Tag: Whistler 2023

Another day at Whistler and another day of great skiing. The day started just below freezing with a little new snow overnight, intermittent sunshine, no wind, and no snowfall until after the last skier finished.

The course was two laps of the Olympic Red 5km, the same course used in 2010 for the classic races. About 3km of the loop was the same as used in the classic 20km Monday and Tuesday. There is a big difference between the two techniques: in classic, when a relatively straightforward downhill is too fast to double pole, the skier gets a rest in a tuck, but those same sections reward free skating. Even the podium athletes admitted there was a bite to this course in free technique.

The women’s 10km put two new faces on the podium. Germany’s Helen Hoffmann won in 26:13, edging out Poland’s Izabela Marcisz by just 1 second. Norway’s Margethe Bergane collected her second bronze of the week, finishing 4 seconds back. Tuesday’s silver medallist Lisa Lohmann from Germany was fourth, 14 seconds back.

The USA put three women in the top ten without cracking the podium and it was a solid but not spectacular day for North American men. For the US, Sophia Laukli was best in fifth, at 17 seconds, followed by Novie McCabe in seventh at 40 seconds, Sydney Palmer-Leger in ninth at 43 seconds, and Kate Oldham tied for 39th at 3:22.

Canada had an interesting day. For Canada, Jasmine Lyons had another great day, placing 17th at 1:04. Liliane Gagnon was 27th at 1:58, then Amelia Wells in 31st at 2:24, and Marielle Ackermann in 44th at 4:12 back.

Once again, we will let the athletes tell their own stories in the interval start race.

Women’s 10 k Freestyle

Hoffmann

The day: “My day was very great. I don’t expect that my race would be so good, and I am happy.”

The course: “The course is very hard, very hard.”

Visiting Canada: “It’s beautiful here, much snow.”

Marcisz

The day: “Oh my god, I’m really happy. I have silver. It was really beautiful and really hard to race. I’m really satisfied, I have this medal for all my team.”

The course: “I think this course is really difficult and really sneaky. This is Olympic course, so it have to be really difficult. For the skate and for me, it’s quite nice. I have long steps [one skate/v2 glide] so I felt quite comfortable.”

Visiting Canada: “Before these competitions, we were in Prince George and we did race there. For sure, I want to back to Canada, but probably more for chill and a little bit more than course and hotels.”

Bergane

The day: “It was very, very hard, but very fun to race. I’m very happy with the medal.”

The course: “Oh, I really like the course. It’s tough, and I really like that.”

“It was a hard course, but very, very good conditions. In Norway, we have hard courses as well, so kind of the same like in Norway.”

Visiting Canada: “I had so much fun. I really like Canada so I hope I can come back someday.”

Laukli

The day: “It was good. I was a little bit nervous and curious how it would go. I’ve been a little bit sick and coming off of that, so I was definitely happy to get a top five. I had big goals, but with how I’ve been feeling, I was really happy with how it went.”

The course: “It is incredibly hard. I’ve skied it a lot now, but not until racing it today did I realize how insanely [hard], you’re just grinding all the time.”

The profile looks like 3km of easy downhill: “You don’t feel like there is, it feels like there is only climbing.”

Lesson learned this week: “I’ve learned that you’ve got to be patient with racing. I’ve learned, that I can personally work on is skiing tactically, and this course has made me realize that. I’m really into climbing, but there’s so much more to racing than that. That’s something I want to start working on more.”

Favourite race this season: “I feel like I can’t say anything except the hill climb in the Tour de Ski. That was a pretty great day, and a lot of fun.”

McCabe

The day: “It was pretty good. It was a fun fight out there and we had a lot of strong performances from the team, so I think overall a good day.”

My day: “I feel okay about it. I was hoping for a little more, but it was what I could do today, so I’m proud of it.”

Lesson learned this week: “I had a lot of practice in going through racing that was not quite what I’d hoped and trying to get past that and start fresh in the next race.”

Racing here: “It so nice. This is like a dream venue. It’s so beautiful, I thought today was supposed to snow or rain or something, this is a real treat.”

Palmer-Leger

The day: “I had a pretty good day today. I started that first lap not sure how it would go, my legs were flooding a little bit from the last two races. The second lap, I caught a ride with the German Lisa Lohmann who ended up top three today. It actually turned out a really good race. I’m really excited how it went.”

The course: “I like the course. It’s a lot of climbing the first half, then it’s smaller, like gradual, some powerful V2 the last end of the course.”

Lesson learned this week: “Honestly, just learning that trust my training, trust that I’ve been doing this for a long time, and just find my strengths on the course and push it. Whatever happens, happens. If it doesn’t work out as planned, just try to find the positives in everything. Today, we had three women in the top ten, so that was pretty cool.”

Lyons

The day: “It was a tough one out there. It wasn’t the race I was hoping for, but there’s another one coming up.”

The course: “Course was definitely challenging, it was quite hilly, but the conditions were pretty perfect, the grooming was awesome.”

Lesson learned this week: “Learned a lot about getting prepared for races, staying in the zone. Really learned a lot about how high the level is and how much I need to keep training and improving to try to keep up.’

Gagnon

The day: “It was really hard. The two rest days weren’t the best thing for me, my body was feeling pretty tired, and those uphills my legs were burning up, but made it to the finish. It will be a new day tomorrow.”

The course: “Very, very hard skate course. It’s a long uphill right from the start. You get some recovery downhill, but you go back up on the highest point of the course.”

Lesson learned this week: “I learned that maybe classic is getting way better for me. It’s been interesting racing with those fast girls, I’ve got a lot of experience now.”

Wells

The day: “It was pretty good. It was hard out there, it’s a tough course, feeling a little tired from the 20km. Overall, I had fun.”

The course: “It’s a lot of uphill. The first 2k are all work, you get a little rest at the end.”

Lesson learned this week: “I learned so much, it’s hard to think of one thing. Double pole, and learning to ski with the best.”

Oldham

The day: “Today was pretty awesome. I’m really glad the weather held up for us. The skis were fabulous and we have a really strong team here that’s a pleasure to part of.”

The course: “The course is really high level, really well maintained and cared for these championships. It’s really fun, it’s really hard.”

Lesson learned this week: “I think I learned a lot about leading up to race, how important the little things are. I’m surrounded by an elite team that does those little things well, so it’s been awesome to get another window in that lifestyle from girls that ski on the World Cup, who went to the Olympics.”

Ackermann

The day: “Pretty bad, to be honest. It was pretty tough out there, my legs were not in it, my mind was not in it.

The course: “It’s tough. The hills just go on and on, and then there’s this long working section. You’re wiped from the hills and it’s really hard.”

Lesson learned this week: “I learned to just accept bad races. It happens, and sometimes it happens at the biggest event of the year. That’s tough and it’s mostly about having fun. So as long as you don’t get too down on yourself, you can just move on and learn from it.”

Men’s 10 k Freestyle

The men had the now-traditional distance podium sweep by Norway, although it is the first time it has happened here.

Martin Kirkeberg Mørk won in 22:52, a full 26 seconds clear of Lars Agnar Hjelmeset. Tuesday’s 20km winner Jonas Vika was 43 seconds back, part of a second ahead of France’s Gaspard Rousset and six seconds clear of 8th place.

The top North American was Whistler product Joe Davies in 13th at 1:04. Davies represents Great Britain, but still received huge support from the local volunteers. Wearing the Stars and Stripes, Gus Schumacher was 14th at 1:06, Zanden McMullen was 15th at 1:08, John Steele Hagenbuch was 19th at 1:16. and JC Schoonmaker was 29th at 1:43. For maple leaf-wearing Canadians, Rémi Drolet and Max Hollman tied for 23rd at 1:33, Sasha Masson was 32nd at 1:46, and Erikson Moore was 41st at 2:26.

The field was distinctly clumped, with many skiers only a couple seconds from better placings. This may sound easy from the sofa, but a look at the bodies lying in the finish pen makes it clear that skiers were giving it everything already.

Kirkeberg Mørk

The day: “My day today is superb. It’s a quite tough course, you have to hold a little bit off on the hardest climbs, and then go fast on the easier terrain. Especially on the first lap, and then on the second lap, if you did that, you can push hard. And that’s what I did.”

The course: “I like it very much. A lot of the second gear [one skate/V2], and I’m good at that. It’s a good Olympic course.”

Agnar Hjelmeset

The day: “Yeah, today it was really fun to ski. It was tough, but the conditions and the course here is very good. You just have to be a warrior out here.”

The course: “The course is really fun, a lot of uphills, and a lot of technical downhills. The conditions are very good.”

Pacing: “I don’t know, go fast everywhere and push. You just have to be a warrior and push.”

Vika

The day: “It was quite tricky conditions to be skating. The snow was like, it was hard to stand safe on one ski. I felt my calves starting to cramp up, I had to loosen my shoes halfway. I think I’m third, I hope I became third.”

The course: “The course is super tough, it’s harder in skate than in classic. I felt on the classic you could relax on the downhills, but here you had to work all the time.”

Comparing courses: “Back home, we have so many different tracks. This, it definitely could be a track in Norway, it’s really high standard, the courses are wide and it’s easy to ski fast. It’s fair for everyone.”

Davies

The day: “It was okay. Definitely felt a little bit fatigued. Not quite the race I was hoping to feel, but it went all right.”

The course: “I like the course, I don’t know if I had it in me today. It’s a course that requires a lot of fitness.”

Pacing advice from a local: “Ideally, it’s best if you can control the middle of hills, not get too greedy on those, and really gain time over the top and on the gradual, flattish climbs.”

U23 Championships at home: “It’s cool. It’s really nice that there’s so many people coming out to cheer that I’ve grown up with, or just skied with my whole life.”

Lesson learned this week: “I’ve learned that my fitness is good, but sometimes the mental game can get in the way.”

McMullen

The day: “It was good. It’s a really hard race. As a team, we decided the best way to race it is to take it conservative the first lap. I was getting some splits, I was pretty far back, but I had in the back of my head not to freak out about that. I was hoping for a little more time, but overall pretty happy.”

The course: “It’s hard, I really enjoy it. It’s pretty deceiving, you think you’re going to get some rest on the second half of the course, the last 2k, but you’ve got to work all of that downhill and flat. There’s very little recovery on this course.”

Lesson learned this week: “I gotta get a little more fit. I’m coming out of the championships motivated as per usual. I’ve got one more year of U23’s, so I’m excited.”

Hagenbuch

The day: “Not great. I was trying hard, and I think the Americans were fighting the skis a little bit. I was pushing far inside on that first downhill after the fast steep pitch and slid out a bit. I’m happy with the effort, it’s hard racing out here.”

The course: “It’s a great course, I didn’t have the legs to push the hills the way I wanted to, but it’s still fun.”

Lesson learned this week: “I’ve had the big push of racing I’ve been doing catch up to me a little bit. It will be nice to get back and do a little bit of training, and hopefully get back into shape.”

Drolet

The day: “I think it was not very good. It felt like I didn’t have anything to give today. No matter how much I tried, I started going one pace and couldn’t go any faster.”

Lesson learned this week: “That preparation is really key. I haven’t had the greatest preparation for a lot of the season. I have had better races here than earlier, but the preparation still was there. I need to be better prepared because everyone at these events is really strong and it takes your best shape to complete.”

Studying theoretical physics at Harvard while training: “I’ve been at school a lot of the year. School is good, I’m enjoying it a lot. I’m maybe falling a bit behind these couple weeks [Tour de Ski, Trials in PG, Whistler]. Overall, I’m enjoying it a lot, and really happy where I’m at with that.”

Hollman

The day: “It was good. I woke up this morning, kind of scraped it together. The skis were amazing, absolutely rockets today. Shout out to the wax team for sending those out.”

The course: “It’s a hard course, you’re never going to feel amazing on it.”

Differences from last March at nationals: “The corners are definitely nicer, because you can actually get an edge, they’re not just pure ice into slush, that was super nice, you could really rip down it.”

Lesson learned this week: “This week? I need to do more volume before these races, that’s my big takeaway from this.”

Schoonmaker

The day: “It was good. I didn’t have the best body feeling day, but I executed everything I had, and I’m happy with the performance overall.”

The course: “It’s a hard course. I knew it was going to be hard, but it ended up being harder that I even thought. I got to the top of the first climb and I was just almost already shot from there. It’s fun, a flowy course.”

TV commentators say you are only a sprinter: “I would say it’s true right now. I’m definitely better at sprinting than distance. It’s definitely something that I want to change. I want to get better at distance skiing and hopefully, it’s coming along.”

Lesson learned this week: “I’ve learned we have a kick ass bunch of American juniors and U23’s. We had the best week, lots of energy, and I’m really excited for the future, for everyone here.”

Masson

The day: “It was not bad. The techs did an amazing job with the skis, we really had some rockets out there. I think personally I’m missing a little bit of energy. I think I drained myself in the last two weekends in Prince George and Whistler, but really motivates me for next year to be in top, top shape.”

The course: “This course is deadly. It’s one of the hardest courses that there is out there. You have so little recovery and you really have to place yourself to not blow up.”

Lesson learned this week: “I learned that we have a lot of work to do. We’re very much there, we just need a little bit more detail in training. I’ve learned a lot from this week, and going on to next year, I’m really motivated to get there.”

Results, live timing, and livestream/saved video are here at the event website. Keep scrolling to on the livestream page for older videos.

Day five of racing at Whistler Olympic Park delivered with an interval start 10km free technique race in great conditions and intermittent sunshine. The tracks were fast and almost silky, the corners held up all day, the glide was exceptional, and (if anyone cared to classic on a great skating day) VR45 was magic.

Early on, North American skiers spent quality time in the leader’s chair before the top ranked skiers took over. Norway put four skiers on the podium today, somewhat to the surprise of their head coach.
“Beyond all expectations,” Kristian Dahl said. “We didn’t think about all these medals.”

Like many countries here, Norway sees this Junior Worlds as a development opportunity first. Reflecting this, our coverage will quickly go through the podiums and then get into the North American experience.

Norway’s Milla Grosberghaugen Andreasson collected her third medal and second gold today, winning in 26:55. Her US-based teammate Tuva Anine Brusveen-Jensen was six second back in second while Switzerland’s Marina Kaelin got her country’s first medal of the week at 15 seconds back.

For the US, it was Samantha Smith in sixth at 41 seconds back, Haley Brewster in 10th at 1:16, Hattie Barker in 14th at 1:38, and Nina Schamberger in 36th at 2:40.

For Canada, Alison Mackie was 15th at 1:34, Alexandra Luxmoore was 29th at 2:30, Marlie Molinaro was 39th at 3:19, and Maeve Macleod was 44th at 3:48.

There were 60 finishers and one DNF. There isn’t much an author can add about individual start races; here are the athletes words instead.

Grosberghaugen Andreasson

The day: “It was really good, but it was a tough race. I had to fight the whole race, I felt a little tired in the legs but the head was on fire today.”

The course: “It’s a very hard course, but I like a hard course so it was good for me.”

Visiting Canada: “Gold, gold, silver, so that’s good.”

Brusveen-Jensen

The day: “It was tough, but first of all it was good. I felt I pushed everything and did what I could, so it was good.”

The course: “For me, it was to start tough. It’s a long uphill in the start, everybody gets tired. You just have to have the motivation and stay positive. And keep the speed high.”

Visiting Canada: “Canada is amazing. The nature and everything around the stadium. It’s always sunny here. The course is so nice. We live in Whistler, and it’s very nice there too.”

Kaelin

The day: “I was really surprised with the good weather and the nice conditions, because yesterday the slopes were pretty slow and well it was a little harder to ski. It was surprisingly good and I thought it might be a good day.”

Visiting Canada: “I’m really proud to win a medal for Switzerland and it’s so cool to be here on the Olympic tracks. It’s also my first time in America and Canada, and it’s really, really cool.”

Smith

The day: “Very challenging. I’m hoping my time holds up, but we’re waiting for the fastest skiers to come in.”

The course: “I felt pretty good, I think I started out a little too hard. Second lap I was hurting a lot. It was a ton of fun, and certainly difficult.”

Lesson learned this week: “Just try your hardest out there, you can’t control what the other racers are doing. As long as you put your best foot forward, that’s all you can do.”

Brewster

The chair: “It was awesome [sitting in the leader’s chair], and really nice tagging off with Heidi Barker. Definitely a little awkward with that camera pointing in your face.”

The day: “It was good. I’m happy with it. Really fun to have all your teammates cheering who are done racing for the week. And my dad came out which is really special to have him here.”

Lesson learned this week: “There’s a lot of stuff to work on. Strength and speed, a lot of strength, a lot of these girls are really strong out here.”

Barker

The day: “It was amazing. I’m so thankful to have this opportunity. The course was really hard but really fun and it’s a beautiful day of skiing.”

Lesson learned this week: “It’s a really good team to be part of, and you ski your best when you are surrounded by friends and family, and a really good community.”

Mackie

The day: “It was really rough. It was a really, really hard course. A really hard race, but I did a good job of focussing on my technique and my race plan and I think I executed it quite well.”

Lesson learned this week: “This is my third international start and I really surprised myself with how I can compete with the best juniors in the world.”

Luxmoore

The day: “It was super fun, nice warm weather, the course was awesome, the skis were fast. I think I had a good race, I felt pretty strong.”

Lesson learned this week: “I had a great experience racing with people from other countries. I had fun skiing with people who are the fastest in the world.”

Molinaro

The day: “It was okay. The course is super hard, there’s a huge climb out the stadium, obviously that’s hard. Lots of pushing, trying to make up time on the flats, that was my goal out there today. I think I did a good job on that.”

Racing at home: “I grew up in Whistler, so these are the home trails and it’s super cool to be racing World Juniors here. The weather all week has been gorgeous, because lots of the time it’s pouring rain in Whistler, so I’m super stoked that everyone gets to experience nice weather.”

Lesson learned this week: “It’s been super cool to see all the other skiers from all the other countries and how fast and strong they are. Also, my own teammates, we’ve have some really good results.”

McLeod

The day: “It was super good. It’s a tough course out there, you’ve got to work hard all the time, but the skis were super killer, so thank you waxers, the skis were amazingly fast.”

Lesson learned this week: “It’s so inspiring seeing all these super strong skiers. There’s just so much of a journey from here, you can always go harder. It’s pretty inspiring.”

For the men, it was another two Norwegians on the podium but Finland’s Nico Anttola took the win in 23:35. Lars Heggen was second at 6 seconds back, followed by Thomas Linnebo Mollestad at 7 seconds.

For the US, Jack Lange was 11th at 47 seconds, Adrik Kraftson was 30th at 1:48, Anders Weiss was 33rd at 2:00, and Jack Conde was 51st at 2:46.

For Canada, Xav McKeever was 28th at 1:43, Luke Allen was 31st at 1:56, Garrett Siever was 54th at 2:59, and Noah Weir Chaba was 57th at 3:16.

Anttola

The day: “It was very good. I had very good skis. The staff has been working really, really hard and I’m glad the skis was good, and the day was awesome.”

The course: “The course was very tough, but I think it’s good for me.”

Comparing this course to European ones: “I think this is one of the toughest ones, it’s very hard.”

Heggen

The day: “It was good, really nice conditions in the slope, really good.”

The course: “I like the course very much. It’s pretty good, but fun and very nice course. I’m from Lillehammer, and it’s pretty much the same as Lillehammer, really tough.”

Visiting Canada again: “Yeah probably. But when I come back, I ski downhill.”

Linnebo Mollestad

The day: “It was great. The form was good, I had really good skis, and I think I had a very good opening speed and managed to keep it for 10km so I’m really happy.”

The course: “I think it’s a great course. It has some long uphills, which I like, and also the stadium here is really, really beautiful. In this weather, it’s just great.”

Visiting Canada again: “I hope so. It’s really beautiful here, so I hope they will host some big ski competitions in the future, that would be great.”

Lange

This event is more casual than a World Cup. A journalist can walk up to the leader’s chair and grab an interview before the athlete catches his breath. Raw and unedited.

McKeever

The day: “Yeah, pretty rough today. Just the body was not firing on all cylinders. One of those days you want to forget about.”

The course: “The course was definitely a hard one. A lot of climbing right off the start, for the first 1.5, 2 km, and then some gradual rolling sections where you have to push hard.”

Lesson learned this week: “I’ve learned the extent of how a big championship at home feels. I’ve learned how I react to things, and handle different stresses and self-pressure. I’ve learned some stuff in general in training. Some deeper things for sure, from early in the season and training year that correlate to today’s poor performance. Just a lot to unpack and definitely a lot to learn.”

Kraftson

The day: “It was tough out there. I tried to race a smart race but ended up going out a bit too hard and paid the price towards the end.”

The course: “It was a lot of fun. It’s a lot of climb in the first 2km and rolling downhill for the next, for the most part.”

Lesson learned this week: “Just how fast the world is. That’s my biggest takeaway from the week. We’re trying to put in a bigger summer next year and try to compete with these Europeans.”

Allen

The day: “It was good. Skis were really fast and definitely went out hard on the first lap and lost a bit of energy on the second lap. Super fun course and what a nice day for it.”

Lesson learned this week: “Guys are fast from Europe. Competition is pretty stiff out here. Definitely eye opening to see all these fast guys from international countries coming together.”

Weiss

Direct from the leader’s chair:

Siever

The day: “Honestly, it didn’t go very well. I’ve been dealing with some lower back pain, and I generally didn’t feel good out there.”

Lesson learned this week: “There’s lots of work to do to compete on the world circuit.”

Weir Chaba

Second to the finish line, first into the leader’s chair.

Lesson learned this week: “Gotta be patient. Gotta know what your plan is.”

 

Day four of the Junior Worlds at Whistler Olympic Park brought new weather and more excitement in mass start racing.

The day dawned with a light snowfall at -8C. The wax techs were as secretive as ever, but it was clear at the finish that most athletes were on hard wax. While Norway, Germany, and France owned the podiums, it was also a good day for North American skiers.

Women’s 20 k Classic

The women’s race started fast, with Norway’s Margrethe Bergane animating the race. After the first of four laps, 15 women were skiing together, including USA’s Sydney Palmer-Leger and Canada’s Liliane Gagnon. At the halfway point, Palmer-Leger and Italy’s Martina Di Centa were working together behind a lead group of eight, while Gagnon had been joined in pursuit by teammate Jasmine Lyons and USA’s Novie McCabe.

Bergane continued to push the pace, reducing the lead pack to three in the final lap. Norway’s Kristen Austgulen Fosnæs attacked on the final hill, opening a gap she held to win in 1:01:40.0, 2.3 seconds ahead of Germany’s Lisa Lohmann. Bergane was very happy with third, 7.2 seconds back.

Fosnæs was unable to stop smiling half an hour after adding a gold medal to her sprint silver on Sunday.

“It’s unbelievable,” she exclaimed. “This is getting better and better. I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“I felt like it was really hard from the start, Margrethe she put up some really fast speeds. I tried to lay back and save some power to the end.”

Fosnæs liked everything today, laughing with joy: “I love [the course], I love being in Canada.”

Lohmann was also smiling. “My day was simply perfect, because I won a silver medal.”

“My tactic was to follow the Norwegian guys, it was a good plan to not be in the front.”

Bergane was on a different plan: “I tried to go fast from the start and I’m happy with the bronze.”

“The two other girls, they were very strong in the finish.”

Bergane was happy, but picked the Alpe Cermis stage of the Tour de Ski as her favourite race this year. Because it was fun? “Yeah, it was hard.”

The battle for top North American wasn’t really a fight, as US and Canadian skiers worked together to pick off skiers who had pushed too hard following Bergane.

“I had an incredible day,” Palmer-Leger said. “I was right in the lead pack, top ten from the start, stayed relaxed and up there the full time.”

After Bergane put in a concerted effort that reduced the lead group to eight, Palmer-Leger and Di Centa worked together to chase. Palmer-Leger led the flats with her better glide and Di Centa led the climbs with better kick before Palmer-Leger won the double pole sprint for 8th at 1:25.9 behind.

“I’m a first year U23, I’m only 20 years old, I didn’t have any expectations,” Palmer-Leger told FasterSkier during her cooldown ski. “I just wanted to go out there, go hard, enjoy the race. That’s what I did, and it was a pretty incredible day.”

The next North Americans were Canadians Gagnon in 12th at 1:40.7 and Lyons in 13th at 1:48.2.

“It was a slower start, got caught up in there, but then made my way up, slowing catching up to those other groups,” Gagnon said. “I definitely tried to be more chill in the beginning, keep the technique good, try to catch my breath in the downhills, and it really paid off the the last lap, I was able to push to 12th place.”

“I’m definitely pleased,” Lyons said of her 13th place. “We had super-great skis from our wax techs, they’ve been working so insanely hard all week. I got to work with my teammate Liliane.”

“The grinding double pole sections are pretty hard. We skied with so many North Americans, we tried to match each other’s rhythms and work as a team to catch some people ahead.”

Asked about skiing with Gagnon for much of the race, Lyons said “Definitely working together, exchanging the lead. We’re great friends, definitely working together.”

Lyons and Gagnon will continue to work together as they are both headed to Planica for senior World Championships.

McCabe finished 14th at 2:01.6, and was visibly disappointed with her day. She was working with the group, but was short of grip later in the race, causing her to yoyo off the back.

Canada’s Emilia Wells was 27th in her first international race, 4:20.9 back.

“It’s being an amazing experience, being part of Team Canada,” Wells said. “All the coaches and staff are amazing, and the races have been so much fun.”

Teammate Anna Parent was 30th, a little ahead of USA’s Anabel Needham in 33rd.

“It was kind of hard, my first mass start at a big event,” Needham said. “There was a point where I just wanted to finish the race. I’m happy I stuck with it, and I really liked my coke feed.”

Like so many athletes here, Wells, Parent, and Needham were here to gain experience. Judging by the enthusiasm of their coaches, they are getting it.

Sophia Laukli, who started with bib 2 to match her ranking, was one of five who did not finish the demanding course.

Men’s 20 k Classic

The men’s race was also animated by racers who didn’t want to sprint at the finish. Early in the second 5km lap, Gus Schumacher and Zanden McMullen were leading side by side into the long climb. On the final lap, it was a group of 11, with Switzerland’s Nicola Wigger and Cla-Ursin Nufer pushing the pace with help from Schumacher.

In the final kilometre, it was Norway’s Jonas Vika who attacked up Hermodt’s hill and entered the stadium with a gap. Norway’s Edvard Sandvik closed the gap to 1.3 seconds with Julien Arnaud collecting the first medal for France at 3.6 behind. Two packs of four sprinted for the minor places.

In an interview that is completely inaudible due to wildly celebrating Norwegians, Vika was very happy, described a Norwegian plan to keep the pace fast but save energy for the final hill, and admitted to practising the right hand turn into the stadium where he spectacularly saved a bad line choice in Sunday’s sprint.

“I had a nice day today, sadly second behind this guy,” Sandvik said, pointing to Vika beside him. “but I’m happy.”

“We figured that there was no breakaway [coming], so the last two laps were save energy and move cheap around the pack,” Sandvik explained. “I missed a bit of the start of the last sprint uphill and Vika got a good lead and it was all about the second place.”

The European athletes are much more experienced with working in larger packs in deeper fields, and it showed today.

“To take the third place was just fantastic,” Arnaud said, “and I am very happy to share that with my teammates and coaches who make incredible wax on my skis.”

His tactics were simple: “I just follow the first place … I want to put all I have in the last kilometres.”

Schumacher was in the next group of four, finishing seventh at 6.3 seconds.

“I got to start in bib 3, which is nice compared to 30 on the World Cup,” he told FasterSkier at the finish. “The start was pretty chill, the hills were solidly hard every time, but [the group] stayed together.”

“My skis were really fast, so I knew I could give up a little time on the top and just ski back through. The Swiss guys put a big push towards the top, strung it out a bit, but again it came back together. Positioning down those last hills was pretty big and I thought I did a good job of finding a spot, but I didn’t have enough kick in the end.”

“I’m happy with it, it was really fun to ski at the front and not just, like World Cup, where I stay on the line the whole time. That’s what I remember loving about racing, the tactics, and being able to keep your head out there.”

The top Canadian was Whistler’s own Joe Davies at 46.5 seconds back in 15th. Unfortunately, he was representing Great Britain. More on him Friday when he skis his favourite format on the trails he grew up on.

Rémi Drolet was dropped on the third lap, hanging on for 17th at 1:18.5, just ahead of McMullen.

“I made a couple of mistakes in the first few laps that cost me energy,” Drolet said. “You had to be a little bit lucky to be in the right position, or position yourself, and I wasn’t quite able to do that. It was a good learning experience.”

“I was definitely starting to slip a little bit,” Drolet said of the last two laps. “I’m not sure if it was the skis or I was just getting tired and having trouble skiing them properly.”

“I definitely blew up there, trying to chase the lead pack. Overall, I had pretty good skis today. If the body was there, they were good enough have a result.”

Drolet raced his first Tour de Ski this season. “A good experience overall. I did get pretty sick once I got there. I think it’s on the mend now, and this race felt better than previous ones this year, and I’m optimistic that there will be more good races to come.”

“It was rough,” McMullen said. “I had higher hopes, shooting for the top ten, but I just didn’t have it when the pack made that move.”

From there, it was John Steel Hagenbuch in 23rd at 1:38.2 back, then Max Hollman in 25th, Luke Jager in 33rd and Erikson Moore in 40th out of 58 finishers.

Canada’s Sasha Masson had a good ski despite a crash: “First lap felt really good and then coming out of the feed zone, got caught up with some skiers and went head over heels. Did a little front flip and got back on skis, tried to reconnect.”

Masson did not get a good result as he was disqualified later, possibly for skiing outside the v boards just after the start. The coaches from Canada, USA, Norway, and Chile have all been emphasizing that this a development event, with learning the priority, and here is just one example of an extra lesson.

The event page has more links, including the full results for the eight days. Update: The livestream videos are not disappearing after a day, they simply move to the very bottom of the page under ‘rewatch the action’.