SkiTrax Feb/March 2016

February/March 2016

TOUR DE SKI Double U.S. Podiums

WORLD CUP

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

ROMANTIC INNS Great Hideaways

SALOMON PROLINK New System – Test Report Official publication of

$4.95

Plus

NorAm Worlds Trials U.S. Champs Crowned

w w w. s k i t r a x . c o m

k pro tal

Registration Number 9875 Agreement Number 1372521 Printed in Canada

Kikkan Randall Andy Newell

CONTENTS February/March 2016 Volume 26, Issue 3

24

28

COMPETITION

FEATURE 8

32

Salomon’s New Prolink System – Test Report

by Katy Demong and Drew Goldsack

20

by Lex Treinen

34

Club Profile: Tellluride Nordic Association

by Lisa Evans

24 28

36

Romantic Inns

by Lisa Evans

36

PRO TALK High Voltage by Kikkan Randall Killer Instinct by Andy Newell February/March 2016

Nordic Focus/Salomon

Comp International: USA Shines Young Canadian Skiers Debut

by Julie Melanson and Lex Treinen

Tour de Ski: Double U.S. Podiums

Jessie Diggins earned her second World Cup podium and anchored the U.S.A. to record silver in the women’s 4x5km Relay at Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

Comp Canada: NorAm and Junior/U23 Nordic Worlds Trials

by Julie Melanson

by Lex Treinen

14 16

2016 U.S. Nationals: New Champions Crowned

Tour de Ski Double U.S. Podiums

World Cup

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

romANTiC iNNS Great Hideaways

SAlomoN lAuNCh New Prolink System Official publication of

$4.95

SKI TIPS

COLUMNS

42 43 44

8 22 23 45 46

Technique by Keith Nicol Tele Technique by J. Scott McGee Waxworx

by Jack Cook and Patrick Moore

Out In Front Backcountry by Steven Threndyle Masters by J.D. Downing Graves on Nordic by Peter Graves Sasseville Report by Jack Sasseville

Plus

NorAm Worlds Trials u.S. Champs Crowned

w w w. s k i t r a x . c o m

pro talk

Registration Number 9875 Agreement Number 1372521 Printed in Canada

SkiTrax Feb-Mar 2016.indd 1

kikkan randall Andy Newell

3/11/16 5:57 PM

SkiTrax, a division of 1198189 Ontario Inc., is published 4 times each season: Annual, December/Holiday, February/March and Spring, at 260 Spadina Ave., #200, Toronto, ON M5T 2E4. Advertising rates/data are available on request: Phone (416) 977-2100; Fax (416) 977-9200, or write to the address above.The entire contents are the property of SkiTrax Magazine and may not be reprinted or reproduced, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher. Unsolicited material or contributions are welcome, but must be accompanied by return postage. SkiTrax Magazine will handle all such material with reasonable care; however, it assumes no responsibility for the safety, loss of, or damage to such photographs or manuscripts. 2nd Class Publications Mail Registration #9875, paid at 969 Eastern Ave., Toronto, ON M4L 1A5. If undeliverable or address changed, please notify: 260 Spadina Ave., #200, Toronto, ON M5T 2E4. U.S. Office of Publication: 240 Portage Road, PO Box 670-25, Lewiston, NY, 14092. Periodicals postage paid at Niagara Falls, NY. 2nd Class U.S. Publications, USPS Registration #012177. Return all undeliverable mail to: SkiTrax Magazine, PO Box 553, Niagara Falls, NY 14304.

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FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 3

publisher/editor Benjamin Sadavoy international correspondent Peter Graves contributors Jack Cook, Katy Demong, J.D. Downing, Lisa Evans, Casper Fenley, Drew Goldsack, Peter Graves, J. Scott McGee, Julie Melanson, Patrick Moore, Andy Newell, Keith Nicol, Kikkan Randall, Jack Sasseville, Steven Threndyle, Lex Treinen photographers Sarah Brunson, CXC/Mary Kozloski, Bill de Alva, Diana Diaconu, Martin Kaiser, Don Landwehrle, Shayne Lynn Photography, Krystal Moulton, MWC2015, Heather Nicol, Nordic Focus, Paintbox Lodge, Kikkan Randall, Selko Photos, Ski Jumping Canada, Stowe Mountain Lodge, Switchback Entertainment, Bob Tucker Collection, U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly, Wakefield Mill Hotel graphic design Wendy Pease copy editing Claudia Brown administration & circulation Crystal Burs production CrackerJack Enterprises webmaster David Irving advertising sales Benjamin Sadavoy editorial office 260 Spadina Ave., #200, Toronto, ON M5T 2E4 Phone: (416) 977-2100; Fax: (416) 977-9200 subscriptions (2015/16) Newsstand (plus 13% HST) ......................................... $4.95 Annual (plus 13% HST) ............................................... $5.95 1 yr. (4 issues) Canada.......................................$14.95 CDN 1 yr. (4 issues) USA ..............................................$17.95 US 2 yr. (8 issues) Canada.......................................$25.95 CDN 2 yr. (8 issues) USA ..............................................$32.95 US International Subscribers: US$34.95 (1-yr); US$62.95 (2-yr) customer service Phone: (416) 977-2100; Fax: (416) 977-9200 info@skitrax.com subscriptions@skitrax.com official magazine of Cross Country Canada

NEWS ON DEMAND skitrax.com pedalmag.com

United States Ski Association

member of

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program and the Canada Magazine Fund toward our mailing and editorial costs.

Printed in Canada, Issued Feb/Mar 2016 4 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

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OVER 120 KM OF GROOMED XC SKIING. BANFFLAKELOUISE.COM/CROSS-COUNTRY-SKI

Nordic Focus

KICK The U.S.A.’s Sophie Caldwell (l) out-lunges Norway’s Heidi Weng in Obertsdorf, Germany at the 2016 Tour de Ski, becoming the first U.S. skier ever to win a Classic sprint World Cup and the second American woman to win an xc ski World Cup. 6 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

www.skitrax.com

Every Picture Tells a Story

One look at this fabulous photo of American Sophie Caldwell (l) edging out Norway’s Heidi Weng for World Cup Classic sprint gold in Obertsdorf, Germany at the Tour de Ski or the dynamite cover shot of Jessie Diggins crossing the line in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic to claim a best-ever World Cup silver for the U.S. women’s relay squad stops me in my tracks with genuine admiration. Kudos to the talented photographers at Nordic Focus for capturing truly magical moments in time and to the skiers for delivering exceptional performances, brought to life again in the wink of an eye. What makes these photos even more poignant is that both athletes made history, with Caldwell becoming the first U.S. skier to win a Classic sprint and, with Diggins anchoring the women’s relay squad, they upped their career-best bronze to silver – bravo! Indeed, every picture tells a story. – BAS www.skitrax.com

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 7

out in front

Salomon Launches New Prolink System – Test Report

Salomon

by Katy Demong and Drew Goldsack

The Canadian debut for Salomon’s new Prolink system was held at the legendary Canmore Nordic Centre.

S

alomon recently hosted two product-launch events in North America to officially announce its new and much-anticipated Prolink binding system. On Jan. 6, the U.S. debut was held at Jeremy Ranch near Salt Lake City, Utah in conjunction with the Outdoor Retailer’s winter show, while the Canadian debut was held at the Canmore Nordic Centre on Jan. 11-12. SkiTrax was on hand for both launches.

In what may be one of the most important Nordic-equipment releases in decades, the new Prolink system makes Salomon compatible with NNN for the first time and visa versa, and looks to be the first step in ending the long-standing Salomon versus Rottefella binding battle that has been waged for decades in the cross-country-ski market.

“This is such an exciting time and a new era for us,” said Isaac Wilson, Salomon U.S.A.’s Nordic commercial manager. “We’d like to change the conversation going forward from ‘What system are you on?’ to ‘What is the best fit for you and what technology are you looking for.’ In this way, we feel the consumer will now be able to win.”

Nicolas Stamos, one of the head sales managers for Salomon International, was on hand at both events to field questions from retailers and to help present the new Prolink system.

“We understand that we’ve only been speaking to a portion of the market when launching a new product, and we’d like to create new opportunities,” Wilson continued, noting that Salomon, once the dominant market leader, currently has approximately 30% of the market share in areas such as the East Coast or some Western states.

Rottefella’s new NIS system for NNN was launched in 2005, fueling the binding battle, and the market split became more apparent when Fischer, the leader for Nordic skis, made the switch to NNN in 2007.

This development has led to patent concerns on the NNN system.

Salomon maintains it has not infringed on any intellectual property rights with the development of its Prolink system, which it claims is based on publicly available technology. Yet in a Jan. 5 press release, Rottefella AS sent written notice to Amer Sports Norway AS (Salomon’s parent company) that states it intends to take legal action regarding the “Prolink” system, claiming “illegally copying Rottefella, and … in violation of marketing laws” – a situation that SkiTrax will continue to monitor.

Now to the test. The new Prolink binding was super-easy to step

8 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

Salomon’s renowned SNS system (l) and new Prolink system that’s compatible with Rottefella’s NNN

into and very easy to open/close, feeling solid and precise. The boot/ binding/ski combo felt very connected, with excellent stability and great feel on snow. It did take a few kilometres to get used to the mounting point that Salomon uses, which is slightly back of the balance point of the ski, causing the tips to drag when you’re not used to it. However, Salomon says that using this mount point helps accelerate the ski when weight is shifted onto it, and we quickly got used to the slight difference in ski position.

As expected, the Prolink system works great, as this isn’t Salomon’s first rodeo, so it was time to really put things to the test with the Prolink boots and jump on a pair of Fischer Speedmax skis with NIS Xcelerator bindings. The Salomon Prolink boots engaged with the Xcelerator binding seamlessly and without hesitation. The feeling was great and somewhat nostalgic, cruising around on Fischer skis and Salomon boots. From the first stride, everything felt comfortable and stable, including the renowned fit and feel of Salomon Skate boots.

Next it was time to test a pair of Alpina Skate boots with Salomon skis and the Prolink bindings. Again, the Alpina boots engaged with ease, and after a few strides, there was a hint of having met for the first time. Another nuance was that the Salomon skis somehow felt slower with this set-up, and this was still the case with a Salomon Prolink boot on one foot and an Alpina boot on the other to compare. It may have been the specific flex of the skis and the pressures on it from the boot, along with the conditions that day – tough to say in the short window of test time. To be clear, these were subtleties that most skiers would likely not notice, or would simply get used to after some time.

One of the final tests for the new Prolink Skate bindings was a comparison to the SNS Pilot Skate bindings. Many diehard Salomon fans are adamant that the Pilot system offers more ski control for skating. In a head-to-head test with an S-Lab boot, the difference between SNS Pilot and the Prolink binding was imperceptible. The only real giveaway is that the Pilot system sits higher off the ski. When you consider the weight savings of 260g for a pair of top-of-the-line Salomon Pilot Carbon RS bindings versus 215g for a pair of Prolink Carbon Skate bindings (claimed by Salomon to include screws), it was hard to come Continued on page 15 www.skitrax.com

GREAT CROSS COUNTRY SKIING AND SO MUCH MORE ! Â

Flights to Mont-Tremblant via Toronto

mont-tremblant.ca

out in front

Krystal Moulton

Frankowski and Treinen Win Second Annual Qaniq Challenge – $10,000 [US] Prize Purse

The Qaniq Challenge has the highest payout of any race in North America except for the American Birkebeiner.

E

lite racer Rosie Frankowski of APUNSC took the win in the women’s overall at the second annual Qaniq Challenge on Jan. 16-17 in Valdez, Alaska, besting Olympian Holly Brooks by nearly a minute and a half, while her teammate Lex Treinen won for the second straight year over Tyler Kornfield.

Frankowski, who made a last-minute decision to fly to Anchorage from Minneapolis to try to win the $3,000 payout as the top finisher, said the decision was worth it and not just because of the money.

“Valdez reminds me of Minnesota,” Frankowski said. “All the trees and the water remind me of the lakes at home – minus a few big mountains.” The Qaniq Challenge has the highest payout of any race in North America except for the American Birkebeiner.

Unlike last year, when unusually low snowfall forced race organizers to shorten the first day’s Interval-Start Classic race, this year’s 2016 course included the steep and technical Skyline Loop hills on the Mineral Creek trail system, right outside of Valdez. Men’s third-place finisher Paul “PK” Kovacs compared the descent to “Red Bull Crashed Ice” events because of the winding, crowded, ice-covered corners, and the women’s third-place finisher Lauren Fritz called it an “emotional rollercoaster.” The descent saw men’s second-place finisher Kornfield crash twice, while Frankowski, on the other hand, had no problems with the downhills.

“Snowplowing is one of my strengths,” she said.

Treinen won the first day by only 17 seconds, while Frankowski dominated the women’s by 1:17.

The 20-kilometre race ended with approximately 10 kilometres of high-speed double-poling that hair-pinned at an isthmus overlooking the Valdez port. “It was one of the few times in a race where I looked up and looked around,” said Kovacs of the scenic view.

10 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

Turin 2006 Samples Retested The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Jan. 6 that it has retested almost 500 samples from the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games using updated techniques to potentially detect cheaters who slipped through the cracks 10 years ago.

While there has been no news yet of any positive tests found, the IOC has the power to strip results and award medals retroactively.

Samples from Turin were already retested in 2014, leading to a positive finding (steroids) for Estonian cross-country skier Kristina Smigun-Vahi, a double-gold winner in Turin (10km CL, 15km Skiathlon). Smigun-Vahi is contesting the findings. She also won silver at the Vancouver Games in 2010.

The second day’s Mass-Start freestyle races were held just outside of Valdez. Frankowski led a group of men and Brooks, her main rival in the overall standings, for much of the flat, narrow course. “My aerodynamics would have been helped by being behind somebody,” she admitted. Nonetheless, she was just narrowly beaten by Brooks on Day Two, and maintained her overall lead. Last year’s runner-up, Fritz, who, like Brooks, returned from the Tour of China three days before the first Qaniq race, credited her Chinese banana chips with giving her the energy needed to hold on to third place. When asked whether the $3,000 was the largest payout for an hour and a half of work, Frankowski quipped, “It depends if you are talking about legal or illegal work.”

Treinen for his part stayed behind Kornfield for most of the race, making a few long pulls at the front because, in his words, “I didn’t want it to be too boring.” The lead pack of Treinen, Kornfield, Kovacs and Dylan Watts stayed together until the last 500 metres, when Treinen overcame Kornfield for the win. “Tyler didn’t really have many options,” said Treinen of his tactics on the second day. “It was very easy to draft.”

This year for the first time, awards were given to the top local men and women racers, with $500 in local gift certificates going to Ben Stolen and Sarah Histand. A total of just 35 racers started, some of whom were non-paying high-school athletes.

For more information, visit www.qaniqchallenge. com. – CF

Marit Bjoergen is a Mom Legendary Norwegian cross-country-ski star Marit Bjoergen, 36, received a special present on Dec. 26, a new baby boy.

“He is the loveliest little baby, and we are so proud parents,” said Bjoergen, who announced her pregnancy back in June.

“Marit and our newborn son are doing well,” said Fred Boerre Lundberg, 46, the boy’s father and father to a child from a previous relationship. The boy’s name is Marius Bjoergen Lundberg.

Bjoergen is the second Norwegian to recently have a child, as her teammate and sprint star Ola Vigen Hatte­stad had a son with Slovenian girlfriend Katja Visnar, also a top cross-country skier.

More announcements are in the offing, as Finland’s Aino-Kaisa Saarinen and U.S. star Kikkan Randall are both pregnant as well.

Bjoergen is a six-time Olympic champion with 14 World Championships and 90+ World Cup victories to her name, making her the overall record-holder for both women and men.

This past season, Bjoergen became the first athlete to capture all three World Cup crystal globes – overall, distance and sprint – twice in her career.

Qaniq Challenge 2016 Jan. 16-17 - Valdez, Alaska Women 1. Rosie Frankowski (APUNSC); 2. Holly Brooks (APUNSC); 3. Lauren Fritz (APUNSC); Men Lex Treinen (APUNSC); 2. Tyler Kornfield (APUNSC); 3. Paul Kovacs (AUS).

Resorts (OHR) announced in January that it has acquired The Omni Mount Washington Resort (OMWR), home to the Omni Mount Washington Hotel and Bretton Woods, New Hampshire’s largest ski area and Continued on page 12

Omni Hotels and Resorts Announces Acquisition of the Omni Mount Washington Resort Omni Hotels and

www.skitrax.com

Gatineau

MARCH 1

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THE WORLD’S ELITE WILL BE IN GATINEAU ON MARCH 1ST DURING THE FIS CROSS-COUNTRY WORLD CUP! THE FIRST LEG OF THIS HISTORIC TOUR

© Nordic Focus

NOT TO BE MISSED!

MARCH

© Ville de Gatineau

© Bernard Pigeon

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1st MARtiCnHeau Ga

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1 – March

Come see the Canadian athletes in action, including Alex Harvey and enjoy the festivities on site!

MARCH 2l

Montréa

skitourcanada.com MARCH 1

TO

12, 2016

OFFICIAL FIS WORLD CUP SPONSORS

PUBLIC & TOURISM PARTNERS

FEDERATIONS

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Gatinea

12, 201

Watch for it on Sunday, February 28!

Arrival of the Canadian team and the Opening Ceremony.

5 MARCHec4-

9-11-12 MARCH 8- re Canmo

Ski Tour Canada 2016 – Gatineau will top off five days of celebration of cross-country skiing in the Outaouais on the heels of the previous weekend’s 38th edition of the Gatineau Loppet, the Canadian leg of the Worldloppet, and the biggest gathering of cross-country skiers in Canada.

1

TO

MAJOR PARTNER

AN EVENT ORGANIZED BY

out in front

FIS World Cup Crystal Globes

Continued from page 10

USSA Partners with Buff In Jan-

H

WADA’S Independent Commission Report Part II Released On Jan. 14, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) released Part II of its Independent Commission (IC)’s Report into allegations of systemic doping.

On Nov. 9, 2015, the IC’s Report Part I was released. The IC is presided over

by Canadian Dick Pound; one of the two members, Professor Richard H. McLaren, is also Canadian.

The IC’s mandate was extended

by WADA in August 2015 following the release of the documentary titled “Doping – Top Secret: The Shadowy World of Athletics,” which contained new allegations regarding 12 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

Kikkan Randall (USA)

overall Sprint Cup in 2012, which she defended for the next two consecutive seasons. Norway’s Marit Bjoergen is the first skier to win all three Globes – overall, distance, sprint – twice in her career.

The production time of each World Cup trophy spans two days, with each Globe being formed out of a 1,200° mass of glowing molten glass, which is then shaped by expert glassblowers into the raw form of what will become the beautiful trophy.

Though identical in design, the small and big trophies differ in weight – 3.2kg small trophy and 7.4kg large trophy – and value (CHF 2’500 per small trophy and CHF 5’000 per large trophy). To date, more than 1,700 World Cup Globes have been produced.

widespread doping in international athletics. German TV network ARD and The Sunday Times obtained a leaked database belonging to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that contained more than 12,000 blood tests from 5,000 athletes in the years 2001-2012.

The 89-page Part II Report was widely expected to shift the spotlight away from Russia and to look at other countries accused of systemic doping. Instead, Part II mentions Russia 138 times, Turkey 24 times, China is mentioned twice and Kenya only once.

Despite allegations that cycling, swimming, weightlifting and winter sports are also affected, cycling and skiing are not even mentioned in the IC’s Part II Report. Instead, all recommendations specifically mention the IAAF; no other international sports bodies are named in the recommendations.

Great Glen Trails to Host Largest Youth XC Ski Festival in U.S.A. The largest youth Nordic ski festival in the U.S.A., New England’s Bill Koch League Festival (BKLF), will be hosted by Great Glen Trails on March 5-6. The BKLF is the marquee event of the New England Nordic Ski Asso-

ciation’s Youth Ski League, attracting pre-school through eighth-grade participants from New England, the Northeast and Canada.

The Festival is named after the U.S.A.’s only Olympic cross-countryski medalist, Bill Koch, who won silver in the 30km at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Games. The Bill Koch League has since been introducing youth to cross-country skiing. Koch, now 60, will be at the Festival with his own son, Will.

The Festival rotates annually between Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Last year’s Festival was held in Chittenden, Vt. Great Glen Trails last hosted the event in 2012, attracting 625 youth plus their entourage.

Saturday’s on-snow events include two-person relay races using the Classic technique, games on skis, an obstacle course and more. Great Glen’s daily offerings of snowtubing and the Trails Tracker character hunt are also available for youth on both weekend days. The evening wraps up with a pasta dinner.

Sue Wemyss is the festival director, and can be reached at 603-4662333 or sue@greatglentrails.com, with more information at www. bklfestival.com.

Nordic Focus

Marit Bjoergen (NOR)

istory will be made at Ski Tour Canada 2016 as the fabled Crystal Globes will be awarded outside of Europe for the first time to the overall FIS World Cup series winners as the season wraps in Canmore, Alta. on March 12.

The first World Cup Globe was produced in 1987 and the prestigious trophies have been manufactured solely for International Ski Federation by the JOSKA company in Bodemais, Germany. Globes will be awarded to the best overall, top distance and top sprint skiers, and during the competitions at Ski Tour Canada, the current leaders of each discipline will wear special yellow or red bibs.

The U.S.A.’s Kikkan Randall was the first North American to win a Crystal Globe for capturing the one of the largest Nordic touring centers in New England. The luxury hotel brand has been managing the OMWR since Sept. 2009.

As part of the sale, OHR acquired the Omni Mount Washington Hotel, the Omni Bretton Arms Inn, Bretton Woods Ski Area and Nordic Centers, the Lodge at Bretton Woods, Mount Washington and Mount Pleasant golf courses, as well as 500 acres for future expansion and development.

The OMWR is located at the base of Mount Washington; at 6,288 feet, it is the highest peak in the Northeast. Call 1-800-The-Omni.

Nordic Focus

Nordic Focus

Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR)

uary, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) announced a partnership with Buff, Inc., a subsidiary of the parent company that is headquartered in Spain. Buff is the creator of versatile performance headwear for snow and outdoor enthusiasts. A new collection features the logos and colours of the USSA teams. This USSA Collection includes five technical Buff products, and a portion of sales from this licensed collection goes to the USSA and supports winter athletes.

The USSA Collection consists of a U.S. Ski Team Polar Buff, a U.S. Snowboarding Flake Tech Fleece Bandana and three UV Buff styles featuring a unique design for all three brands.

Buff® is the original multifunctional headwear brand, having premiered and innovated the tubular headwear category with brands such as COOLMAX®, Polygeine®, Polartec® and 100% Merino wool Buff®. These products are sold in more than 70 countries and in top U.S. sporting retailers.

Cascade Crest Nordic 50km FR Marathon and Relay The Mount Bachelor Nordic Center has revamped the Cascade Crest Nordic events to include an inaugural 50km freestyle marathon as well as a 4x12.5km skate relay. Now known as the Cascade Crest Nordic Ski Marathon and Relay, all races take place on Saturday, March 12 at the Mount Bachelor Nordic Center near Bend, Ore. Also included at this year’s event are 10km and 25km skate races for beginners and other racers.

Routed along the trails of the Mount Bachelor Nordic Center and U.S. Forest Service land in the shadow of Broken Top Mountain, the course runs on and around Dutchman Flat and Todd Lake before re-entering the Mount Bachelor Nordic Center Trail Network at Rich’s Range. The course is 12.5 kilometres in distance (10 kilometres cut off for beginners) and will be skied four times for the 50km and twice for the 25km. This year’s course will provide breathtaking views and a festive race venue. A demo day will follow on Sunday.

For more information, go to www. mtbachelor.com/event/cascade-crest or call 541-693-0909. www.skitrax.com

America’s Nordic community supporting America’s developing Nordic athletes

Get involved at nationalnordicfoundation.org

high voltage

by Kikkan Randall

photos courtesy of Kikkan Randall

The Pregnancy Experience

A

fter the Olympics in Sochi, I knew that I wanted to keep ski racing, but was not ready to wait another four years to start a family. So my husband and I did some strategic planning and decided the 2015-16 season would be the best time to take some time off from racing to have a baby and then return to racing for the 2017 World Championships and 2018 Olympics. It seems some other women on the World Cup circuit had similar ideas.

In the planning and preparation phase before I got pregnant, I tried to learn as much as I could about guidelines for training while pregnant and what other Elite female athletes had done during their pregnancies. It wasn’t easy to find information, especially about Elite Nordic skiers, but I was able to collect enough advice from healthcare professionals and find bits and pieces of stories from some top-level runners. The recommendations all confirmed that it was considered safe to maintain the same level of training the athlete was accustomed to before the pregnancy, but not to increase the level or intensity. All types of training were permissible. All sources emphasized the importance of listening to your body.

The first month I was pregnant, I didn’t even know it. I was training as usual for the upcoming race season and attending a vigorous training camp in Sweden and Norway, complete with a four-races-in-threedays series at the end of the camp. On the eve before the first race, I had an inkling that I might be pregnant, so I called my doctor back home. She assured me that if I was indeed pregnant, racing should have no negative consequences and she wished me luck. I completed the four races, actually felt pretty strong and notched a few decent results. It was exciting to learn on returning home after the camp that I was already four weeks along.

I immediately shared the news with my coach and we decided to shift the goals for my training. Goal No. 1 was to have a healthy baby, and goal No. 2 was to maintain as much fitness as possible without compromising goal No. 1. We decided to reduce my volume slightly and dial back my intensity training to a shorter duration of aerobic threshold intervals. During the first trimester, I experienced some extra fatigue and some queasiness, but only ended up giving up on training one day. Most days, I felt better after training, and I was able to maintain pretty normal heart rates and speeds. I was still able to participate in most of our US National Team camp in Park City, Utah toward the end of the first trimester. It took me a little bit to adjust to getting slower every week while everyone else was getting faster, but mostly I was just excited to still be a part of the team.

Coming into the second trimester, I got the awesome boost of energy that everyone talks about. I was able to settle into a good training rhythm at home and was training twice a day most days. While the conditions were good, I continued skiing, running, biking and working on strength. When the weather took a nasty turn toward the end of the November, I moved my training inside and kept cranking: treadmill, spin bike, SkiErg, ExerGenie and swimming. I kept a flexible mindset, doing the training that fit my energy levels and safe conditions. I also let myself be open to other opportunities beyond training, which I normally can’t afford to do. It was hard to be watching the races from the sidelines, but also refreshing to be able to fit in more family time,

14 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

(above) Randall (r) and her skiing buddy Aino-Kaisa Saarinen from Finland, who is also pregnant. (left) Randall in the weight room happy to keep active and fit while “getting so excited for the baby to come in April.”

some advocacy work for the team, work for my sponsors and a few fun activities, too. Even with some flexibility, I still managed to train a fair amount, and by the end of month six, I was feeling pretty strong.

Now that I’ve entered the third trimester, my belly is definitely starting to grow and there is no denying I’m pregnant! However, skiing continues to feel good and I’ve added in some running time on the Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill to keep touch with my normal pre-pregnancy running pace. The strength work also continues to go well, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how my core is still feeling strong and intact. At this point, I am incredibly satisfied with the amount of training I’ve been able to accomplish so far, and from now until the baby comes, I am ready to play it by ear and fit in what I can. Although my pace has slowed and my training clothes are getting tight, I am happy to be able to continue being active every day and am getting so excited for the baby to come in April.

With just a couple of months to go now, I find myself reflecting both on my career thus far, as well as the exciting changes that are coming in the near future with a new baby in our lives. As a fierce competitor at heart, it’s been challenging to sit out the season. Yet, I think this year away from the same routine I’ve had for the past 18 years might end up being the best thing for my return to racing next season. There is no doubt working my way back into racing form will be tough, but I am feeling refreshed and inspired and can’t wait for the next chapter of my life to start.

www.skitrax.com

out in front backcountry

by Steve Threndyle

CMH Summer, G. Unterasinger

Via Ferrata The New Cool in Backcountry

Continued from page 8 up with a good reason to choose the Pilot system over the Prolink.

So is this the beginning of the end for SNS? Jack Cook of Fast Trax Run and Ski Shop in Edmonton, Alta. doesn’t necessarily think so: “If you were to ski on both systems, the new Prolink seems to be the better system when it comes down to ski feel, but when you factor in stability, the SNS system still seems to provide better support in terms of step turns, stepping in and out of the track and herringbone,” said Cook.

Classic gear was up next, and thewhen Prolink Classic boots he mountains don’t disappear theSalomon snow melts and backand bindings awlessly, once again, we were impressed countryworked skiers flstore theirand gear for the summer.

Spring rains with how the boot felt to the the ski. winter Compared to NNN, the andconnected summer heat can eradicate snowpack within feel of the Classic wasavery similar, savelandscape for the cushier, weeks, even days,Prolink revealing sublime alpine that’sslightly transsofter of the Salomon Classic formedfeeling from blinding white toS-Lab brilliant green.boots, which are great for comfort fit. For racing, some like us willmountain prefer a tourism, stiffer feel and Over and the past half-century of commercial there’s more direct feedback withappreciation the ski for aof raw racing effect. a much greater what the mountains of Westbecome with thecan Skate testing, we tried thebasis.

Salomon Prolink Classic boots ernAs Canada offer on a year-round Using the same helicopon of Fischer Carbonlite Classic skis for withheli-skiing NIS Xcelerator bindtersa itpair operates during the winter months vacations, ings.

The integration was seamless the a Salomon boots at Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH)and offers relatively newfelt (forright North home on the NNN/Fischer set-up.

Next Alpina Classic boots were America) mountain experience – the viaup, ferrata. paired S-Labwas Classic and World ProlinkWar bindings.

As with Thewith verySalomon’s first via ferrata builtskis during I to transport the Skate combo, the over boots engaged and functioned well,Ausbut the Dolomiteeasily Mountains and down into Italian soldiers up and with a hint of that rst dance.” it’s nothing that refers wouldto prevent tria. Translated as“fi “iron road” orAgain, “iron way,” via ferrata cables,a skier fromrungs usingand this bridges combo, but notdrilled as seamless pairing as the ladders, thatjust were into thearock to hasten other troop combinations movement up tested. sheer vertical limestone-cliff faces. After the war, Finally compared the Salomon boots/bindings with hikers andwe mountaineers began to useSNS the Classic same routes for recreationthe Salomon Prolink Classic boots/bindings. It only took a few strides al purposes. to be reminded of the benefi ts of the guide NNN boot/binding feel for Classic Carl Trescher is the assistant at CMH’s Bobbie Burns skiing.

Salomon SNS Classic boot/binding combo performs, He was part of a team of CMH guides who traveled to Italybut to Lodge.The learn how to properly construct a viaforferrata. the nod goes to the Prolink system Classic skiing – great news for “Many our the wereboots, from but the are Alps and were those who of love theguides fit and at feel of time Salomon looking for a already familiar with various better feel on Classic skis. via-ferrata routes. The process took severalIt’syears complete here in the Canada. thing, Prolink it was challengalsotoworth noting that fit of For the one Salomon boots is ing to findtothe perfect mountain. routes in Europe go identical Salomon’s SNS line ofMany boots.via-ferrata The only difference being the not directly to aProlink summit.bindings We wanted make straight up rock faces, but external sole – Prolink or SNS. The new will to use the sure that our clients could getastothe theSNS top bindings. of a mountain.

We needsame mounting-hole pattern This is analso important ed a peak that was accessible throughout our entire summer season, detail because along with all of the binding-system hype, Salomon and also where it would bethat easy badnow weather in sudhas announced alltoofretreat its newfrom skisifwill comemoves from the facdenly, as it can do the mountains.” tory pre-drilled for in bindings.

The factory will determine the optimum Thatposition peak isof known as Mount Nimbus, and despite the knife-edge mount the binding based on the characteristics of the ski summit its best-known feature is a 60-metre-long cable bridge and thenridge, drill the holes accordingly. thatThis spans yawning chasm of aconvenient raging mountain river. “We willthe make it much more for retailers as built well the as ferrata in two he says. “You either do a is halfor full-day trip customers to stages,” mount bindings, as nocan more drilling required.

Simply – the latter takes about screw seven ithours, of ready time for choose your binding, downwith andplenty you’re tololling rock. about, Those enjoyingtothe scenery.” wishing switch over to the Prolink system can simply remove their old Crossing via ferrata is a set bit like zip-lining (indeed, CMHany hasaddisevbindings andthe mount up a new of Prolink bindings without the Boberal zip-lines in the rugged terrain between the Bugaboos and tional drilling required – good news for retailers and consumers alike. bieAlso Burns) and climbing ladder.confi While walking across to rumoured, but nota 100% rmed (we were toldthe bybridge Salomon the summit appears challenging, it’s 100% safeSkate due that it’s 95%ridge likely),ofisNimbus that next year’s new top-of-the-line Carbon to a boots dual back-up thatdifferent attaches a full-body an Lab will comesystem with two sets of lugs forharness the sole,toone overhead cable. for SNS and one for Prolink, allowing the consumer both options for Trescher admits that boot “it’s may” butpotentially virtually everyone whoand knocks binding systems in one and to swap back forth Nimbus off between thetheir two.CMH bucket list is thrilled with the experience. is a If climbing Mount you, the Conrad Salomon has madeNimbus a bold isn’t moveforwith the release of Adventure its new Prolink spectacular dayit’shike that follows a creek flowing from of theofConsystem, which hoping will mean a resurgence in the toe number Sarad Glacier. theme ‘water andperhaps ice.’ You’re hiking lomon boots“The and main products outofonthe thetrip skiistrails while putting to rightthe nextbinding-platform to waterfalls, andbattle thereonce are these quartz-flecked slabs rest and smooth, for all. For more information, where the receding glacier has polished the rocks in brilliant yellows and visit www.salomon.com.

T

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Heli hikers on Mount Nimbus

golds. We even take people up to an aquamarine pond that’s warm enough to swim in during the summer months. The via ferrata is an ideal adventure for people who might not have the time to take a full-on mountaineering course. We’ve found that it really opens up the scope of mountain adventure to a much broader number of people.”

US Dealer Inquiries: heli-hiking experience, however, is a six-day traverse The ultimateinfo@sisusports.com that combines three days of climbing and trekking at Bobbie Burns, but 800-993-5706 then crosses over to the Dealer Bugaboos Lodge via the spectacular Grizzly Canadian Inquiries: Ridge. “We useinfo@diamondheadsports.com the helicopter to access high alpine terrain above the 866-938-9409 • 604-905-8599 lodge, and people can hike for as long as they want,” says Trescher.

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killer instinct

by Andy Newell

Sprint Racing Rule Changes

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omething many cross-country-skiing fans and TV viewers are probably unaware of this season is that some of the new rules put in place for sprint racing have definitely added a new dimension to race-day tactics. The two major rule changes this year are 1) a new heat-selection process after qualification and 2) a yellow-card infraction for a false start in a sprint. Now, believe it or not, these two very different rules have a lot more in common than you might think, and hopefully I can provide some insight into how it is affecting the World Cup athletes.

Since the days of the first sprint races, a skier’s qualifying time determined which heat the skier would race in. This qualification placement determined which of five quarterfinal heats the skier would be in, as well as which lane choice the skier would get at the start line. It all seemed pretty simple at the time. If you qualify first, you are in the first heat with skiers 10, 11, 20, 21 and 30.

This approach was simple because there was no decision-making to be done on behalf of the athlete. Initially, there was some kind of math equation involved that concluded a bracket system such as this was the fairest way to split up the top-30 skiers, trying to separate

the top-five fastest qualifiers so that they were each in their own heat.

After years of using this method, more and more research came out showing that it was, in fact, not a particularly fair way to separate the top-30 sprinters especially for the second- and third-fastest qualifiers stuck in the bottom half of the bracket. The primary limiting factor for these skiers was a shortened recovery time before the final.

The studies showed that skiers who came from the top of the bracket and the first semifinal were 80% more likely to be on the podium because of this extra five minutes of recovery before the final. This essentially made it more likely for the 10th-place qualifier to be on the podium than the second or third qualifier. To fix this problem, last season the International Ski Federation tested out a “choose your own heat” system in order to fill the brackets for the heats, and it put the new rule in place for the entire 2015-2016 season.

I have to admit that initially athletes and coaches were a little bit skeptical about the new change, thinking it would just add additional stress and confusion to an already long race day. However, after we learned to use the new system, it has added much more control over the athlete’s path to the podium. Of course, if you have qualified in the high 20’s, you won’t have too many options to choose from, but for the top-15 qualifiers, there is more personal accountability. Does it miraculously make it any easier to get through to the always tight quarterfinals? Definitely not, but depending on athletes’ strengths, it can allow them to implement a different strategy on the day.

The first obvious advantage is for any type of team tactic. You can either choose a heat your teammate is in so that you can push one another, or stay clear of the heat to create different scenarios for the team to advance. If you are one of the top-15 skiers to choose, you can position yourself in the top half of the bracket for more recovery time, but also risk a severely stacked heat. There are always tradeoffs. One major factor, especially for the women’s heats (which tend

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Nordic Focus

New sprint rules have added a new dimension to race-day tactics in addition to teaching old dogs new tricks.

to string out more), is that skiers can opt to choose a heat with a few top sprinters, knowing their likelihood for a Lucky-Loser position with a top-four finish is greatly increased.

This has been a major strategy in both men’s and women’s heats because, in general, we are seeing the first two quarterfinals stack up with more top sprinters than under the old formula, increasing the

likelihood of Lucky-Loser spots from those two heats. With that being the case, it can often leave the fourth and fifth heats more open, with slightly less competitive quarterfinals, so we have been seeing some skiers opt for the opposite strategy, depending on their goals for the day. When skiers are more focused on scoring a top-10 finish (and a podium finish is more of an afterthought), they might try to position themselves in one of the bottom-bracket heats for a better chance of advancing.

In the end, it still comes down to capitalizing on your heat, skiing to your strengths and knowing, no matter what, it’s going to be a fun, tough battle to the final. These changes were primarily introduced with the concern of recovery time in mind, which brings us to the second rule change of false starts.

In the past, the first false start by any skier in a heat simply resulted in a warning. The second false start in that heat had more consequences, but the first one was basically a “gimme” under the old rules. What became an issue, believe it or not, was that typically in the finals skiers would false start on purpose in order to buy themselves a few more recovery minutes. This was a strategy employed by many skiers if they had come from the bottom bracket and needed a few more minutes to catch their breath before the final.

Now with the new yellow-card rule, if a skier false starts in any heat, in any race, it’s a yellow card that will remain in place for the entire season. Two yellow cards can result in a disqualification, so essentially two false starts during the season and you will get a disqualification. This is making racers much more cautious at the line, with good reason. Although these changes seemed a bit drastic when first enforced, the World Cup has adopted them and racing continues on more smoothly and with fair competition. Although these rules are not yet implemented on the domestic circuits, look for them to adopt the changes in the years to come.

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clubs

by Lisa Evans

Telluride Nordic Association

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arrive at the premier ski area, the Telluride Nordic Association began offering memberships to individual supporters. The Association currently has more than 100 paid members. The majority are individual or family members who pay $150 a year, but for those who want to give a little more, the Association also offers tiered memberships. A Bronze membership is $500 a year, Silver is $750 and a Gold membership is $1,000. These higher-level memberships provide all access passes to educational clinics offered by the Telluride Nordic Center.

The tiered-membership structure was offered “to encourage higher level contributions for those who can afford it,” says Bill de Alva, board treasurer. “If it weren’t for those high-level contributions, there’s no way we could do everything that we do and provide the quality of groomed trails that we do,” says de Alva.

Telluride Nordic Association grooms approximately 10 kilometres of trails at Priest Lake and another 12 kilometres of trails at Trout Lake.

De Alva says the Priest Lake trails are the most interesting in the region. With a good mix of beginner to advanced trails and many intersections that force skiers to double back on some connectors to ski the entire system, the 10 kilometres of trails feel more like 12 kilometres. “There are no big long straightaways, so it keeps your attention going all the time,” says de Alva. Trout Lake also has an interesting network of trails. Located at a higher elevation than Priest Lake, the 20 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

Bill de Alva

Bill de Alva

Bill de Alva

Bill de Alva

elluride, Colo. proclaims itself America’s Greatest Ski Town, and with great reason. The area was recently named No. 1 in scenery by Ski Magazine, and with 300 days of sunshine each year, Telluride is consistently ranked among the top-destination ski resorts. Although this small, remote town is well known for its ski hills, it also has a very active Nordic association.

Formed in 1990 to encourage public participation in cross-country skiing in the Telluride region, the Telluride Nordic Association has been providing education-enhancement opportunities to individuals of all ages and abilities. Although Nordic ski trails have existed in the region since the mid-1970’s, the absence of an association meant trails were not well-groomed.

To make Nordic skiing more attractive to locals and guests who

(top) Skate skier at Priest Lake that features some of the most interesting trails in the region. (above l-r) The annual Butch Cassidy Ski Chase; Grooming the 12km of trails at Trout Lake; Butch Cassidy kid’s race

Trout Lake trails are the first to open in November and still have snow in May, oftentimes into early June.

Telluride Nordic Association has been instrumental in ensuring the existence of these groomed trails in the region. One trail system it is particularly proud of is the Valley Floor, an area comprised of 15 kilometres of groomed trails adjacent to the town of Telluride.

Telluride Nordic Association also hosts the Butch Cassidy Ski Chase, a Nordic equipment swap and provides lessons, clinics, tours, rentals and youth programs through the Nordic Center in Town Park.

Since the area of Telluride attracts many visiting skiers who don’t always purchase memberships, the Association has placed donation boxes at trailheads and suggests a $15 donation for day use, though de Alva admits trailside donations are small in comparison to what The Telluride Nordic Association is received through memberP.O. Box 1784, Telluride, CO, 81435 ships, demonstrating the imporwww.telluridetrails.org tance of consistent supporters to 970-728-1144 the region’s Nordic community.

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Canmore

MARCH 8, 9, 11, 12

Come cheer with us as Canmore hosts the final legs of the Ski Tour Canada 2016 and the final races of the FIS World Cup season!

skitourcanada.com MARCH 1 TO 12, 2016

backcountry

by Steven Threndyle

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ost backcountry skiers and mountain enthusiasts go to the hills to escape the trappings of everyday life – commuter traffic, too tiny inner-city apartments, jobs that demand 24/7 attention – the list goes on. A week-long break in the Selkirks or Purcells or Rocky mountain ranges or even in Alaska put us all back in touch with our most elemental selves.

Paradoxically though, mountain folk actually do like to socialize with each other, and are remarkably integrated into our everyday society. Lawyers, doctors, accountants, even real estate developers and backhoe operators – indeed, you never quite know what the person you might be sharing an Alpine Club of Canada hut does for a living.

What’s striking about the encounters, however, is that backcountry skiers and mountain-culture lovers share similar tribal interests, and those interests are now manifesting themselves in a variety of festivals that occur throughout the year.

First and foremost are the mountain-film festivals. In the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, the Banff Mountain Film Festival takes place in early November and serves as the perfect “in-between season” event. Days are short and the snowpack and ice routes are usually meager, so outdoor enthusiasts can hunker down for a week and feast their eyes on visual presentations from all over the world. Virtually every top climber in the world, from Tommy Caldwell (known for his ascent of Yosemite’s Dawn Wall) to Walter Bonatti, has presented at Banff. Decades before there was such a thing as a TED Talk, there were the Banff mountain lectures held in late autumn. In fact, the Festival’s popularity goes well beyond its Rocky Mountain roots.

Banff was not the first mountain-film festival, but it is the best-known due to the strength of its world tour. The extremely popular “Best of Banff” tour takes award-winning and other notable selections from each year’s competition (keep in mind that film festivals are actually juried competitions, with prizes being awarded in a variety of different categories). This tour, sponsored by such heavyweights as National Geographic and The North Face, ventures to many countries and spreads the message of mountain culture far and wide.

Many other notable festivals gather the backcountry tribes in various “peak-y” locales around North America. Eastern European climber Alan Formanek moved to Vancouver, B.C. in 1996 and started showing less commercial, more artistic fare than the Banff and other festivals were presenting. The Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival has just wrapped up its 19th

Switchback Entertainment

Mountain Festivals Explode in Popularity Still photos from Mike Douglas’ movie Snowman – a mountain-film fest favourite.

year, and brought mountaineering luminaries such as Kevin Jorgeson and Lynn Hill to the Festival, while screening creative films such as Mike Douglas’ Snowman, based on a real-life helicopter crash in the Coast Mountains.

The IF3 Festival in Montreal, Que. celebrates freestyle and powder skiing, while Colorado’s Telluride Mountainfest is North America’s longest-running extravaganza dedicated to mountain adventure. Internationally, there is the Kendal Mountain Festival (United Kingdom), the Trento (Italy) and others in Poland, Slovenia, Argentina, Austria and Switzerland.

For backcountry enthusiasts looking for something a little more hands-on, there are festivals and seminars where you can learn new skills and share information for a relatively cheap price. In B.C.’s Kootenays, the Coldsmoke Festival is now in its 10th year. Originally sponsored by Arc’teryx Equipment Inc., Coldsmoke truly defines “tribal gathering,” as people gather from throughout B.C. and Washington State to learn about the latest trends in avalanche safety and backcountry travel.

Perhaps the most exciting festivals are two new ones that have just appeared in the past two B.C. winters. In Revelstoke/Rogers Pass, the Canuck Splitfest is dedicated to using split snowboards (ones that detach and become “skis” for climbing uphill, and then re-attach for the ride back down) to explore the backcountry. It’s been a very well-received local event, which is no surprise given the rabid core of ski mountaineers who live in the Revelstoke area.

Last winter, Ross Berg of Whistler’s Altus Mountain Guides organized the very first Winterstoke Backcountry Ski Festival, which emphasized safe, effective mountain travel throughout the Coast Range and the Sea to Sky Corridor.

With B.C. courses happening in Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton, participants are able to cover a wide range of locales and examine new routes and ways of seeing a region that has become world-famous for split-boarding in the past dozen years.

At their best, mountain festivals celebrate everything we love about nature and the people with whom we share those adventures. If you feel the need to experience what mountain culture is all about, don’t miss any of these tremendously life-affirming events.

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masters

by J.D. Downing

Masters Need to Know Every Effort Counts arlier this season, several incidents in the Pacific Northwest caused me to reflect on how many times each ski season Masters skiers have the chance to either move our sport forward or take it several steps back. Increasingly, I have to admit I’m worried that we are seeing far too much of the latter and not enough of the former. I’d like to help change that.

Last year, I dedicated an entire column to Masters becoming proactive instead of complacent when it comes to big-picture issues such as climate change and cross-country-ski resiliency in an increasingly complex world. I still firmly believe we all need to become really creative and very involved in these way-bigger-than-just-cross-country issues so as to have a chance to prevent our sport from muddling on through the coming years. But this season, I’d like to also advocate that Masters become much more knowledgeable about things closer to home.

Let’s start with ski areas. There are many Masters skiers around the world who do not bother to learn much, if anything, about the actual management or operations at the places they ski. I’m not just talking about casual skiers who go out a couple times a winter; I’m talking about hardcore Masters who ski triple-digit days each winter.

You get into a conversation about, say, grooming, and all you tend to hear is how horrible the grooming is at one place and how wonderful the grooming is somewhere else. But what you almost never hear is an objective evaluation of the particular challenges versus opportunities that different ski areas face. Snow and weather, economic realities, management control, and so on all play a vital role in the daily end product we see as skiers.

What I’d like to see is more Masters actually taking the time to learn something about the unique equation their local ski areas face each winter. Buy your local ski-area manager a hot or cold beverage and just sit down to chat – preferably in the late season when skiing activity has quieted down. Or better yet, suggest that the ski area offer a late-fall public presentation overview on its operations. Quite recently, I’ve seen a couple of talks about cross-country grooming very well attended, proving that Masters are interested in these topics.

Developing a broader understanding goes beyond ski areas to ski retailers, ski-education programs, race organizations and regional/national/international associations. I’m not saying every Masters skier needs to be a 365/24/7 expert on all things cross-country. But I do believe that taking the time to learn even just a little bit more about everything we can in our sport makes a powerful difference to the good.

Regarding retailers, as a customer, it can really help if you understand the paper-thin margins of cross-country sales worldwide. Everyone loves a good deal, but a knowledgeable Masters skier understands that the only way to can get a great price on new skis is actively helping the cross-country industry to sell more new skis to new customers. If we take the position that it’s someone else’s problem to sell ski gear, then we’ll get the continuing contraction and consolidation of the industry that hurts grassroots development and product innovation worldwide. Conversely, when I just occasionally talk up the benefits I see with this or that piece of gear, I’ll help people and

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MWC2015 Syktyvkar, Russia

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Regional/national/international associations unquestionably need more Masters to care enough to find out more because you can make a difference.

businesses from the local to international level that ultimately pay my efforts forward by making our sport stronger.

In the same vein, if we take the time to really understand local, regional and national ski-education organizations, we can much better decide where, when, and how our time, money and other resources are best allocated. I’m on roughly 100 ski-related mailing lists, and in the last couple months of each year, I am urged to donate money to literally every one of these entities. In my case, what’s particularly funny is that I’m also out there, hat in hand, for several ski organizations myself!

Taking the time and making the effort to become more knowledgeable allow more Masters to make a grounded decision when it comes to how to allocate resources. You’ll make better decisions regarding which battles to pick when issues come up. Knowledge also allows you to become actively involved when consolidation and greater cooperation with different groups is the smart thing to do.

With race organization, basic knowledge that provides constructive feedback is the gold-medal standard for a racer, versus a scenario where a racer just whines and complains. Once again, if you take the time and make the effort, you’ll learn why decisions are being made. You’ll also discover the areas where your input will produce better outcomes in the future. When it comes to racing, volunteering is often the best way to become educated. With winter as short as it is, sometimes you just need ask some questions and obtain some background before you launch into your latest “this is what they should be doing” thesis.

Finally, regional/national/international associations unquestionably need more Masters to care enough to find out more. Since I’m leading both entities now, I’d like to think that both the U.S.A. Masters association – American XC Skiers – and the World Masters XC Ski Association do at least a decent job at providing good information to any skier who pays attention. But it always helps when skiers themselves are actively seeking more knowledge about what their representative groups are doing on their behalf.

We have a wonderful sport, yet it can only stay that way if every Masters skier makes even a small effort to keep our future bright and snowy.

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 23

ROMANTIC

by Lisa Evans

Stowe Mountain Lodge Located in Vermont at the base of Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak, Stowe Mountain Lodge is a 300-room ski, golf and spa hotel. Delivering service found only at the world’s most distinguished resorts, with the relaxed warmth that is distinctly New England, Stowe Mountain Lodge is highly coveted as a location for a romantic stay.

Stowe Mountain Resort’s Cross Country Ski Center offers 45 kilometres of groomed trails and 30 kilometres of backcountry terrain. A full range of Nordic gear is available for rent, including Performance-Skate-ski and Classic-ski packages.

After a day of skiing, rejuvenate in Stowe Mountain Lodge’s 21,000-square-foot spa and wellness centre. The facility offers therapeu24 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

Don Landwehrle

Stowe Mountain Lodge

Stowe Mountain Lodge

Skiing side-by-side is surely a great way to spend a day with your sweetheart, but if you’re looking to add some more romance to your ski trip, try one of these romantic destinations.

These ski escapes provide the perfect atmosphere to celebrate an anniversary, enjoy a honeymoon or simply escape the stressors of daily life.

tic facials, massages and signature body treatments, a private water sanctuary with a herbal-steam chamber, Jacuzzi soaking pool, dry sauna and cooling rain-shower. Harmony rooms equipped with reclining “SO” sound chairs allow music to resonate through the body, reducing stress, relieving pain and promoting better sleep.

After you’ve eased your tired muscles, enjoy a romantic meal at Solstice, Stowe Mountain Lodge’s upscale-dining restaurant, or for a more casual atmosphere, dine in the Hourglass Lodge.

Each guestroom at Stowe Mountain Lodge reflects the natural beauty of New England. Oversized windows allow you to take in the breathtaking mountain views and connect with your surroundings, and each other. Some guest suites include a stone-framed fireplace to set the stage for romance. www.skitrax.com

(above) Vermontâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stunning Stowe Mountain Lodge delivers distinct New England warmth for a memorable romantic stay. (left) Rustic Mountain Cabin living room

Shayne Lynn Photography

(facing left) A comfortable and inviting setting with 45km of groomed trails and 30km of backcountry terrain.

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(facing right) Rejuvenate in Stowe Mountain Lodgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 21,000-square-foot spa and wellness centre.

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Address: 5781 Mountain Road, Stowe, VT, 05672 Contact: 888-253-4849 or 802-253-300 Website: www.stowe.com FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 25

The Paintbox Lodge The Paintbox Lodge

Diana Diaconu

Located in the heart of downtown Canmore, Alta., The Paintbox Lodge is an intimate boutique hotel owned by Olympic medalist Sara Renner and her husband, World Cup champion Thomas Grandi. After traveling to many small family-run hotels in Europe during their competitive years, Renner and Grandi wanted to recreate that cozy family feeling in Canmore. Relaxed and welcoming, The Paintbox Lodge is the perfect setting for a romantic weekend surrounded by snow.

Canmore has some of the world’s best Nordic skiing, a vibrant town ambience and stunning scenery. While staring at the stars at night may put you in a romantic mood, you may also find yourself a little starstruck staying at The Paintbox Lodge, as many of the Lodge’s staff are Olympic alumni or hardworking athletes with Olympic aspirations.

Relax in one of the Lodge’s five unique, comfortable suites with down duvets and a romantic fireplace. To set the mood, you can order a Champagne and Prosecco with cheese platter by Mountain Mercato and chocolates from Le Chocolatier.

Socialize with other guests around the harvest table and enjoy a complementary mountain breakfast featuring a frittata or quiche, handmade granola, yogurt, handmade sourdough and, of course, a latte. Want to heat up the kitchen? Sign up for a cooking class in The Paintbox’s gleaming Miele kitchen. You can take a scheduled class or book a private class for you and your partner.

Just the Facts

Address: 629-10th Street, Canmore, AB, T1W 2A2, Canada Contact: 403-609-0482 or 1-888-678-6100, email: info@paintboxlodge.com Website: www.paintboxlodge.com 26 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

The Paintbox Lodge

Paintbox Lodge

(above left) Paintbox owner, legendary Olympic medalist Sara Renner with daughter Aria. (top right) A cozy setting in vibrant Canmore that features some of the world’s best Nordic skiing. (middle right) Relaxed and welcoming, you can sign up for a cooking class in The Paintbox’s gleaming Miele kitchen. (bottom right) The Lodge offers unique and comfortable suites, along with a romantic fireplace. www.skitrax.com

Wakefield Mill Hotel and Spa Located a 25-minute drive from Ottawa, Ont. inside Gatineau Park, the National Capital Region’s conservation park, the Wakefield Mill Hotel and Spa is situated on the doorstep of one of the largest networks of crosscountry-ski trails in North America and provides the perfect backdrop for a romantic adventure. Gatineau Park has more than 200 kilometres of trails that include 100 kilometres of trails shared with Skate skiers and 45 kilometres of backcountry-ski trails.

Stay in one of two buildings: the Heritage Mill built in 1838 or the modern LEED-certified Eco River Lodge, built in 2011. Rooms in the Mill feature exposed heritage-brick walls, original mill flooring and even suites located in the original grain silos. Some rooms have Jacuzzis, and some are equipped with romantic fireplaces and a king-sized bed. The new Eco River Lodge features large picture windows with river views and state(below left) Rooms feature exposed heritage-brick walls, original mill flooring and some have Jacuzzis with romantic fireplaces and a king-sized bed. (below right) Visit the Wakefield’s spa before enjoying a romantic, dinner then relax by their large open-hearth double-sided fireplace.

Just the Facts

Address: 60 Mill Road, Wakefield, QC, Canada, J0X 3G0 Contact: 819-459-1838 Website: www.wakefieldmill.com

photos: Wakefield Mill Hotel

(below bottom) The Wakefield Mill Hotel and Spa is situated on the doorstep of Gatineau Park, with 200km of trails and 45km of backcountry-ski trails.

of-the-art amenities. Park rooms include a generous walk-in shower and queen-sized beds, and the River Grand Room features a king-sized bed, wall fireplace and large soaker tub overlooking the river.

But before retreating to your room, visit Wakefield’s spa and enjoy a couples’ massage or pass by the Mill’s lounge bar and enjoy a drink by the open fire. You can also enjoy free live music on Friday and Saturday nights from 7:00-10:00 p.m.

For a romantic dinner, Wakefield Mill’s fine-dining restaurant, Muse, has one-metre-thick stone walls warmed by a large open-hearth double-sided fireplace and has a glassed-in solarium overlooking the majestic MacLaren Falls.

Before tucking in for the night, take a relaxing soak in one of two outdoor hot tubs under the stars or enjoy a romantic stroll along the river through picturesque Wakefield with its active arts, culture and live-music scene.

www.skitrax.com

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 27

COMP TOUR de SKI

by Lex Treinen

Tour de Ski 2016 Double U.S. Podiums

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Nordic Focus/Salomon

erhaps never before in Tour de Ski’s history has there been such clear favourites as there were going into the start of the 2016 edition. On the women’s side, Therese Johaug had won every distance race to date this season, while Martin Johnsrud Sundby had done the same for the men. Both were weaker in the sprints, but as two-time previous Tour winners, they had proven that it was a weakness they could overcome. For the North Americans, Team Canada’s Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw, Len Valjas and Ivan Babikov had all proven that they were top-10 or even podium contenders, though their early-season results showed they hadn’t yet hit form. American Simi Hamilton, fresh off a second-place World Cup finish, promised to be a threat in the sprints, as did his compatriot Andy Newell, who had scored a fourth place earlier in the season. On the women’s side, the Americans, though missing Kikkan Randall who was taking time off for a pregnancy, showed early-season promise with Sadie Bjornsen, Jessie Diggins and Sophie Caldwell all having scored World Cup top-10’s. (above) Jessie Diggins claimed the U.S. Women’s first distance World Cup stage victory at the Tour, winning the 5km FR Individual-Start at Toblach, Italy. (left) Canada’s Alex Harvey was the top North American man, placing 14th overall. (opposite top left) Therese Johaug (NOR) won her second overall Tour title and her sixth-consecutive “fastest of the day” on the final Alpe Cermis climb. (opposite below) Tour favourite Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) became the first man to win three consecutive Tour de Ski titles.

Nordic Focus

(opposite top right) Sophie Caldwell took home her career-first World Cup win at Obertsdorf, Germany and became the first American to claim a Classic sprint victory.

28 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

Stage One - Lenzerheide, Switzerland - 1.5km Freestyle Sprint The 2016 Tour started out with a skate sprint instead of the usual Prologue.

Italy’s sprint phenom 25-year-old Frederico Pelegrino won the day over Russia’s Sergei Ustiugov and Norway’s Finn Haagen Krogh in third. Pelegrino won the qualification, followed by a suprising second-place finish by Great Britain’s Andrew Young. Hamilton qualified in 13th, but crashed out of his quarterfinal after being boxed out in the final turn. “I think I was just kind of the unlucky one today, but sometimes that’s how it goes and you have to learn how to deal with it,” said Hamilton. Canadians Valjas and Harvey finished just out of the rounds in 31st and 33rd, respectively. On the women’s side, Norway’s Maiken Casperson Falla won the sprint. Caldwell finished fourth after a personal-best second-place qualification. “My legs still felt great going into the second lap, and I was psyched to qualify second – my best qualifier ever!” said Caldwell. “In both my semi and my final, I emphasized having a fast start, and I think that made a huge difference.” Ida Ingemarsdotter (SWE) was second and Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) was third. Sadie Bjornsen was seventh. www.skitrax.com

photos: Nordic Focus

Stage Two - Lenzerheide, Switzerland - 15/30km Classic Mass Start Norway swept the women’s 15km Mass Start, with Johaug in front, followed

by Oestberg and Heidi Weng. Diggins finished 12th, and Sadie Bjornsen finished right behind her in 13th. “I had many highs and lows throughout the race,” said Bjornsen, “sometimes feeling on fire, sometimes dropping off the back of the pack, but I never let myself give up. I had fantastic skis for the second day, and the tracks were holding together really well, so it was the perfect opportunity day.” With Johaug’s 37-second victory, she took over the overall Tour lead.

The Norwegian men were not to be outdone by the women and swept the top four of the podium of the 30km, with Johnsrud Sundby taking the win by 35 seconds ahead of Petter Northug, Didrik Toenseth and Sjur Roethe, in that order. Harvey was the top North American in seventh, winning 15 bonus seconds in the first intermediate sprint along the way. “So at least Martin didn’t win everything,” Harvey was quoted at the finish.

Stage Three - Lenzerheide, Switzerland - 5/10km Freestyle Pursuit Oestberg became the first woman to beat Johaug in a distance race in the 2015-16 season, winning the 5km Freestyle Pursuit. Oestberg caught Johaug despite starting with a 4.5-second handicap and passed her in the final kilometre. Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen finished eighth and ninth, respectively. “This is far and away the best start I’ve ever had in the Tour, and I’m super-psyched! Tour racing is hard with some really awesome girls, so to be able to hold my place is a great confidence-booster,” said Diggins. In the men’s event, race favourite Johnsrud Sundby had no problems keeping the lead, though he had only the 22nd-fastest time of the day. He finished 1:25 ahead of Northug, who had the 29th-fastest stage time. Krogh, meanwhile, moved up to third-place overall with the fastest time of the day. Harvey finished in ninth, and U.S.A.’s Noah Hoffman moved up to 25th with the 17th time of the day. www.skitrax.com

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 29

In the men’s race, Johnsrud Sundby finally showed a touch of humanity and started to fall back in the lead pack at halfway. The opening gave Kazakhstan’s Poltaranin an opening for a sprint victory ahead of Dario Cologna, who got his first podium of the season. Francesco De Fabiani of Italy was third. Harvey was 21st, ahead of Johnsrud Sundby, who finished in 23rd, but still held onto the Tour lead.

Stage Six - Toblach, Italy - 5/10km Freestyle Individual Diggins proved her medal at last year’s World Championships in Falun, Sweden was no fluke, claiming the first distance World Cup stage victory for a U.S. woman winning the 5km FR Individual-Start race by less than a second ahead of a quartet of Norwegians. “Today was just an incredible one for Team USA. It truly takes a village, and we have one heck of a village!

It feels unbelievable to have another World Cup win for our team, and I’m the happiest girl in the world today! My goal was to go out as hard as I could and really work those twisty downhills, and get every second I could out of each inch of the course. And our wax staff has been working so hard, and today my skis were truly the fastest in the world,” said Diggins. In winning, she became the third American to win any race longer than a Prologue and the second American to win a World Cup in three days. Sadie Bjornsen was

(left) The U.S.A.’s Sadie Bjornsen had a top-10 finish on Stage 3 and placed 14th overall as second-best North American woman. (below) Canada’s Devon Kershaw is one of the few skiers who raced at all 10 editions of the now-legendary Tour de Ski. (bottom) The U.S.A.’s Andy Newell, a veteran of the Tour, is still in the hunt for his first podium this season. photos: Nordic Focus

(opposite top) The U.S.A.’s Noah Hoffman earned a career-best 22nd overall.

Canada’s Len Valjas was the top North American placing 10th in the men’s 1.2km CL sprint in Obertsdorf.

Canada’s Ivan Babikov was 11th on the final stage up Alpe Cermis, which he won back in 2009, to finish 29th overall.

Stage Four - Oberstdorf, Germany - 1.2km Classic Sprint In a stunning performance, Caldwell claimed a career-first World Cup win, becoming the first American to claim a Classic victory, besting Weng at the line.

In doing so, she became the third American to ever win a World Cup stage.

After qualifying third, Caldwell stuck on the tails of race-favourite Oestberg until the final downhill, where she used skis she called “clearly some of the best” to glide by the Tour-leading Norwegian. “I was surprised to take the lead from her [Oestberg],” said Caldwell. “My skis were running great, and I think I skied the downhill well, and when I shot by her, I surprised myself.” Caldwell also became the first non-Norwegian to win in the Tour. Oestberg ended in third. U.S.A.’s Ida Sargent finished the day in 15th, and Diggins was 21st after Hannah Falk (SWE) took her out in fateful crash on a tricky downhill section that took down several skiers. Sadie Bjornsen crashed in the qualification and did not advance. On the men’s side, Emil Iverson of Norway got his first World Cup win, besting Russia’s Ustiugov and Kazakhstan’s Alexei Poltaranin. Tour leader Johnsrud Sundby finished fourth for his second-straight sprint-final appearance. Canadian Valjas was the top North American in 10th. “The field is so tight now. The hardest part is qualifying for the heats,” said Valjas. “Once I get in there, that is where I ski better with the group – where I can be more technical and drafting. I just needed the chance to get in there.” Harvey was 15th and Newell was 17th.

Stage Five - Oberstdorf, Germany - 10/15km Classic Mass Start Johaug pushed from the front for almost the entire race, towing the redbibbed Tour leader Oestberg for nine of 10 kilometres. While spectators may have expected the comfortable-looking Oestberg to wait for the final sprint, Johaug’s tenacity got the best of her younger teammate in the end, and she was able to pull away on the final climb. Norway got a top-four sweep, with Weng in third and Haga Ragnhild in fourth. Diggins was the top American in 23rd, followed by Sadie Bjornsen in 26th.

30 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

www.skitrax.com

13th. In the men’s race, Krogh surprised Johnsrud Sundby to take the men’s 10km win by 3.6 seconds. Maurice Magnificat of France was third. Hoffman was the top American in 19th.

Stage Seven - Val di Fiemme, Italy - 10/15km Classic Mass Start Weng of Norway finally nabbed a stage victory, winning the 10km Mass Start by 0.8 seconds over Tour leader Oestberg. Johaug was third for a Norwegian podium sweep. American Sadie Bjornsen was ninth in the penultimate stage.

“It was a really fun race out there today. I struggled with Classic in the middle of this Tour, with a fall in the Classic qualifier, and then slow and slick skis in the Classic Mass Start in Oberstdorf,” said Bjornsen. “It feels nice to be back where I feel like I belong.”

In the men’s event, the unsurprising victory went to Johnsrud Sundby, with second going to his teammate Niklas Dyrhaug. Third went to Kazakhstan’s Poltaranin. Harvey was seventh, just 1.1 seconds from fourth. American Hoffman was 23rd.

Stage Eight - Val di Fiemme, Italy - 9km Hill Climb Pursuit On the women’s side, there was a tighter race from the start, with Oestberg starting 38 seconds up on two-time Tour winner Johaug. Once the race started, however, the drama soon evaporated, as Johaug’s climbing proved too much for her competitors. She won the Tour and the stage by 1:25 over Oestberg. Weng finished third. For the Americans, Diggins capped off a fantastic Tour with a 10th-place overall finish and the 15th-fastest leg time. Sadie Bjornsen slipped from 12th to 14th and Liz Stephen moved up from 25th to 19th in the overall with the third-fastest leg.

“It was a great Tour and a cool one for Team USA with two wins and seven finishers. One of my big goals for the season was to finish the Tour in the top-10, so I made that goal today! That climb is brutally hard and I was in a world of pain, but I had to tell myself to just keep my feet moving,” said Diggins.

The men’s overall win was somewhat of a foregone conclusion, with Johnsrud Sundby starting with a three-minute lead, but he took nothing for granted, and threw down the fastest time of the day. “It has been a perfect Tour for me. I had one bad day. The team has been great. I am happy for me and the whole team. I went for the stage victory and wanted to be fastest today. I am happy I did it and I am really tired,” said the winner. The real drama came behind him, where last year’s overall World Cup sprint winner Krogh threw down the fourth-fastest time of the day in the infamous Alpe Cermis to pass teammate Northug, Russian Ustiugov and Kazakh Classic specialist Poltaranin to claim second-place overall. Ustiugov fell to third with the 13th-fastest stage time. Harvey had the 16th-fastest leg time to finish 14th overall, 6:57 off of Johnsrud Sundby’s time in the overall.

“It was my best climb by far. I didn’t fully remember it from before, and I think I went out a bit too conservative. Both my legs were working really well, so I’m really happy with the day,” said Harvey, who last did Cermis in 2012, before surgery this summer to correct circulation issues in his leg that made it difficult for him on long steep climbs. Babikov posted the 11th-fastest time of the day to squeak into the top-30 and finish 29th overall. Kershaw had the 19th-fastest leg to finish 32nd overall. For the Americans, Hoffman had the 15th-best leg time to finish a career-best 22nd overall, while Erik Bjornsen ended up 41st.

FIS Tour de Ski 2016 Jan. 1-10, 2016 Men 1. Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) 3:47:18.2; 2. Finn Haagen Krogh (NOR) 3:15.7; 3. Sergey Ustiugov (RUS) 3:43.8 CAN/USA 14. Alex Harvey (CAN) 6:57.3; 22.

Noah Hoffman (USA) 10:44.3; 29. Ivan Babikov (CAN) 12:42.2; 32. Devon Kershaw (CAN) 13:47.7; 41. Erik Bjornsen (USA) 17:51.4 Women 1. Therese Johaug (NOR) 2:40:34.8; 2. Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) 2:20.9; 3. Heidi Weng (NOR) 3:13.9 CAN/USA 10. Jessica Diggins (USA) 11:20.4; 14. Sadie Bjornsen (USA) 12:24.1; 19. Elizabeth Stephen (USA) 13:27.8; 32. Rosie Brennan (USA) 20:06.1; 42. Caitlin Gregg (USA) 23:57.6 www.skitrax.com

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 31

COMP USA

•

by Lex Treinen

2016 U.S. Nationals New Champions Crowned

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photos: CXC/Mary Kozloski

nlike last year, when blizzards and temperatures near the International Ski Federation’s legal limit of -20°F made just finishing the races a feat, the 2016 U.S. Nationals in Houghton, Mich. on Jan. 3-9 were blessed with sunshine and mild temperatures. With a strong contingent of Canadians and university skiers in the mix and World Cup starts on the line, the four events saw fast racing across both techniques and disciplines.

Day One: Classic 10/15km Individual - Jan. 3 The racing started off with the men’s 15km Classic, and Alaska Pacific University’s (APU) Scott Patterson showed his recent victory at the Sun Valley USSA Super Tour Classic race was no fluke, winning handily by 20 seconds.

Canadian Kevin Sandau of the Alberta World Cup Academy was second, and Northern Michigan University’s Adam Martin finished third after catching a ride off of Scott Patterson for a large part of the race. “I took every second I could,” said Scott Patterson of his first-ever U.S. Nationals win. Sandau, who said he considered double-poling the race before the start, was 15 seconds back from Scott Patterson at the halfway sprint.

In the women’s race, the Craftsbury Green Racing Project showed impressive form to start the week, as Caitlin Patterson won and her teammate Kaitlynn Miller finished second, at 35 seconds back. “It was a great day for the family and to watch Scott win. He has already commended to me that I won by more today than he did.” Chelsea Holmes (APU) finished third, despite having decisively beaten Caitlin Patterson at the previous Super Tour.

Day Two: Freestyle 1.5km Sprint - Jan. 4 Jennie Bender of Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) handily won the women’s sprint, while APU’s Reese Hanneman nipped Bend Endurance Academy’s Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess to take the men’s victory. Bender cruised com32 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

(top) Reese Hanneman (APU) secured his first National win of the season and his first skate title. (above left) Vail’s Tad Elliott (c) won the men’s 30km FR, his first National title since 2012, besting Brian Gregg (l) and Canada’s Michael Sommpi in 3rd. (above) Caitlin Patterson delivered a double victory, winning both the 20km freestyle and 10km Classic races. (opposite) Kaitlynn Miller continued to shine in her breakout season by winning the women’s 1.5km Classic sprint race.

fortably through her heats after winning the qualification, conserving whatever energy she could by drafting the first descent. Annie Hart of Stratton Mountain School T2 (SMST2) finished just behind Bender. “I feel really great, so happy,” said Hart. “Of course, there is a part of me that’s disappointed – you don’t go into a race trying to get second.” Scott Patterson, the previous day’s winner, finished third. For Hanneman and Blackhorse-von Jess, the duel was a familiar one, but it was top-qualifier Hanneman’s turn to take the win. Canada’s Julien Locke of Team Blackjack claimed the final podium spot.

Day Three: Freestyle 20/30km - Jan. 7 The 30km freestyle race was Scott Patterson’s to lose, and after a few kilometres, he knew he was in trouble. “I think I was one of the strongest, if not www.skitrax.com

the strongest skier out there today; however, sometimes things don’t work according to plan,” said Patterson, who ended the day in fifth. “Our skis were a bit out of the game today.” Nabbing the win was Tad Elliott of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, who took home his first National title since 2012 after years of struggling with mononucleosis. “I didn’t think it was a realistic goal going in,” said Elliott, “but in the morning, I started to feel it was possible.” Brian Gregg of Team Gregg-Madshus was second and Canadian Michael Somppi of NDC Thunder Bay was third.

In the women’s race, Holmes charged from the front for nearly all of 20 kilometres, but was narrowly outsprinted again by her rival Caitlin Patterson at the finish. “If I had been a lot stronger, I would of broken them earlier, but I also realize you can be sucked back in by the way the course skis,” said Holmes of her strategy. Junior Katharine Ogden of SMST2 was third.

Day Four: Classic 1.5km Sprint - Jan. 9 APU’s Eric Packer broke up the expected duel between Blackhorse-von Jess and Hanneman by winning the final of the men’s 1.5km sprint, while Miller continued to shine in her breakout season by winning the women’s race over Hart. “It feels amazing,” said Packer of his first-ever National title. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of.” Hanneman finished second and Blackhorse-von Jess finished fifth despite qualifying four seconds ahead of both Packer and Hanneman. “I definitely expected to be challenging for the po-

2016 Junior/U23 World Championship Teams After the 2016 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships presented by L.L. Bean concluded on Jan. 9, a total of 10 athletes were named to the FIS U23 World Ski Championships Team, along with 12 athletes (U20) named to the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships Team. The U23 team and Junior Worlds teams will represent the U.S. in Rasnov, Romania on Feb. 22-28.

Junior Nordic World Championship Team Men • Patrick Caldwell (Stratton Mountain School) • Kyle Bratrud (CXC Team) • Logan Hanneman (Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks) • Akeo Maifeld-Carucci (Bridger Ski Foundation) • Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) Women • Kristen Bourne (Northern Michigan University) • Felicia Gesior (Northern Michigan University) • Mackenzie Kanady (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) • Heather Mooney (Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club) • Kelsey Phinney (Middlebury College Ski Team)

U23 Nordic World Championships Team Men • Cully Brown (University of Vermont) • Henry Harmeyer (University of Vermont) • Leo Hipp (Northern Michigan University) • Zak Ketterson (Loppet Nordic Racing) • Thomas O’Harra (APU Nordic Ski Center) • Ian Torchia (Northern Michigan University) Women • Sarah Bezdicek (Northern Michigan University) • Vivian Hett (Northern Michigan University) • Julia Kern (Stratton Mountain School) • Leah Lange (Utah Olympic Park Sports Clubs/Park City

Nordic Ski Club) • Katharine Ogden (Stratton Mountain School) • Nicole Schneider (Northern Michigan University) dium, but sometimes that’s how it goes,” said Blackhorse-von Jess. In the women’s race, Miller won both the qualification and all of her rounds. “I love Classic skiing, so I went out there and tried to go as hard as I could and then carried that momentum through the heats and into the final,” said Miller. “It was a fun group to ski with in the finals and a really fun race.” BSF’s Bender landed on the final podium in third.

2016 USSA SuperTour Standings as of Jan. 9, 2016 Overall Men 1. Reese Hanneman (APU) 167; 2. Eric Packer (APU) 155; 3. Scott Patterson (APU) 153; Women 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 264; 2.

Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 214; 3. Annie Hart (SMST2) 193.

Distance Leader Men 1. Scott Patterson (APU) 143; 2. Brian Gregg (Team Gregg) 112; 3. Kevin Sandau (Alberta World Cup Academy) 94; Women 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 156; 2. Chelsea Holmes (APU) 147; 3. Katharine Ogden (SMST2) 122.

Sprint Leader Men 1. Reese Hanneman (APU) 160; 2. Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) 133; 3. Eric Packer (APU) 98; Women 1. Jennie Bender (Bridger Ski Foundation) 141; 2. Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 124; 3. Annie Hart (SMST2) 111.

www.skitrax.com

2016 U.S. XC National Championships Results Houghton, Mich. - Jan. 3-9, 2016 Men’s 15km Classic 1. Scott Patterson (APU Nordic Ski Center) 0:40:26.4; 2. Kevin Sandau (Alberta World Cup Academy) 0:40:45.4; 3. Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) 0:40:47.0; Women’s 10km Classic 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 0:28:58.4; 2. Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 0:29:34.4; 3. Chelsea Holmes (APU Nordic Ski Center) 0:30:01.0; Men’s 1.5km Freestyle Sprint 1. Reese Hanneman (APU Nordic Ski Center) 03:18.07; 2.

Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance) 03:19.62; 3. Julien Locke (Team Black Jack) 03:19.52; Women’s 1.5km Freestyle Sprint 1. Jennie Bender (Bridger Ski Foundation) 03:56.25; 2. Annie Hart (Stratton Mountain School T2) 03:58.74; 3.

Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 03:59.36; Men’s 30km Freestyle 1. Tad Elliott (Ski and Snowboard Club Vail) 1:20:31.6; 2. Brian Gregg (Team GreggMadshus) 1:20:41.2; 3. Michael Somppi (NDC Thunder Bay) 1:20:44.9; Women’s 20km Freestyle 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project ) 1:01:03.5; 2. Chelsea Holmes (APU Nordic Ski Center) 1:01:07.5; 3. Katharine Ogden (Stratton Mountain School T2) 1:01:11.3; Men’s 1.5km Classic Sprint 1. Eric Packer (APU Nordic Ski Center) 3:41.77; 2. Reese Hanneman (APU Nordic Ski Center) 3:41.13; 3. Didrik Elset (Michigan Technological University); Women’s 1.5km Classic Sprint 1. Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 4:19.42; 2. Annie Hart (Stratton Mountain School T2) 4:31.44; 3. Jennie Bender (Bridger Ski Foundation) 4:26.58.

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 33

COMP CANADA

by Julie Melanson

Haywood NorAm #3 and Junior/U23 Nordic World Championships Trials

34 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

photos: Martin Kaiser

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appe Nordic in Thunder Bay, Ont. played host to Round Three of the Haywood NorAm Series, Jan. 15-16, as the event also served as the selection races for the Junior/U23 Nordic World Championships.

With temperatures hovering around -17°C, both competitors and officials were racing to complete the qualifiers before a deep freeze settled in for the weekend.

Andrea Dupont (Rocky Mountain Racers) showed her strength with back-to-back wins in the women’s field, while Black Jack’s Julien Locke and Kevin Sandau (Foothills-AWCA) took home the top podium positions on the men’s side.

The morning qualifiers saw Dupont lead the way in the senior women’s field, while local skier Sadie White from Big Thunder was the top junior woman and fourth-fastest overall.

The senior women’s final was a close contest, as Dupont claimed her fifth NorAm sprint title by a mere 2/10ths of a second over Jenn Jackson of Team Hardwood, who edged out Skinouk’s Sophie Carrier-Laforte, a close third.

The men’s qualification was quite decisive with Angus Foster of Big Thunder winning by almost five seconds over Skinouk’s Simon Lapointe.

Sandau, who has been dominating the circuit this season, had an equipment issue near the end of the qualifier, crossing the finish line in 29th place, almost missing the heats.

In the senior men’s final, it was Locke, who came from being the

(top left) Senior men’s 15km CL podium: (l-r) Alexis Dumas, Scott Hill, Kevin Sandau, Brian McKeever and Bob Thompson (top) Senior Women’s 10km CL podium (l-r) Kendra Murray, Jennifer Jackson, Andrea Dupont, Sophie Carrier-Laforte and Annika Hicks (above) Sadie White (l) and Claire Grall-Johnson battle in the junior women’s Classic sprints on Day One.

fifth-fastest qualifier, claiming a dominant three-second victory over Patrick Stewart-Jones of Nakkertok, with third going to local skier Angus Foster.

In the junior men’s race, Team Hardwood’s Joey Foster was the top qualifier by almost a five-second margin. He’s the son of four-time Canadian Olympian Angela Schmidt-Foster, the first Canadian female to win a World Cup medal.

White, who was approximately two seconds faster than Mont-Ste-Anne’s Marie Corriveau in qualifications, saw the tables turned in the final as Corriveau prevailed by a similar margin for the win.

Day Two at Lappe got underway with the Interval Start, Classic races and temperatures at -10°C with 10 centimetres of fresh snow that fell overnight, www.skitrax.com

2016 Junior/U23 World Championship Teams Cross Country Canada is pleased to announce the selections for Team Canada competing at the 2016 Junior/U23 Nordic World Championships, Feb. 22-28, in Rasnov, Romania.

Junior Nordic World Championship Team Women • Marie Corriveau (Club Nordique/Mont-Ste-Anne-CNEPH) • Hannah Mehain (Sovereign Lake Nordic) • Sadie White (Big Thunder-NDC Thunder Bay) • Natalie Hynes (Whitehorse) Men • Joey Foster (Team Hardwood-CNEPH) • Antoine Blais (Skibec) • Philippe Boucher (Skibec-CNEPH) • Ryan Jackson (Team Hardwood) • William Dumas (Skinouk)

U23 Nordic World Championships Team Women • Jenn Jackson (Team Hardwood-NDC Thunder Bay) • Sophie Carrier-Laforte (Skinouk-CNEPH) • Kendra Murray (Whitehorse) • Frédérique Vézina (Club Nordique/Mont-Ste-Anne-CNEPH) • Alannah Maclean (Walden Nordic-NDC Thunder Bay),

January 30, 2016 Craftsbury Vermont Craftsbury Marathon - 50K Classic February 6, 2016 Black Mountain of Maine John Roderick Marathon - 50K Classic or 50K Freestyle February 21, 2016 Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid Loppet - 50K Freestyle March 5, 2016 Rangeley, Maine Rangeley Lakes Loppet - 50K Freestyle March 5, 2016 Bretton Woods OMNI Mt. Washington Resort Marathon - 42K Classic March 12, 2016 Trapp Family Lodge - Stowe, Vermont 50K Classic March 19, 2016 Carrabasset Valley, Maine Sugarloaf Marathon- 50K Freestyle - NEMS Finale En

gl a n d N di c

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Tour New England’s classic nordic ski venues this winter & experience marathon racing, and touring, at its very best.

January 23, 2016 Jackson, New Hampshire White Mountain Classic - 30K Classic

Sk

Sprint Leader Men 1. Bob Thompson (Team Hardwood) 179; 2. Andy Shields (Lappe) 160; 3. Patrick Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok Nordique) 160. Women 1. Andrea Dupont (RMR) 230; 2. Jennifer Jackson (Team Hardwood) 164; 3. Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse) 136.

SKI RACING NEW ENGLAND STYLE

or

2015/16 Haywood NorAm/Buff Sprint Overall Standings Men 1. Kevin Sandau (Foothills) 461 pts; 2. Knute Johnsgaard (Whitehorse) 340; 3. Patrick Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok Nordique) 295; 4. Bob Thompson (Team Hardwood) 275; 5. Andy Shields (Lappe) 252. Women 1. Andrea Dupont (RMR) 435 pts; 2. Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse) 368; 3. Jennifer Jackson (Team Hardwood) 326; 4. Sophie Carrier-Laforte (Skinouk) 271; 5. Cendrine Browne (Fondeurs-Laurentides) 254.

Not Valid February 17, 2016. Expires March 31,2016

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making the tracks squeaky-slow. Sandau, the favourite in the men’s race, skied to a 15-second lead over Team Hardwood’s Scott Hill on the first lap to finish 31 seconds ahead. Hill staked his claim to a spot on the U23 World Championship team with his result, as Brian McKeever of Lifesport took third, another 30 seconds back.

Dupont grabbed her second gold medal of the weekend in the women’s 10km, with Jackson another 15 seconds back, while Skinouk’s Carrier-Laforte was third.

The junior men’s 10km race was tighter, as Antoine Blais of Skibec set a very fast pace on the first lap, but faded slightly on the second to sneak in eight seconds ahead of Ryan Jackson of Hardwood. Another Skibec skier, Philippe Boucher, was third.

The junior women’s 5km race was a close contest as Annika Richardson of Hollyburn won by eight seconds over Corriveau. As the race winner, Richardson qualified for the Junior Worlds team, but as she is representing Canada at the Youth Olympic Games on Feb. 12-21, Corriveau will earn the spot on the team. In third was Molly Miller of Kimberley.

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Men • Julien Locke (Black Jack) • Scott Hill (Team Hardwood-NDC Thunder Bay) • Alexis Dumas (Skibec-CNEPH) • Jack Carlyle (Soo Finnish-AWCA) • Angus Foster (Big Thunder-NDC Thunder Bay)

www.hardwoodskiandbike.ca 705 487 3775 Oro-Medonte

o s o ci ati

nensa.net/marathon FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 35

COMP INTERNATIONAL

by Julie Melanson and Lex Treinen

U.S.A. Shines – Young Canadian Skiers Debut

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Nordic Focus/Salomon

Nordic Focus

he U.S.A.’s Jessie Diggins and Sophie Caldwell showed strong results in the FIS World Cup series leading into Christmas, while fellow American Simi Hamilton strutted his stuff with a historic sprint podium. On the Canadian front Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey scored top-20’s as the World Cup races were dominated by Norwegians Therese Johaug and Martin Johnsrud Sundby.

Davos, Switzerland – Dec. 12-13 U.S.A.’s Diggins continued her strong start to the season, finishing 11th in the women’s 15km freestyle in early December, while Johaug led a Norwegian sweep in Round Three of the FIS World Cup series. Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg was second, followed by teammate Heidi Weng in third. Caitlin Gregg raced to a solid 20th, while Liz Stephen was also in the points in 30th.

Canada’s Kershaw was the top North American, delivering a solid 20thplace finish in the men’s 30km freestyle race, with teammate Harvey 22nd, while Norway’s Johnsrud Sundby took home another World Cup victory.

French Maurice Manificat came through for the silver at 20.7 seconds back, while Norway’s Anders Gloeersen locked up the bronze another eight seconds behind.

Kershaw is quietly serving notice not to count him out just yet. “The goal is to hit the points more constantly – and I have been doing that and have been between 20-30 in all the distance races. I think it gives me a good platform to make that jump back into the top-10,” he added.

Fellow Canuck Ivan Babikov placed 36th, while Graeme Killick was 46th.

Noah Hoffman led the Americans in 52nd, while teammate Brian Gregg, joining the U.S. men’s team in Davos, ended up in 65th.

In the women’s 1.6km freestyle sprint, Caldwell was the top North American in sixth. Four American women qualified out of five, including Sadie Bjornsen, Ida Sargent, Caldwell and Diggins. Canada’s Heidi Widmer, who is racing for Switzerland this year, also made the heats.

Sweden’s Stina Nilsson displayed some tactical moves in the final stretch 36 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

(top) Simi Hamilton claimed 2nd for a historic first full World Cup sprint podium in Toblach, Italy. (above) Team USA celebrates career-best World Cup silver in the women’s relay at Nove Mesto: (l-r) Jessie Diggins, Sophie Caldwell, Sadie Bjornsen, Liz Stephen.

of the sprint to secure a 0.15-second win over Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla in second and Oestberg in third.

Diggins and Caldwell went head to head in the second semifinal, where Caldwell advanced as the Lucky Loser onto the finals, exceeding her goals and expectations for the weekend.

In the men’s 1.6km freestyle sprint, defending Davos sprint champion Federico Pellegrino of Italy snatched first from France’s Baptiste Gros and Norway’s Sondre Fossli in the final stretch of the race.

The U.S. men qualified two out of three skiers. Both Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton, who broke a pole in his heat, finished fifth in the quarterfinal heats, finishing 23rd and 26th overall.

Canadian Len Valjas was surprised to be knocked out of the heats. “The field is so deep right now. There is just no margin for error. Even if I think I had a great qualifier, when I’m coming down the finishing stretch, I have to throw down everything I have and lunge across the line because you just never know.”

Toblach, Italy – Dec. 19-20 The following weekend in Toblach, Italy, Caldwell consecutively led the U.S. women’s team, placing seventh overall in the 1.3km freestyle sprint, with www.skitrax.com

teammate Sadie Bjornsen in ninth, while Falla powered to victory in Round Four of the FIS XC World Cup 2015/16. Falla finished first over teammate Oestberg, while Nilsson, the previous weekend’s winner, settled for third.

Bjornsen had her best qualification result and came within a hair of making the final. The U.S. women qualified four out of five, including Diggins, Caldwell and Sargent. Diggins and Sargent went head-to-head in the quarterfinals, but did not advance further after finishing fifth and sixth.

Hamilton took a historic podium in the men’s 1.3km freestyle sprint, in second behind Italy’s Pellegrino, with Great Britain’s Andrew Young in third.

It was Hamilton’s first full World Cup podium finish since winning a stage World Cup at the Tour de Ski in Lenzeheide, Switzerland in Dec. 2013. It was the sixth sprint podium for the U.S.A. It was also a historic podium as it marked the first time that Italy, the U.S.A. and Great Britain have shared a World Cup cross-country-ski podium.

“I’m really psyched and felt great all day. It was fun out there under blue skies and Italian sunshine,” said Hamilton. “Skis were great.”

The Canadian team made a waxing adjustment just before the race that didn’t pan out and no skiers qualified.

Sadie Bjornsen led the U.S. team with a 19th-place finish in the women’s 10km CL, while Diggins followed closely behind in 20th just 5.6 seconds behind. Johaug was unstoppable, winning her fifth-consecutive World Cup race this year and finishing with a 28.2-second lead over Finland’s Krista Parmakoski, with teammate Oestberg in third.

Both Sadie Bjornsen and Diggins thought it was a challenging course.

“The corners and downhill sections are ones that demand to be worked well, and you can make up a lot of time on them by staying focused and working every inch,” said Diggins.

Canada’s Emily Nishikawa was back in action for the 10km CL, her specialty, which paid off when the young Whitehorse skier turned in her best performance of the season, finishing 39th (a tie) with a time of 30:32.5.

Harvey charged to 16th in the men’s 15km CL, with teammate Kershaw finishing 28th in the points, while Johnsrud Sundby continued his early dominance of the World Cup season by skiing away with the gold. Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh finished nearly 13 seconds off the leading pace in second, while Norway’s Sjur Roethe skied to third.

With conditions on the artificial-snow-filled course sending wax techs into a frenzy, the top-two Canadian skiers were among many who chose to double-pole each of the three laps around the 5km course.

“This is the first time that Alex or Devon has double-poled a whole distance race, so that was a solid effort today,” added coach Justin Wadsworth. “The guys have showed they are in it. Their shape is good. We need to keep plugging away, and progressing towards the Tour.”

Planica, Slovenia – Jan. 16-17 The World Cup resumed mid-January at the new venue in Planica, Slovenia, where U.S.A.’s Caldwell was the top North American in 13th in the women’s 1.2km freestyle sprint, just missing advancing to the semis as a Lucky Loser.

Sweden’s Nilsson won and took over the sprint series lead from Falla of Norway, who has been battling illness and failed to qualify. Top-qualifier Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (NOR) was second in the final, with teammate Weng third.

Sargent (USA) also qualified, but after a strong start in her quarterfinal she was fifth at the finish. First-year senior Maya MacIssac-Jones was the top Canadian qualifier in 31st, followed by Dahria Beatty in 32nd, a personal best.

In the men’s sprints, Pellegrino’s hot winning streak made him the only men’s Italian skier with seven World Cup victories. France’s Gros landed on the podium in second, with teammate Richard Jouve in third.

The top North American was Hamilton in 18th, while his teammate Newell was 24th. Canada’s Valjas just missed the heats again by a mere 5/100ths of a second, finishing 31st.

In the team sprints, Caldwell and Sargent skied themselves to a career-best fifth-place finish, while Nilsson and Ida Ingemarsdotter of Sweden l took the win as Nilsson attacked on the last climb to claim the victory over Norway l, which was composed of Weng and Jacobsen second. Sandra Ringwald and Hanna Kolb, racing for Germany l, finished third. www.skitrax.com

MacIsaac-Jones and Beatty skied for Canada l and Cendrine Browne and Nishikawa skied for Canada 2, finishing 10th and eighth respectively in their semifinals, ending up 19th and 15th overall.

For the men, it was Pellegrino and Dietmar Noeckler of Italy l taking the victory over Renaud Jay and Gros from France l, while Valentin Chauvin and Jouve of France 2 took third, giving the French a historic double podium.

The U.S.A.’s Hamilton and Newell qualified fourth in an extremely competitive heat, fighting for hundredths of a second to advance as Lucky Losers to the finals, but they got tangled up in the chaotic icy and relatively short exchange zone with one of the Norwegian teams, resulting in a disqualification. Knute Johnsgaard and Valjas racing for Canada 1 finished ninth in their semifinal and ended up 13th overall.

Nove Mesto, Czech Republic – Jan. 23-24 Diggins blazed to her second World Cup podium, delivering a convincing third-place finish in the women’s 10km freestyle at Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, while Johaug claimed another victory with her teammate Jacobsen in second at 4.6 seconds back.

Snow fell throughout the day and caused the course to become soft and slow. Diggins battled with Jacobsen for the lead until Johaug entered the mix.

The American star bested top skiers Charlotte Kalla (SWE) and Weng (NOR) for a stellar day. Also in the points were Sadie Bjornsen in 14th, Liz Stephen in 17th and Rosie Brennan in 28th.

Canada’s Harvey battled through challenging conditions to a solid seventh in the men’s 15km freestyle, while Manificat of France claimed the top spot on the podium over Norway’s Johnsrud Sundby, with Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov in third. The U.S.A.’s Hoffman finished 27th.

“The snow was really soft and completely different than yesterday, so it was extremely slow today and I had to work the whole way,” said Harvey.

The following day in the men’s World Cup 4x7.5km relay, the U.S.A. and Canada delivered solid results in eighth and ninth. Norway took the win, with Russia second at six seconds behind, but the real battle was for the bronze, as seven teams, including the U.S.A. and Canada, vied for the final podium spot.

As the finish line approached, Italy’s Pellegrino put the hammer down to deliver the goods, with Germany, Norway 2, Switzerland and France left wanting as the Hamilton bested Canadian rookie Johnsgaard at the line for eighth.

For Team U.S.A., it was an impressive comeback, as Erik Bjornsen was able to move the team up from 12th to sixth in the second leg. The Canadian men were also pleased to match the nation’s second-best cross-country-ski World Cup relay since 2010.

Team U.S.A. claimed historic silver in the women’s 4x5km relay as Sadie Bjornsen, Caldwell, Stephen and Diggins were unstoppable on their way to a decisive second-place finish, with Finland third.

Caldwell and Sadie Bjornsen kept the U.S. in contention as Stephen overtook Finland’s Riitta-Liisa Roponen to tag Diggins in second and the rest was history.

The team was third in Lillehammer, which matched their career-best result.

“It was such a wonderful feeling crossing that line and skiing straight into the arms of my teammates, and knowing that we just accomplished something big as a team,” said Diggins.

For Team Canada, it was also a day of celebration, as Nishikawa, Beatty, Browne and MacIsaac-Jones debuted for the red Maple Leaf and took home a proud 12th-place finish. Canada’s Browne and MacIsaac-Jones were in a duel with the Russians over the final two legs, ending up a proud 12th. Canada last completed a women’s relay with four skiers back in 2008. – JM 2015/16 FIS XC Ski World Cup Overall standings after Nové Mesto, Czech Republic Men 1. Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) 1,502; 2. Finn Haagen Krogh (NOR) 917; 3.

Petter Northug Jr. (NOR) 801; 4. Sergey Ustiugov (RUS) 710; 5. Sjur Roethe (NOR) 598. CAN/US 14. Alex Harvey (CAN) 431; 37. Simi Hamilton (USA) 102; 40. Noah Hoffman (US) 96; 46. Andy Newell (USA) 86; 47. Devon Kershaw (CAN) 73; 64. Ivan Babikov (CAN) 40; 70. Len Valjas (CAN) 35; 104. Graeme Killick (CAN) 10; 124. Erik Bjornsen (USA) 1. Women 1. Therese Johaug (NOR) 1,484; 2. Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) 1,274; 3. Heidi Weng (NOR) 1,090; 4. Charlotte Kalla (SWE) 816; 5. Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) 705. CAN/US 12. Jessie Diggins (USA) 443; 15. Sadie Bjornsen (USA) 390; 25. Sophie Caldwell (USA) 198; 31. Liz Stephen (USA) 147; 39. Ida Sargent (USA) 74; 66. Caitlin Gregg (USA) 12; 82. Rosie Brennan (USA) 4.

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 37

second day in a row. After finishing sixth in the jumping, Frenzel’s 15th-fastest time was good enough to ski away from the pack after three laps and take his 24th World Cup victory. Manuel Faisst of Germany was third after starting the day in fourth. Taylor Fletcher continued to show his good fitness with the third-fastest cross-country time, good for a 20th-place result. Bryan Fletcher was 26th.

NC

The U.S.A.’s top Nordic-combined racers Bryan (l) and Taylor Fletcher at Utah’s Olympic park.

Nordic-combined Ruka, Finland - Nov. 28-29 Both events were cancelled due to high winds.

Lillehammer, Norway - Dec. 5-6 The opening World Cup was held in Lillehammer, Norway following the cancellation of the events in Ruka, Finland due to high winds. Poland’s Szczepan Kupczak was the first starter of the day in the cross-country-ski leg after his strong 133.5-metre jump, however, Fabian Rieble of Germany, who was 13 seconds back, won the competition for his first Individual victory with an impressive ski performance in which he put as much as 30 seconds on his pursuers before coasting to the line for a 12.5-second victory. Akito Watabe from Japan was second, and Ilka Herola of Finland was third for his first-ever World Cup podium. The top American was Bryan Fletcher, who finished 11th after finishing 15th in the jumping. Taylor Fletcher was 26th.

On Day Two on the Normal Hill, Mario Seidl of Austria won the jumping portion ahead of Kupczak, but home-nation favourite Magnus Krog was able to make up 45 seconds for the second World Cup victory of his career. The top-three spots ended within two seconds, with Germany’s Rieble in second and Lukas Klapfer from Austria in third. Taylor Fletcher was the top American, skiing from 42nd place in the jumping up to 13th with the fastest cross-country leg of the day. Bryan Fletcher was 30th and Adam Loomis was 43rd.

Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria - Dec. 19-20 Magnus Moan out-lunged his teammate Krog in a sprint finish after both Norwegians skied back from more than a minute-and-a-half deficit following the jumping in the Gunderson 10km. Third place went to their compatriot and the winner of the jumping, 18-year-old Jarl Magnus Riiber, who dominated on the Ramsaus HS 98 hill with 95.5 metres and 131.0 points, giving him a 37-second advantage going into the cross-country portion. Bryan Fletcher was the top American in 26th, after starting the ski leg in 35th, while brother Taylor raced from 43rd up to 32nd.

On the second day in Ramsau am Dachstein, German superstar Eric Frenzel finally rose to the podium for the season, winning the 10km Individual Gunderson competition by 10.2 seconds over Riiber, the jumping winner for the 38 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

US Ski Team - Tom Kelly

Klingenthal, Germany Both events were cancelled due to lack of snow.

Chaux-Neuve, France - Jan. 23-24 After an extra-long break due to the cancellation of the Klingenthal World Cups, Frenzel came out on top of the Gunderson competition, beating Austria’s Bernhard Gruber and Japan’s Watabe, who led after the jumping.

But Watabe’s 20-second lead there over Frenzel and his 35-second lead over Gruber weren’t enough. Bryan and Taylor Fletcher led the Americans, finishing 19th and 20th with the third -and first-fastest cross-country times respectively.

On Day Two, Rieble found the top spot for his second-ever World Cup win ahead of Frenzel. Riiber won the jumping again, but his margin was small, and Rieble managed a 2.3-second win, while Watabe was in third again at 4.1 seconds behind. Taylor Fletcher again showed his skiing fitness with the second-fastest cross-country time and a 21st-place finish, while Bryan Fletcher finished 25th. – LT

2015/16 FIS Nordic-combined World Cup Overall standings after Chaux-Neuve, France 1. Riessle Fabian (GER) 394; 2. Eric Frenzel (GER) 371; 3. Akito Watabe (JPN) 314; 4.Magnus Krog (NOR) 273; 5. Joergen Graabak (NOR) 227. US 23. Taylor Fletcher (USA) 57; 25. Bryan Fletcher (USA) 53.

Biathlon Oestersund, Sweden - Nov. 29-Dec. 6 Canada’s Rosanna Crawford and Nathan Smith started off the BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup 2015-16 season with a bang, finishing second in the unique Single Mixed relay event, which was held for the first time as the season-opener. The Norwegian duo of Lars Helge Birkeland and Kaia Nicolaisen won, and Germany’s team nabbed the bronze. U.S.A.’s duo of Sean Doherty and Clare Egan finished 15th.

On the same day, the Norwegians won the Mixed 2x6+2x7.5km relay, with the top North-American finish going to the Canadians in ninth, just ahead of the U.S.A. squad in 10th. Germany was second and Czech Republic was third.

The U.S.A.’s 20-year-old Doherty scored an impressive 20th place in the season-opening 20km race, hitting 18 of 20 targets, while 41-year-old Norwegian legend Ole Einar Bjoerndalen shot clean for the win.

Canada’s Crawford finished in 13th place the next day in the women’s 15km Individual. Italy’s Dorothea Wierer shot clean to win ahead of France’s Marie Dorin Habert, who missed two shots, and Olena Pidhrushna of Ukraine, who also shot clean. U.S.A.’s Egan finished 44th to lead the Americans in her second-ever World Cup start.

Two days later in the 7.5km sprint, Egan bested that result with a 14thplace clean-shooting performance. Gabriela Soukalova of Czech Republic won over Italy’s Federica Sanfilippo, both of whom shot clean, and Pidhrushna, who had one penalty. Macx Davies, 21, of Canada was the lone clean shooter in the men’s sprint, finishing in 10th just behind his teammate Smith.

Martin Fourcade of France missed two shots, but still won handily by 51 seconds over Germany’s Arnd Peiffer, who missed one target, while Bjoerndalen claimed third. Doherty was the top American in 25th.

Canada’s Smith ended his fantastic weekend with a 10th-place finish in the men’s 12.5km Pursuit, which was won by Fourcade. On the women’s side, Canada sent out a record four starters, but Crawford’s 23rd place was the top result, as Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen won with two misses. www.skitrax.com

Hochfilzen, Austria - Dec. 11-13 U.S.A.’s Lowell Bailey of shot clean and finished 12th in the men’s 10km sprint, 41 seconds behind the race winner Germany’s Simon Schempp, who cleaned while Smith missed one shot and finished 18th. In the women’s 7.5km race, the best North American was Crawford, who finished 39th after missing one shot. Germany swept the women’s podium with Franziska Hildebrand winning, Maren Hammerschmidt in second and Miriam Goessner in third.

The second day of the Hochfilzen races, a 12.5km Pursuit for men, saw Bailey lose one spot and slip to 13th. Smith kept his starting position for 18th, while at the front, Fourcade won despite two penalties. Laura Dahlmeier won the women’s 10km Pursuit, with the U.S.A.’s Susan Dunklee moving up from 53rd to 31st with the 17th-fastest ski time, while Crawford moved from 39th to 35th.

Italy won the women’s 4x6km relay ahead of Germany and Ukraine, while the Canadian women finished 10th and the U.S.A. was 15th. In the men’s relay, Canada finished in sixth, as Russia bested Norway by three seconds.

Third place went to France. Team U.S.A. finished eighth.

Pokljuka, Slovenia - Dec. 17-20 Tim Burke finished 14th with just one penalty in the men’s 10km sprint, while his teammate Bailey shot clean for 15th in sunny Pokljuka. Schempp won ahead of Bjoernalen and Evgeniy Garanichev of Russia. The U.S.A.’s Dunklee delivered a season’s-best result with a sixth-place finish in the women’s 7.5km sprint at 17.6 seconds off the podium, with Dorin Habert of France taking the win. The Canadian women were led by Crawford, who finished in 23rd.

Burke moved up from 14th to ninth in the men’s 12.5km Pursuit, missing one target, as Schempp bested Fourcade and Anton Shipulin. Dahlmeier won the women’s 10km Pursuit over Dorin Habert, with Makarainen in third as Dunklee held on for 10th.

Canada’s Smith finished 12th in the 15km Mass Start to lead the North Americans on the final day, while Jean-Guillaume Beatrix of France shot clean and won his first-ever World Cup. Makarainen won the women’s 12.5km Mass Start over Soukalova, with the U.S.A.’s Dunklee finishing 22nd.

Ruhpolding, Germany - Jan. 8-10 At the next stop in Ruhpolding, Germany, Dunklee just missed out on the top 10, finishing 11th in the 7.5km sprint, as Hildebrand (GER) won over Soukalova and Makarainen. Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) led a Norwegian podium sweep in the men’s race, with Smith in 15th and Burke in 18th. www.skitrax.com

photos: Nordic Focus

Canada’s Nathan Smith and Rosanna Crawford won silver in the inaugural Single Mixed relay event at Oestersund, Sweden.

American Susan Dunklee matched her career-best 6th in the women’s 12.5km Mass Start at Ruhpholding, Germany.

Smith claimed a stellar sixth in the men’s 12.5km Pursuit on a difficult day of skiing in soft new snow, while Austria’s Simon Eder won with a single penalty. Bailey and Burke finished 22nd and 26th, respectively. In the women’s Pursuit, Dunklee dropped from 11th to 15th, while Dahlmeier won again.

In the women’s 12.5km Mass Start, Dunklee matched her career-best sixth, while Dahlmeier continued her assault. Fourcade took the men’s 15km Mass Start, with Bailey finishing 16th and Smith in 25th.

Ruhpolding, Germany - Jan. 13-17 Bailey claimed 14th in the men’s 20km, as Fourcade bested Eder and Shipulin. Canada’s Brendan Green had his season-best result, finishing 18th. In the women’s 15km, Canada’s Crawford raced to 18th place with two missed targets, while Wierer shot clean for the win.

In the men’s 4x7.5km relay, Team U.S.A. finished sixth with eight spare rounds, while Canada was 10th, as Norway used 12 spares to win over Russia, who used six spares. Austria finished third with one penalty and seven spares.

Canada’s Smith finished in 15th in the men’s 15km Mass Start with one penalty, while Germany’s Erik Lesser shot clean for the win, with Bailey 21st.

Canada’s Crawford finished 19th in the women’s 12.5km race, won by series leader Soukalova. Germany’s Hildebrand was second and Dahlmeier was third, with Dunklee 22nd.

In the final event of the weekend, Ukraine beat Germany by two seconds in the women’s 4x6km relay, while Italy was third. Canada finished in ninth and the U.S.A. was 16th. – LT IBU Biathlon World Cup Overall after five rounds Men 1. Martin Fourcade (FRA) 655; 2. Tarjei Boe (NOR 468; 3. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) 465; 4. Anton Shipulin (RUS) 414; 5. Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) 404. CAN/US 15. Nathan Smith (CAN) 277; 31. Tim Burke (USA) 157; 44. Sean Doherty (USA) 63; 48. Brendan Green (CAN) 50; 49. Macx Davies (CAN) 49; 72. Scott Gow (CAN) 14; 73. Christian Gow (CAN) 13. Women 1. Gabriela Soukalova (CZE) 611; 2. Marie Dorin Habert (FRA) 538; 3. Franziska Hildebrand (GER) 520; 4. Laura Dahlmeier (GER) 485; 5. Dorothea Wierer (ITA) 462. CAN/US 22. Susan Dunklee (USA) 209; 30. Rosanna Crawford (CAN) 136; 54. Claire Egan (USA) 25; 57. Julia Ransom (CAN) 24; 64. Megan Tandy (CAN) 16; 65. Zina Kocher (CAN) 14.

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 39

SKI JUMPING

Ski Jumping Canada

Lillehammer, Norway - Dec. 5-6 Sara Takanashi of Japan won the season-opening women’s 100 HS competition with an 11-point margin over Maja Vtic of Slovenia and Maren Lundby of Norway, who was another seven points back. Taylor Heinrich of Canada was a strong 11th, while Tara Geraghty-Moats of the U.S.A. was 17th. Severin Freund of Germany bested Kenneth Gangnes of Norway by 0.1 points to take his 19th career victory, even though he was out-distanced by Norwegians Gangnes and third-place finisher Andreas Stjernen. The event was moved to the Normal Hill instead of the Large because of the forecast for strong winds.

Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes was the top North American in 37th, followed by Michael Glasder in 43rd. The second day’s event was also moved to the Normal Hill on Sunday, but this time it was Gangnes who caught the best of the field, beating Peter Prevc of Slovenia by 1.8 points. Norwegian Johann Andre Forfang was 3.9 points behind in third.

(above) Calgary’s Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes shattered his Canadian skijumping distance record, flying 212.5 metres in Tauplitz/Bad Mitterndorf, Austria.

Nizhny Tagil, Russia - Dec. 11-13 After Norway, the races moved to the Sverdlovsk Oblast of central Russia for the men’s and women’s competitions. No North Americans made it through the qualification. Germany’s Freund again stood on top of the podium with an 11.5-point victory over Slovenia’s Prevc, while Norway’s Joachim Hauer was third, another five points back. In the women’s competition, Daniela Iraschko-Stolz of Austria narrowly beat Japan’s Takanashi by four points for the win, while Eva Pinkelnig, also of Austria, was third. Canada’s Heinrich again was the top North American, finishing in 17th, while American Nita Englund was 20th. The next day, Takanashi got her revenge with a dominating 24-point win over her teammate Yuki Ito. Third place went to Chiara Hoelzl of Austria.

Nineteen-year-old Heinrich was only three points off the podium in fifth place.

In the men’s 134 HS, Slovenia’s Prevc stood on top of the podium with a seven-point win over Michael Hayboeck of Austria. Another seven points back was Norway’s Forfang.

(below) Top American Nita Enlund had a fantastic 7th-place result at the World Cup in Sapporo.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Dec. 31-Jan. 1 Prevc of Slovenia continued his great season with another win on the 140 HS jump, finishing ahead of Gangnes of Norway and Freund of Germany.

With the win, Prevc took the lead in the Four Hills Tournament. Canada’s Boyd-Clowes was 44th.

Innsbruck, Austria - Jan. 2-3 Slovenia’s Prevc again bested rival Germany’s Freund, who finished nine points back on the third day of the Four Hills Tournament. Norway’s Gangnes was third to make it a repeat podium, as on the previous day. Glasder of the U.S.A. was the lone North American in 48th.

Bischofshofen, Austria - Jan. 5-6 On the final day, Prevc secured his Four Hills victory in a big way with a win on the final jump, becoming the first Slovenian to win since 1997. Germany’s Freund was second, while Austria’s Hayboeck was third. Hayboeck also snuck into third overall, beating Norway’s Gangnes by just eight points in the overall.

Engelberg, Switzerland - Dec. 18-20 The men now moved to Engelberg, where Slovenia’s Prevc shared the podium on the 137 HS jump with his teenage brother, Domen, who finished 14 points behind. Noriaki Kasai of Japan was third. Canada’s Boyd-Clowes narrowly missed out on the top 30 in 31st. Prevc repeated his victory the next day, winning by 20 points over Hayboeck of Austria, while Gangnes of Norway was third. Prevc nabbed his ninth career win and extended his World Cup lead to 165 points.

Willingen, Germany - Jan. 8-10 The Team competition came down to a difference of just 0.8 points, but the German jumpers from the host nation were able to eke out a victory ahead of Norway. With star Freund’s jump of 149 metres, the longest of the day, it was a form of revenge over Slovenian rival Prevc, who had his worst jump of the year at just 124 metres. The Austrian team finished third. In the Individual the next day, however, Prevc was back on top, winning by 15 points over Norway’s Gangnes. Freund was 30 points off the lead in third. Canadian Boyd-Clowes was the top North American, placing 20th.

Oberstdorf, Germany - Dec. 28-29 In Oberstdorf, Slovenia’s Prevc was beaten by his main rival in the World Cup standings, Germany’s Freund, who finished just three points ahead of Hayboeck of Austria for the first day of the annual Four Hills Tournament. The U.S.A.’s Nicholas Alexander was the top North American in 38th.

US Ski Team

Tauplitz/Bad Mitterndorf, Austria - Jan. 15-17 Slovenia’s Prevc’s Individual gold at the Ski Flying World Championships had a dark shadow over it with news that Austrian jumper Lukas Mueller had crashed during training two days before the start of the competitions and was taken to the hospital with paralyzed legs. Prevc set two distance records in just three tries (as the final jump was canceled due to weather) on the Kulm Hill, one of the world’s largest, to beat Gangnes of Norway. Stefan Kraft of Austria was a surprise third, and Germany’s Freund, Prevc’s main rival for the season until then, finished a disappointing sixth. Canada’s Boyd-Clowes shattered his Canadian ski-jumping distance record flying 212.5 metres finishing 27th, and Glasder of the U.S.A. was 37th. In the Team competition, the Norwegian quartet of Forfang, Gangnes, Anders Fannemel and Daniel Andre Tande took the gold, with all jumps of more than 200 metres. They ended with a 110-point lead over second-place Germany. Austria was third.

40 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

Sapporo, Japan - Jan. 16-17 While the men were competing in Austria, Japan’s Takanashi was continuing www.skitrax.com

her streak in her home country in Sapporo, winning by 24 points over Slovenian Ema Klinec. Iraschko-Stolz of Austria was third. Heinrich was 13th for Canada and Geraghty-Moats of the U.S.A. was 21st. On the second day, Takanashi again dominated with a 16-point win over Iraschko-Stolz. Austria’s Jacqueline Seifriedsberger was third. Englund of the U.S.A. had a fantastic seventh-place result after jumping to 20th in the first round. Canada’s Heinrich was 20th.

Zao, Japan - Jan. 22-23 Japan’s Takanashi, 19, continued her astonishing streak, again besting Austria’s Iraschko-Stolz for her fifth-straight World Cup victory. Vtic of Slovenia was third. Abby Hughes was the top American in 22nd, and teammate Englund was 28th. Takanashi made it six in a row the next day, beating Slovenians Vtic and Klinec by just three and five points respectively. Englund was 15th for the U.S. and Heinrich was 20th for Canada.

Zakopane, Poland - Jan. 22-24 Team Norway, comprised of Fannemel, Stjernen, Tande and Gangnes, followed up on their World Championship win with another convincing win in the Team competition. Gangnes again had the longest jump of the day as Norway beat Austria by more than 30 points. Home-team Poland held off Germany for third. In the Individual 134 HS jump, Kraft of Austria stepped atop the podium, finishing eight points ahead of his teammate Hayboeck and 11 points ahead of Slovenian World Cup leader Prevc. – LT 2015/16 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Overall standings after Oberstdorf, Germany/Zakopane, Poland Women 1. Sara Takanashi (JPN) 880; 2. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz (AUT) 599; 3. Maja Vtic (SLO) 408. CAN/USA 17. Taylor Henrich (CAN) 144; 18. Nita Englund (USA) 134; 29.

Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA); 38. Abby Hughes (USA) 13; 44. Atsuko Tanaka (CAN) 5.

Men 1. Peter Prevc (SLO) 1084; 2. Severin Freund (GER) 779; 3. Kenneth Gangnes (NOR) 725. CAN 51. Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes (CAN) 13.

CXC News CXC Masters Team

Looking to be a part of a fun program that will help improve ski-race results and off-season training? The CXC Masters Team is a unique, year-round program open to skiers of all ages and abilities that offers world-class coaching through camps, clinics and individualized training programs as well as other additional benefits that include race support, CXC Masters Team apparel, special events and much more.

“The CXC Masters Team is very eclectic, in a good way. It includes skiers from the entire Midwest region; age and abilities vary, but a love of cross-country skiing is the strong glue that bonds the group. Some work diligently on technique, skate and Classical and race strategies; others enjoy a relaxed approach with a strong sense of the value that the group and the sport add to their lives. These personal goals, along with the assurance that their contributions are put to good use with the many CXC programs make for a fun dedicated group.”

– Maddie, CXC Masters Team member There are three levels of membership for the CXC Masters Team: gold, silver and bronze. No matter which level of membership Masters participate in, there are several valuable benefits that are included in each one. Each membership includes monthly technique sessions with video analysis; technique-training camps; access to the rollerski treadmill at the CXC Center of Excellence in Madison, Wis.; a complementary subscription to CXC Academy, which is CXC’s online technique-drills, training-plans and video library; race-support service at all of the CXC Marathon Cup events; access to hand-selected skis; apparel and complimentary tickets to the VIP CXC/Birkie Dinner.

“The race support has also been one of the priceless benefits of the bronze membership. It is nice to focus on your race and not worry about if you have the optimal wax on your skis. My skis are prepped and delivered to the start line by the CXC coaches.

There is no better way to start a race. Thanks, CXC coaches, for doing a fabulous job on my skis.”

- Elizabeth, CXC Masters Team member “I’m not the best skier in my region, city or probably even my neighbourhood, but because of being a CXC Masters Team member, I’ve seen noticeable improvements in technique, fitness and my overall enjoyment in skiing. The transition to snow

every year has been easier as a result of the work I’ve done as part of the CXC clinics and learned through CXC Academy.”

- Andy, CXC Masters Team member Not only do membership fees benefit the Master’s skiing abilities, the tax-deductible fee also gives back to help the sport of cross-country skiing. By being a part of the CXC Masters Team, members also provide support to sport development such as youth and club programs, adaptive programs for individuals with physical disabilities and visual impairment, coaches education and certification programs, as well as support to Olympic-hopeful athletes.

“The CXC program allows me to give back to the sport I love most, while giving me a lot in return. It allows me to be involved in skiing on several levels. My contributions are put to good use, introducing and promoting the sport. The Masters Team gives me great instruction and opportunities to meet like-minded skiers. Traveling to camps, skiing and gathering with friends, new and old, is really fun.”

- Madeline, CXC Masters Team member Currently, the Masters Team has nearly 60 members from all across the Midwest who participate in their local CXC Masters Team chapters. There are six different Midwest regional chapters that offer local clinics, camps and activities. These chapters include Chicago, Ill.; Madison, Wis.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Rice Lake, Wis.; Minneapolis, Minn. and Winona, Minn. Although the majority of the CXC Masters Team community is in the Midwest, CXC welcomes anyone across the U.S. to join this great program.

“As a host of a CXC Masters chapter in Rice Lake, Wis., we feel the program is under-utilized by the Nordic community. We champion the task of getting folks to realize [the value of] investing in themselves and the sport, while [we continue] to grow and develop the next generation of athletes out there.”

– Bjorn, CXC Masters Team member and chapter leader The CXC Masters Team is always looking for more people to become members of this year-round program dedicated to helping individuals become better skiers while giving back to a sport that means so much to them.

Visit www.cxcskiing.org for more information or contact Roger Bird at roger.bird@cxcskiing.org www.skitrax.com

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 41

technique

by Keith Nicol

Becoming More Agile on Skis

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photos: Heather Nicol

his past December (2015), I taught at a couple of the early-season Supercamps at the Silver Star-Sovereign Lake Nordic Ski area near Vernon, B.C. For those of you who don’t know about these camps, they are a great tuneup for the season because they are known for having very qualified CANSI instructors and coaches on staff.

One of the aspects of skiing that we worked on in my groups of skiers was trying to become more agile on skis. Since cross-country skiing is a dynamic sport, it is important to be able to respond quickly to changes in snow conditions and terrain.

1 It also turns out that some of the agility exercises we practised were a lot of fun, so readers may find them enjoyable too.

The first one we attempted was to improve glide in Classic skiing (although it could also be used in skating as well). I noticed that several skiers in our group would benefit by balancing longer on their glide ski, so we had each skier toss a tennis ball in the air just as they started to glide. The act of tossing and catching the tennis ball forced each skier to glide a bit longer. Inadvertently, the skiers also stood taller on their glide leg, which set them up nicely for a strong kick. This exercise clicked with several skiers, and I noticed 2 an immediate improvement in their ability to glide (see photo 1). So don’t throw out your old tennis balls – try juggling with them as you diagonal stride without poles.

Developing quick feet through step turns was another agility exercise that we worked on. Being able to change direction quickly comes in handy when skiing on hills and helps develop confidence so you are able to stay balanced while your feet are shifting underneath you. We set up some small objects to ski around separated by three to four metres and then, over time, shortened the distance to one to two metres. Notice in photo 2 that I am getting ready to make a small step turn around the 3 black cones. I am slightly flexed at ankles, knees and hips and I have my arms out for balance. All too often, skiers try to do this exercise with straight legs and this puts their weight

42 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

4

5

back, resulting in trouble controlling their skis. Remember the key to agility is to stay loose. In photo 3, I am edging my left ski and getting ready to step onto a flat right ski. My upper body is oriented down the hill and my skis are doing all the work, quickly stepping around the obstacles.

We also worked on doing small jumps on skis. This requires that you are balanced when you take off, since jumping with your weight on your heels or your toes will almost certainly result in a fall.

In this case, we had people jump over a rope (see photo 4). Be sure to land with soft feet, and by that, I mean ensuring you land with flexed joints. This helps absorb the small shock of landing.

The final agility exercise we tried was coming to a stop as quickly as we could.

Although you can stop by doing a snowplow, this is often too slow, especially if you are traveling fast. So a quicker way to stop is a “hockey” stop. In this case, you need to quickly pivot your skis under your body (see photo 5). Again, my stance is very similar to the step turns we looked at earlier. My upper body is facing down the hill and my feet are doing all the work. Be sure to continue to steer your skis across the hill.

Again, keep your joints flexed and arms out to aid with balance (see photo 6). It helps to practise this on a small hill on a wellgroomed trail before attempting a hockey stop on a steeper slope. To help readers develop this skill, here’s a link to a video on how to stop on cross-country skis: www. youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-EWyi1UNE. For help with any aspect of your Nordic skiing, seek out the assistance of a certified CANSI or PSIA instructor.

Contributor Keith Nicol has been on four Canadian INTERSKI demonstration teams for Nordic skiing. He holds CANSI’s highest instructor ranking in both track and telemark skiing. He has a popular Nor6 dic skiing website at www2.swgc.mun. ca/~knicol/nordic%20main.htm and many popular YouTube videos for improving your Nordic skiing (search k2nicol). He can be reached at k2nicol@gmail.com. www.skitrax.com

tele technique

by J. Scott McGee

Pole-Hip Triangle Quiet your Hips to Make Short Turns a Snap

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hen tele’ers “drop a knee,” the trailing foot tends to pull the same hip back, and away from “facing the fall line.”

The lower your stance, the more your hips will face across

the hill. Keeping your hips and upper body trained on a downhill target lets you turn your feet and skis more quickly – a key skill in steeps, bumps and trees.

Selko Photo / Montage: J. Scott McGee

Try this: Using the holes in your pole baskets, lock your pole tips together and hold the grips stationary on your hips.

Choose a downhill visual target and keep your eyes and head pointed at it, while aiming the polehip triangle at that same target. Vary your stance height as needed to keep your hips pointing down the hill and to become faster from turn to turn.

J. Scott McGee coaches the PSIA Nordic Team (USA) and works as Snow King Mountain Sports School’s director. A former telemark competitor, he now dreams of perfect corn on spring backcountry skate-ski tours. McGee spends his summers guiding climbs in the Tetons for Exum Mountain Guides. www.skitrax.com

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 43

waxworx

by Jack Cook and Patrick Moore

Skin Classic Skis Take Over

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orget everything you thought you knew sic skiing. You don’t need to apply the corabout waxless skis – skin Classic skis rect grip wax. These skis feature a brandare redefining the industry. new, innovative skin made from mohair and This year, each of the major ski manunylon in the kick zone, eliminating the need facturers offer skin skis for Classic skiing. for traditional kick wax, while still maintaining For those Classic skiers with fewer hours exceptional glide, making Classic skiing very for prepping skis or for those who simply do user-friendly. The skis perform well enough not enjoy grip waxing, the skin skis offer a under a variety of conditions so you will not time-saving option that provides kick without feel like you are losing out on performance. sacrifi feel.

The skin1 skis work in almost all kinds of HPeaks 8th STcing Ann ski 2013_Pedal Template 11/30/15 11:55 AM Page Classic racing skis with skins in the kick snow and temperature conditions, from cold zone entered the market with a bang last and dry to wet klister conditions, on rockseason, and instantly became a hit with hard and icy tracks as well as velvety-smooth World-Cup-level skiers as well as Masters snow. And compared to traditional waxless and beginners. These skis are clearly not skis, there is excellent glide and no rattling your traditional variety of waxless skis. Skin noise. skis are constructed with replaceable skins Skin skis also allow the freedom to spend in the kick zone, rather than wax base or fish less time in the wax room, which means more scales. time on the trail – it’s almost as simple as putSkin skis take the guesswork out of Clasting on running shoes. In a time-crunched

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world, these skis might just be the difference between completing the weeknight Classic workout on skis rather than alternative training methods or skipping the workout all together.

Loppet skiers or weekend warriors out for their traditional Sunday-long ski will find the skin skis provide killer kick and outstanding glide, while noticing that others’ skis with traditional grip wax may deteriorate over the length of the workout due to loss of grip and possibly loss of glide in dirtier snow conditions.

In klister conditions, traditional Classic skis waxed with klister will start to pick up dirt from the snow throughout the course, making their glide even worse, whereas the skins remain practically dirt-free and maintain consistent glide over the course of your ski or loppet.

You can sign up for a loppet and not worry about changing waxing conditions and spending countless hours testing, selecting and applying grip wax, especially in difficult snow conditions, making this waxless option look quite attractive.

Skin maintenance: If the skins get dirty, you can clean them easily by using regular base cleaner, just as you would with regular kick wax. Wipe the skins, brush them with a regular nylon brush and the skis are ready to roll again.

If the skins become damaged or worn out after extensive use, they can be easily replaced. They are attached with regular hot glue, so just heat gently with a heat gun, then pull the skin off and replace with a new skin.

How do skin skis compare to Zero skis?: Zero skis were introduced several years ago for the tricky conditions on either side of freezing. They come with a rubberized base material in the kick zone, which has to be sanded and fine-tuned to provide optimal grip and glide for the conditions of the day.

They are generally slightly faster than the skin skis. That is important for those racing at the elite level.

But unlike the Zeros, the new skin skis work in a much wider range of temperatures and conditions, from cold and dry to wet and warm. And you don’t have to do a thing to them. www.skitrax.com

graves on nordic

by Peter Graves

The Bob Tucker Factor

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here are many notable folks who helped pave the way to the vibrant sport that cross-country skiing has become, and recently I was reminded of a special person – an early ski-sport builder who helped shape the sport. A humble man who made a huge difference, 84-year-old Bob Tucker might be one of the sport’s most influential people that you’ve never heard of.

Tucker, who was born in Hartford, Conn., was bitten by the ski bug when he was 13 and in the Boy Scouts. “John Jay’s wonderful film, Hickory Holiday, and the 10th Mountain Division ski troops spurred my interest then, and I was able to join my prep school team at Kingswood School, which had a coach who inspired me,” Tucker said. “At that time, skiing was skiing. There was no classification of cross-country versus alpine.

We had one pair of skis and we did everything on them, even jumping.

I didn’t get my first ‘real’ pair of cross-country skis until I was a senior in high school, and even then we planed them down to a thinner size for cross-country.”

From there, Tucker started looking at college skiing, and recalls, “By this time, I lived for skiing and only applied to colleges with ski teams. I chose Williams because it offered me the best scholarship, but after my first year, the team was weak, and I began to wonder if I had made a mistake. Enter 10th Mountain Division’s great and former U.S. Olympian Ralph Townsend. Ralph was a 1948 Olympian and ski star at UNH. When I heard that Ralph was coming to coach at Williams, I stayed. He was instrumental in teaching us the proper fundamentals of cross-country, and he took our skills to the next level.

In Ralph’s first year, we earned the right to compete against the top college teams in the nation, when previously we had not been invited to compete in any Winter Carnivals. More than anything, I recall the camaraderie of the sport, the awards banquet, with great food and songs,” which continue to this day, one of the traditions of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA). Tucker received six varsity letters while at Williams and was the captain of the ski team there.

Tucker continued to race and perform at a high level; he was named to the World Championships team in 1954, while also being the winner of the 1955 University of Oslo Slalom Championships and a member of both the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Nordic training squad.

He also started working at the Olympic Winter Games – the first in 1956 in Cortina, Italy. He also worked at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif., at the 1964 Olympics at Seefeld, Austria and at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. Tucker commented on what it was like working alongside such legends as Chummy Broomhall, Al Merrill and John Caldwell: “Well when you mention contributors to Nordic skiing in America, they were all outstanding, creative and relentless in furthering the sport with few resources. At Squaw Valley, Chummy was the first to introduce the Snow Mo machine to cross-country skiing, which was the first snow-grooming and track-setting machine – it was a real breakthrough. Chummy’s

www.skitrax.com

Bob Tucker left and above in 1967 with Swedish ladies team: (l-r) Barbo Martinsson, Aase Kaarlander and Toni Gustafsson.

idea transformed Nordic-track preparation as we knew it, and went on to be used at the Seefeld Games and all over the world. Nordic skiing’s biggest issue was money, because most of the USSA budget was largely dedicated to alpine.”

Tucker and Caldwell also used the contacts they made internationally to bring over a number of top-notch Swedish women skiers to help spread the gospel of the sport in 1967. Tucker notes that their efforts were prior to the U.S. having a women’s cross-country program. “J.C. [John Caldwell] and I worked with Inga Lunden, the Swedish women’s coach, to bring three top Swedish women to the U.S. in 1967.”

They raced more than three weeks in the U.S. Besides beating many of the men, this visibility paved the way for women’s racing in the U.S. Caldwell spoke recently about those early days. “Inga sent us several of the best Swedish women of that era: Barbo Martinsson and Toni Gustafsson, who both medaled in the 1968 Olympics in Autrans, France; and a team leader in Aase Kaarlander, who spoke English well. Bob and I arranged for the airfares – and it wasn’t an easy task then, as USSA’s officials didn’t see much value in this project. To say the trip was an inspiration would be a huge understatement. They encouraged Martha Rockwell to start racing, and in one race, Toni beat all the collegiate men, except for John Bower.”

Caldwell continued: “I guess I met Bob Tucker in about 1965 at a training camp in the Northwest. He had been designated by Al Merrill (a former Dartmouth coach) as the team manager for the 1966 FIS Worlds in Oslo. We got along very well and talked about how the United States lagged behind the rest of the world in cross-country skiing.”

Tucker and Caldwell formed an import company in 1966 called Nordic Sports Specialists. Tucker remembers: “J.C. [John Caldwell] was coach and I was the team manager of the USST, and we brought to the U.S. a variety of Nordic equipment not previously available to the domestic market. We did this for three years before selling the company to Gerry of Colorado.”

Caldwell recalls the company: “It should be noted that Leon Akers in Maine had already been in the business for years, but our goal was to try and start a really big business, and through Bob’s leadership, things started to take off. Tom Jacobs was our Eastern rep before he started his successful company – Reliable Racing Supply in Glens Falls, N.Y.” Tucker said, “Those were great years and were a springboard for my ski-repping career, which has spanned more than 50 years.” Tucker still stays active in the ski business, happily assisting his daughter, Polly, who is the Rocky-Mountain-area rep for Swix. He’s lived in Colorado since 1960. He still keeps fit by Nordic-walking three miles a day several days a week and enjoys hunting, fishing and hiking in his beloved state.

I loved his final comment to me: “I weight 147 pounds, have a resting heart rate of 58-62 and blood pressure of 125/80 . . . not bad for a curmudgeon,” he noted.

No, not bad at all, Bob. Thank you for your love and service to the sport – you are an inspiration and have been a tireless champion.

FEB/MAR 2016 SKITRAX 45

sasseville report

by Jack Sasseville

The Canadian Battleship Takes Positive Steps rankings for the past couple of years now, and even his 11th-place finish on the climb to Alpe de Cermis is not enough anymore.

This is good for everyone on the men’s team. For the veteran skiers, it sends a message, and for the younger skiers, it gives them hope.

It may be coincidence that this has happened with the hiring of a new CEO, but it is the right thing to do. There are going to be some tough, unpopular decisions to be made this spring after the Ski Tour of Canada 2016. Cross Country Canada has to balance having as strong a team as possible for the 2018 Olympics while at the same time building for the future.

Nordic Focus

U.S. Men – The same decisions that need to be made in Canada also need to be made in the U.S. for the men. There have been some decent results, but nothing outstanding. Is the next wave ready to step up?

Knute Johnsgaard from Whitehorse is one of several young Canadians who are getting their feet wet on the World Cup and hope to make their mark.

U.S. Women Shine – I have to start with how impressed I am with the performances of the U.S. women’s team on the World Cup. Even without Kikkan Randall this year, these women have consistently been at the top of the World Cup results lists, including a couple of wins by Jessie Diggins and Sophie Caldwell. Perhaps the most notable result has been their performance in the relay. In Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic, they were second to the all-powerful Norwegian women.

This shows that their results are not just by one or two skiers. They have a mix of younger and older skiers, sprinters and distance skiers.

What a season for them so far!

The Battleship is Beginning to Turn – It looks like the Canadian ski team is starting to move in the right direction. It has been evident to most people that it is time to bring on some new, younger skiers. The women’s team has been nonexistent at the World Cup level for years, and the skiers on the men’s team (with the exception of Alex Harvey) have been doing just enough to keep their places on the team, but they are not nearly as good as they were five years ago.

So far, the younger women attending the World Cups have not done that well, with the exception of the sprint in Planica, Slovenia.

But they have to start somewhere, and there is no substitute for European World Cup experience. These women and their coaches need to keep looking at what the Americans are doing and remembering what Canadian women have done in the past to keep their motivation.

There is no reason why the Canadian women cannot get to the top of the pack too.

For the men, the first sign of change is that Ivan Babikov was sent home after the Tour de Ski, and Knute Johnsgaard and Graeme Killick stayed to race on the World Cup. Babikov has been sliding down the 46 SKITRAX FEB/MAR 2016

Norwegian Dominance – Even without Marit Bjoergen racing and Petter Northug winning, the Norwegian team continues to dominate the world of cross-country skiing. With the Swedish men all sick, hurt or retired, there is no other nation that can even come close to them. If you are a Norwegian, this is fantastic and proves what you knew all along – Norge ar Beste!

However, if you are from anywhere else, I don’t think that this is a good thing for the sport. Most countries, including Canada, are awarded their corporate and government funding from podium results, and that has been very hard to do lately. So a Catch 22 now exists, with Norway getting stronger and receiving more funding and support and everyone else getting weaker and receiving less funding and support.

Prize Money on World Cup – Does anyone out there still think that cross-country skiing is an “amateur” sport? If you do, check out these numbers. Therese Johaug has dominated the women’s World Cup and has won 222,500 Euros as of Jan. 27. Second is Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg from Norway with 129,250 Euros. Diggins is the top North American skier with 31,500 Euros.

For the men, Martin Johnsrud Sundby leads with 225,500 Euros, followed by Finn Hagen Krogh at 84,000 Euros. Simi Hamilton is 15th overall with 10,000 Euros and Alex Harvey is 22nd at 6,500 Euros.

While it is not tennis or golf, those are still some pretty good winnings, especially at the top. These top skiers also have endorsements and sponsorships and they do not have to pay for their expenses when they travel.

Climate Change and Race Venues – It continues to get harder and harder to afford to hold a race, and it looks like it will get worse in the future. On the World Cup, especially in Central Europe, if there is not snow-making, it is impossible to have a race. While at this level there is enough income coming in to afford the cost of snow-making, this is not the case at the local level. My fear is that there will be fewer and fewer races at the club level around the world, leading to fewer and fewer skiers and lessened interest in the sport. Yikes! www.skitrax.com

Nordic Focus

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Nordic Focus

En Mars, pour la première fois, encouragez les meilleurs athlètes au monde au Ski Tour Canada 2016 où ils iront nezà-nez dans 4 villes à travers le pays pour l’épreuve finale de Coupe du Monde FIS de la saison!

www.cccski.com/donate

TOP TO BOTTOM SWIX HAS YOUR SKI BASE COVERED

Cut to the chase.

The Swix Cera Nova X line was designed as a complete system.

Skiing fast or just skiing, Swix has all conditions and all bases covered.

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