FasterSkier

Tag: Devon Kershaw

  • In Canmore, World Cups Set to Start Under an Olympic Shadow

    In Canmore, World Cups Set to Start Under an Olympic Shadow

    Training, testing, loosening up the legs...(Photo: Win Goodbody)
    Training, testing, loosening up the legs…(Photo: Win Goodbody)

    For the first time in five years, a true world-class field will toe the line tomorrow for a race in North America.

    While there’s no Northug in town, a solid international field is in Canmore for this weekend’s distance skate and classic sprint World Cup races. Cologna, Teichmann, Legkov, Kowalczyk, Majdic—the gang’s all here. Not to mention full rosters of Americans and Canadians jazzed to throw down in front of their home crowds.

    Dario Cologna (SUI) being interviewed at the venue
    Dario Cologna (SUI) being interviewed at the venue

    But while it’s the biggest event on North American soil in eight years, the shadow of the 2010 Olympics hangs over these races. Nobody will be dogging it out on the courses this weekend, but many of the athletes have their eyes set eleven days in the future—the date of the first of six races in Whistler.

    A tune-up? While it doesn’t do justice to the excitement and energy filling the venue here, it’s probably an apt description of Friday and Saturday’s races. Slovenia’s Petra Majdic is competing just 48 hours off the airplane from Europe, while Canadian Devon Kershaw said that he’s just coming from a couple of 22-hour training weeks.

    “I’m pretty exhausted from all the hard training I’ve been doing,” he told FasterSkier on Thursday. “A lot of the events I want to do well in are at the end [of the Olympics], so I’m pretty wasted.”

    In the weeks leading up to the Canmore World Cups, many athletes have been doing some high-volume and altitude training. The Canadians have spent stints at 6,000 feet the Mt. Engadine Lodge near Canmore, while a large group of Americans have been training in town here for the past few days, at 4,000 feet. Majdic said that she’d been training up high both in Slovenia and Italy.

    As the sun shone down out of a cloudless sky with temperatures in the thirties, athletes and coaches basked in a festive atmosphere here today, testing skis and waxes while also fielding a small onslaught of attention from the press.

    The athletes aren’t the only ones tuning up for the Olympics. With around 160 accredited media on site, the excitement surrounding the Games is palpable, as a scrum of 15 or 20 reporters descended on an informal press conference with the Canadian team Thursday morning.

    Alex Harvey, another Canadian athlete, said he was doing two to three interviews a day after coming home from the Tour de Ski in January. And at a local race he did in Quebec before traveling to Canmore, he signed upwards of 100 autographs and took fifty photos with fans.

    “It’s crazy,” he said, adding that he has enlisted the help of a media assistant in Quebec (his home) to help manage all the requests. “Without that, it would have been overwhelming for sure, because it’s hard to say no when you’re the athlete.”

    In the frenzy surrounding the Games, one could almost forget that there are actual races happening in Canmore. But a 10/15k individual-start skate race gets things going tomorrow.

    Snow conditions here are adequate—a hard-packed base of mostly man-made snow, perhaps a foot deep. The course sends the athletes around a hilly 5k loop—three laps for men, two for women. Watch FasterSkier’s course preview here.

    Brian Gregg (USA/CXC Team Vertical Limit) training in Canmore (Photo: Phil Bowen)
    Brian Gregg (USA/CXC Team Vertical Limit) training in Canmore. He will race the 15k (Photo: Phil Bowen)

    With home field advantage and hilly trails that suit him, tomorrow could be a day for Canada’s Ivan Babikov, who lives here in Canmore—Kershaw said that he’d be “surprised” if his teammate wasn’t on the podium. Kris Freeman, who is focusing on the 15k skate for the Olympics, is also worth watching in the men’s event. But more likely it will be one of the Europeans taking the race here—Germany’s Axel Teichmann, perhaps, or Sweden’s Marcus Hellner.

    As for the women, it looks to be a duel between Majdic and Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland. Russia’s Irina Khazova, who won a 10k skate in Davos earlier this year, is also starting. Top North Americans in the race are the U.S.’s Kikkan Randall and Canada’s Sara Renner, but neither should crack the podium.

    A large group of Americans and Canadians will be racing this weekend as part of the “nations group.”

    Unlike for the Olympians using the races as a tune-up, this weekend is one of the most important of the year for the nations group. And while all of the altitude and volume training by those headed to Whistler mean that tomorrow’s results should be taken with a grain of salt, they’re not totally meaningless.

    Chris Grover, one of the American coaches here, said that these races are key for building athletes’ confidence in the lead-up to the Games—and his athletes echoed that today.

    “Mentally, I’m getting after it,” said James Southam, an American Olympian racing the 15k skate. “If I can throw down a good performance, it can only bode well for my future.”

    —Topher Sabot contributed to this report

  • Devon Kershaw; Tour de Ski is a Wrap

    Devon Kershaw; Tour de Ski is a Wrap

    The Tour de Ski was successful for the Canadians; despite some bad-luck crashes, equipment malfunction, and injury, when all was said and done Canada took 4 top-25 overall finishes home. Ivan Babikov placed 9th, Devon Kershaw 16th, Sara Renner 17th, and Alex Harvey 22nd.   Kershaw outlines the last two stages below.  

    Devon Kershaw
    Devon Kershaw

    It’s over. 2010 Tour de Ski is history.

     Jeez. I don’t know how pro cyclists can even fathom racing for a GC position in any stage race, let alone during a 20+ stage battle royale like the Giro, Vuelta or Tour de France. Pounding their pedals – sometimes over 6 hours a day for days on end. They battle heat, winds, and climb mountain passes which drag on like a bad movie, as they churn and burn uphill for hours gaining thousands of meters in elevation. In my eyes, it’s both complete madness and a thing of beauty.

    Why bring this up? We’ll, after finishing my 2nd of 4 Tour de Ski competitions, I feel pretty destroyed after a “mere” 8 races in 10 days, and find myself thinking of such things in my jet lagged stupor.

    In society today, it seems more than ever rationalizing is everything. I’m tired. The Olympics are fast approaching now, but hey – in 8 races I only raced for a shade under 4.5 hours. Not even the length of one Grand Tour stage race in cycling. I’ll survive.

    Let’s break down the last two stages in Val di Fiemme.  It’s no surprise they were hard fought. What was a surprise was the weather  – it was very un-Italian. No sun in sight. Instead – it was all fog, warmth, sloppy snow and precip.

    Stage 7 – 20km Mass Start Classic – Val di Fiemme, ITALY 

    Even after a restful rest day – I was still upset and having trouble parking the disappointment of the 10km classic two days prior. I know – as a high level athlete I should be good at moving on from something like that, but knowing that I was back in 16th overall with only 2 stages left because of a mistimed mechanical failure wasn’t sitting well.

    Bummed out or not,  I had big plans for the 20km mass start. The weather (like I stated above) was warm. It was klister skiing, and the tracks were wet, wet, wet. Alex and I had discussed a bomber strategy: go on a “make or break” attack at 10km and try and open a gap. We were thinking that the race would be like any other mass start competition. People would sprint for the “time bonus preems” and then slow down, recover, and jostle for positions again as we’d come careening towards the next sprint preem (there was 1 preem a lap (6X3.3km)). Our thought was “attack after the preem’ after 3 laps (10km) and work together to create a break in the field.

    Sometimes things just don’t workout the way you want them to. My body wasn’t responding like it was in the 10km classic two days prior. Alex – although a lot stronger than me – wasn’t quite able to ski at that level of “drop everyone” either, so mid race we had to change tactics. 

    In reality, Bauer who did just what we had set out to do – beat us with our own strategy: He sprinted (with Northug, and Babs) for the 10km preem and just kept going. Quickly putting 20 + seconds on the field. Ivan was a real fighter and hung onto Northug and Bauer as he went for a gutsy push (that if successful would have set him up nicely for the final climb), but he too succumbed to Bauer’s incessant pace and slipped back into the main field. 

    Even the strategy of “sit and wait” wasn’t working on my end. I struggled in the pack for the duration of the race, losing time on the last lap to finish a disappointing 22nd. Alex faired better than I – hanging with the chase pack until only 2 km to go – at which point he had a quick conversation with the big guy in the sky and bobbed and weaved to the line a depleted puppy – for a respectable 13th. Ivan paid for his big attack, and ended up just behind me in 25th. Still – sometimes those gutsy moves work, so hats off to Babs.

    Bauer was superhuman. It was crazy. Skiing of the front, not even breathing hard as he made us all look like chumps, and won by a 30 odd seconds. Sure, conditions were such that skis made a significant difference – but the ease of which he snagged a boat load of bonus seconds, and the win was nutty.

    Final Stage – 10km pursuit up Alpe Cermis Skating – Val di Fiemme ITALY

    Saturday’s 20km hurt me. I pushed so hard for that 22nd place finish. I was coming undone (fatigue-wise) bit by bit. Ivan was even complaining that he was feeling tired – which is as rare as seeing Vladimir Putin throw his hands up in jubilation, hug Obama, all the while with a toothy smile plastered on his face. Alex – a little less loud/obnoxious, but not enough to be worried, looked to be the one with the most energy happening as we prepared for our final challenge.

    It had been a Tour of bad luck – not only for myself, but George too. He crashed hard in the 10km classic and tweaked his back (sadly having to abandon the Tour prior to the 20km classic), which meant that up the final climb there would be only 3 Canadian men taking part. I was apprehensive, Ivan, although tired, was excited and Alex too, was fired up to see how Alpe Cermis suited him.

    The day itself was again warm and wet – but no precipitation happening this time. The tracks were slushy/dirty down low (elevation-wise), and on top of the 3.5km climb cold/dry snow was par for the course. I began the race in 15th place, and was quickly caught by Curdin Perl (SUI). We worked really well together on the flatter parts of the course, switching leads often, much like a cycling breakaway would do with the understanding that once we hit the hill – it would be every man for himself.

    I felt decent racing. I was a bit worried before the stage because in my warm up, and the day before, I had been feeling pretty drained and tired. I wasn’t sleeping as much as normal and the wear and tear of 2.5 months on the road was eroding my energy stores – and I knew that the last race was to be a superhuman effort.

    Still, I led Curdin up the first 1/3 of the mountain. On a stage like that it’s so important to find a rhythm quickly. I settled into a good tempo and began to gain altitude. At the 2km to go mark Curdin attacked me ever so subtlety. He gained 5 seconds on a 28% grade section, and that was it. I could never close it down again – and was left about 5-10 seconds behind him for the remainder of the stage.

    I was hurting pretty badly up that mountain, and I was so glad to get across the finish line in 16th. I wasn’t aware that they were giving World Cup points for “time” again this year – and I regret not burying myself over the last 300m  – but still, I had finished my 2nd of 4 Tours (Ivan too was disappointed because he had the 4th fastest time – but also didn’t know that “time” had any significance in the pursuit this year… He felt he could have found the extra 4-5 seconds to win).

    Ivan was an animal (like we all knew he would be), and moved up to 9th overall. I lost one position to end up 16th, and Alex’s first experience with Alpe Cermis was a tough one – as he lost 3 positions to end up 22nd. Still, 3 Canadians in the top 25 is amazing!

    Sara was great – holding her position of 17th overall up the final climb – and looked much better/faster than last year’s climb. So, I should correct myself then – we had 4 Canadians finish in the top 25!

    Bauer was on a completely different level over the last 2 days of racing. On the final stage he didn’t even appear tired AT ALL, and even stopped TWICE in the last 200m to chat with fans, grab a flag, etc… And he still had the fastest time up the mountain. Northug put up a big fight to finish 2nd, and Cologna was super impressive to take the 3rd rung of the overall podium.

    It’s a beautiful race, not a Grand Tour in cycling, but a step in the right direction for Nordic Skiing. It’s the future of cross country ski racing (I believe) – because it’s such an exciting format for both the racers and spectators. Of course I have a bad taste in my mouth about a few “what could have beens” which occurred on my journey to the top of Alpe Cermis – but that’s racing. Sometimes things don’t workout the way you want, sometimes they do. You just need to be ready to pounce on your opportunity when the positive ones’ are presented to you.

    No, I didn’t race for 6hrs a day on the bike through rain, wind and sun blasting down on my back. But – I did race 8 times, all out in 3 different countries with my friends and teammates and we all gave 100% effort. No matter what, we’ve got to be happy with that.

    I’m now back in Canmore and just woke up from my first jet-lagged sleep in my own bed. It’s so great to be home, and now I’ll look forward to some days of recovery (both mentally/physically) before I begin the big push for the 2010 Olympics.

    Devon.

  • On The Tour with Devon Kershaw

    On The Tour with Devon Kershaw

     Internet has been a sketchy operation (in Prague, and in Dobbiaco/Toblach), and I haven’t been able to connect until this evening here in Val Di Fiemme (which is a bit of a shocker since internet in Italy is as likely as spotting, and photographing Big Foot).

    I’ll break it down into the 3 stages I’ve neglected to update on:

    Stage 3 – 1.6km Classic Sprint, Oberhof GERMANY

    Not a lot to report on here. I was fatigued from the 15km classic pursuit which took place the previous day, and my lungs were still feeling tight/sore – but I squeaked into the top 30 after a so-so qualifier (I was 24th).

    Conditions were terrible for this classic sprint. There was a Nordic Combined race that began right before our qualifier (why FIS combined the Tour de Ski with Nordic Combined is beyond me), so they groomed the tracks 15 minutes prior to our start. It was a sugary, soft, mess out on the difficult sprint loop – making the two long  uphills even tougher than they already were.

    In my ¼ final I felt much better than in my qualification round. I was moving well enough, but alas, didn’t have the speed to match the two leaders of the heat, and finished 3rd in my heat – which meant it was good enough for 16th place overall on the day.

    I felt ok with how the race went. Of course, I wanted to be faster and I felt so much better in my quarterfinal than in my qualification – so I was hoping for a semi-final appearance, which I was desperately close to achieving. 

    I didn’t have much time to feel sorry for myself, because directly after the competition, it was right in the van and we blasted the 4.5 hours to Prague to get ready for the next day’s skate sprint… 

    Stage 4 – 1.2km Skate Sprint, Prague CZECH REPUBLIC

    Haha.

     That’s all I could think when I saw the 4 inches of soft, sugary, schmoo that was being passed off as “snow” on the city sprint track in downtown Prague.

    It was ridiculous actually. Even as a kid in Sudbury skiing on non-groomed tracks, I have never skied in such poor conditions. Ever. It was a total joke, actually.

    Still, the show must go on, and luckily I ski well in sugar. I didn’t quite know what to expect, because it was faster at times to double pole on certain sections in the skate sprint (because your skis would just get all caught up the slop), making the race a real hilarity.

    In the qualification, I surprised myself and qualified 8th. I skied quick and light through the messy conditions to move into the rounds yet again.

    In my ¼ final though, things took a nasty turn. In some congestion, my pole was broken at about 20 seconds into the heat. I then skied with that broken pole for the next 1 minute and 20 seconds – loosing my position completely, flailing around with one pole. I was off the back in 6th, when I finally got a new pole for the last uphill sloppy-joe section of deep sugary mess (with about 20 seconds or work remaining in the race). I went ballistic – catching up to 4th and 5th. It was a photo-finish, and I ended up losing in a lunge to finish with 4th, ending up 5th in my heat – 21st on the day. Not cool.

    I was disappointed, frustrated and a bit angry. In tight sprint races, bad things can happen – but I was in good position, and I didn’t put myself in a bad location for carnage. It cost me dearly in the overall standings and because of the ridiculously nasty/ghetto conditions it was a great opportunity wasted to move up the overall rankings (Northug, Teichmann, and others failed to qualify for the rounds).

    Like everything in the Tour, there’s never much time to mope around – and like Oberhof, it was  directly into the vans, as we blasted to Munich (a 4.5 hour drive away) – getting in at 12:30 AM for a short sleep before continuing on to Toblach/Dobbiaco.

    Stage 5 – 36.1 km skate pursuit, Cortina – Toblach/Dobbiaco Point 2 Point pursuit ITALY

    Feeling tired in the rest day, and because this point to point race was so much different than any competition I’ve ever done – I was extremely nervous for this event. We would climb out of Cortina for 15 + kilometers of uninterrupted uphill/flat working sections before ever seeing a smidge of downhill. Then, we would be descending on gradual terrain into the ski stadium in Toblach/Dobbiaco, before hammering around a 3.3 km loop – going for broke and the glory. 

    I had never raced a loppet before, and on the World Cup circuit we expect steep tough hills followed by descents – and this race was not that. It was for this reason I was sketching out more than normal. It also could prove to be a critical stage in the overall shake-down – with the stage being so long – and I was nervous to see how the body would react after 4 races, and rest/travel day.

    Luckily, the race started well, and I was working with Gaillard and Hekkinen as we used some cycling tactics (switching leads often) as we attempted to claw our way back to the lead group. I felt decent, but at around 14 kilometers in – all of which was uphill or flat – I began to crack slightly. Gaillard and Hekkinen got away from me – leaving me a compromised position – alone and tired. I was quickly gobbled up by a big chase group, and after 15 minutes or so, I got a second wind.

    Ivan (who was in the chase pack that caught me) and I were on the front of the chase pack racing extremely hard to keep the gap to the leaders small. 

    The only teams in the chase pack without teammates in the lead group were us (Canada) and the Italians, so we weren’t able count on many teams to help in the chase. The Italians were content on letting their Tour de Ski chances disappear (by not working even 15 seconds at the front during the entire 36.1km) – which was odd (it’s like they’d never seen a cycling race or something…), so a tough/fast Ivan pushed the pace – even though he had made up over a minute on me (I started bib 11, he was bib 36!?!) in the first 20 kilometers of the pursuit. We switched leads often, and were able to limit the damage.

    We worked tirelessly together – occasionally getting help from a couple Germans – which was a relief and much needed – and we kept the gap to the lead group at a minimum.

    It was the hardest race I’ve done in awhile. I was dead tired, and although a bit frustrated with being 17th on the day – I was happy to be only 48 seconds from 1st going into my favorite race – an individual 10km classic – that was to happen the next day.

    Ivan’s 9th place was unbelievable – and I was in total awe of his guts out there.

     Stage 6 – 10 km individual classic, Dobbiaco/Toblach  ITALY

    Which brings us to today. A stage I was looking forward to all year actually. A 10km classic is a “dead race” in the current World Cup, and when I saw that it was back as a Tour stage back in the summer, I was already getting fired up about it.

    Even though I was feeling fatigued from yesterday’s colossal effort (something everyone in the field would be feeling) – I was optimistic that I could make some ground on the overall. After all, I was only 48 seconds from 1st… The plan was simple. Exploit my biggest strength and chance in this year’s edition of the Tour and throw – down. 

    For the first 7.5km I was skiing fantastically. Feeling smooth, relaxed and sticking with the technique – achieving all my goals I had set out for myself. I was well within the top 8, and moving up the rankings fast as the race wound down (from information on the split-machines of the coaches). 

    Then – the unthinkable happened. I came out of a tuck, did a kick double pole stride. To my surprise my ski was launched behind me – and was no longer attached my boot. In total shock, I stopped. Turning around, I skied back to my ski (about 20 m behind me). I looked down, and noticed right away that I no longer had the front my binding on the ski anymore (the part that is attaches my boot to the ski), and it was completely ripped out of my ski. I was in real trouble, the Tour de Ski overall quickly evaporating…

    I began to scooter up the longest/toughest hill with only one ski and was yelling at everyone I saw for a “Salomon binding ski.” Nobody I passed had one. Not the Norwegians, Finns, Germans, French, Italians, Swiss, etc… had a ski.

    I skied for over 1 kilometer up the longest uphill from the bottom to the top with only one ski. I then descended on one ski, and started up the last climb of the course – still with one boot “sans-ski.” 

    Finally, one of our staff was at the top of that climb (about 1km from the line) and had a ski. I put on the ski, and sprinted for my life – but there was only 1 kilometer to go, and the massive, debilitating damage had been done.

    I had lost so much. Over 1 kilometer without a ski was a total nightmare. I finished 37th, and lost valuable time on the leaders. I now sit in 16th place – 2 minutes down.

    I am now so disappointed, frustrated and extremely bummed out. I can’t believe it happened. I never fell; I never hit my binding in any way, and I was skiing so well (seriously!). It was so strange. We (our team) switched over to the latest Salomon binding (which is much better than the old “pilot classic”) at the beginning of the season, and all I can think of is that perhaps in changing the binding the bond between screw-binding-ski was compromised in some way…

    Either way – it was a disaster and was so weird. And now, I sit 16th. I was having my best individual classic race BY FAR this year, and in the end it was all in vain.

    I actually can’t believe I finished only 1:13 down… That shows just how good a race I was having… It only adds insult to injury.

    Now – I have two races remaining. I am trying hard to park this disappointment. I am struggling right now with that. A broken pole, then skiing over 10% of a race without a ski on my feet stings, and is something that keeps going through my mind over and over…

    Rest day tomorrow – that’s the news…

    D.

  • Devon Kershaw: Words on the Weekend

     Devon Kershaw

     

    In Davos, Devon Kershaw had the weekend that he – and his team – needed.   The weeks after Bruksvallarna (where he won the 15km skate) yielded few results and many frustrations for both himself and his team, but after a weekend ski camp in the mountains of northern Italy, Kershaw rallied to his true form, placing 9th in Saturday’s 15km skate race.  Kershaw also qualified with flying colors in the next day’s sprint rounds, placing 12th in the prelims.  He was knocked out of the quarterfinals and pushed back to 23rd place, but the weekend ended as a positive summary for what Kershaw – and his team – are capable of.

    You said that you really drove yourself into the ground for the race on Saturday.  What can a race like that – where you are able to push yourself harder than normal – do to you physically and mentally?

    It was a strange race (the 15km) for me because for the first 12km I had things under control completely. I even caught myself during the race telling myself, “hey – you finally nailed your pace right on – awesome!” Then, in the span of 30 seconds I went from feeling in control, to being way past the red zone and dying hard. I didn’t lose focus – but that’s the type of things that can happen at altitude – especially here on Davos’ strange course (it’s gradual in nature – but the working sections can be as long as 7-8 minutes which is extremely abnormal for  “new age” World Cup courses). You have to be bang-on with your pacing or else you pay the piper big time. And that’s when I dropped from 5th to 9th… It took all my focus to just get to the finish line without losing too much time – that’s the kind of effort that really hurts you mentally and physically.

    It sounded, from your post-race comments, that you were a little hesitant about pushing yourself this hard, this early in the race season.  Did you need a really good result, mentally, in order to look forward with confidence?

    I wasn’t hesitant about pushing myself “that hard,” but I was very aware of the fine line I’d have to ride during that 15km race to achieve my goals. At altitude, in a skate race with a lot of work – you just have to be so in tune with your body to perform at a high level.

    As well, it’s been interesting this year (when compared to the last 2 previous) for me. I had my best 15km skate of my life in Bruksvallarna, a decent relay leg in Beitostolen, then some tough days of racing – some beyond my control – in Beitostolen (15km skate), and Kuusamo (which was extremely difficult for our entire team). I knew I was in shape, but you start to question things, even panic a little bit – when you are so far from the level you know you’ve shown in the past.

    The actual number (9th), meant very little to me compared to the feeling of racing fast and being in the race. Skiing smooth, technically well and pacing myself well. That’s the feeling I’m used to – being “in the race” and fighting it out. I guess in that sense, the 15km skate was extremely important for me to achieve my pre-race goals as I cruise into the Tour (my secondary goal for the season).

    Did you feel good on the day of the sprint and fast during the prelims, or were you at all surprised by your fast qualifying time?  If you hadn’t been boxed out, do you think you could have done well in the rounds?

    I knew I was feeling good the morning of the sprint. Even though Saturday night I was pretty bagged – Sunday morning, my legs still felt springy and good – and I knew from experience that it was a good sign to feel like that! To qualify 12th was perfect. I expected to be in the heats, but you never know where you’ll end up. Sprinting is just so volatile.

    “If you hadn’t been boxed out, do you think you could have done well in the rounds?” Is essence of sprinting. Of the 30 that make it to the show – about 18 of them (actually more like 27 of them, haha) probably have a similar feeling. 6 men on a tight course with corners all trying to get to the line in the top 2 is a tough feat. I hate getting cut off – but sometimes you are on the good side, and other times on the losing end. I made some tactical errors, and there’s just not much time to make mistakes. It was a very frustrating day (because when you are in good shape and finish a race feeling great – but 5th out of 6th), but that’s the way sprinting goes. That’s what I love about it (when you are on the winning side) and what I hate about it (when you are the one getting cut off, and boxed out…). I guess it was some consolation to get some WC points, but 8 of em’ won’t help much, haha.

    What will be the most important thing that you focus on going into next weekend’s races in Rogla?  How will you keep sharp?

    Rogla will be another challenge that’s for sure. I am feeling good – and Davos is a fantastic place to hang out and train. I mentally chilled out Monday (on a rest day) and hit the Alpine slopes with Alex, Chandra and Dario Cologna which was amazing. I even got to ski some knee deep pow’ – which ruled. We weren’t out long – only 3hrs (with a 45min lunch in the sun too in that 3hrs too!), but just to get out of the valley and see where you are – see the mountains, and ski some fluffy white powder is a bonus. It was cool to see so many World Cup skiers out Alpine skiing too actually. Everyone needs to feel like a normal person sometimes too – that’s important. You can’t always live in a hotel room watching youtube vids, talking ski grinds, hours, heartrates and sport drink. You’ll drive yourself bananas that way.

    It’s about building and keeping perspective. Rogla is important – but it’s another stepping stone as we move towards the Olympics in February! I will keep the hours a little lighter this week again – and then when I get back to Davos after Rogla I’ll put in some good training ahead of the Tour de Ski. Christmas in a hotel isn’t great – but Alex, Sara and I will have some fun I’m sure.

  • The Road to Whistler: Devon Kershaw

    The Road to Whistler: Devon Kershaw

    Devon Kershaw

    Devon Kershaw has been on the Senior National Team for 8 years.  Ending last year’s season in  21st for the final World Cup standings, this multi-medaled Canadian gives us his take on the start of the season and his hope for the team.
    What are your goals for the season?

    This will come as no surprise – but the main objective for myself, and our whole team (and in reality – the entire World!) is focused on the Olympic Games. It’s been a busy 4 years since the last Games, and we are all excited to get the season going and we cruise into an opportunity of a lifetime (racing an Olympics @ home).

    I don’t tend to make many “outcome” goals for myself and this year is no different. There are so many extremely talented skiers on the World Cup out there today and the difference between a great race internationally and a poor one can mean 50+ places, so I find it best (for me) not to focus on things out of my control (like – how other people’s shape is, week in/week out…).

    The times I thought about results, World Cup points, etc… I’ve bombed races, so it’s not a tactic I use often. Now, I try to focus on keeping good energy, recovering well between racing weekends, and most importantly – stay positive no matter what – both in races themselves, and especially post race.  It sounds corny, and perhaps it is – but that (and other “process” goals) is what I try and focus on to get the best out of myself.

    Kershaw admits to liking the mass starts and sprint formats: a junkie of thrills and spills?
    Kershaw admits to liking the mass start and sprint formats: a junkie of thrills and spills? (photo: Dan Roycroft)

    Are you focused on a specific distance/technique?

    I am not focused on any one specific distance or technique but I do prefer classic skiing. I feel more confident in the classic technique and our team’s objective is to be racing to the best of our ability in the Olympic relay – and I will most likely be doing the classic leg in that competition.

    As far as distances, I like them all, each offer a different challenge, whether that’s racing in individual races, mass starts, or sprints – they are all so different. I train as a distance skier, and don’t do anything specific for sprinting necessarily.

    You just posted a fantastic result at Bruksvallarna, Sweden – how was your summer of training and how do you feel your fitness is right now?

    I was very surprised to win the tune up race in Bruksvallarna, Sweden last weekend. That said, everyone is training a lot these days (myself included) and I tend to race well of higher volume training (maybe better than others that need to drop the hours down before posting good races). I wasn’t expecting all that much going into Sunday’s race to be honest. Going into the race, I had a very simple race plan I wanted to adhere to (a few key “process” goals type thing), and I was thrilled to be able to deliver on those in the first distance race of the season. Winning a skate race was a shock, haha.

    Over the “off season,” I made a few minor changes to my training. It has been an interesting few years for our Canadian team as we’ve gone through a number of coaches – so each of them brings something slightly different to the table, even if there are similarities philosophically. When compared to last year, my training was actually much more “in line” with what we had planned. Last fall, for example, I got pretty tired and had to take a small break (2+ weeks) from training to recover, but this season we’ve made no such mistakes (so far !), and the training, recovery, etc… has been unfolding as we thought it would.

    My form at the moment? Who ever knows, haha. I felt good last weekend. I feel pretty good in training these days, but anything can happen on any given day. I am not overly concerned on the results side of things during these early World Cup races. They are tune ups for me. Of course I’d like to rock the house week in, week out – but again – I cannot control the competition. I try and stay loose, have fun and achieve the small “race goals” I make for myself for every competition.

    Our team is in good form though and watch for Alex, and Ivan in the coming weeks. We could have some pretty stellar days (hopefully!).

    Did you make any particular changes to your training this summer to prepare for this Olympic season?

    Like I stated above, I didn’t make any landmark changes to my training to prepare for the Olympic season. I’ve trained a bit more than in the past – but the increase is ever so slight.

    Are you still training hard right now and if so, which WC races will you focus on doing well in and when will you start your taper?

    I am still training decently hard at the moment. I did 22 hrs last week (for example) with two races, and one longer interval session (3X8min all uphill @ 15km race pace) – so that was quite a toughy of a week! As far as putting focus on World Cup racing, I am looking forward to Rogla (the 30km mass start classic) and of course – The Tour de Ski. I really love that event (the Tour), and although I’ve had some really bad luck in that race with regards to sickness, and I am hoping to shake that once and for all this season!

    I will taper down for the Tour de Ski and even now I’ve dropped the training down to 16hr/week (for this week). I usually try and keep the training up around 15 hours/week if I can on the Pre-Christmas World Cups, and if I get a weekend off racing I’ll try and put in a few days of volume. I feel it’s important to do this to stay at a consistent with regards to energy. It’s different for everyone, but in my experience – it seems to work. In the past when I’ve focused, tapered and stressed about early season World Cups, my form (and results) have suffered in March… The plan is to race decently well all year – and race bad ass at the Games in February.

    Canada's World Championship relay team: Gray, Babikov, Harvey, Kershaw
    Canada's World Championship relay team: Grey, Babikov, Harvey, Kershaw

    Will the mens team race in a relay event before the Olympics?

    George won’t be coming to Beitostolen (he will join our team in Kuusamo), so although we are racing a relay in a few days (with Graham Nishikawa with Alex, Ivan and I), our last year’s World Champs 5th place team won’t race together until the Olympics.

    As far as I know, Beitostolen is the only relay prior to the games, so it’s kind of a yes/no, haha.

  • Norwegian Biathlete, Bjorgen take Beitostolen Opener

    Before this winter, very few ski fans would have recognized the name Ronny Andre Hafsaas. The 24-year-old Norwegian had competed in just a single cross country World Cup in Switzerland, finishing in 36th place. But for the past two years, Hafsaas has been quietly collecting top-tens on the international biathlon circuit, and today, he stamped his authority on the first race of the World Cup season in Beitostolen.

    Hafsaas beat all of the favorites in the 15 km skate race and just barely held off Frenchman Vincent Vittoz at the line, by less than a quarter of a second. Finland’s Matti Heikkinen finished third, seven seconds down.

    Another Norwegian biathlete, Lars Berger, led the race at the 12.5 km mark, but appeared to have suffered some sort of collapse or fall; he lost thirty seconds over the last 2.5 km and ended in 13th. Favorite Petter Northug was in first through five km, but couldn’t quite hold onto the lead and ended in fourth, twelve seconds back.

    The U.S. Ski Team’s Kris Freeman was the top North American in 22nd. At the halfway point he was sitting in twelfth, but lost thirty seconds in the last five km. But the race was close-ten seconds would have moved Freeman into the top 15.

    Canadian Devon Kershaw had created some speculation by winning a training race in Sweden last weekend, but he couldn’t sustain the momentum, finishing just over a minute down in 37th. “I was like Bambi on ice,” he wrote on Twitter. Russian emigree Ivan Babikov was actually the first Canadian finisher, in 28th, and the young Alex Harvey was 43rd.

    The race was both tight and “rocket fast,” as Andy Newell wrote on his own Twitter feed. Hafsaas’s time was under 35 minutes, and two-thirds of the 99-man field finished within two minutes.

    Bjorgen Skis Away From the Rest

    Marit Bjorgen is back. At the World Cup opener in Beitostolen, the Norwegian veteran showed that she’s ready to compete for Olympic medals by convincingly winning the women’s 10km freestyle race.

    With a strong surge in the last half of the race, Bjorgen put thirty seconds into Swede Charlotte Kalla-her closest competition-and beat all but four others in the 90-woman field by more than a minute. Kalla’s teammate Anna Haag took the final spot on the podium.

    “I knew that I was in good shape, but you never know what the other girls have done,” Bjorgen said in the post-race press conference. “It’s good to be back.”

    Both Kalla and Bjorgen mentioned the challenge posed by the icy, slippery course. Fourth-place Kristin Stormer Steira took a fall, according to Langrenn.com, which cost her a chance for the top-three.

    Video and photos from Beitostolen showed a clear day with what looked to be hard-packed, near-bulletproof conditions, and Bjorgen’s time was fast-less than 25 minutes for a 10km race.

    American Kikkan Randall showed that she has stepped up her distance racing, finishing just over two minutes back, in 21st. The Alaskan skied her way up from 61st at the first time split, a quarter of the way through the race, and gained another 11 places in the last 2.5 km between the second time split and the finish.

    Liz Stephen, eying a return to the top thirty after her strong performances at last year’s World Championships, ended up tied for 48th, just over two and a half minutes back and 25 seconds from scoring World Cup points. Morgan Arritola, the third American women, finished 71st, another 40 seconds behind Stephen and over three minutes behind Bjorgen.

    And in her return to the World Cup after struggling with injuries last year, Canada’s Chandra Crawford-who’s primarily a sprinter-finished in 86th, five and a half minutes down.

    A full recap and analysis to follow–check back soon! For complete results, click here.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Some skiing, surfing, and wind…

    The wind is full-on grinding me down. It seems as though New Zealand spring, traveling across the Southern Pacific, is locked in battle with our snow bound plateau high in the Southern Alps and for the past four days the wind gusts have been upwards of 85km/hr. Spring is losing, as it remains winter-like up here, but not for lack of effort. With about 5 days of substantial winds bombarding us, I’m starting to worry that if this keeps up my clothes are going to begin to resemble a tattered main sail of an 18th century Spanish Galion nearing retirement; in tatters, stained (in my case from sport drink that blows out of my drink belt in the short span between unscrewing the lid, and lifting it to my lips), weathered and derelict.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: New Zealand Week One

    As per the norm at most training camps I attend throughout a season, my life has begun to morph into it’s simplified one-dimensional world (which I adore, haha). As I cruise into the second week of this on-snow training camp up high on a barren high plateau –30 of my closest Canadian ski racing buddies and I are enjoying another stellar summer of skiing up here at the Snow Farm.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: New York, Paris, Tokyo, Milan, Sudbury.

    Although my life at times may seem glamorous, the above cities (excluding one) mentioned were just thrown in to get your attention. As random as that sounds – and the reality is that I’ve only ever stepped foot in two of them.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Post Part 1: Triathlon

    I won’t bore you with too many details of how the yo-yo camp ended – instead I’ll just start by saying that even though I’ve just completed the toughest camp of the season (and perhaps my life), I am shocked I’m not completely shattered and beat. I’m by no means frisky, but I still have a smidgen of energy remaining and I’m extremely happy with how the camp turned out

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Post Part 2: Share the Road Event, Sudbury, and Ontario

    2) MOST IMPORTANT: I am leading and organizing a group ride in Sudbury in partnership with the organization “Share the Road.” Based in Southern Ontario, Eleanor McMahon has done some amazing things to aid in keeping us all safe as we utilize the roads for recreating, commuting, human-powered transportation, etc…

  • Devon in the News: Kershaw Returns to Sudbury for Unique Community Bike Ride and Olympic Fundraising Luncheon

    One of Canada’s most accomplished ski racers, three-time World Cup medallist, Devon
    Kershaw will be returning to his native Sudbury, Ontario for two important reasons on Tuesday, July 28.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Week 2 done…

    It’s groundhog week for the National Ski Team here in Canmore, as we’ve just completed the second big week of training in our three week camp today. Why groundhog day? Because Each of the 3 weeks is virtually identical – some small changes with respect to disciplines done, but the framework, wake-up times, travel/training locations, etc… all remain the same. It was another great week of training for us, and aside from the weather and space limitations on the glacier earlier this past week (made for some quick plan-changing), all went off without a hitch and I am still feeling cautiously optimistic for next week’s final big week of this 3 week – tough yo-yo camp.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Yo-Yo.

    While lying in bed recovering from my first week of fairly big training-camp atmosphere/training, I suddenly became rather curious.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: After the two and a half tough weeks came two “easier” weeks

    As planned, the body was feeling the effects of the bigger hours I’d punished my body with in early/mid June, and as such, the planned two week re-coup period came at a perfect time. I was able to slow things down gradually, regain some energy, and now I am feeling ready to tackle our next training camp. It’s so paramount to get that quality rest seeing how it will be much needed to survive this next extensive block of harder training which begins tomorrow and ends in three and a half weeks. On top of the training stress, let’s not forget the grand finale – the fabled, much talked about and much anticipated, Canmore Olympic Distance Triathlon

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Two tough weeks done…

    It’s been a big two weeks of training now, and as I come to the end of it I can surely feel the 48 hrs completed to my core. That was always the plan though, and because of that June has been slightly tougher than in previous years. Tougher hour-wise, and although we’ve started with intensity as well, it’s predominantly been level 3 type efforts with the odd level 4 or race effort to keep us honest.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Mostly shots from this week…

    This post is all about the photos. I’m going to try my best to take shots and upload them more frequently in between my lengthy literary updates to satifsy the fans (which only really amounts to Jamie Coatsworth, my mom and my dad).

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Post Oaky Camp, random banter from the field…

    The first camp of the year came and went – and since my last post, everything remained amazing. It was just so great to have everyone together again, stoked and training together. Nothing beats the training camp vibe. It’s just so great to get everyone together laughing, and hanging out again after an April spent recharging the batteries and it is also the truest reminder that we are indeed right back into full-swing with regards to our Olympic prep. Sure, the Games are still 10 months away, but after spending a little over a week training twice a day with my teammates, there’s no denying that those 5 simple intertwined rings are on all our minds as we begin to put in yet another season of serious kilometers.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Adam/Nat weddingpalooza and the good old Okanagan

    Who would have guessed that one could top a Sayulita/Mexican wedding – with less than a week’s notice no less. Swine-flu really threw a giant wrench in the cogs of the Hull/Wuikchik wedding, but Team Wuikchik/Hull pulled one of the most efficient and almost supernatural switheroos’ ever performed to move the whole wedding from Mexcio’s West Coast to Canada’s rugged and beautiful West Coast in about as much time as it takes me to respond to an email.

  • Kershaw’s Korner: Hawai’i, Sonoma, and the incredibly bad timing of Swine-Flu.

    I toyed with idea of just leaving the title and calling it good, but I can’t resist the temptation to bore you with the trials and tribulations of, well, me. It’s been a busy spring. Busy – legendary nonetheless