Tag: Matt Wylie

At Home in Canmore: The Canadian Up-And-Comers

Coverage of the Canmore World Cups was made possible through the generous support of Travel Alberta and Tourism Canmore.

Thirty Canadian men and women will be putting on World Cup bibs in Canmore this weekend. Some are old pros and some are competing in the first World Cups of their lives. (Photo: Angus Cockney)

With the start of the mass start classic in Canmore, Alberta, less than 24 hours away, nerves are running high at the World Cup venue. With two distance races and one sprint on the schedule, there will be both returning and new nation’s group faces lining up over the next few days.

Chances are you know exactly who Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw are, but as the host nation Canada has a large number of quota spots this weekend (15 men and 15 women). Every single one of them, when they pull on that bib, are looking to honorably represent their country in front of a home crowd. Here are a few names to watch out for.

Photo: Angus Cockney.

Emily Nishikawa (CNST/AWCA)

The 23-year-old has a few World Cup starts to her name already, but hasn’t contested one in Canada since 2008. After a win at Sovereign Lake on Sunday, she’s looking forward to testing her fitness against the world-class field.

“My shape is coming along now so I’m happy to get a good race under my belt before Canmore; get a little confidence going into it,” she said. “It’s super exciting to race in a hometown and on trails you know so well.”

Her goals for the weekend are to “perform to the absolute best of abilities. My family will be here watching, so I’m really looking forward to that!”

Photo: Cross Country Canada.

Brittany Webster (Highlands Trailblazers)

The former national team member is making a bit of a comeback this year with three NorAm distance podiums (two of them wins) under her belt already. It’s been four years since she was on the World Cup circuit, so in Canmore she’s entering the gate without any expectations other than to enjoy the opportunity.

“I know that, myself included, there are lots of Canadians out there who are a bit apprehensive about what it will like,” she said. “I think — and hopefully this is some advice for the younger girls out there — that it’s really important to remember that it’s simply just a great opportunity to race against the best. This is what we work towards, and you have to be really happy when you set foot on the start line to do it.”

Photo: Angus Cockney

Michael Somppi (CNST/AWCA)

With a second and fourth place at Sovereign Lake, Somppi is feeling confident in his fitness for Canmore. He first competed on the World Cup at this venue in 2010, but this year is the first time he’ll have the chance to compete in three back-to-back races.

“The mass starts are more nerve-wracking than the individual, but I feel like I’m in pretty good shape right now so it should be fun,” Somppi said.

“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been improving every race so I hope the trend continues.”

Erik Carleton (PNST/RMR)

Carleton competed in his first World Cup for Canada in 2005 when the circuit stopped in Vernon, BC. He is also a guide for national Para Nordic team member Brian McKeever, but was fast enough to prequalify for Canmore based on his results from last season.

“It was a good feeling since it was the first time in my career I had been selected based on the previous season,” Carleton said. “I knew I could focus my training program towards the World Cup races, have to worry about the trial races.”

His goals for Canmore are reasonable: “to ski relaxed, trust myself and feed off the energy of the fans.”

Mostly, Carleton is looking forward to comparing himself against the international field.

“When you do not have the opportunity to race in many World Cups, the rewards are great if you can have one of your best-ever races,” he said.

Photo: Angus Cockney

Graeme Killick (CNST/AWCA)

The senior development team member has been a part of the whole World Cup production before, in Estonia in 2011. As the winner of the NorAm opener in Canmore and third-place finisher in the classic race the following weekend, Killick will be one of the top Canadians to watch for on the big stage.

He’s feeling particularly confident after his recent podium finishes: “It was a good start for me. Normally it takes me a few races to get in race shape, but I was able to win last week so that is a good sign,” Killick said.

Photo: Angus Cockney.

Patrick Stewart-Jones (AWCA): He had “the best race of my life so far” in the mass start classic NorAm at Sovereign Lake, so the 21-year-old is feeling pretty good heading into Canmore. Stewart-Jones also qualified for the sprints in Quebec, but turned down the opportunity in order to save his top gear for the distance events.

“It wasn’t easy at all,” he said of the choice to skip Quebec. “I was sort of on the fence, but told myself if I qualified for the distance races then I’d focus on that.”

The 15 k mass start classic in Canmore will be Stewart-Jones’ first World Cup appearance.

Jesse Cockney (AWCA)

In Quebec City Cockney missed out on qualifying for the heats by a mere 0.25 seconds in 32nd place. He said afterwards that he already learned a lot from the experience, like how to roll with the punces on race day and ski relaxed.

Luckily, he’s got another shot at the heats in Canmore with the freestyle sprint scheduled for Saturday. On truly home terrain and against essentially the same field, he could be ready to crack the top 30.

Raphaël Couturier (CNST/Pierre Harvey NTC)

Couturier made his World Cup debut in Quebec last weekend, where he placed 51st in the freestyle sprint.

“I was super excited to race my first World Cup at home and I had a great time with my friends and family,” he said of the experience. “Everyone around the event did a great job and I’m pretty sure we all agree on saying it was one of the most epic city-sprint ever and I feel privileged to have been part of the event. I was just looking forward to break the ice and step up the game.”

The 19-year-old was pretty excited when he first learned he qualified back in November, and is mostly focused on gaining international experience in sprint and distance in Canmore.

“It would be amazing to get to race some heats with the big boys, but I don’t want to put any pressure on myself. I’ll deal with the results I’ll get and build on from there,” Couturier said.

Photo: Angus Cockney.

Brent McMurtry (CNST/AWCA)

With numerous World Cup starts under his belt, McMurtry is no stranger to the scene. He says he’s most looking forward to the 15 k mass start classic.

“I have raced a lot of places, and for classic Canmore is my favourite course: steep climbs with firm tracks,” he said. “As far as goals, I am hoping to execute my race plan and ski smooth throughout. It is hard to put a number of what I am aiming for but I would like to be in the points.”

Like most of his countreymen, McMurtry is most looking forward to competing in front of friends and family on familiar terrain.

“It is great to race at home where I have family and friends cheering me on and I know most of the volunteers who are running the race. It is just an amazing atmosphere,” he said.

Photo: Jesse Winter

David Greer (Yukon Elite Squad)

The 23-year-old will be making his first World Cup appearance on Thursday and is hoping to continue the upward trend in his recent NorAm results when he goes up against the best in the world. In Sovereign Lake this weekend he was sixth in the mass start classic and third in the 15 k freestyle.

“Each race seems to be getting better, so I’m looking forward to [Canmore],” Greer said. “It should be fun.”

Photo: Angus Cockney.

Graham Nishikawa (CNST/AWCA)

The senior development team member is an old standby on the World Cup scene; he was recently 34th in the 30 k freestyle in Davos, Switzerland.

“I’m always honored to race for Canada, especially at home in Canmore,” he said.

Coming off a win in the 15 k freestyle last weekend, Nishikawa appears to be in top form for this weekend.

“I just want to thrown down a great race and see what happens,” he said. “Having my family and friends around to watch will be great.”

Phil Widmer (AWCA)

Widmer has numerous World Cup starts to his name and is looking forward to the opportunity to represent Canada in front of a home crowd.

“The goal for me though is putting together a solid World Cup race,” he said. “My team mates and I have been pushing each other hard all year in preparation for these races and the rest of the season.”

He was 55th in the individual sprint in Quebec City last weekend. A personal best for the sprinter would be to make it into the semifinals, which is just what he’s shooting for this Saturday on the home track.

“Competing against the best skiers in the world on the home track is special,” Widmer said. “I’d say that has to be the most exciting part of the world cup coming to Canada. It doesn’t happen every day, so it’s special when it does happen.”

Kevin Sandau (CNST/AWCA)

Sandau, of recent Movember fame, has been on the World Cup circuit all season as last year’s Continental Cup leader. Still, he hasn’t competed in a World Cup on home soil since 2008 and is looking forward to competing on the trails he trains on every day.

“I know what [the trails] are like and how they ski,” he said. “I’d like to have some personal bests in the distance races and cap off 2012 with some really good results.”

“The Alberta World Cup Society definitely has organized this on a much grander scale since 2008, with the town fully backing the event and a lot of smaller and distinct details added. This is for sure going to be one hell of a week!”

Matt Wylie (AWCA)

Wylie earned starts both in Quebec and Canmore, but skipped out on the sprints in order to save energy.

“Ideally preparing for Canmore would set me up for a top result rather than travelling back and forth across the country,” he said. “It was one of the hardest choices I have had to make, turning down that kind of opportunity.”

This will be Wylie’s first international racing experience.

Photo: Mark Nadell.

Russell Kennedy (AWCA)

The Truckee, Calif., native is a dual citizen of the US and Canada and has been training with the AWCA for the past few years. When he learned he’d won his fist career World Cup starts while cooling down from the Canmore NorAm prologue, he was “over the moon.”

“I’m generally a happy guy but it was pretty hard for me to stop smiling,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy’s main focus this year was to qualify for U23s, but now that he’s in a position to race well on the World Cup, he’s aiming to make the sprint heats (he was 45th last weekend in Quebec).

“When a dream comes true it is hard to pick your favorite part of the dream,” Kennedy said. “However, I’m looking forward to racing the top guys, seeing all my friends and family that are coming to watch and just having a hard summer of training start to pay off.”

More Canadians to look for in Canmore: Brian McKeever (PNST), Frederick Touchette (CNST/CNEPH), Heidi Widmer (AWCA), Amanda Ammar (Canmore), Annika Hicks (AWCA), Rebecca Reid (AWCA), Dahria Beatty (AWCA), Zoe Roy (RMR), Kate Brennan (AWCA), Alana Thomas (AWCA), Anne Marie Comeau (CNEPH), Maya MacIsaac-Jones (RMR), Erin Tribe (Team Hardwood), Frederique Vezina (CNEPH), Andrea Dupont (RMR)

December 12, 2012
Cockney Keeps Momentum Going, Wins NorAm Sprint in Rossland

Jesse Cockney (AWCA) celebrates winning the 1.6 k NorAm freestyle sprint 'A' final at Black Jack Ski Club in Rossland, British Columbia. Brent McMurtry in the green leader's bib (behind) was second, Kevin Sandau (right) was third, and Michael Somppi (left) was fourth. (Photo by Dan Roycroft/AWCA)

ROSSLAND, British Columbia — Anyone who caught a glimpse of Jesse Cockney on Saturday probably saw him smiling — except for when he was racing, in which case he was concentrating.

The first day of NorAm freestyle competition at Black Jack Ski Club started out well enough for the 22-year-old Alberta World Cup Academy skier, as Cockney won a sprint qualifier for the first time in his life.

The fifth to start on a 1.6 k men’s course that several racers acknowledged as technical –with sharp corners and winding descents — Cockney clocked the fastest qualifying time in the NorAm Teck Sprint in 3:15.35. His teammate Phil Widmer ranked second, more than three seconds behind in the qualifier in 3:18.36.

The top-dog status pushed Cockney farther, as he won two more rounds to reach the ‘A’ final. There, he kept his energy going all the way to the finish, where he extended his arms in front and behind him for a “first-down” victory gesture.

The celebration was directed at a FasterSkier report from last weekend, which suggested Canadians didn’t know of Tim Tebow.

“We’re all pretty big NFL fans,” Cockney said. “So I did the first down. We do watch football in Canada.”

He was still smiling.

For Cockney, the race affirmed that he wasn’t a slow qualifier. After narrowly qualifying in 30^th in the U-23 World Championship sprints last year, he went on to place sixth. Finishing ahead of the pack early on Saturday gave him good vibes for the rest of the day.

“I didn’t want to waste that feeling so I took advantage of it,” Cockney said.

In the heats, Cockney stayed ahead of one crash involving Karl Nygren (CXC) in the first round. While Nygren, the 10^th fastest qualifier, discovered he was too far back to make a run for the semifinal, Cockney moved on. Three heats later in the quarterfinals, Cockney’s teammates, Matt Wylie and Widmer, piled up in another crash.

Wylie said Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) took a more direct line into a downhill corner, which pushed Wylie out.

“That caught me off balance and Phil and I slammed into each other,” Wylie said. “I got pushed right into (Widmer’s) line.”

Two of the AWCA’s top sprinters, Wylie and Widmer were disappointed to be eliminated, but they understood it was part of fast-and-furious short, skate races.

“Everyone’s skiing on the same course,” Wylie said. “You control your own destiny, so you have to just ski as fast as you can and try to stay on your feet.”

After qualifying in 13^th, Wylie focused on how strong he felt, especially heading into Sunday’s 15 k freestyle mass start. Seeded second in the heats, Widmer said he took something from Saturday’s outcome.

“That’s the thing about wanting to be in the front,” Widmer said after trailing closely behind Wylie, the leader, and Michael Somppi, who escaped the crash. “Lesson learned.”

Watching his two teammates fall out of contention on a notoriously tricky corner, Cockney said he made a point to get out front.

“I didn’t want to ski with anyone around the corners (to) make sure I stay on my feet,” Cockney said.

Overall runner-up Brent McMurtry (CNEPH) rounds a tight corner at the NorAm Teck Sprints in Rossland, British Columbia, on Saturday. (Photo by Dan Roycroft/AWCA)

After Cockney, Brent McMurtry of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre placed second for the third straight race. Last weekend at Sovereign Lake, he was runner-up in both the NorAm classic sprint and 15 k classic individual start.

“Jess was pretty speedy out there, (and I) didn’t have much to go with him,” McMurtry said of Saturday’s freestyle sprint. “I thought I skied pretty smart and conserved some energy early on.”

It was the first time McMurtry qualified in a skate sprint in nearly two years. He was the fifth-fastest qualifier on Saturday.

“It’s not necessarily a strength, but I like my chances in anything,” he said. “Yeah, second again, it would be nice to be on the top of the podium, and I think it’ll come. At the same time I’m pretty reasonably happy.”

Kevin Sandau (AWCA) also achieved a personal best, placing third in the ‘A’ final just behind McMurtry, who edged him at the line. It was Sandau’s first appearance in that round.

“I’ve never been in an ‘A’ final ever in a NorAm,” he said.

Come to think of it, Sandau as last weekend’s defending NorAm distance champion, had never qualified in the top 10.

“So it’s a pretty cool day for me,” he added. “I guess things turned out my way.”

Kevin Sandau (AWCA) happy to finish third in his first 'A' final appearance at the NorAm Teck Sprints in Rossland, British Columbia, on Saturday. (Photo by Dan Roycroft/AWCA)

Nearly three years ago in Rossland, Sandau won the NorAm freestyle sprint’s ‘B’ final to place seventh overall. He said the course played to his strengths of attacking hills and drafting.

“I felt really strong today so I could make some moves and on the downhills, get a good draft and slingshot by people,” Sandau said. “So it seemed to work.”

One of the racers who avoided an early pileup, Somppi of Thunder Bay’s National Development Centre ended up fourth overall for a career-best sprint result.

As if he didn’t get enough of a workout in the four rounds, he had to run about half a kilometer from where he was staying to make the award’s ceremony. He thought they were later, and was alerted that they weren’t via a text message.

“Coach picked me up halfway,” Somppi said. “I’m glad I made the photo though.”

He also had some excitement out on the trails, moving ahead of Wylie, Widmer and Blackhorse-von Jess to advance to the semifinals. Blackhorse-von Jess also made it out of the round, but the six men in the heat finished particularly far apart.

“It was wild,” Somppi said.

Wylie and Widmer as teammates set a slow pace from the start, he said. In sixth place heading into the first climb, Somppi made a move to the front, which he said caught the others off guard.

“Everyone got kind of anxious and wanted to get at the front,” he said. “We went four guys into that sharp corner, and it wasn’t meant to be. I managed to get around them and come through, so I was pretty happy.”

Harry Seaton (NDC) notched a personal best in a NorAm sprint final, finishing fifth.

“I skied the heats really well. … I didn’t really take the lead much, but passed in those tight sections and I’m glad how those finished,” Seaton said. “Because it’s such a high-speed course, people are going to be close. That’s something I feel I did well today, kind of taking a scan around before we come into a tight section and knowing where things are.”

Blackhorse-von Jess was sixth, and the third-ranked qualifier, Frederic Touchette (CNEPH) was seventh after winning the ‘B’ final. Andy Shields (NDC) placed eighth, Kurtis Wenzel (RMR) was ninth, and Raphael Couturier (CNEPH) was 10^th.

Sam Naney (Methow) was 11^th and Graeme Killick (AWCA) was 12^th after making the ‘B’ final.

Qualifier results from Zone4 Timing.

December 17, 2011
Goldsack, Jones Sprint to Victory in Western Canadian NorAm Action

Drew Goldsack must be getting good at mini-tour racing; he’s on his third one this season.

Last weekend, the Canadian National Ski Team (CNST) member who trains with the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) tackled a Haywood NorAm mini-tour event in Orford, Quebec, finishing second. This weekend, Goldsack began another mini-tour, with a freestyle sprint in Kelowna, B.C. on Friday.

After posting the fastest qualifying time on the day, Goldsack stormed through the rounds on his way to the A-Final, where he lined up against the fastest domestic racers in the country.

The A-Final was stacked with domestic racing experience – Graham Nishikawa (AWCA), Stefan Kuhn (CNST), George Grey (CNST), Para-Nordic legend Brian McKeever, and young gun Matthew Wylie (Banff Ski Runners) joined Goldsack on the start line.

With so many top racers, it was battle from the gun. Nishikawa attacked around a quarter of the way through the race, and only Goldsack was able to respond immediately. But as the group headed back down towards the stadium, the others made contact.

Goldsack was able to squeak by Nishikawa, and in the melee that followed, Wylie made a surprise move to come from fifth all the way up to second place.

Kuhn rounded out the podium in third, followed by Nishikawa, Grey, and McKeever.

In an interview with FasterSkier, Goldsack said the course “skied fairly tough,” in part due to the long flat 200 meter finish stretch.

After playing second fiddle to Nishikawa during the NorAm mini-tour last weekend in Orford, Goldsack was happy to be back on top.

“It was nice to be back on top,” he said, “For me sprinting is the go-to discipline, so it was good to get the win.”

Goldsack is still trying to bounce back from illness which sidelined him during the Thunder Bay NorAm, and although he feels his shape has rebounded, there is still room for improvement.

“I didn’t feel one hundred percent – I was hurting a little more than I would expect at some points,” he said.

“One less day of recovery makes it tough,” said Goldsack. “It’s a hectic schedule, because even if you’re racing a prologue, it still makes for a long weekend.”

And Goldsack’s work is far from over – he and Nishikawa are in the midst of tight battle for the NorAm FIS World Cup quota spot for the spring World Cups.

After finishing the mini-tour in Kelowna, both Goldsack and Nishikawa will head to Gatineau, Quebec, to contest the final NorAm mini-tour of the season.

Meanwhile, in open women, Perianne Jones (CNST) made sure she held on to her top spot in the overall NorAm rankings, as she won the qualifier, then led the A-Final from start to finish for the win.

Jones finished ahead of Sarah Daitch, who made her first stop on the NorAm podium this season, and Andrea Dupont of the Rocky Mountain Racers (RMR), while juniors Rebecca Reid (AWCA), Dahria Beatty (Yukon Ski Team) and Suzanne Stevenson (Foothills Nordic) rounded out the A-Final.

“[Andrea] Dupont and [Sarah] Daitch were close – I could feel them behind me,” said Jones.

“It was really hard to get away from them – I just went for it from the gun, and tried to get away, but never managed to pull away.”

Jones described the sprint course as “really hard,” in a post-race interview with FasterSkier, but surprisingly not because of any particularly large hills. The 1.3 k course featured mostly gradual uphills, followed by a gradual downhill section into the finish.

“On the way back down it was a working downhill,” she said. “My legs felt really tired – there was no rest anywhere on the course.”

While Jones was the clear favorite on the day after qualifying, fellow CNST member Chandra Crawford looked to be her strongest competition on the start list.

However, Crawford felt ill before she even started, and after qualifying, opted to pull out of the race. She ended up qualifying third, but rather than race the heats, booked herself a flight back to Canmore, Alberta, to rest.

“It would have been fun to race her, if she had been healthy,” Jones said, “but going home is the smart thing to do.”

“The whole trip would be more fun if she weren’t sick – now I’m the only woman on the team here!”

Haywood NorAm racing continues tomorrow with prologue events for both the men and women.

Open Women Full Sprint Results

Open Men Full Sprint Results

February 4, 2011