualifying time by almost two seconds.)
In his semifinal, Ustiugov broke a pole just after the start. Cooly, he power skated along until a Russian coach was able to hand him a new pole. On the longer-than-usual course, Ustiugov was able to eventually bridge back up to the leaders.
It also seemed like an aha moment. It was as if the pole break taught Ustiugov something that Hamilton had learned: conserving energy early pays dividends in the end.
By 1:49 into the semifinal, Ustiugov took the lead, despite his long-forgotten broken pole. He ended up second to Krogh in a photo finish.
In the final, Ustiugov hovered in the back of the pack, looking like an afterthought until late in the race.
“It was my tactical goal today,” Ustiugov said, according to a translation at the press conference. “In the quarterfinal, I also started very slowly. In the semifinal, I made a really fast start, and in the final again the same start like in the quarterfinal. So that was my tactic play today.”
The men’s freestyle sprint podium at the first stage of the Ski Tour Canada with Russian winner Sergey Ustiugov (c), France’s Richard Jouve (l) in second and American Simi Hamilton (r) in third. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
Gatineau marked Ustiugov’s first sprint victory since Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, where he won his first World Cup (a freestyle sprint) in January 2014. Last month, he won the 15 k freestyle mass start in Falun, Sweden for his second individual World Cup win.
And on Tuesday, he outlasted five skiers in a photo finish for his third victory, with first through fourth being separated by just 0.13 seconds.
Just a toe behind the Russian winner was Jouve. His plan, unlike Ustiugov’s building pace, was to hang on for as long as possible.
“We had a good race tactic, from the quarterfinals all the way to the final,” Jouve said in the press conference. “We tried to stay at the front of the pack as long as we could.”
Asked about lining up with Northug in the final, Jouve said he convinced himself he belonged.
“It really impressed me being in the final, but I had to tell myself I was as good as any of the other finalists,” he said. “The French-speaking public was great and I want to thank all who cheered for me.”
Including the team sprint in Planica, Slovenia, this was Jouve’s third podium of the season.
The U.S.
U.S. Ski Team member Erik Bjornsen was the next-best American in 25th overall. He qualified for his first sprint of the season in 27th, 7.3 seconds behind Northug’s top qualifying time.
“It was fun to jump into the heats and mix it up a little bit,” Bjornsen told FasterSkier after his quarterfinal.
Initially, at the start of his quarterfinal (the fourth of five), Bjornsen led the pack.
“I was just feeling comfortable and I knew it was important to get a good spot and maybe I got a bit too comfortable out there,” he reflected. “And also I let one or two guys go thinking, ‘It’s going to be fine.’ ”
Bjornsen was knocked out of the competition when he finished fifth in his quarterfinal, 2.17 seconds behind Northug as the winner of that heat.
Bjornsen said he’s looking forward to the distance days to come, starting with a 20 k classic mass start on Wednesday in Montreal.
“Tomorrow and then Canmore, both those classic distance races I’m pretty excited for,” he said.
No other Americans qualified for the heats. Bjornsen’s Alaska Pacific University (APU) teammate Reese Hanneman placed 35th, Andy Newell (SMST2/USST) finished 42nd, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) was 54th, Eric Packer (APU) 72nd, Noah Hoffman (SSCV/USST) 74th, Scott Patterson (APU) 75th, Tad Elliott (SSCV) 81st, Matt Liebsch (Gear West) 82nd, and Brian Gregg (Team Gregg) 83rd.
The U.S. notched a never-before-seen double podium with both an American man (Hamilton) and woman (Jessie Diggins) on the podium, as Diggins placed third in the women’s final.
“We are so proud of all the USA athletes today,” U.S. Head Coach Chris Grover said in a USSA press release. “It was really exciting to see Erik Bjornsen take his first sprint points of the season and finish 25th. … Once the heats began, both Jessie and Simi were masterful when it came to making space in which to pass their competitors. They made gaps open for themselves and timed their podium bids perfectly.”
It’s Good to be Home
Canadian World Cup Team member Alex Harvey, of St-Férréol-les-Neiges, Quebec, took advantage of the home field right from the go. He qualified 15th (+4.18) for his first time making the heats in a World Cup freestyle sprint this season.
Alex Harvey (Canadian World Cup Team) racing to 15th in the 1.7 k freestyle sprint qualifier at the first stage of the Ski Tour Canada on Tuesday in Gatineau, Quebec. Harvey went on to reach the semifinals for 11th overall. (Photo: Peggy Hung)
“It was a great start to the Tour. I felt really good out there as the day went on,” Harvey said in a Cross Country Canada press release. “I haven’t had much success this year qualifying in the sprint races so to be 15th was a good sign.”
In his quarterfinal, the first of five, it didn’t appear Harvey would advance until the final stretch.
“We had three of the fastest men pushing the pace in the quarterfinals,” Harvey said in a press release. “We get to pick our heats that we want to race in and I wanted that one because I knew it would be fast and a good chance to have a lucky loser spot.”
In a four-way photo finish, Harvey finished fourth, 0.29 seconds behind Ustiugov, the winner of the heat. Krogh automatically advanced in second (+0.01), while Hattestad in third (+0.27) and Harvey two-hundredths of a second behind him reached the semifinals as lucky losers.
Harvey did not advance beyond the semifinals, finishing sixth in the first semi (1.44 behind Ustiugov in first), and placed 11th overall. It was his second-best sprint of the season after placing seventh in a classic sprint last month in Stockholm, Sweden.
“I was better positioned in the semis, but I almost crashed in that final corner and it scrubbed my speed. That was it for me,” Harvey said on Tuesday. “I felt really good as the day went on. The crowd was awesome today and really loud so it was a great start.”
That great start was not Harvey’s alone. Canadian National Development Team athlete Knute Johnsgaard, in his second World Cup sprint, qualified 29th (+7.80). He ended the day 30th overall for his first World Cup points.
Johnsgaard told FasterSkier he tried to relax compared to his recent starts in Europe.
“I think I maybe waited a little better,” Johnsgaard said. “The last rounds I did in Europe would have been the OPA Cup in Planica, the week before the World Cup weekend. And I was … getting a bit too excited off the start that time. So I was just trying to relax this time until the second lap, and maybe make a move on the second lap. But unfortunately everyone is so strong … I don’t think it was much about tactics today, just the strongest skiers went through.”
Canadian World Cup Team member Len Valjas finished 37th, Andy Shields (Thunder Bay National Development Centre) placed 48th, Devon Kershaw (CNST) was 50th, Bob Thompson (NDC Thunder Bay) 52nd, Jesse Cockney (CNST) 53rd, Russell Kennedy (Canmore) 59th, Kevin Sandau (AWCA) 70th, Gatineau’s own Simon Lapointe (Skinouk) 71st, Graeme Killick (CNST) 76th, Ivan Babikov (CNST) 78th, and Patrick Stewart-Jones (AWCA) 84th.
The Ski Tour Canada continues Wednesday in Montreal with the Stage 2 men’s 20 k classic mass start, and a 13 k women’s classic mass start on an approximately 3 k loop.
— Gerry Furseth, Alex Slobodian, François Léger Dionne, and Harald Zimmer contributed reporting
Simi Hamilton with his mom, Ruth, after Hamilton placed third in the men’s skate sprint at Stage 1 of the Ski Tour Canada in Gatineau, Quebec. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
Simi Hamilton (U.S. Ski Team) racing to second in the skate sprint qualifier at the Gatineau stage of the Ski Tour Canada. He went on to place third in the final. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
Jessie Diggins (center, laughing) pops some champagne as she and U.S. teammate Kikkan Randall (third from left) topped the podium in the freestyle team sprint at the 2012 World Cup in Quebec City. Germany’s Hanna Kolb and Denise Herrmann placed second (l) and Norwegians Celine Brun-Lie and Maiken Caspersen Falla finished third (r).
(Note: This article has been updated to mention that Caitlin Patterson will not be competing in the Ski Tour Canada because of illness.)
The U.S. will be well represented at the Ski Tour Canada (STC) with a roster of 24 athletes, the U.S. Ski Team officially announced Sunday. The list includes World Cup regulars as well as top Nation’s Group skiers who rank at the top of the domestic U.S. SuperTour standings. The selections were made based on a combination of criteria and discretion.
U.S. Women’s STC Team
Sadie Bjornsen: Alaska Pacific University (APU)/U.S. Ski Team (USST)
Sophie Caldwell: Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2/USST
Jessie Diggins: SMST2/USST
Ida Sargent: Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP)/USST
*Note: Caitlin Patterson explained in an email to FasterSkier on Monday that she will not be taking part in the Tour. According to U.S. head coach Chris Grover, she canceled this morning and her start is non-transferable because she is the SuperTour (Continental Cup) leader.
“I was looking forward to it so much, but I caught a nasty cold late last week that I haven’t been able to shake off in time,” wrote Patterson, the two-time national champion in both distance races this year. “And so as painful as it was, I had to realize that I was not healthy enough to start the races and therefore did not travel to Canada.”
Of the 13 women, 10 have competed in World Cup races this season. Chelsea Holmes and Patterson earned mid-season World Cup starts after strong early season SuperTour performances. Caitlin Gregg began her season on the World Cup but returned home after the Tour de Ski and recently claimed her fourth Birkie title.
Newcomers to the squad include Katherine Ogden, Anne Hart and Kaitlynn Miller. Ogden led the U.S, contingent at U23 Junior World Championships, finishing 13th in both distance races. She also posted consistent top-10 SuperTour results, highlighted by an early season win at the 10-kilometer freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont. Hart claimed a pair of runner-up finishes at U.S. nationals in both the classic and freestyle sprints and her first SuperTour win in the 5 k freestyle in Craftsbury, Vt., earlier this month. Miller broke through earlier this season, winning the classic sprint and placing second in the women’s 10 k classic at U.S. nationals.
U.S. Men
Simi Hamilton: SMST2/USST
Andy Newell: SMST2/USST
Erik Bjornsen: APU/USST
Noah Hoffman: Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV)/USST
Matt Liebsch: Gear West
Eric Packer: APU/
Scott Patterson: APU
Brian Gregg: Loppet Nordic Racing/Team Gregg
Reese Hanneman: APU
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess: Bend Endurance Academy
Tad Elliott: SSCV
For the men, eight of the 11 athletes have competed in a World Cup this season. Reese Hanneman, Scott Patterson and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess earned mid-season World Cup starts. Brian Gregg raced the 30 k freestyle at the World Cup in Davos, Switzerland, after his early-season win in West Yellowstone. Matt Liebsch, Tad Elliott and Eric Packer will be making their first World Cup appearances for the 2015/2016 season.
The national 30 k freestyle champion, Elliott recently placed second in the 10 k at the Craftsbury SuperTour and 10th at the American Birkebeiner. Packer stands as the overall SuperTour leader after consistent strong performances highlighted by a classic sprint victory at U.S. nationals. After posting two top-10 results at nationals and a runner-up finish to Brian Gregg in West Yellowstone, Matt Liebsch was the next man in line after Adam Martin, who declined his STC spot, in the SuperTour distance standings.
Spectators at the 2012 World Cup in Quebec City. The last time the World Cup came to North America, races took place in Quebec City and Canmore in December 2012.
Since World Cup racing is rarely held on this side of the Atlantic, the STC offers a unique opportunity for athletes and fans in North America. With no Olympic Games or World Championships this season, the eight-stage tour will be the culminating event of the 2015/2016 World Cup season.
The STC includes eight races between four venues. The tour will start in Gatineau on Tuesday with a freestyle sprint before athletes travel 200 kilometers east for classic mass starts on Wednesday in Montreal. The next two stages are located 250 k northeast as Quebec City hosts a freestyle sprint and a freestyle pursuit on Friday and Saturday. The final four races will be held across the country in Canmore, Alberta, with classic sprints, skiathlons, freestyle individual starts, and finally, classic pursuits to close the tour.
Races will be broadcast live for cable/satellite subscribers on NBC Sports Live Extra, according the the schedule below. All times are Eastern Standard Time.
Tuesday, March 1: Gatineau
1:45 p.m. – Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint
Wednesday, March 2: Montreal
12:00 p.m. – Women’s 13 k classic mass start
2:30 p.m. – Men’s 20 k classic mass start
Friday, March 4: Quebec City
3:30 p.m. – Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint
Saturday, March 5: Quebec City
3:00 p.m. – Women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit
4:00 p.m. – Men’s 15 k freestyle pursuit
Tuesday, March 8: Canmore
3:00 p.m. – Men’s and women’s classic sprint
Wednesday, March 9: Canmore
12:00 p.m. – Women’s 15 k skiathlon
2:30 p.m. – Men’s 30 k skiathlon
Friday, March 11: Canmore
11:45 a.m. – Women’s 10 k freestyle interval start
3:00 p.m. – Men’s 15 k freestyle interval start
Saturday, March 12: Canmore
3:00 p.m. – Women’s 10 k classic pursuit
4:00 p.m. – Men’s 15 k classic pursuit
American Simi Hamilton (l) goes head-to-head with Germany’s Sebastian Eisenlauer (14), Norway’s Eivind Bakkene (26), and Sweden’s Gustav Nordstroem (13) during their 1.2 k freestyle sprint quarterfinal on Saturday at the World Cup in Planica, Slovenia. Hamilton placed fourth in a photo finish, ahead of Sweden’s Johan Edin (15), and ended up 18th overall. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Chelsea Holmes.
Racing, at times, serves as a recharge. After qualifying four skiers in Saturday’s 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint in Planica, Slovenia, but missing the semifinal and final rounds, several U.S. Ski Team members communicated that they’re geared up and ready to give it another go.
“I don’t feel super strongly one way or the other about today,” American Sophie Caldwell said in a phone interview. “It wasn’t a bad day by any means, but it definitely wasn’t what I was hoping for. … I caught a little cold after the Tour de Ski, but I’m hoping today woke my body up and I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
Caldwell was coming off her first World Cup victory in the classic sprint on Jan. 5 at Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski.
In Saturday’s freestyle-sprint qualifier, Caldwell clocked the 13th-fastest time, 6.33 seconds behind Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, who won the qualifier in 2:32.29.
Caldwell then raced in the first quarterfinal of the day, which included Swedish sprint specialists Stina Nilsson and Hanna Falk, Finland’s Mona-Liisa Nousiainen, Heidi Widmer of Switzerland, and Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampic.
Heading out of the start, it was the two Swedish skiers in front, followed by Caldwell and Nousiainen in a tie for third. As the group ascended the first climb, Caldwell overtook Nousiainen on the outside left, to position herself in third for the next downhill.
Coming into the final climb of the course, it was three white suits in the front — with Nilsson leading Falk, and Caldwell following close behind.
As the trio made their way into the final 100 meters, the two Swedes broke away from Caldwell, while she responded by pushing hard in an effort to catch Falk in second. She couldn’t quite reach her, finishing third, 0.82 seconds after Falk and 0.92 seconds behind Nilsson, who won the heat and high-fived her teammate across the line.
The second quarterfinal heat was 1.3 seconds faster, and Caldwell ended up missed a lucky loser bid for the semifinals. She finished the day 13th overall.
Sophie Caldwell (USA) racing to 13th in the qualifier of the women’s World Cup 1.2 k freestyle sprint on Saturday in Planica, Slovenia. She went on to place 13th overall. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
“I think one of the most challenging parts is staying mentally engaged,” Caldwell said. “With sprint racing, so much can go right and so much can go wrong. The tiniest wrong move can mess up your entire race, if you let it.
“But I think if you have a race that doesn’t go well, being able to put it behind you and gearing up for the next one [is important],” she added.
Caldwell’s teammate Ida Sargent — the only other female U.S. Ski Team member racing — qualified in 21st, 8.94 seconds behind Jacobsen, and also missed advancing to the semifinal.
In the fifth-and-final women’s quarterfinal, Sargent took it out strong from the start, trailing Germany’s Sandra Ringwald while stay ahead of Norway’s Kathrine Rolsted Harsem, Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist, Germany’s Anne Winkler, and Switzerland’s Nadine Fähndrich.
The two Germans moved into the lead for the course’s sharp righthand turn, while Sargent clung viciously to third.
Heading into the second climb, Fähndrich punched the pace, passing the two Germans on the inside left. Sargent held onto to the Swiss skier’s surge and moved into second.
Fähndrich gapped the field by nearly 40 meters coming into course’s closing downhill, but her burst wasn’t enough to hold off the group for the final climb. As she lost steam, so did Sargent.
Ringwald and Dahlqvist closed in to the right of Sargent, overtaking her, while Harsem pressured from the left heading into the finish.
In the final 50 meters, Harsem and Ringwald passed Fähndrich to take first and second, respectively. Dahlqvist was third (+0.32), Fähndrich fourth (+0.39), and Sargent crossed the line in fifth, 3.38 seconds after Harsem, to end up 23rd overall.
After earning World Cup starts as a Period 1 U.S. SuperTour (Continental Cup) leader, Chelsea Holmes, of Alaska Pacific University (APU) raced to 48th in Saturday’s sprint, 15.51 seconds behind the qualifying winner. For Holmes, 28, it was her first World Cup sprint and first international World Cup start. At U.S. nationals just over a week ago, she notched two podiums in the distance races: the 20 k freestyle mass start and the 10 k classic.
In an email, Holmes wrote about how her opening World Cup race went.
“My first European World Cup was super fun! I actually really liked this course. While it was certainly shorter in terms of time, than the other skate sprints I’ve done this year, I felt like the terrain and course were great, it flowed really well with good climbs and no rest.
I may have not been super fast but it was a great experience to get under my belt. Simply just being here, watching the heats yesterday and the team sprint today, I feel I learned a lot and it can only help me grow as an athlete. Now I am really looking forward to this week of training and the race this weekend!”
Hamilton, Newell in the Heats
In the men’s 1.2 k sprint, two Americans qualified for the rounds — Simi Hamilton and Andy Newell — but did not advance to the semis.
“I was not super psyched with the final result of the day, but I was happy with how my body responded after getting quite sick during the Tour and trying to recover from that last week and this week,” Hamilton said on the phone afterward.
Simi Hamilton (USA) racing to 18th in the men’s 1.2 k freestyle sprint qualifier at the World Cup in Planica, Slovenia. He went on to place 18th overall. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
He had qualified 18th, 3.85 seconds behind Italy’s Federico Pellegrino, who won the qualifier in a time of 2:14.8, and ultimately won the men’s final in 2:15.12.
After withdrawing from the Tour with an illness and missing theclassic sprint in Oberstdorf, Germany, Saturday marked Hamilton’s first race effort since the third stage of the Tour in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
“I hadn’t really done any hard efforts since Lenzerheide, so I didn’t really know what to expect from my body in terms of sprint speed and how I’d be feeling,” Hamilton said. “So I was psyched at the fact that my energy actually felt pretty good.”
Hamilton ambitiously led the fifth men’s quarterfinal out of the start, ahead of fellow quarterfinalists Sebastian Eisenlauer of Germany, Sweden’s Gustav Nordström and Johan Edin, Norway’s Eivind Bakkene, and Austria’s Bernhard Tritscher.
Heading into the initial descent, Eisenlauer jumped in front of Hamilton to take the lead.
The drive from the front soon shuffled to Nordström, and Hamilton slipped back to fifth by the last downhill and into the final climb.
As the group crested the hill into the finishing straight, Hamilton was skiing in sixth, but he gained on the group in the last hundred meters or so, finding space to pass Tritscher and Edin for fourth, just 0.32 seconds behind Eisenlauer, who won the heat in 2:19.47. Hamilton edged Edin in a photo finish for fourth, but their heat wasn’t fast enough to give him a spot in the semifinals.
“I didn’t really feel like I had that top-end speed, like I do when I am feeling really good,” Hamilton said. “But I’m [also] not in a spot right now where I’m stressed out about how fit I am or skiing through the rounds. I think it’s a matter of getting my training going again after being sick and getting into that routine of volume, as well as some harder workouts.”
Confident in his fitness and his ability, Hamilton, who finished the day 18th overall, leaves Saturday’s course craving more.
“They did an incredible job with building this new course and this new venue. It suits me really well,” he said. “It’s short, it’s really technical, it’s very twisty and turny with nothing super steep. … I’m just looking forward to taking another crack at it at some point.”
Andy Newell (U.S. Ski Team) on his way to 24th in the men’s 1.2 k freestyle sprint qualifier at the World Cup in Planica, Slovenia. He went on to place 23rd overall. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
The second American male to qualify was Andy Newell in 24th, 4.87 seconds behind Pellegrino. Newell also said that while he’s still aiming for top-10 finishes and more finishing speed, his fitness continues to improve.
“Definitely hoping to be top 10 in a race like that,” Newell said on the phone after finishing fifth in the first quarterfinal. “It’s been kind of a struggle for me with some of the last few skate sprints, especially finding the power to be able to pass people and advance to the semifinal.
“But positively, I felt pretty good today — better than I did in Tolbach after getting sick and better than I did in Lenzerheide in that skate sprint,” he added. “Although the result isn’t much better, I definitely felt a lot quicker, like I had some good moments out there in the heat, but just wasn’t able to close.”
In his quarterfinal, Newell went head-to-head with Norwegian sprint specialists Erik Brandsdal and Ola Vigen Hattestad, as well as Sweden’s Teodor Peterson, France’s Valentin Chauvin, and Switzerland’s Jöri Kindschi.
After skiing in third early on, Newell moved into second behind Peterson as they approached the final downhill. As the group raced up the final climb, Newell slid back into fourth behind the Norwegians and Swede.
In a battle down the straightaway, it was Brandsdal who came out on top in 2:16.84, edging Peterson at the finish by 0.32 seconds. Hattestad took third (+0.65), Kindschi was fourth (+1.68), and Newell was another tenth of a second back in fifth (+1.78). Kindschi passed Newell in the last 100 meters.
“I feel like I can be faster than anybody if I’m fresh, but if I’m fatigued then it becomes a little bit harder in that finishing stretch,” Newell said. “I’ve been trying to play around with my technique a little bit so I can try to improve the way I can ski when I’m tired.”
Trusting his body has more to dig into, Newell, who ended up 23rd overall, looks forward to his next few races.
“Generally I think my fitness is still improving. I still haven’t accessed my full fitness potential maybe since Kuusamo [Finland] in those beginning races,” he said, referring to his fourth place in the season-opening classic sprint. “I felt really good in some of the beginning classic races of the year, but I think I’m starting to come back to that level again so I’m excited for the next few weeks.”
In an email, Blackhorse-von Jess described adjusting to World Cup racing again.
“The European transition is the best it’s ever been. Every day feels better and better and I [have] yet to miss a night of sleep!” the Bend Endurance Academy athlete wrote. “Today was fun — Slovenia is a stunning country — but the 2:20 sprint just isn’t something I’ve done this year and the course set up much firmer than previously this week, combined with me being too cautious in the first half of the race. Not a mistake you can afford on the World Cup! Definitely looking forward to re-learning that short-duration sea-level speed you need to be competitive over here.”
Blackhorse-von Jess placed 50th overall, 7.42 seconds behind the qualifying winner.
Hanneman in 63rd (+9.42) also detailed his experience and transition to Europe thus far.
“It was a crazy fast course today!” Hanneman wrote in an email. “I got a cold right after nationals, and combined with really long travel over here, I have been feeling less than great. I wasn’t sure I was gonna be able to race earlier in the week, but I felt somewhat healthy last night, and just decided to go for it.”
Still adapting to the change in competition setting, he anticipates the opportunity to further develop his World Cup racing is yet to come.
“I haven’t been able to do any intensity since the last nationals race, so I was flat today, but I think considering, it was solid. 9 seconds behind Pellegrino is solid for me,” he wrote. “I’m looking forward to building off of it over the next two months of World Cup racing.”
After Saturday’s race, Hanneman posted on Instagram about feeling “so incredibly blessed to be racing World Cups here in Planica, and for the whole rest of the World Cup season!”
The second-straight day of skate sprints is scheduled for Sunday with the women’s and men’s 6 x 1.2 k freestyle team sprints in Planica. Both U.S. men’s teams will start in the first semifinal, with Hamilton and Newell teaming up as “USA I”, and Blackhorse-von Jess and Hanneman as “USA II”. The U.S. women, with Sargent and Caldwell, will start in the second semifinal.
HOUGHTON, Mich. — The last day of racing at U.S. Cross Country Championships on the Michigan Tech Trails wrapped up last Saturday, Jan. 9, with the 1.5-kilometer classic sprint. At the end of the day, Alaska Pacific University’s Eric Packer and Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s Kaitlynn Miller both walked away with their first U.S. national title. From the qualifier, to the rounds, to the podium ceremony, FasterSkier provides the day’s top moments in photos. Special thanks to Christopher Schmidt.
Photo: Alaska Pacific University skier Eric Packer celebrates after crossing the line in first ahead of teammate Reese Hanneman during the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: Didrik Elset of Michigan Tech University chose to double pole on skate skis from qualifier, shown here, all the way to the final during the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. Elset went on to place third overall.
Photo: Cole Morgan racing for the University of Vermont during the qualifier for the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. Morgan ultimately finished in eighth overall.
Photo: (left to right) Alaska Pacific University’s Reese Hanneman, Canadian Julien Locke of Team Black Jack, Håkon Hjelstuen of Lyn Ski, Didrik Elset of Michigan Tech University, Tyler Korfield of Alaska Pacific University, and Logan Hanneman, also of Alaska Pacific University, crest the top of a climb during their semi-final of the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday in Houghton, Mich. Hanneman and Elset advanced automatically to the final, while Hjelstuen and Kornfield moved on as the two lucky losers. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (left to right) Kris Freeman of Team Freebird and Scott Patterson of Alaska Pacific University follow Alaska Pacific University skier Eric Packer and Canadian Julien Locke of Team Black Jack during their quarterfinal of he men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. Packer raced to an overall first place, while Locke went on to place tenth.
Photo: Gaspard Cuenot tucking during his semi-final of the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton Mich. Cuenot raced to an overall ninth. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (right to left) Reese Hanneman of Alaska Pacific University leads Michigan Tech University Didrik Elset, Canadian Julien Locke of Team Black Jack, and younger brother Logan Hanneman, also of Alaska Pacific University during the first semi-final of the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint race on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (right to left) Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess of the Bend Endurance Academy Eric Packer of Alaska Pacific University, and Cole Morgan of the University of Vermont round a corner during the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint race on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. Blackhorse-von Jess advanced to the final as did Packer. Packer ultimately won first place overall, while Blackhorse-von Jess skied to a fifth place finish in the final and Morgan finished in eighth. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
The start of the men’s classic sprint final (from left to right), with Didrik Elset of Michigan Tech, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess of Bend Endurance Academy ), Tyler Kornfield (APU), and Reese Hanneman (APU) at the start of the final for the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. (Photo: Christopher Schmidt)
APU head coach Erik Flora (98) runs alongside his athletes Eric Packer (5) and Reese Hanneman during (4) the final of the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich., in January 2016. (Photo: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (left to right) Alaska Pacific University skier Eric Packer double poles to his first ever U.S. nationals championship title, ahead of teammate Tyler Kornfield, Bend Endurance Academy racer Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess, Lyn Ski racer Håkon Hjelstuen, Alaska Pacific University skier Reese Hanneman during the final of the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint race on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: Alaska Pacific University’s Eric Packer (center) is all smiles as he stands at the top of the podium next to second place finisher and teammate Reese Hanneman (r) and third place finisher Didrik Elset of Michigan Tech University after the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.
Photo: Katharine Ogden skiing for Stratton Mountain School during the qualifier for the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint race on Saturday at 2016 U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.
Photo: (left to right) Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation skier Deedra Irwin, Stratton Mountain School racers Katharine Ogden and Erika Flowers, along with Dartmouth College racer Corey Stock, Bridger Ski Foundation’s Jennie Bender and Northern Michigan skier Nicole Schneider striding up the first climb in their quarterfinal of the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. Aer advancing to the semi-final and final, Bender raced to a third place finish overall, while Ogden took eighth. (Photo: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (left to right) Northern Michigan University’s Sarah Bezdicek and Felicia Gesior, stride up a climb behind Heather Mooney of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project and Alaska Pacific University’s Jessica Yeaton during their quarterfinal of the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. Mooney raced to a tenth place finish overall; Gesior took ninth. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: Craftsbury Green Racing Project skier Liz Guiney (center) makes her way around a corner ahead of Northern Michigan University’s Lea Buenter (r), University of Alaska Fairbanks skier Nicole Bathe and Stratton Mountain School racer Julia Kern during their quarterfinal of the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. Guiney advanced to the semifinal and finished the day in seventh overall. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (left to right) Stratton Mountain School skier Anne Hart strides up a climb ahead of CXC racer Natalia Naryskina, and Alaska Pacific University’s Becca Rorabaugh during their semi-final of the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. All three women advanced to the final, where Hart placed second overall, Naryskina sixth, and Rorabaugh fifth. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (right to left) Kaitlynn Miller of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project corners the final turn into the finishing stretch ahead of Bridger Ski Foundation athlete Jennie Bender and CGRP skier Caitlin Patterson during their semi-final of the women’s 1.5 k class sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (left to right) Craftsbury Green Racing Project skier, Kaitlynn Miller out sprints Alaska Pacific University’s Becca Rorabaugh, Bridger Ski Foundation’s Jennie Bender, and Stratton Mountain School skier Anne Hart during the final 100-meters of the final for the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. Miller took first, while Hart placed second, Bender third, and Rorabaugh fifth. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (left to right) Anne Hart of Stratton Mountain School along with Craftsburu Green Racing Project Kaitlynn Miller and Bridger Ski Foundation athlete on top the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint podium on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Photo: (left to right) Kaitlynn Miller of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project stands with teammates Heather Mooney and Liz Guiney after winning her first championship title in the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Michigan. Mooney raced to a tenth place finish overall and Guiney finished seventh. (Photo credit: Christopher Schmidt)
Alaska Pacific University teammates Eric Packer (5) and Reese Hanneman (4) go head to head in the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint final on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich., while coach Erik Flora (l) runs alongside them. Packer won the final by 0.67 seconds, denying Hanneman a sweep of this week’s sprints.
HOUGHTON, Mich. — The step into the reality of a goal is at times, long awaited. It is a step that Eric Packer of Alaska Pacific University (APU), the race winner of the men’s 1.5-kilometer classic sprint at U.S. Cross Country Championships on Saturday, feels he has finally made.
“I’ve dreamed of winning at nationals for a long time and to finally make it happen is really special,” said the 24-year-old during an in-person interview after winning his first U.S. nationals title on the Michigan Tech Trails. He had reached the national podium twice before: placing third in two races at 2012 nationals (classic sprint and 30 k classic mass start) in Rumford, Maine.
After racing to fourth overall in the 15 k classic individual start a week ago, then 11th in the freestyle sprint on the same course last Monday, and 25th in the 30 k freestyle mass start on Thursday, Packer remained receptive to any opportunity afforded him during Saturday’s sprint.
“The most challenging part for me was I was very tired after the qualifier,” said Packer. He qualified fourth, 4.74 seconds behind qualifying winner Didrik Fjeld Elset, a Michigan Tech freshman from Norway.
“It’s the accumulation of the week of racing and it’s hard to stay with it and remember that even though it’s the end of the week, it’s still a national championship,” Packer explained.
In the end, it was a challenge that left the Anchorage native unmatched in the final. To get there, Packer had won his quarterfinal and placed second his semifinal (behind Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess, of the Bend Endurance Academy) to automatically advance to the final.
“[APU] had a great day and that’s really cool for Eric to win,” Blackhorse-von Jess said after racing to fifth in the final, 5.37 second off Packer’s winning time of 3:38.17.
Along with Packer, APU’s Reese Hanneman and Tyler Kornfield also advanced to the final and placed second and fourth, respectively.
APU teammates and brothers Logan Hanneman (7) and Reese Hanneman (4) lead teammate Tyler Kornfield (17), Welly Ramsey of Mountain Endurance Sports (27) and Fredrik Schwencke of Northern Michigan University (far left) during their quarterfinal of the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.
“My fiancé is trying on wedding dresses today, so I knew I had to win some money,” said Hanneman, the runner-up by 0.67 seconds. He got engaged last month.
Beyond bridal bouquets, Hanneman also now has World Cup starts ahead of him.
“I’m going to Europe [on Sunday] and I’ll race the sprints in Slovenia next weekend, all of Period 3,” said Hanneman, 26, also originally from Alaska. After that, he’s headed to Canada for the season-ending World Cup tour.
Overall third place finisher, Elset, 22, crossed 1.05 seconds after Packer, and explained he was seeking redemption after the skate sprint.
“I really wanted to do well today because I crashed in the semifinals on Monday,” Elset said.
Out of six hungry finalists in the men’s field, the contention for the title would prove challenging — especially with some racers on skate skis.
“I went with classic skis for the qualifier and then double poled all three heats,” Kornfield said. He finished fourth after Elset edged him in a photo finish for third. Both were given the same time.
Elset also double poled the final, after double poling the qualifier and his quarterfinal and semifinal as well.
“It was OK for the first three heats, but in the final when the guys were fast, my arms were really, really tired,” Elset said.
Hanneman and Blackhorse-von Jess took the opposite route, opting to race classic skis throughout the day.
Though another Norwegian, 23-year-old Håkon Hjelstuen, a former Michigan Tech skier, dabbled with double poling, he ultimately went with classic skis in the final.
“I tried it in the semis. It’s kind of a game,” Hjelstuen said after placing sixth overall, 24 seconds behind Packer.
Figuring that most racers would use skate skis during the quarterfinals and then switch to classic skis in the semi, Hjelstuen hoped to catch other competitors off guard.
“I thought, ‘OK, the other guys are probably doing it in their quarters and then maybe switching,’ so I was trying to switch the other way,” the Norwegian explained.
Also hoping to gain more control over his heats, Kornfield reasoned he made the right choice to double pole through the rounds.
“All my heats had mixtures of skate skis and classic skis so the downhills; it was obvious who could take the turns better,” Kornfield said. “Because I could take better lines than the classic skiers, I was able to choose where I wanted to go.”
The start of the men’s classic sprint final (from left to right), with Didrik Elset of Michigan Tech, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy), Tyler Kornfield (APU), and Reese Hanneman (APU). Eventual winner Eric Packer is not shown. (Photo: Christopher Schmidt)
The light snowfall, track traffic during rounds, along with the course’s lengthy climb to the finish, made decisions on ski choice largely up to the individual.
“I tested classic versus skate in the morning and the tracks were really weird,” Packer observed.
“It was glaze-y in places and new snow, so my skate skis were a little bit faster for the double pole and I double poled in the qualifier in the morning, but then I switched to classic for all the other heats,” he explained.
The Final: From Start to Finish
With four racers in the final on classic skis and the rest on skate, the final men’s race of the day took off at the sound of the gun, those on skate skis pushing the pace early on.
“I took the start and I wanted to go kind of hard down the hills in the beginning to take advantage of my good glide,” Elset said. “From there on in, it was just answering the attacks that came from the guys with good kick.”
While Elset and Kornfield remained in the lead for the first part of the course, the rest of the field was forced to hunt for the front.
“The guys [on skate skis] got in front and were gliding a little bit faster on the first downhill,” Hanneman recalled. “I couldn’t get my own track on the first hill, so I was kind of forced to just hang back. … I tried to make a pass on the inside, but I realized that was just going to cause a big mess, so I kind of backed off a little bit.”
Still a tight pack after cresting the first uphill, the group made their way into the corner before the next big climb.
Coming out of the corner to the second large climb, it was Hanneman who made the first move to take the lead.
“On that second big climb I was able to get my own track so then I was able to put the hammer down and kind of put some space between me and the skate ski guys,” Hanneman said.
Following Hanneman, Packer also saw his chance to better position himself for thesecond half of the course.
“Tyler and Didrik were driving the pace and then Reese pulled out on the side and was able to pass them striding,” Packer said. “I jumped in behind Reese and together we broke away a little bit on the second climb.”
As Packer and Hanneman maneuvered their way to the front, the battle behind them ensued.
“I was leading up until the second big uphill, and I just didn’t have enough power to get over the top fast enough to be within range of Packer and Reese,” Kornfield said.
APU coaches and wax techs, including head coach Erik Flora (l) celebrate after three APU athletes finished in the top four, including overall race winner Eric Packer (not shown) at the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.
“Didrik led down the hill, but Reese pulled up alongside him on the second climb,” Blackhorse-von Jess explained. “I was back there trying to pick my way through traffic, trying to get back in contact with the main group. [Hjelstuen] was in fifth and he kind of got detached and I got stuck behind him a little bit. Eventually, I got around him, but I just couldn’t close it to the big group.”
After moving around the sixth-place Norwegian, who advanced to the final as a lucky loser, Blackhorse-von Jess explained, “I went for it, but I chose the wrong lane I guess, so I lost some speed in that downhill before the last uphill. Still, I would rather go for it than go for nothing.”
With that, the finalists rounded the last corner on course, a sea of blue in the lead.
Packer cornered first, Hanneman centimeters to his left and Kornfield in the center lane just behind.
In the lane to the left of Hanneman and Kornfield was the gold suit of Michigan Tech’s Elset closing in on the three APU skiers.
“On that final turn, Packer and I were having a double-pole battle,” Hanneman said. “He came out of that turn a little faster than I did, so he pulled faster than I did and we were side by side.”
Packer then made his move around Hanneman in the final 100 meters.
“In the finish, I jumped out from behind Reese to make a pass and I jumped out into a super-slow lane that was filled with new snow,” Hanneman said. “So I just double poled as hard as I could and got by and then once I got past him I tried to get back into a faster track.”
As the teammates battled for first, Packer outlunged Hanneman at the line by about six-tenths of a second.
Not far behind Hanneman and Packer, Elset challenged Kornfield for third. In an extremely close photo finish, Elset came away with the overall podium finish, though Kornfield stood as the third American at the end of the day. Blackhorse-von Jess finished about four seconds later in fifth and Hjelstuen rounded out the final in sixth.
With his first U.S. nationals win packed away, a euphoric Packer stood on the top of Saturday’s men’s sprint podium.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “It’s a dream come true.”
![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/10/FS-Podcast-NORDIC_NATION-X-edit1-e1479492806711.jpg")
BEND, Oregon — In this von Ballcap episode, we sit down with newly retired pro-skier Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess in his hometown of Bend. At 32, Dakota, or “Dak” as he’s most often called, had been on the scene for over a decade. In that time, Blackhorse-von Jess won the support of his peers and fans as a skier’s skier. The man is nothing but energy and intellect wound into a 5-foot-9-inch body that ultimately became a sprinting force. ![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/Newell-and-Dakota-Blackhorse-von-Jess.jpg")
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![Ben Lustgarten (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) with his $750-dollar check for winning the men's SuperTour classic sprint on Saturday near Truckee, Calif. Stratton's Ben Saxton (l) placed second and APU's Reese Hanneman (r) was third.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Truckee-Day-1-7.jpg")
![Jennie Bender (3) of the Bridger Ski Foundation leading Stratton's Julia Kern (2) and Sun Valley's Deedra Irwin (5) during the second women's classic sprint semifinal at Saturday's SuperTour near Truckee, Calif. Bender went on to win the semifinal, as well as the final.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Truckee-Day-1-3.jpg")
![The men's 15 k freestyle podium at Saturday's World Cup in Ulricehamn, Sweden, with Canadian winner Alex Harvey (c), Norwegian runner-up Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l), and Sweden's Marcus Hellner (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/C2s0ijyWQAAqLrE.jpg")
![The women's 10 k freestyle podium on Saturday in Ulricehamn, Sweden, with Norwegian winner Marit Bjørgen (c), Finland's Krista Parmakoski (l) in second and Sweden's Charlotte Kalla (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/C2sBtkRWQAAENkO.jpg")
![The photo finish of the men's 4 x 7.5 k relay on Saturday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy, with Germany's Simon Schempp outlunging Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen. (Photo: IBU screenshot)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Finish.jpg")
![Saturday's Nordic Combined World Cup podium in Chaux-Neuve, France, with German winner Johannes Rydzek (c), German runner-up Fabian Rießle (l) and Japan’s Akito Watabe (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/C2tBRZsXAAAoSka.jpg")
![From left to right: Alaska Pacific University’s Reese Hanneman, Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Matt Gelso and Alaska Pacific University’s Tyler Kornfield on the podium for the men’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/IMG_2694-e1480820590705.jpg")
![Alaska Pacific University's Tyler Kornfield racing during the qualifier for the men's SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/IMG_2390-e1480820192288.jpg")
![From left to right: Stratton Mountain School skier Annie Hart, Bridger Ski Foundation skier Jennie Bender and Stratton Mountain School skier Erika Flowers on the podium for the women’s SuperTour 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/IMG_2690-e1480820660919.jpg")
![Bridger Ski Foundation skier Jennie Bender (bib 1) leading her semifinal during the women's 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in West Yellowstone, Mont.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/IMG_2605-e1480820104855.jpg")
![Bernie Nelson (l) coaching Australian national-team skier, Alaska Pacific University member and former MSU athlete Jessica Yeaton (r) at the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Bernadette Nelson)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/10/World-Champs-2.jpg")
![Bernadette Nelson klistering skis while coaching at Montana State university. (Photo: Bernie Nelson Collection)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/06/Bernie-Coaching-5.jpg")
![Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess admiring turns with Bernadette Nelson below Broken Hand Mountain, Three Sisters Wilderness outside Bend, Oregon. (Photo: Bernadette Nelson Collection).](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/06/Bernie-3-e1464799727912.jpg")
![Bernadette Nelson leading an OD workout for Bend Endurance Academy skiers. (Photo: Bernadette Nelson collection)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/06/Bernie-8.jpg")
![Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team) and former Canadian national team member Chandra Crawford leading the Fast and Female forerunners before the Tuesday's classic sprint at Stage 5 of the Ski Tour Canada in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/Feature160308mf141.jpg")
![Canadians Dahria Beatty (l) and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (r) during the women's 15 k skiathlon on Wednesday in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/Group160309mf012-e1457662240232.jpg")
![Americans Katharine Ogden (front) and Annie Hart (l) during the women's 15 k skiathlon on Wednesday in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/Group160309mf011-e1457641842345.jpg")
![Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team) watching the Wednesday's skiathlon races at the Ski Tour Canada in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/Feature160309mf051-e1457662343798.jpg")
![Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST) racing to 59th in the women's 10.5 k classic mass start in Montreal, Quebec, at the second stage of the Ski Tour Canada. (Photo: Flyingpointroad.com/NNF)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/SMF2153.jpg")
![Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/U.S. Ski Team) training on the course in Quebec City. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/D7K_5418W.jpg")
![Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) on a cold training day in Quebec City on Thursday before the third stage of the Ski Tour Canada. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/DSC_1863W.jpg")
![American Simi Hamilton during his "victory lap" after finishing in the top three of the men's freestyle sprint at the Ski Tour Canada World Cup stage in Gatineau, Quebec. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/DSC_9993copyW-e1456883684555.jpg")
![Simi Hamilton (U.S. Ski Team) racing to second in the men's 1.7 k freestyle sprint qualifier on Tuesday at Stage 1 of the Ski Tour Canada in Gatineau, Quebec. Hamilton went on to place third in the final for his second podium of the season. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/DSC_7837copyW.jpg")
![Russia's Sergey Ustiugov celebrates his win by mere hundredths of a second over France's Richard Jouve (not shown) and American Simi Hamilton, who lunged across the line and placed third for his second podium of the season. Norway's Finn Hågen Krogh placed fourth and Ola Vigen Hattestad (17) finished fifth, while Petter Northug was sixth. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/mens-final-simi-lunge-e1456883759149.jpg")
![The men's freestyle sprint podium at the first stage of the Ski Tour Canada with Russian winner Sergey Ustiugov (c), France's Richard Jouve (l) in second and American Simi Hamilton (r) in third. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/DSC_0278copyW.jpg")
![Alex Harvey (Canadian World Cup Team) racing to 15th in the 1.7 k freestyle sprint qualifier at the first stage of the Ski Tour Canada on Tuesday in Gatineau, Quebec. Harvey went on to reach the semifinals for 11th overall. (Photo: Peggy Hung)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/Qual.Harvey.cropped.jpeg")
![The celebration.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/12/IMG_4131.jpg")
![Spectators got quite the World Cup experience Dec. 7-8 in Quebec City.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/12/IMG_6386.jpg")
![16.01.2016, Planica, Slovenia (SLO): Simeon Hamilton (USA), Sebastian Eisenlauer (GER), Eivind Bakkene (NOR), Gustav Nordstroem (SWE), (l-r) - FIS world cup cross-country, individual sprint, Planica (SLO). (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/Group160116mf149.jpg")
![Sophie Caldwell (USA) racing to 13th in the qualifier of the women's World Cup 1.2 k freestyle sprint on Saturday in Planica, Slovenia. She went on to place 13th overall. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/Caldwell160116mf013.jpg")
![Simi Hamilton (USA) racing to 18th in the men's 1.2 k freestyle sprint qualifier at the World Cup in Planica, Slovenia. He went on to place 18th overall. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/Hamilton160116mf048.jpg")
![Andy Newell (U.S. Ski Team) on his way to 24th in the men's 1.2 k freestyle sprint qualifier at the World Cup in Planica, Slovenia. He went on to place 23rd overall. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/Newell160116mf038.jpg")
![Left to right: APU head coach Erik Flora runs along side APU athletes Eric Packer and Reese Hanneman during the final of the men's 1.5 classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. Packer won the event, while Hanneman took second.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/IMG_9923-e1452412155935.jpg")
![APU teammates and brothers Logan Hanneman (7) and Reese Hanneman (4) lead teammate Tyler Kornfield (17), Welly Ramsey (Mountain Endurance Sports) and Fredrik Schwencke of Northern Michigan University (far left) during their quarterfinal of the men's 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/IMG_9354-e1452411312711.jpg")
![The start of the men's classic sprint final (from left to right), with Didrik Elset of Michigan Tech, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess of Bend Endurance Academy ), Tyler Kornfield (APU), and Reese Hanneman (APU) at the start of the final for the men's 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. (Photo: Christopher Schmidt)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/2016-nordicNats-classicSprint-0198-S.jpg")
![APU coaches and wax techs celebrate with hugs after having three APU athletes in the top four, including overall race winner Eric Packer (not shown) for the men's 1.5 k classic sprint on Saturday at U.S. nationals in Houghton Mich.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/IMG_9938-e1452411164850.jpg")