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.
Canada’s Nadia Moser competing in the pursuit race at 2017 Junior Open European Championships last month in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: Emily Dickson)
In another 20-something-question, fill-in-the-blanks series, we checked in with the world-class U.S. and Canadian biathletes that will be competing at 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth & Junior World Championships Feb. 22-28 in Osrblie (also known as Brezno-Osrblie), Slovakia.
Here’s 19-year-old Nadia Moser, of the Biathlon Alberta Training Centre, who is representing Canada at her second Youth/Junior Worlds. On Saturday, Moser placed 31st in the junior women’s 7.5 k sprint after finishing 41st in the 12.5 k individual on Thursday.
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Nadia Moser racing in the youth individual race at 2016 IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Cheile Gradestei, Romania. (Photo: Bryan Dickson)
“My full name is Nadia Moser, but you can call me Nadia. I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, raised in Atlin, British Columbia, and one thing you should know about my hometown is that it is home to North America’s tallest fresh-water island.
I started cross-country skiing when I was very young and started biathlon when I was 14, thanks to a family friend’s recommendation.
I currently train in Canmore, Alberta, with the Biathlon Alberta Training Centre (BATC).
If I’m not skiing, you might find me reading or drawing.
If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be ‘The Golden Compass‘.
One of the things I’m most excited about for Youth/Junior World Championships in Brezno-Osrblie is racing.
This will be my second Youth/Junior World Championships, and this year, I’m competing as a junior. One race I’m especially targeting there is all of them. I don’t have specific race in mind.
The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was to just focus on my own race.
One of the best race memories I have is… I can’t think of any particular race moment that really stands out.
If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be Laura Dahlmeier.
If I don’t end up being a professional skier, I’ll probably be some kind of artist.
Saurette racing in Canada last season. Courtesy photo.
With only one boy and one girl representing each country in cross-country skiing at the upcoming Youth Olympic Games, it can be tough to decide which single individual deserves that opportunity. Nobody’s consistently dominant all the time, right?
In Canada, however, the decision of which boy to send was easy: Matt Saurette had been the age-group national champion for two years running.
The 16-year-old, who grew up in Edmonton, Alberta and lists Alex Harvey as his role model, was named to Cross Country Canada’s National Talent Squad. It was a wise investment by the governing body: Saurette hasn’t shown any signs of letting up for the 2012 season. In the opening Alberta Cup races, he won the junior sprint and then took a 30-second victory in the 6 k classic.
The Youth Olympic Games will not be Saurette’s first taste of the Olympic spirit. In 2010, he was selected as one of 26 young Alberta athletes to be sent to the Vancouver Games to see sports in action. Besides watching a day of racing at the Whistler Olympic Park, he got to tour Vancouver, get a picture with the Olympic flame, and get front-row seats at a medal ceremony. The experience clearly made a big impression on Saurette.
“What really excited me, besides being at the biggest sporting event in the world, was looking up into the stands at the twenty thousand people staring down and imagining what it would be like to actually be getting a medal,” Saurette wrote at the time in a recap for Edmonton Nordic’s newsletter.
While the Youth Olympic Games won’t have quite the fanbase of the senior edition, and the cheering likely won’t be as loud, the talented Saurette may have a shot at getting a medal moment of his own.
FasterSkier caught the speedy teenager for an interview over e-mail.
FasterSkier: How long have you been skiing and how did you get started as a kid?
Matt Saurette: I started skiing when I was four years old when my parents took my sister and I out to ski. They eventually enrolled me in Jackrabbits, a program for young skiers.
FS: What ski club are you a part of now, and how has that community helped you develop as an athlete?
MS: I ski with Edmonton Nordic Ski Club and this club has provided me with opportunities to train with many different coaches throughout the years. As well, Edmonton has a great river valley system that is perfect for training and recently, the Alberta government has inititated a program (Alberta Sports Development Center) for developing athletes from all sports which has allowed me to grow as well.
FS: How do you balance skiing with school and your other interests? It takes a lot of time and energy to be a good skier….
MS: I believe it’s all about finding your priorities; some people may put more time into art or music and for me I put that time into my skiing and this has made finding a balance much easier. Balancing school and sports is always tricky, however I have solid relationships with all of my teachers and they are more than flexible when I am away training and racing.
FS: What have been some of the highlights of your time as a skier so far?
MS: Some of my highlights include being national aggregate champ for 2009 and 2010.
FS: Have you raced internationally before?
MS: I have not had any major international race experience, but I was able to visit Idaho for the SuperTour Finals and have some good races there. It was very cool to race some of the best American juniors and see some of the Europeans that came over to race!
FS: Are there any experiences, like competing against older or faster skiers, that you think have prepared you for the Youth Olympic Games?
MS: Last year I raced with some of the older athletes at world junior trials which gave me a taste of the speed that the older racers have. As well, the Alberta ski team joined some of the older athletes on the Alberta World Cup Academy for a couple of hard workouts during a camp in Whistler this summer which was awesome for experience.
FS: Has it changed your approach to the season to know that you will be on this trip, rather than having to focus on qualifying for it?
MS: It has changed some of the preparation that I have done. My training schedule has been centered around the Games and nationals and so it is easier to plan the year with the added certainty in my race schedule.
FS: How does the event fit into your season and what are your other goals for the year?
MS: It fits in well- the Games fall more in the middle of the season and so we do not have to miss too many races in Canada to go to them and are still able to attend [national championships] which will be my other goal competition this year.
FS: Has the recent success of Canadian skiers at the senior level changed your expectations of what you can accomplish?
MS: It is very inspiring to see that the hard work that the senior skiers put in is paying off, which makes me feel that if I do the same I can be there some day as well. Their success motivates me to try and aspire to that level as well!
FS: What are you looking forward to most about the Games?
MS: The whole experience will be very exciting and going over to Europe is a first for me, but what I am looking forward to the most is getting some international race experience and testing my strengths.
Over 1,600 racers were met with mild temperatures and fast conditions for today’s Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Marathon just outside of Edmonton, Alta.
It was a very flat course that started at the Ukrainian Cultural Village and wound it’s way through Elk Island National Park to the Cooking Lake Blackfoot recreation area. Racers got to take in the northern Alberta prairie scenery, crossing a number of frozen lakes and bogs in near-perfect conditions.
The premier event, the 55km Birkebeiner with 5.5kg pack, was won by Kirk Howell of Calgary in a time of three hours, three minutes and seven seconds. He was tied with Blaine Penny, also of Calgary. Third place went to Mikhail Kudienko with a time of 3:11:04, making it a Calgary sweep.
Wietske Eikelenboom of St. Albert, Alta. was the fastest woman in the 55km with a pack, clocking a time of 3:45:42.
Though some had been worried yesterday about the conditions, 55km Birkie Lite (no pack) winner Andy Pohl said conditions were very fast. Temperatures held steady around –2C, with patchy cloud cover protecting the track from the sun’s glare, which made for an icy and quick first half of the race.
“It was tough when we merged with the 31km course, but up till then it had been super fast,” Pohl said after his race. “It was good, but really tough. My arms are spent from all the double polling, and I could barely stand up at the end.”
The Camrose racer took the win with a time of 2:49:56, three minutes and thirty-five seconds over 2nd place team mate Nils Lokken. Calgary’s Gabe Altebauemer was third.
Andrew Brisbin, also from Camrose, skied away with the win in the 31km Edmonton Journal Tour. Calgary’s Kurtis Wenzel and Lethbridge’s Alex Mahoney finished 2nd and 3rd.
Canmore’s Amanda Ammar was the fastest woman in the 31km event. She said it was a bit of a lonely ski.
“I was battling it out with some junior boys and masters men, but for the most party I was by myself,” Ammar said. Still, the 2006 Olympian said she was happy with her result, especially after working a 50-hour week heading into the Birkie.
“I’m glad I snagged some of the Rocky Mountain Racer guys. I think they’re about 14, so I can’t beat up on them too much, and the older boys got me because of all the double polling, but overall I’m pretty stoked,” Ammar said.
The day wasn’t just about high performance however. Of the 1,600-plus racers, ages ranged from two-years-old up to the legend Frank Haley. At 86, Haley was the oldest racer on course today, and has raced every full 55km Birkebeiner with a pack till this one. He said he’d registered in the 55km again this year, but his family convinced him to play it safe and race the 31km Journal Tour; still nothing for an octogenarian to sneeze at.
Haley too, was please with the course.
“The folks doing the grooming set an excellent course,” said Haley. “It got a little soft and difficult towards the end, but overall it was great.”
Haley said he hopes to race again next year, but has to be realistic about it.
“At my age, I’m not making any commitments,” he said. Skiing has added decades to Haley’s sporting career. The well-known Birkie veteran used to run marathons, but said he finds skiing “much kinder” on the body.
In true Viking style, two of tomorrows started the festivities early.
The twenty-third annual Canadian Birkebeiner races take off Saturday morning in Edmonton, Alta., but the festival is already well underway.
“You could almost say the festival started on Wednesday,” said Birkie General Manager Glenda Hanna. “We had our volunteer orientation and appreciation event Wednesday night, and it was a great party atmosphere.”
Hanna positively glows while talking about the 600-plus volunteers who make the Birkie happen. That’s no surprise, as the Canadian Birkie is Canada’s largest classic-only loppet.
Many of the volunteers were working hard Friday night at the Edmonton Hotel and Convention Centre, running the Birkie’s Nordic Fare. The event doubles as the bib pick-up and information booth, but it also included display booths from local sponsoring shops, a free beer sampling station, and free waxing and advice.
Track 'N Trail had ski tech's on hand to help racers prep their skis
Ski techs from Mountain Equipment Co-Op and Track ‘N Trail were on hand to provide free pre-race ski tuning for racers. MEC also donated over $600 in door prizes for the volunteer orientation party. It’s support like this that Hanna said helps make the Birkie what it is.
“We have lots of support. For example there is the Ukrainian Cultural Village. They do a huge amount for this event. All the starts are right at the village, and they take care of organizing all the food for everyone and also handle the official start.”
The official start will certainly be something to witness. According to Hanna, registration is already over 1,600 skiers, not including race day registration for the shorter events like Ole’s Tour, an optional 2.5- or 4-kilometer fun event for kids and first time skiers to try out. Hanna predicts there could be upwards of 1,800 participants by the time the gun goes off tomorrow.
Ian Clark will be one of those on the start line. He is a longtime Birkie racer, and he’ll be tackling tomorrow’s 55km Birkeibiner, which requires racers to carry a 5.5kg pack. The pack is symbolic of Norway’s infant Crown Prince Haakon Haakonsson who, in 1206 rescued from a civil war and carried 55kms from Gudbrandsdal valley over two mountain ranges to Rena, in Osterdal valley, by two Viking warriors. Clark said tomorrow’s snow should be ok, but by the afternoon will likely soften up quite a lot.
“It’ll be tough by the end,” said Clark. “The experts are saying tomorrow’s wax is going to be two layers of red klister covered with a layer of blue hard wax.”
He the snow coverage in northern Alberta has been pretty good this year, but a lot of it is old.
“It’s Christmas snow, mostly. We’ve had decent coverage, and I’ve been able to ski six times a week at home [in Bently, Alta.], but because it’s so old a lot of it is transformed now.”
Glenda Hanna acknowledged the warm temperatures, but said she has confidence in the grooming crew. The Edmonton area has over a dozen cross-country ski areas, and many have chipped in to help get the trails at the Blackfoot recreation area in shape.
“It’s a huge effort to get all the grooming done. We’re talking over 100kms of trails,” said Hanna. She’s thinks tomorrow’s conditions will be good, despite some unseasonably warm weather in Edmonton this week.
“If it was going to rain, it would have happened today. It didn’t, and tomorrow should be good. It will be fast in the morning, and while it will slow down as the day goes on, we have enough snow.”
Hanna herself is a Birkie veteran, one of only four skiers who have completed all but one of the 55km Birkebeiners. She had to sit out one year while she was pregnant with her son, but the following year she made up for it by carrying him in a backpack.
“He’s the only one known to have been carried just like the prince,” said Hanna, smiling.
Saturday’s races kick off at 9 a.m. at the Ukrainian Cultural Village in the Cooking Lake Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, just outside Edmonton. Race categories include the 55km Birkebeiner, a 55km Birkie lite (which doesn’t require a pack), and a 31km event. There will also be a 13km Mini-Birkie and Ole’s Tour, which start at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. respectively. All races are classic only, and aid stations with food and drinks are provided on course.
Fast Trax's Shauna Blackburn-Cook helps a young Birkie racer get ready for tomorrow's big event
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