SkiTrax Spring 2018

Spring 2018

HISTORIC

TOUR DE SKI 2018

US & Canada on Final Podiums

ICELAND LOPPET

Adventure of a Lifetime

CHUMMY BROOMHALL Amazing Legacy

NORTH LAKE TAHOE XC Skiing at its Best Official publication of

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Registration Number 9875 Agreement Number 1372521 Printed in Canada

NEW BLE A T D N U RO Harvey, Randall, Kershaw, Newell, Bjornsen Plus Competition Roundup Masters World Cup 2018 Junior/U23 Nordic Worlds

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CONTENTS Spring 2018 Volume 28, Issue 3

SKI

FEATURES 14

28

The Legacy of Chummy Broomhall

38

by Peter Graves

32

Fast Trax Run & Ski Shop Profile

14

North Lake Tahoe

by Jonathan Wiesel

The Iceland Loppet

by Dan and Dalia Clausen

28

by Ron Johnson

34

Pika Poop, Mountain Goats and Receding Glaciers

by Jean Arthur

42

Tour de Ski 2018

by Noah Simms

COMPETITION 46

48

50

52

56

42

38

Canmore Para-nordic World Cup Season Kick-off

by Jenn Jackson

60

62

Masters World Cup 2018

by Julie Melanson

FIS Junior/U23 Nordic World Championships

by Noah Simms

2018 L.L. Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships

by Julie Melanson

64

66

68

Haywood NorAm 2017/18 Canadian Report

by Julie Melanson

FIS Cross Country Ski World Cup 2017/18

by Noah Simms

Biathlon World Cup 2017/18

by Noah Simms

Nordic-combined World Cup 2017/18

by Jenn Jackson

Men’s Ski-jumping World Cup 2017/18

by Jenn Jackson

Women’s Ski-jumping World Cup 2017/18

by Jenn Jackson

PRO TALK

SKI TIPS

COLUMNS

18

22 Technique by Keith Nicol 23 Tele Technique by J. Scott McGee 70 Waxworx by Jack Cook and

8 Out In Front 20 Backcountry by Steve Threndyle 21 Masters by J.D. Downing 71 Graves on Nordic by Peter Graves 72 Sasseville Report by Jack Sasseville

SkiTrax Roundtable by Sadie Bjornsen, Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw, Andy Newell and Kikkan Randall Spring 2018

Alex Harvey became the first Canadian to finish on the final podium at the legendary Tour de Ski.

US & Canada on Final Podium

ICELAND LOPPET

Adventure of a Lifetime

CHUMMY BROOMHALL Amazing Legacy

NORTH LAKE TAHOE XC Skiing at its Best Official publication of

Nordic Focus

HISTORIC

TOUR DE SKI 2018

$4.95 www.skitrax.com

Registration Number 9875 Agreement Number 1372521 Printed in Canada

NEW BLE ROUNDTA Harvey, Randall, Kershaw, Newell, Bjornsen Plus Competition Roundup Masters World Cup 2018 Junior/U23 Nordic Worlds

Patrick Moore

SkiTrax, a division of 1198189 Ontario Inc., is published 4 times each season: Annual, Winter, 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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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 1

publisher/editor Benjamin Sadavoy international correspondent Peter Graves contributors Jean Arthur, Dalia Clausen, Dan Clausen, Jack Cook, J.D. Downing, Peter Graves, Jennifer Jackson, Ron Johnson, J. Scott McGee, Julie Melanson, Patrick Moore, Keith Nicol, Jack Perry, Noah Simms, John Symon, Steve Threndyle, Jonathan Wiesel photographers Jean Arthur, Atlas and Ian Cobel, Broomhall Family, Reese Brown, CCC, Dalia Clausen, Dan Clausen, Jack Cook, Michael Dinneen Photography, Pam Doyle, Romina Eggert/ USA Nordic, Fast Trax Run & Ski Shop, Gusti Photography, Hardwood Ski and Bike, Daphne Hougard, Catherine Howard Photography, jwsc2018, K. Kelly, David Knoop, Heather Nicol, Northstar Cross Country, Nordic Focus, Royal Gorge, Ruzov VP, Salomon, Selko Photos, Sigge’s Sport Villa, Rob Smith, Kai Symington-Kruss, Tahoe Cross County, Team Gregg, US Biathlon, YTS graphic design Ingrid Riets 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 (2017/18) 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

United States Ski Association

member of

finnsisu.com Printed in Canada, Issued Spring 2018 2 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

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MORE THAN 110 KM OF TRAILS TO TRY OUT YOUR NEW GEAR

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 3

KICK Bruce Adelsman/skinnyski.com

Idaho’s Charley French, the oldest competitor at MWC2018 at 92 years, won all events in the newly designated 90+ category (AG13) established by the World Masters Association in his honour.

4 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

www.skitrax.com

Inspiration You don’t need to look much further for inspiration than this great shot of Idaho’s Charley French at the recent Masters World Cup 2018 in Minneapolis, Minn. French, at 92 years, is still kicking and gliding with the best, and was the oldest competitor at the Championships, even prompting the World Masters Association (WMA) to change its rules so that 90+-aged skiers had their own race category. With our tribute to Chummy Broomhall, features on the Iceland Loppet and North Lake Tahoe, along with historic Tour de Ski, plus much more in this issue, you can even bank some inspiration for a rainy day.

Bravo to all the skiers on every start line and to those who took home medals. As the WMA president, J.D. Downing, says in his “Masters” column inside, we all need to “make it happen.”

Enjoy the off-season. – BAS

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 5

CONTRIBUTORS

Jean Arthur Jean Arthur writes and skis and hikes and bikes from her Montana mountain home for SkiTrax and other adventure-travel publications. Arthur’s books include Top Trails: Glacier National Park: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone, a hiking and cultural guide to Glacier National Park; Timberline and a Century of Skiing on Mount Hood and Hellroaring: Fifty Years on The Big Mountain. Arthur also edits for other publications, including the recent book Exploring Montana’s Pioneer Mountains.

Ron Johnson

Jenn Jackson

Ron Johnson is a Toronto, Ont.-based writer and editor who has been covering outdoor sports and recreation for more than a decade. There are very few outdoor activities he hasn’t tried and enjoyed, including ice canoeing in Quebec City, Que., kayaking the canals in Venice, Italy and surfing in Tofino, B.C., but he particularly enjoys cycling, skiing and Ultimate Frisbee. Johnson lives near the “Beaches” neighbourhood in Toronto with his wife, daughter and dog and spends his days writing about the city. He is the former editor of Get Out There magazines and has contributed to such publications as Maclean’s, The Globe and Mail, Adrenaline, Pedal, SkiTrax, Earth Island Journal and many more.

A former member of the Thunder Bay National Team Development Centre and Lakehead University Ski Team alumna, Jenn Jackson represented Canada at two U23 World Championships and at Ski Tour Canada in 2016. While no longer competing, Jackson still suits up for the odd local event, enjoys logging long easy kilometres on the trails and is always up early to watch the live-timer during the race season. Jackson started writing for SkiTrax in 2015, and after retiring from skiing in 2017, she transitioned over to mountain biking.

Jackson is always keen for a good story – either to write or to live.

BAND OF HEROES

photo © Agence ZOOM

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 7

OUT IN FRONT

by Ron Johnson

In a move designed to facilitate growth in the international market, winter-sports giant Rossignol has signed a deal to acquire another iconic heritage brand, Dale of Norway.

The Norwegian brand dates back to 1879, and is known for its highquality knitwear of pure wool. Dale of Norway is internationally recognized and products are currently sold in more than 25 countries globally, with more than 13 million Euros in sales.

Dale has been the exclusive supplier of official knitwear to the Norwegian National Ski and Winter Olympic teams since 1956.

“Knitwear is an integral part of our Rossignol apparel line-up, and the addition of Dale is highly complementary. I am impressed with what the management team and the rest of the Dale organization have built and I look forward to expanding our common apparel business through shared know-how, new product development and global distribution,” said Bruno Cercley, CEO of Rossignol.

Team USA Rolls Out New Wax Truck

Photos: Reese Brown

A Game-changer for Athletes and Technicians

USA Nordic Ski Teams Announce Partnership with Jaybird

New custom waxing vehicle debuted at first stop of FIS World Cup’s in Ruka, Finland, where U.S. skiers posted top results.

A

lthough a little late to the party, the Team USA crosscountry-ski team said goodbye to the waxing cabins of old and proudly rolled its own new custom waxing vehicle into Ruka, Finland at the first stop of the FIS Cross-country World Cup season.

The team took delivery of its new truck last September after a fundraising effort $600,000 spearheaded Project

by Liz Arky, a member of the USSA Board of Directors and chair of the US Nordic Advisory Group, and Kikkan Randall, a veteran star of the Team USA, garnered more than $600,000 to bring the project to fruition.

“Our American cross-country fans and my fellow Trustees are extremely proud of our athletes, and wanted to do something significant to help them achieve their dreams,” said Arky.

The waxing technicians had formerly operated out of small cabins and managed miracles in the cramped quarters.

“We’ve been talking about this for perhaps five years, but needed to get some other fundamentals in place first,” said Chris Grover, U.S. cross-country- team head coach. “Team USA is only team ranked in the top nine last year without a wax truck.”

The new truck was introduced in Finland and Norway for the opening World Cup events that saw U.S. skiers Sadie Bjornsen, Jessie Diggins and Sophie Caldwell post top results, thanks in part to the new mobile waxing facility.

8 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Rossignol Acquires Dale of Norway

“The wax truck will make a huge difference for our team this year,” said world champion Diggins. “Having all our wax technicians in the same room means that communication will be instant and easy when waxes are changing on race day.”

Team USA worked with Scania and SKAB on its truck, the same companies used by Canada to build theirs.

The wax truck provides more than 48 square metres of working space in its eight main waxing stations. The main waxing room has ski storage for 600 pair of skis, saving team staff hundreds of hours they had spent moving gear from rental trucks to wax rooms every weekend. A pull-out porch is available for kick waxing in colder temperatures, with a roof to protect against falling snow.

Eight main waxing stations and storage for 600 pair of skis

“This is a game-changer for us in providing the best support for our athletes and a better working atmosphere for our technicians,” said Grover. “It also illustrates the passion of our fans back in America who raised over $600,000 to make this possible.”

In an announcement that is music to the ears of US Nordic team members, the national leadership organization of ski-jumping and Nordic-combined in the U.S. has signed a partnership agreement with Jaybird, a sport audio and technology company.

“Nordic ski-jumping and Nordic-combined are two of the most mentally and physically challenging sports of all the Winter Olympic disciplines,” said Jamie Parker, president and CEO at Jaybird.

“Athletes train for years to earn a position to represent their country, and music is a key component for their training and pre-competition mental preparation.”

Both organizations are based in Park City, Utah, and US Nordic athletes will help test and research new products for Jaybird while out training. In turn, Jaybird will help support and motivate the athletes to reach their competition goals.

“All of our athletes use music to get in the zone before they have to compete,” said Billy Demong, executive director of USA Nordic Sport, 2009 world champion and America’s first Olympic gold medalist in Nordic skiing. “The right tunes can help take the anxiety away and allow them to focus on their performance during big moments”. continued on page 12 www.skitrax.com

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 9

BOOK REVIEW

A Cross Country Ski Story

The Most Extensive Book on the Sport

Photos: Bjorger Pettersen Collection

L

egendary pioneer Bjorger V. Pettersen’s new book A Cross Country Ski Story is an amazing firsthand, indepth account that chronicles the development of the sport of crosscountry skiing in Canada, the U.S.A. and around the world.

If you didn’t know that Alex Harvey’s dad used to race, that Canada has hosted World Cups in Whitehorse and Labrador City, that the world’s best skiers used to flock to Inuvik, N.W.T. for the Top of the World Championships each spring and that Thunder Bay, Ont. hosted the Nordic World Championships, then this new book is a must-read.

From humble roots that began in Prince George, B.C. to the top of the world with Olympic gold medals by Beckie Scott and Chandra Crawford, Pettersen charts the history of the sport, including more than 300 photos that capture the essence of an amazing journey.

“Welcome to my mountains, to my trails through Canada’s terrain of rolling hills and prairies – to my world of cross-country skiing,” says Pettersen, who is recognized as the first full-time cross-countryski coach in Canada. “We had a very humble start and struggled against the odds, but with fierce pride, we took on the world in our Canadian way.”

Chandra Crawford celebrates Olympic gold in 2006

TEST Team with Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

Told from his personal recollections, Pettersen first coached skiers from the Hickory Wing Ski Club in Prince George, and went on to launch the Territorial Experimental Ski Training (TEST) Program at Inuvik, which drew worldwide attention when twin sisters Sharon and Shirley Firth, only 14 years old, became North American champions after only five months of skiing. The duo went on to defend their titles for the next three years.

There are detailed chapters on the travels and results of Canadian racers throughout Europe and North America in the 1960s and ’70s.

It highlights the achievements and contributions of such racers as Fred “The Express” Kelly, Malcolm Hunter, the Firth Twins and Burt Bullock, as well as sport builders such as Father Mouchet.

The 435-page book is complemented by sections from notable contributors to the sport such as Roger Allen, Marty Hall, Jack Sasseville, 10 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Anton Scheier, Dave Wood and Louis Bouchard that demonstrate the strategic plan in Canada to develop strong coaches and teams year to year.

Petterson was also a longtime Canadian FIS representative, an innovator in ski-course design as developer and Olympic venue manager at the Canmore Nordic Centre as well as the founder of VikSki Canada.

“The 1988 Games left a large footprint for Canadians and really entrenched our place in the sport on the world stage,” explains Pettersen. “I believe this 435-page publication is the most extensive ever written on our sport.

“Whether you’re a racer, a recreational skier, a backcountry skier or simply someone who enjoys the sport, there is something for everyone in this book,” added Pettersen. “I have a great love and dedication for my sport, my family and Canada.”

A Cross Country Ski Story is a great read and makes a wonderful gift for the avid cross-country skier, and can be purchased online at www.acrosscountryskistory.com.– Jack Perry Legendary Shirley and Sharon Firth

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continued from page 8

OUT IN FRONT

IOC Clashes with CAS Over Russian Doping Scandal Before Games

T

he Russian doping scandal has been a long and winding road impacting the country’s participation in many international sporting events, including the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. And although some steps have been taken since the McLaren Reports outlined the scandal, the saga is far from over.

In late November, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) instructed the International Ski Federation (FIS) to modify the results of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in light of the doping scandal that rocked Russian sport and resulted in disciplinary measures against six Russian cross-country athletes – Alexander Legkov, Evgeniy Belov, Julia Ivanova, Evgenia Shapovalova, Alexey Petukhov and Maxim Vylegzhanin – including suspension and ineligibility from future Olympic competition.

FIS took a pragmatic, evidence-based approach that has at times been at odds with the IOC, and stated that, based on its own anti-doping protocols, the athletes who are still active would be eligible to compete during the FIS World Cup season and other FIS competitions.

A few days later, on Nov. 27, the IOC sanctioned two biathletes, Sochi 2014 silver medalists Yana Romanova and Olga Vilukhina and five additional Russian winter-sport athletes including skeleton athlete Sergei Chudino; and two bobsledders, Sochi 2014 gold medalists Aleksei Negodailo and Dmitrii Trunenkov. More meetings were scheduled to determine additional disciplinary measures at the approach to the Pyeongchang Games.

The International Biathlon Union (IBU), in light of the weight of evidence regarding the Russian doping scandal, relegated the Russian Biathlon Union to provisional membership status. The decision was decreed to stand until such time as, after the 2017-2018 competitive season, numerous conditions are met, including the IOC’s lifting of the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

Despite an initial break from the IOC, in early December the FIS Doping Panel finally had the opportunity to review the evidence and conduct its own due diligence and ruled on side with the IOC that there was evidence of the anti-doping rule violation and provisionally suspended the six cross-country athletes, while also allowing them each a personal hearing before reaching a final decision.

Days later, the IOC took even greater steps to deal with the scandal after the findings of the Schmid Commission addressed the full breadth of the systematic manipulation of the anti-doping system in Russia. This report also addresses in particular the manipulation at the anti-doping laboratory at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games that targeted the Olympic Games directly.

As a result, the IOC announced the suspension of the entire ROC, including any and all officials, coaches and medical doctors of the Russian Olympic Team at

12 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Russia’s Alexander Legkov and Maxim Vylegzhanin were banned from Pyeongchang 2018.

Nordic Focus

Auclair Teams up with Alex Harvey

the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Though dramatic, the IOC did leave open the ability of certain athletes to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics under strict conditions, which led to certain Russian athletes being able to compete in Pyeongchang under the OAR (Olympic Athletes from Russia) banner.

What followed was a steady stream of news highlighting notable cross-country skiers and other winter-sport athletes suspected of doping or suffering sanctions.

On Dec. 11, the IOC announced that it suspected three additional Russian athletes of doping violations: Olympic gold medalist Nikita Kriukov, as well as Alexander Bessmertnykh and Natalia Matveeva.

A few weeks later, the IOC made the announcement that it was banning 11 Russian athletes for life and stripping athletes of two more medals won at the Sochi Winter Olympics as a result of doping violations. Cross-country skiers Kriukov and Bessmertnykh both lost their silver medals and were banned for life, along with nine other athletes.

The announcements from the IOC continued even up until a couple of weeks before the Games when two top Russian skiers, cross-country racer Sergey Ustiugov and biathlete Anton Shipulin, were banned.

And there were more than a few wrinkles along the way.

In late December, the IOC was criticized for cowardly behaviour when it failed to address Russia’s campaign of retaliation against whistleblower Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former anti-doping official and director of a Moscow laboratory, whose testimony has been at the centre of the entire Russian doping scandal.

Rodchenkov’s testimony is key to the IOC’s case and his lawyer Jim Walden said his client has received death threats while enduring a prolonged campaign to discredit him.

There were also dozens of appeals from Russian athletes who were slated to appear before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to plead their individual cases relating to the doping scandal.

More controversy flared at the top levels of the sport when the CAS overturned the sanctions against 28 Russian athletes on Feb. 1 and reinstated their individual results from Sochi 2014, while upholding the sanctions against 11 Russian athletes. Included in the group of 28 Russian athletes whose sanctions were lifted are cross-country skiers Evgeniy Belov, Alexander Bessmertnykh, Nikita Kriukov, Alexander Legkov, Natalia Matveeva, Alexey Petukhov, Evgenia Shapovalova and Maxim Vylegzhanin.

But the IOC did not accept the findings and barred the athletes cleared by the CAS, declining the Russian Olympic Committee’s request to send 13 active athletes and two coaches to Pyeongchang despite having their suspensions lifted by the CAS.

High-performance winter-apparel brand Auclair recently announced partnerships with top Canadian winter athletes, and now includes Canadian Nordic skier Alex Harvey.

The 70-year-old heritage brand, based in Montreal, Que., announced that Harvey would join the Auclair team along with current Olympic mogul champion Mikael Kingsbury, mogul-skiing sisters Chloe, Justine and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe and snowboarder Max Parrot.

“We look forward to working with each athlete to understand how they interact with our products across all facets of training and competition,” said Guy Darveau, president and CEO of Auclair’s parent company, Paris Glove Canada.

Athletes are working on new product development and providing insight on new prototype designs.

Auclair has a long history of working with Canadian wintersports organizations and athletes including alpine racer Melanie Turgeon and Olympic cross-country medalist Becky Scott, in addition to being the official supplier of the US freestyle and Nordic teams.

Sigge’s Sport Villa Ltd. Closes its Doors After 47 years in business, Vancouver’s Sigge’s Sport Villa Ltd., located in the city’s Kitsilano suburb, announced it is closing its doors effective April 30.

Founded in 1971 by Sigge Bjorklund, who moved to Vancouver from Finland in 1956, the specialty cross-countryski store was family-owned and -operated and open seasonally from Sept. 1 to April 30.

Run by Anders Bjorklund, the founder’s son, the store made the difficult decision to close because it was challenged to find and retain skilled full-time staff and to afford the continuous escalation of lease rates.

The renowned shop was listed

Sigge’s in B.C. closes after 47 years.

with a business broker for one year, but “. . . although we received positive interest in this great opportunity, we have not been successful finding the right match suitable for our family business.” continued on page 14 www.skitrax.com

BOOK REVIEW

World Class

How U.S. Women Created the Perfect XC Ski Team orld Class: The Making of the U.S. Women’s Cross-Country Ski Team, written by Peggy Shinn, a longtime contributor to TEAMUSA.org, is an amazing story of how Kikkan Randall, Liz Stephen, Holly Brooks, Jessie Diggins, Ida Sargent, Sadie Bjornsen, Sophie Caldwell, Rosie Brennan and coach Matt Whitcomb created the perfect team.

What a marvel with so many heroines This book explains the team’s evolution from way back through until 2017 and how eight athletes have used teamwork, respect and affection to compensate for not growing up in countries where Nordic skiing is a way of life.

An amazing and inspiring story about how eight extraordinary women athletes used teamwork, respect and affection to build a world-class team, compete at the highest level and win.

Don’t think of this as a quick page-turner like some novels on The New York Times Best Sellers list. Instead, take your time, read the whole dang thing, sentence by sentence. It’s authoritative, fun, perceptive, well-researched and very well-written – drawing you in by telling stories and painting pictures of people and their times.

There are many intriguing facts contained within (important because they provide context and connectivity to the rise of the team, not just names and dates) and great dabs of history, including interviews with iconic figures such as John Caldwell, Alison Owen (now Bradley), Marty Hall and Trina Hosmer (still going strong at World Masters races), but, most of all, there is a series of fascinating insights into remarkable, endearing people, skiers and coaches, whose passion for their sport has created a unique rapport. They’re carrying this strength into the 2018 Olympics.

Like most longtime Nordic skiers in the U.S. and Canada, I could offer up a litany of vital innovations that have helped to popularize our sport and create a small-but-vigorous industry: track-set trails, fibreglass skis, waxless bases, stretch fabrics, skate technique and equipment, and so on.

For American skiers’ accomplishments, I’d put Bill Koch’s 1976 Olympic silver medal on this same level as a galvanic event, as influential as any of those technological introductions. And right now, we may be at a new tipping point that can propel the sport – particularly inspiring women to try it – to a new level of recognition in North America.

I’m hoping – millions of us are hoping! – that the timing can’t get better than this: the release www.skitrax.com

of an intense, absorbing book about extraordinary people and their skiing at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. (The book’s publication date, Feb. 6, is, of course, mighty smart business.)

I keep mentioning “people.” Many in the Nordic world now think of them by their first names: Kikkan (five-foot, four-inch trailblazer, catalyst, team leader, iconoclast . . .), Jessie, Liz, Holly, Rosie, Ida, Sadie and Sophie. They’re all remarkable athletes, while also being just fantastic people.

Coaches are a big part of the picture, particularly particularly Whitcomb, the women’s team coach – building teamwork, caring, and not just evaluating technique and doing logistical work.

World Class doesn’t simply give you rare insight into how the team works – it’s like being adopted into a particularly close-knit family. JW

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 13

continued from page 12

OUT IN FRONT

Devastating Fire at Hardwood Ski and Bike Trails Re-opened Jan. 6

The chalet was unusable, but plans are underway to come back bigger and better.

photos: Hardwood Ski and Bike

holders. Some programs were disrupted and regular progress updates have been posted on the Hard­ wood website, which also reported “excellent” trail conditions.

“I am excited that we will be able to get back to skiing on the great trails at Hardwood. The staff has been working very hard to get us started back on the road to a bigger and better Christmas Day fire at Hardwood Ski and Hardwood Ski and Bike,” bike ... fortunately no one was hurt. said Jack Sasseville, past ardwood Ski and Bike near Barrie, Ont. suffered president and general manager of Hardwood Ski a devastating fire this past Christmas Day that and Bike. broke out in the main chalet of the popular resort, The cause of the fire was attributed to an approximately 90 minutes north of Toronto. No one electrical fault. Some 70 employees work at was hurt in the fire, but material damage is estimatHardwood. Apart from Nordic-skiing activities, ed at approximately $1 million [CDN]. the site is also known for mountain biking and The chalet and most of its contents were was the venue for that sport at the 2015 Toronto rendered unusable, but the centre’s trails Pan Am Games. For more information, visit www. reopened on Jan. 6. Meanwhile, portable hardwoodskiandbike.com. – JS washrooms have been set up and a waxing hut has been Hardwood management praised converted into a warm-up hut. the community support.

Management is also working to restore food services.

“This is the first step in a long journey to full recovery. I am optimistic that Hardwood, with the support of our community, will be back stronger than ever before,” said Gareth Houben, Hardwood’s president and general manager.

Hardwood management also praised the community support they have been receiving; nearby Highlands Nordic will honour current Hardwood season passes.

In mid-January, various discounts and refunds were announced, including a 20% reduction for season-pass

H

14 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

The store was established after Sigge Bjorklund could not find cross-country skis following his emigration to Canada in 1956. He decided to import skis from Finland and began selling them out of his garage. As the business grew, he eventually established Sigge’s Sport Villa, specializing in cross-countryski equipment and clothing.

Bjorklund and a small group of friends also formed the Vancouver Skiers Cross-Country and Touring Club, which grew to more than 500 members.

The store received overwhelming response to the sad news, and its answer to these sentiments were expressed in its newsletter: “We wish to express our deepest thanks to everyone for supporting our business, our most sincere thanks for all the kind words and, most of all, thank-you very much for understanding how difficult this decision has been for us.”

Allan Daigneault Passes Away Allan Daigneault, a friend and associate to many cross-country skiers, cyclists and the Canadian sporting-goods community, passed away on Jan. 27 at the age of 55.

Daigneault of Lacolle, Que. was very popular and known for his upbeat personality, quick smile and lend-a-hand attitude. His humble demeanour, laughter, memory of names and endless knowledge of product and sport will be sorely missed.

Daigneault was fun to be around and could brighten anyone’s day.

His career began in cycling back in 1989 when he repped for Miyata and Limongi bicycles and later was involved with Brodie bicycles, forming his own sales agency along the way. He became involved with cross-country skiing as well and repped for Alpina, Madshus and Vauhti. His legacy in the industry will last forever.

Daigneault is survived by his beloved wife, Charli Ferguson; his mother, Willa Smart Daigneault; his sister, Alyson; his brother, David; his sister-in-law, Betty-Ann Goodwin; his mother-in-law, Lena Slowski Fedyk; and nieces and nephews.

A celebration of his life was held on Feb. 7. Donations to Canada’s young athletes via gg.gg/AllanCelebrationoflife are appreciated.

SkiTrax joins the sporting-goods community in sending condolences to Daigneault’s family and friends. www.skitrax.com

YTS

Yellowstone Track Systems Changes Hands

OF

LE SAMBER

THE MAKING OF CHAMPIONS

F

% 10MM–ERSEPTE SUJUNE

YTS is a leading source for tracksetters and snow renovators in North America.

Y

ou know the phrase “Pure as the driven snow”? Well, a properly groomed cross-country trail is exactly that. Grooming for skate and Classic technique is somewhere between craft and art.

To do the best job, you have to be intimately familiar with the terrain, vehicle and implements, and evaluate snow conditions, which can change from moment to moment and spot to spot. You need to know when to groom and when not to groom.

Ideally, the result is fresh, clean lines of compressed snow that buoy up your skis and don’t let your poles sink. It’s almost (almost!) too beautiful to mar by skiing.

To create this, drivers need equipment that can at the right times, blade, gather, chop, slice, dice, push, pack, smooth, lovingly pat into place . . . .

Well, if you ski groomed trails in North America, chances are pretty good that you’ve been skating or striding on surfaces created by Yellowstone Track Systems (YTS). For Elite skiers, the same holds true for the past five winter Olympics around the world. YTS is a leading source for tracksetters and snow renovators in North America.

In the trade, referring to its ever-evolving “Ginzugroomer” (a snow renovator for use with snowmobiles or snowcats, with a track-setting option) is sometimes similar to saying “Xerox” when referring to “photocopiers.” YTS also manufactures rollers, compactors, front renovators, snow combs, pretty much all of the cross-country grooming implements except for front blades and power tillers. And yes, it has compaction drags for fatbike trails.

After almost 35 years in the business, YTS founder Doug Edgerton, who all this time has groomed and tested equipment at the famous Rendezvous Trails in West Yellowstone, Mont., has sold his brainchild to David and Helen Haile. They live near Sheridan, Wyo., which, in turn, borders on the Bighorn Mountains, where the equipment will be tested.

So what inspired Haile, known in his family as “Mr. Spreadsheet,” to switch professions after 34 years as an electrical engineer? In part it was monotony, as Haile was “scrambling to get away from a desk.” They also both love the sport and skiers (Helen says their customers are “like having hundreds of pen pals”), so they’ll have a lot of people contact.

There will likely not be many new YTS products right away. The Hailes are concentrating on streamlining the business, making ordering easier, as well as accelerating fabrication and fulfillment. Changes in the near future may include more concentration on fatbiking grooming, while the Jumbo Roller is already being supplanted by an electric roller/compactor for better performance, especially in wet, sticky conditions.

And if you ski West Yellowstone, Edgerton will probably still be grooming, using YTS equipment. For more information, visit www.yellowstonetrack.com. – Jonathan Wiesel

www.skitrax.com

THE STORY OF THE GROWTH OF XC SKIING IN CANADA, THE USA AND THE WORLD • Contributing chapters by Roger Allen, Marty Hall, Anton Sheier, Jack Sasseville, Dave Wood and Louis Bouchard • Championship races in Canada, the USA, International, including the Olympics • 435 Pages

THE MOST EXTENSIVE BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT OUR SPORT

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Broomhall Family Collection

Chummy Broomhall was a legendary Olympian, coach, innovator and icon whose lifelong accomplishments in cross-country skiing were extraordinary.

AMAZING LEGACY OF

CHUMMY BROOMHALL Inspirational Pioneer and Leader

T

his past December, the amazing Chummy Broomhall celebrated his 98th birthday surrounded by family and friends. It was a special, loving time. Not many are given the gift of longevity, and he appreciated that he had lived a good, rich life. On Dec. 30, 2017, he passed away quietly and at peace.

Mention the name Chummy Broomhall and most Nordic folk might call him a legendary Olympian, coach, innovator and icon. Throughout his 98 years, he was all these things and more. I was first introduced to Chummy in the late 1960’s by my high-school coach Bucky Broomhall, his brother (the entire Broomhall family is a pleasure to know).

I visited Chummy again this past summer to interview him about his extraordinary life where he lived for a time at the Maine Veterans’ Home, a quiet and peaceful refuge in South Paris, Maine. His son Scott, a lifelong friend of mine, accompanied me. Time had marched on and Chummy’s skiing days were behind him, though he was still rather active last July, taking part in any social event on his calendar. This past summer, he was the oldest veteran there. And he was loved and respected by all.

His words and his kind eyes brought me back to an earlier time.

In many ways, he was a high-profile personality, though not because he wanted to be. In fact, his quiet, self-sufficient manner suggested that he was such only in service to his love of Nordic skiing. He told me that cross-country skiing had given him so much that he always

16 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

by Peter Graves felt the need to give back in return. And during his long life, return the favour he did, and Nordic skiing is so much richer for it. His many lifelong accomplishments are simply too extraordinary to ignore.

Born Wendall Broomhall on Dec. 3, 1919 in Mexico, Maine, Chummy was the middle child of 15 siblings. He grew up on a farmstead, riding horses and learning the value of work, cleaning out horse stalls as a young child. In his youth, he worked hard as well, spending much of his time as a logger.

To the origin of his nickname, he revealed, “I was first called Chubby because I was a chubby kid, but as I thinned out, the kids changed it to Chummy.” To my mind, Chummy suited him perfectly.

When Uncle Sam called for men to enlist to fight the Nazis, Chummy was right there, along with his brother Slim. Chummy said he’d envisioned a military career as a pilot, but that dream was dashed due to poor eyesight in one eye. He joined the U.S. Army, as did Slim, and they headed to the new fighting outfit that specialized in winter warfare – the fabled 10th Mountain Division, located high in the Rockies at Cape Hale, Colo.

“It was,” as son Scott recalled, “the beginning of his love affair with winter and skiing.”

The brothers were both expert skiers and racers, so joining this particular outfit made plenty of sense. Chummy told me he wanted to be an ordinary soldier, but the fate would have none of that. He became www.skitrax.com

Broomhall became one of the lead ski instructors for his army unit and played important roles in key campaigns in Italy and on the Aleutian Islands.

one of the lead ski instructors for the unit. He and his brother played important roles in key campaigns, including in heavy fighting at Monte Cassino in Italy and on the Aleutian Islands in Alaskan territory.

One of several tough campaigns that Chummy took part in and clearly recalled was during the latter stages of World War Two, a 123-day siege against heavily fortified German troops deep in the mountain peaks and ridges around Monte Cassino. The series of four assaults by Allied troops commenced on Jan. 17, 1944. “Digging foxholes in that kind of terrain was simply out of the question; it was too rocky,” he noted.

After the war, Chummy returned home and married the love of his life, Lempi Torkko, in her hometown of Ashland, Wis. on Nov. 17, 1945, and theirs was a beautiful 60-year partnership filled with love and blessed with three children. Lempi passed away in May 2006.

Chummy was also a member of the US Ski Team from 1947-1954. He made the U.S. Olympic team in 1948 and again in 1952. At the 1948 Olympic Games, he was the only “special runner” included on the squad, with the remainder of the team comprised of Nordic-combined athletes. In Oslo, Norway in 1952, among his teammates were noted skiers John Burton, Tom Jacobs, Johnny Caldwell and George Hovland.

A lack of snow for the U.S.-hosted 1950 FIS World Nordic Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. saw the event moved to Rumford, Maine on little notice. Snow-drenched Rumford came to the rescue, as it had done before, it being in a natural snowbelt. The opening ceremony for all events was conducted in Lake Placid, then athletes and coaches jumped into their vehicles and drove to Rumford for the Championships’ Feb. 3 start.

Though Chummy on was the National team for the event, he and the Rumford community proved indispensable. “It was the legendary things he did that really drew me to him,” said Andy Shepard, current president and CEO of the Outdoor Sport Institute. “I mean, what he did was simply unbelievable. Chummy rallied the Rumford community to take on this event in 1950, and he was on the National team at that time. He took a lead role in organizing the event, laying out the course and recruiting volunteers to run the races. He even pre-ran the course to set in the track before putting on his own racing bib and competing.

It’s hard for me to imagine any athlete doing more to compromise his own chance at success in a World Championships, but Chummy did it because he knew it would be good for his town. That’s what Chummy www.skitrax.com

Chummy Broomhall served as Chief of Events for cross-country and for the first-time Olympic appearance of biathlon at the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Games.

Photos: Broomhall Family Collection

Broomhall’s love affair with winter and skiing began with the fabled 10th Mountain Division.

is made of, and why I’ve grown to love this man so much,” Shepard said last summer.

It proved to be a Rumford miracle. The timing crews relocated from Lake Placid to Rumford, but the rest of the team was organized locally.

It was a moving example of a small town with a “can do” spirit under one man’s leadership. Some trails were cut only the week before in a backbreaking effort to have an 18-kilometre loop. The races began in front of the high school, with some of the track (no longer in existence) following the now-well-traveled Route 2.

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 17

Broomhall Family Collection

There were four days of racing with nine nations attending and an estimated crowd of approximately 2,000 each day. As a small token of their appreciation, the Swedish team donated 50 pairs of racing skis to Rumford’s famed Chisholm Ski Club (one of the nation’s oldest ski clubs), which helped to energize its already growing youth program.

In the spring of 1959, the head of the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympic Winter Games, Alex Cushing, hired Chummy to serve as Chief of Events for cross-country and for the first-time Olympic appearance of biathlon. It was to be a two-year Californian gig. He gave up a good job at Hood Diary, as, once again, the Olympics served as a siren song enticing him westward.

A graduate of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. and a former All-American and Olympian in Nordic-combined, Jimmy Miller, also a native of Mexico, Maine, recalled that Chummy could communicate without saying much, and was, most of all, a nurturing coach. “Chummy always made you feel special. It didn’t matter how much talent you had. He taught us you never give up, no matter what happens in a race. I loved it when he said that it’s not your equipment that makes you fast, but your heart. He was always present in our lives, whether it was when making tracks and trails or through his excellent coaching.”

Miller was just one of legions of Chummy fans around the country.

He noted that Chummy had unique qualities that are in short supply these days: “First, he mined the goodness and talent of people, and loved them like his own. He has the magical power to make you feel special. He had respect for the sport, and people had a respect for him that was legendary and universal. Athletes and people were just attracted to him. He also encouraged us to set lofty goals and go after them.”

In 1980, the Olympic Winter Games again came calling for Chummy’s vast expertise. Working alongside his friend Merrill, both previously battle-tested by the 1960 Olympic Winter Games, he was ready to do it all again. This time, Merrill was Chief of Race and Chummy served as Chief of Course, a swap of roles of their Squaw Valley days. Once again, the pair inspired hundreds of dedicated volunteers. They also relied on innovation and snow-farming techniques, showing their ingenuity by having snow hauled from a huge pile at the biathlon centre to the cross-country-ski trails across the street and using manure spreaders to distribute it. The small village of Lake Placid again hosted the Winter Games, and the course crew did the near-impossible, making a world-class impression along the way.

In 1981, Chummy was inducted into the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame in recognition of his lifelong achievements in ski sport.

Chummy had an Old-World love of sport about him. He had the ‘it’ factor. He taught us all by example how you take care of, with love and attention, your family, your

There, he teamed up with a dear friend, Al Merrill, who was Dartmouth College’s ski coach. The two Maine natives proved instrumental in developing new trail-grooming technologies, used for the first time in cross-country skiing at the Olympic Games.

The courses were rolled with farm equipment, which proved a massive timesaver, enchanting the gathered European throng. By every measure, the Games were a huge success and put Squaw Valley on the map. Walt Disney’s creative expertise was reflected in his choreographing the opening ceremonies and IBM undertook the data-processing, all culminating in vast display of American ingenuity.

At Squaw Valley, famed Swedish champion Sixten Jernberg gave Chummy a pair of his skis, a deeply personal gift and a token of his friendship. Chummy was thrilled, but, sadly, the skis were later stolen. He still recalled these events many years on.

Merrill and Chummy’s collective imagination and Yankee practicality spurred some magical, innovative thinking that went on to change Nordic skiing. Chummy changed it by not only being an impactful organizer and athlete, but also by being a coach and mentor.

18 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Chisholm Ski Club

ski club and your friends.

www.skitrax.com

Chummy inspired generations to serve the sport he loved. He was generous too, over the years donating approximately 300 acres of land for the trail network at Maine’s Black Mountain. He loved his volunteers and treated each one like gold, and they would go to the ends of the earth and back for Chummy to make a race happen.

Another who knew Chummy well was Dan Warner, a longtime official and volunteer at Chummy’s famed Chisholm Ski Club. “Chummy was many things, but, above all, he was a mentor, and I was lucky enough to have him play a huge role in my younger years of becoming a race official. He did that for everyone,” Warner, a former International Ski Federation technical delegate and Olympic official, recalled. “He always told me to surround myself with great, talented people, and now, when folks ask why I officiate races, I say that Chummy did it for me, so I’m happy to do it for the skiers of today. Chummy motivated me to do my best.”

New NordicSki SkiAssociation Association(NENSA) (NENSA) NewEngland England Nordic Our Mission:

Our Mission

Implementing educational, recreational, and competitive programs at all levels to sustain a vital and active cross-country skiing community in New England.

Implementing educational, recreational, Check out at www.NENSA.net, on fb, twitter anduscompetitive programs at all @nensa levelsor on Instagram at nensa_nordic to sustain a vital and active cross-country skiing community in New England.

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Broomhall Family Collection

Broomhall’s immense contributions include the development of the Black Mountain Ski Area in Rumford, Maine.

www.NENSA.net, on FB, twitter @nensa or on Instagram at nensa_nordic

Following the war, Broomhall became a member of the US Ski Team from 1947-1954 and raced at the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games.

Even as recently as 2002, he was at it again, this time serving as an honorary volunteer at the Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In 2003, Chummy was inducted into the Maine Ski Hall of Fame.

Again, the words of Miller, whose late brother Pat Miller, a former University of Utah head coach, also grew up alongside Chummy and shared a deep affection for him: “You know, Chummy had an OldWorld love of sport about him. He had the ‘it’ factor. He taught us all by example how you take care of, with love and attention, your family, your ski club and your friends. Chummy taught the world of skiing that, with love of the sport and care of mankind, anything is possible.”

No greater words are needed, no tribute more sincere, all for a man who played a major role in helping Nordic skiing grow and flourish. A true lion of winter sport has passed, and those who were touched by Chummy are among his greatest legacies. Those of us inspired by him will have that blessing forevermore. www.skitrax.com

• Land Planning • Trail Design Feasibility Studies • Operations Evaluations • Facility Redesign • Marketing 303-579-4739 jonathan@nordicgroupinternational.com www.nordicgroupinternational.com SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 19

Welcome to Round Two of the new SkiTrax Roundtable featuring top Canadian and American skiers as they talk shop on some interesting, fun topics this Olympic season.

Check out their replies to our second question: “What’s the craziest/ funniest thing that’s ever happened to you as a cross-country-ski racer?”

ALEX HARVEY

DEVON KERSHAW

One of the biggest challenges for us on the road is to find access to a washing

There are a lot of stories in the vault, but this one in Italy during the 2013

machine. Some places (Davos, [Switzerland]; Val di Fiemme, [Italy]; Kuusamo,

Tour de Ski sticks out as an especially funny experience.

[Finland]), we have hook-ups, it’s super-easy and we can do it ourselves, but some other places, it’s either impossible or just crazy-expensive.

It was Jan. 3 and Lenny [Valjas], Ivan [Babikov], myself and Alex [Harvey] were all in the top 25 to start that day’s Pursuit race.

In Oslo, [Norway], you pretty much need to take out a mortgage to get

We had been staying at one particular hotel for decades – Hotel Dolo-

them to wash your clothes at the hotel. So here’s the story. After asking

miten – and that day began like the rest. In a quiet hush with the Pursuit

around to many people in Oslo, one morning right after breakfast, I ended

challenge looming, we sipped our cappuccinos and ate the stale white

up giving a giant bag of dirty laundry to the one-and-only Marit Bjoergen.

buns that are the signature of any Italian breakfast

I went for a ski, came back to the hotel, had lunch and then, as I walked

Back in those days, Canadian cross-country-ski racing was flush with

away from the buffet, I saw Marit walking in the hotel lobby with a giant

funding and we were able to afford some novel things like a “rock and

pile of clean, freshly folded clothes. Not only is Marit the best cross-country

roll” tour bus to aid in our recovery between stages of the Tour de Ski.

skier [who] ever lived, she’s also one of the most generous people I know.

It was our third year rolling in style on the Tour, and while others had RVs and the like, we were the only team at the time with a true “Team

KIKKAN RANDALL

Bus” – a blacked-out-windowed bus with our white CCC logo popping in stark contrast on the side. It was both a luxury and an advantage.

The plan was simple. Our bus driver would drive to Cortina early in the morning and park the bus as close to the race start as possible. Some hours later, Head Coach Justin [Wadsworth] would drive us in a team van to Cor-

One of the craziest things that ever happened to me was breaking my back

tina from Toblach (25 kilometres or so) – stopping along the race route so

in a race called the Flattop Flyer in 1999. Not a typical cross-country-ski

we could test skis and warm up on the race course. The plan was to finish

course, it began in the mountains above Anchorage, [Alaska] and descend-

our warm-up at the bus about 15 minutes before the race start, change into

ed about 1,500 feet into a main Nordic-trail system. An end-of-the-season

our racing gear and walk two to three minutes to the starting pen.

fun race, it included roller jumps and a prize for the best costume.

I was really letting it fly and unexpectedly encountered a roller jump and lost my balance going off the jump, landing hard on my backside. My back tensed up and I was carried off the course on a backboard and rushed to the emergency room.

A little note about our bus driver, a Brit named Paul. He was a stout, bald, a beer- and football-loving Englishman who mainly drove touring bands around Europe – the world of cross-country-ski racing was new.

All was going according to plan. The ski testing passed without issue, as did our warm-up. Soon we were in front of our bus, parked on a ter-

The diagnosis showed four compressed vertebrae in my mid-back and

raced square above the race start. Ivan tried to open the door to the bus,

a cracked rib. Being 16 at the time, my bones were still growing and I was

with us standing and chattering behind him. Locked. We tried again, this

able to make a full recovery after wearing a full back brace for six weeks.

time with a little more gusto. Nothing. Alex, not believing that this was re-

I got really lucky in that the fractures in my vertebrae slid away from my

ally happening, gave it a college try. No luck. I started laughing. What else

spinal cord and that I didn’t suffer any lasting effects.

could I do? After some panicked minutes, we realized we weren’t getting

They canceled the race after the accident. Regardless, I still like to have fun going fast and taking jumps on my Nordic skis!

20 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

into that bus to change into our dry clothing, race bibs, dry toques, gloves, gear, etc., – and the most important Tour de Ski stage was about to start. www.skitrax.com

We asked some top North American skiers about the craziest/funniest things that have ever happened to them as a cross-country-ski racer.

We sprinted down the stairs and along the track to the starting pen. We were rattled, of course, and the techs were trying to help us as best they

flight meals while en route to Sochi for the pre-Olympic World Cup. The best food in my opinion was in Lillehammer, Norway.

could. Like wild animals, clothing was changing bodies. I did not have my

My birthday always falls when we are at the World Cup in Kuusamo,

race bib with me (in the bus with all my other gear) so I asked around for

Finland, and when I was turning 30, Ingvild [Flugstad Oestberg] and some

a Sharpie marker and simply turned my training bib inside-out and wrote

of the Norwegian girls came into our condo holding candles and singing a

the number “22” on both sides, which was my starting position in the

traditional Norwegian birthday song. It was a funny, memorable moment.

Pursuit (yes, we got fined for that and other “infractions” [such as] racing without a race suit, etc.,).

It almost didn’t seem real until Alex broke his starting wand – the fourth man out. A minute or two later, and with Ivan was starting directly

Sometimes we face tough conditions on the World Cup. We once raced a freestyle city sprint in Prague at the 2008 Tour de Ski where the organizers salted with the wrong salt. The snow was so deep in one section of the course that athletes were double-poling to get through the soup.

in front of me, I was laughing uncontrollably looking at him in a pair of

One race we’ll be talking about for a long time was during this year’s

training tights two sizes too big and a oversized, sweaty long-underwear

Tour de Ski. The Classic sprint was canceled in Oberstorf, Germany. Thun-

top covering his upper body.

der, lighting, wind, pouring rain, collapsed towers and banners torn from

We all raced. We were all freezing up there on the top of the plateau. In

the fences and flying across the course were all part of the scene.

the end, Alex managed to finish sixth, I moved up surprisingly from 22nd to 12th, and Ivan finished where he started – 21st. Lenny got really cold – having no layers under his thin suit and fell from 13th to 23rd, but still finished.

Paul, meanwhile, was in a cafe 600 metres from the bus, enjoying an espresso and reading the newspaper. He had forgotten to leave the bus

SADIE BJORNSEN

open, and all the while was within a few minutes of us the whole time.

Do I remember the race itself? Perhaps slightly, but do I remember those 15 minutes before the race? Oh yes, like it was yesterday.

Life on the road can be pretty crazy. Here are some of the silliest “behind the scenes” experiences I’ve survived.

1. Living out of one 50-pound suitcase for four months is impossible.

ANDY NEWELL

Throughout the season, we slowly accumulate more possessions, and we quite literally look like bag ladies as we move in and out of our hotel rooms.

2. Laundry is like war, uncovering a place to clean our clothes once a week. Once we do discover a machine, there is a collection of 15 athletes and 10 staff fighting over it. Once in Norway, the cheapest option we could

With over 30 World Cups in over 13 countries, we are bound to have some

find was approximately $80 . . . sink laundry won that battle.

crazy travel stories from each season. My most memorable travel tales

3. We are obsessed with feng shui. In Europe, most of the bed configurations

involve something going epically wrong. In 2007, I tried to talk the air-

are twin beds put together that can be separated, so as soon as we walk into

lines out of $10K in baggage charges coming back from the Sapporo World

the room, we find a way to separate them and create the most “open space.”

Championship. After long negotiations in a language that nobody could

4. Every once in a while, you receive a mid-February miracle, like a for-

understand, they downgraded the charge to a few thousand dollars.

getten treasure that was packed into a small pocket somewhere in your

Traveling by train around Europe is great, but not with more baggage

bag. I recently found a friend’s birthday card with a little gift inside. My

than you can carry when trying to make a two-minute connection. If you

birthday was back in November.

can’t carry everything at once, it can turn into the most stressful bag

5. You lose track of time. Our main focus is on the races, so everything

shuttle imaginable.

revolves around recovering and preparing for the next battle. Sometimes

Food on the road can be interesting. Hands down the worst food would be in Russia. We were served trays of sliced cow tongue for one of the inwww.skitrax.com

you forget the world around you – I feel as if I can’t even tell what month or what day of the week it is.

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 21

BACKCOUNTRY

by Steve Threndyle

Snowshoe Revolution Underway on B.C.’s North Shore

A

quiet revolution has been underway in British Columbia’s North Shore backcountry. On any given day, the dozens of routes and trails to such summits as Mount Hollyburn, Mount Strachan and Mount Seymour are crawling with snowshoers, many of them hiking in single file with ski poles in hand and smiles on their faces.

Indeed, the humble snowshoe has surpassed both traditional touring cross-country skis and backcountry-oriented telemark skis (which seem to be on the verge of extinction) as the activity of choice for winter enthusiasts.

The reason for snowshoeing’s massive popularity on the North Shore is due to several factors. While the marketing message of cross-country skiing has been “If you can walk, you can cross-country ski,” the steep topography of the Coast Range is a formidable barrier

Snowshoeing took off during the 1970s and 1980s when aluminum frames with synthetic rubber and thermoplastic deck materials were introduced.

Snowshoeing in B.C. has seen incredible growth surpassing both cross-country and telemark skiing in popularity.

22 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Photos: Atlas and Ian Cobel

to beginners going both uphill and downhill on waxless, fish-scalebased skis with little or no turning ability to control speed. Snowshoeing – especially if you carry a ski pole to stabilize your balance on steeper slopes – offers infinitely more control (no messy klister!) and is simple and straightforward to learn. Secondly, snowshoes are cheap to rent, easy to find on Craigslist and generally very durable. And finally, snowshoes, at least the alpine variety with a wide (10" x 34" footprint), “stay on top” of fresh snow much better than skinny skis.

The vast majority of snowshoers have no knowledge of their historical significance. If you subscribe to the “Bering Sea Land Bridge” theory of North American settlement, you’ll accept that indigenous people used snowshoes to cross from Siberia into Alaska during the last Ice Age. Later on, early French, English and Spanish explorers came across a wide range of snowshoes used by First Nations in the 17th century.

Like the canoe and other First Nations’ modes of transport, English and French colonists adopted snowshoes for foot transport during the deep snows of winter. The North American Indians painstakingly constructed these snowshoes entirely from what nature provided – using tree branches for frames, cured animal hides for the decking, other animal parts for webbing and a rudimentary foot harness.

Wooden snowshoes are still produced by some companies – Quebec-based Faber sells a broad line-up of hickory- and ash-

framed shoe that is perfect for snowshoeing around the lakes and forests of eastern Canada. Wooden snowshoes, however, even the modern ones, are finicky. The leather laces can stretch in wet snow, the “catgut” webbing needs to be re-lacquered and the wooden frames will warp if stored incorrectly.

Snowshoeing took off during the 1970s and 1980s when Sherpa (followed by Tubbs, Atlas and MSR) developed aluminum-frame snowshoes with synthetic rubber and thermoplastic deck materials. For mountain travellers, Sherpa’s patented pivoting binding with its steel claws was truly the game-changer. Now, snowshoers could ascend steep, icy slopes without fear of sliding back and falling to their death.

Vancouver’s rapid population growth has fueled the popularity of snowshoeing.

Due to Vancouver’s burgeoning population growth over the past two decades, snowshoeing has become ever more popular – especially among recent immigrants from (most notably) Korea and China.

Each weekend, busloads of students, church groups, Boy Scouts and other recreational clubs gather in the parking lots of Mount Seymour and Cypress Bowl provincial parks and head directly to the snowshoe rental kiosks if they don’t own their own. You want to think that somewhere the ghosts of ancestral First Nations tribes are happy to see their ingenious, timeless invention still in use to this day. Which is likely something you won’t be able to say about your cellphone 500 years from now. www.skitrax.com

MASTERS

by J.D. Downing

Rise to the Challenge

I

f we allow it to happen, Masters can find many reasons to feel sorry for themselves. Start with the simple reality that being a Master athlete forces us to accept the inevitable decline of our performance capacities for the rest of our lives.

Sure, if we get on a good roll with fitness and health, we can do a nice job mitigating declines for a few years. For a special few (you undoubtedly know someone who fits this description), it’s possible to Maintaining your body positively impacts every aspect of life.

Photos: Ruzov VP

Make It Happen

Research supports the massive health benefi ts of exercise and maintaining overall fi tness.

ulations shows the massive health benefits of exercise and maintaining overall fitness. Every hour you devote to getting out the door in any season is arguably going to deliver a better return than any financial investment. Maintaining our bodies positively impacts literally every aspect of our lives.

Winter is one of the hardest seasons for most people in snowy regions to maintain fitness – except when they ski. But even for those who do ski, maintaining motivation to get out the door in less-than-perfect conditions can be daunting. This is where maintaining cross-country-ski dreams matters. Whether it is a few cross-country events or a couple of self-made challenges such as big tours or hut-to-hut adventures, you don’t light a fitness fire without a spark. We all need goals.

Absolutely the era of climate chaos our planet has entered will continue to pose unending challenges for a relatively delicate sport such as cross-country skiing. We do need snow to ski; that’s an undeniable fact. Further, it is also true that Nordic events will be in a continuous Setting goals and self-made challenges help keep cross-country-ski dreams alive.

see that roll extend to a seemingly endless decade or more. But make no mistake, the realities of aging will eventually catch up to all of us given enough time.

It is very easy to bemoan these realities and succumb to the dreaded “I’m too old for this” mantra of futility. It is also easy to cry in our oatmeal about the seemingly non-stop parade of health woes that plague Master athletes. And it is easy to shrug our shoulders and question continued devotion to this sport when snow/weather is clearly going to be an uphill fight for the remainder of our lifetimes.

Masters skiers the world over need to embrace a philosophy of "make it happen."

Some will undoubtedly give in to this bucketload of negatives. Next winter, they’ll simply stop taking part in cross-country-ski events, stop paying attention to winter fitness, stop working on technique, ski less and less – they’ll quit.

But you don’t want to do that.

Literally every research study done on middle-age and senior popwww.skitrax.com

state of evolution for decades to come in response to these challenges.

But that is all the more reason to be an active willing participant in the sport that still is surviving today.

For the coming year, I urge all Masters to embrace a philosophy of “make it happen.”

If your body isn’t cooperating to your satisfaction, change it – deal with it – or get help to find an answer. But don’t allow yourself to “feel old,” make excuses or quit.

Use the snow that comes (even when it’s in April instead of January!). Find ways to support the ski areas and retailers in good times and bad. If events in your area aren’t inspiring you, get involved and find ways to re-ignite your passion. When you have a great ski season, enjoy it for all it’s worth. When it’s a drag season, still find some way to get out to ski.

Above all, we all need to be steadfast, determined and pragmatic about climate chaos. Our sport has no option at this point but to focus on mitigation and resiliency. The world at large faces many life-changing choices, challenges and crisis in the coming decades, but for cross-country skiing, the crisis is already at our door.

Make it happen, folks.

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 23

TECHNIQUE

by Keith Nicol

Getting Started with Classic Skiing

24 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

photos: Heather Nicol

W

hen I teach at the Supercamps at Silver Star and Sovereign Lakes, B.C., I am always surprised that more people sign up for skating lessons than Classic lessons. And the same holds true with my learn-to-cross-country-ski videos on YouTube. I think I know the reason for this – skating on skis is known to be a demanding, very technical activity, whereas I think Classic skiing is viewed as more of a beginner style of skiing. It is basically “walking on skis” to many people.

But Classic skiing is deceptive – although it looks easy, it is actually very difficult to do well.

For instance, within the Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors (CANSI) instructor-certification program, the diagonal stride is the only technique to be examined at all four levels, from beginner cross-country-ski instructor (Level 1) to an advanced instructor (Level 4). So I always encourage skiers to try Classic skiing first and to learn good technique, then try skating once they learn how to balance and glide on Classic skis.

First of all you, need good equipment that is sized correctly (photo 1). Last season at Mount Washington Ski Resort, I taught one woman who had skis that were way too stiff, and she was constantly slipping and had little control of her skis. Once I had her try skis that were better fitted to her, she was all smiles, enjoying herself. It is ideal to try out equipment before you buy. Also if you are in an area where you can take a lesson, sign up for a couple to get you off on the right foot.

If you don’t have an instructor nearby, then try this progression.

First of all, find some level tracks and start off with no poles – shuffling your feet back and forth to

1

4

2

5

3

6

gain propulsion. Work on pushing your foot down and back (see photo 2). Be sure to swing your arms naturally, and you will note that as I push my right foot back, my left arm goes forward (photo 3). It is important to be flexible at the ankles, knees and hips, and once you are comfortable with the “shuffle,” try adding some “pop” by pushing down quickly by flexing your knee. This will give you more momentum forward, and you should start to begin to feel balance on just your glide leg (photo 4). It is important to always do some no-poles skiing early in the season, and throughout the winter, refine your ability to balance on a single ski. This is the single biggest problem area for most of the skiers I teach, and will serve you well if you decide to try skate-skiing down the road.

Once you can “kick and glide” with no poles, try adding your poles. Note that when I plant my pole I am aiming for a strong arm position, and start off my poling with elbows at roughly 90° (see photo 5). Most beginners want to reach out with their poles, but this produces a weaker poling action. At this point, I find that many skiers who were doing well when they had no poles now get the timing confused and end up lunging forward instead of striding back. So retain that snappy knee “pop” when you add poles, and this should create the proper timing of legs and arms (see photo 6). 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. www.skitrax.com

TELE TECHNIQUE

by J. Scott McGee

Parallel Pole Planes

Match your Hands to the Horizon Line to Create Bigger Angles

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Match the position of your poles in relation to the snow ahead of you to “find level” that will help you develop angles in your body that create higher edge angles.

Selko Photo/Montage: J. Scott McGee

y tipping our skis on higher angles, we can get better edge-hold – great for both carving and shaping turns – so here’s a way to create angles in the ankles, knees, hip and spine. For contrast, let’s consider the biker, or airplane, banking around a turn. The entire body tips into the turn. As skiers, we need higher edge angles to resist sliding sideways. Bending our lower joints (ankles, knees and hips) while the upper body stays relatively upright – angulating – can help us carve and shape turns more effectively.

In the photo, you can see the (ski tips) edge angle increasing as I move through the turn. Meanwhile, to help develop edge angles, I’m keeping the poles parallel to the horizon line in front of me. As I go through a turn, the poles have to tip more and more as my skis turn more and more across the hill.

As my upper body tips with the poles, I’m creating and increasing body angles that produce edging.

Try this: Making big round turns on an easy groomer, match the position of the poles in relation to the snow ahead of you. When your skis are pointing straight down the hill, your hands will be even (equally forward) and horizontal. If you’re finishing your turns across the hill – perpendicular to the fall line – then your pole angle would be 20° off of level on a 20° slope. As you learn to tip your skis more, graduate to steeper slopes.

Using your poles to “find level” in the line ahead of you can help you develop angles in your body that create higher edge angles.

More edge makes carving possible and shaping turns not only easier and more effective, but more fun too!

J. Scott McGee served on and then coached the PSIA Nordic Team (USA) 2000-2016 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.

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 25

2017-2018 U.S. CROSS COUNTRY SKI TEAM

U.S. men’s silver-medal 4x5km relay at 2018 Junior World Championships Luke Jager, Hunter Wonders, Gus Schumacher, and Ben Ogden (L TO R)

26 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

hailey swirbul: -Silver in the 5km individual start Classic -Bronze in the 10km Skiathlon -USA's best Junior Worlds cross country result EVER!!

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 27

North Lake Tahoe

Catherine Howard Photography

XC SKIING AT ITS BEST

Iconic Royal Gorge features 200km of amazing trails.

by Jonathan Wiesel

Once you’ve been there, it’s easy to think of skiing around North Lake Tahoe, Calif. in terms of superlatives, complemented as well by the beauty of its deep-blue lake and surrounding mountains and forest. We’re not just talking about the astounding number and scope of trails, but also of the superb grooming, marvelous terrain and often a “looong” Thanksgiving-intoApril season. Add terrific facilities and professional, friendly staff, and it’s hard to match.

S

tatistics can be important to skiers. Last winter around Tahoe, they

Washington and Mont-Ste-Anne in Quebec. The resort, spread over 6,000

were vital to trip planning, since after years of drought, Donner

acres, has also pioneered deep-snow grooming with a fleet of snowcats,

Summit, Calif. (northwest of the lake and home to both the Auburn

introduced the concept of a day hut system and operated the legendary

Ski Club Training Center and Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort) re-

ski-in/ski-out (later sleigh-in/ski-out) Wilderness Lodge until fire swept

ceived 800 inches of snow. Oh yeah, and it had 30 inches of rain too.

through the building in 2003.

All of this relates to the sheer scale of cross-country skiing locally. Put

Royal Gorge is sometimes infamous for its weather. In the winter of

it this way: Tahoe has 72 miles of shoreline (more since those big storms).

2016-2017, so many relentless storms passed through the area that in-

Sooooo, it’s big and takes a long time to drive around. But if you skied every

dustrial-size snowblowers, such as those you see clearing superhighway

groomed trail north of Tahoe, you’ll have gone the equivalent of four times around the lake.

Just the four “biggies” (Tahoe Cross Country, Tahoe Donner Cross Country, Northstar Cross Country and Royal Gorge) amass 400 kilometres – plenty to keep you in shape and justify innumerable desserts. Day tickets start at approximately $30, but, as you’ll see, are worth it.

Royal Gorge Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort is “iconic”; there’s no better word for tion on par with Vermont’s Trapp Family Lodge.

It’s not just that the 200 kilometres of connected groomed trails are probably rivaled in size in North America only by the Methow Valley in 28 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Stunning mountain views at Royal Gorge.

Royal Gorge

it. Since 1971, it’s evolved from a tiny day area to a world-famous destina-

www.skitrax.com

mountain passes, couldn’t unclog parking lots because the banks were just too high.

But much snow assures that many guests can ski the 88 trails (three for dogs), usually from late November to mid-April. There’s 1,000 feet of vertical to play with, all double-tracked with a skate lane, supplemented by two surface tows. Royal Gorge habitué Leland Gee, a retired accountant from Santa Rosa, Calif. (three and a half hours away), has skied all around Tahoe and explains that size and terrain just “supplies a steady amount of fun,” plus it’s the first place to open locally.

Tahoe Cross Country

This is beautiful rolling country with a wilderness feel, with volcano-like Devil’s Peak dominantly thrusting up toward the west end of the trail network. Most of the forest is lodgepole pine, interspersed with meadows and frozen lakes. You may see a surprising number of birds and animal tracks, mostly such small critters as chipmunks and raccoons, but also pine martens, coyotes and the occasional mountain lion.

Director JoJo Toeppner is friendly, innovative and very experienced, and staff at the day lodge (rentals, retail, beer and wine, bathrooms, cafe, and so on) reflects her attitudes. Instruction can include video or iPad. Guests can overnight on site at the Sugar Bowl on the east end of the trail network.

New-lodge-to-be at Tahoe Cross Country.

A generous donor has given Tahoe Cross Country the historic Schilling Lodge, which will have to be moved into place. Much larger than the current building, it will likely be in a new location to avoid that hill, provide a flat ski-school area plus much more parking, and allow you to ski right onto easy terrain. It will be great for starting races, while not bothering recreation skiers. There may even be snowmaking around the lodge.

Tahoe Cross Country recently added a satellite operation at the Tahoe City Winter Sports Park, with four kilometres of groomed golf-course trails, snowshoeing, sledding, fatbiking, ice skating, even food and a bar at the Café Zenon.

Tahoe Donner I chatted last March with Sally Jones, Tahoe Donner’s cross-country manager, in a break between storms. People were smiling, kids were rushing around the lodge, the skiing was fantastic. In the midst of this, she grinned and said, “The sun is the real hero here.” It was that kind of winter – great to have snow after years of drought, but you have to treasure blue sky too.

Tahoe Donner Cross Country is a major area by any standard. There’s 100+ kilometres of trails, the magnificent 10,000-square-foot Alder Creek Adventure Center with cafe and bar, instruction (video available), nine ki-

Tahoe Cross Country

lometres of dog trails, snowshoeing and fatbiking. Add four warming huts

Tahoe Cross Country has trails for every level of skier.

Tahoe Cross Country Tahoe Cross Country is a Classic – and classy – locals’ area, the “Mom and Pop” operation of the region and very near Lake Tahoe. The 65 kilometres of track-plus-skate lane are about equally divided between easy, intermediate and more advanced trails, making it inviting to the entire gamut of skiers.

Two-way trails give you even more of a sense of variety, winding through fir, pine and cedar forest. Three warming shelters greet you with propane stoves.

Working mother Nikki Aronhalt lives approximately a mile from the trailhead. She’s skied everywhere around Tahoe, but has had a season pass at Tahoe Cross Country since 2003. She loves the way its trails “allow access neighbours and friends – I suspect even dogs one knows – on the trails.

One drawback is that you have to climb from the elderly but pleasant day lodge to get to easier terrain; conversely, there’s a long descent to return to where your car is parked. www.skitrax.com

Tahoe Donner has it all ... including fabulous fatbiking.

Daphne Hougard

to the wilderness,” as well as the area’s sense of community, where you see

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 29

K. Kelly

Welcome to the top of the world at Tahoe Donner ...

Hawks Peak the highest point.

as incentive to ski just that “leetle” bit farther, acquisition of a square mile

Northstar is everything it should be, with terrific terrain and grooming

of land for more trails, and prospects for a modest snowmaking system

(all trails, every night, with a mix of one- and two-way, groomed for both

around the lodge. It’s fun and amazing!

skating and diagonal stride), amiable staff, excellent snow and vast views.

Last winter, “atmospheric river storms” (I’d never heard of them before)

Guests take a gondola up to the 7,000-foot level (easy to get on and

dropped way above average snowfall – and Tahoe Donner sees 30 feet in

off), then it’s a short hike to the Center building, where you can arrange

a typical year. It was hard to deal with, but the resort still made a practice

top-quality instruction and find good rentals and conversation. Manager

of grooming every day.

Aaron Pearlman, a passionate telemarker, is cheerful, mid-40s, with an

The trail network has in the neighbourhood of 1,200 feet of vertical change. Approximately three-quarters of the trails are a delight for begin-

elfin grin. He’s an excellent instructor and guide (and patient, as he proved skiing with me). Come summer, he’s a charter-boat captain in Hawaii.

ners and intermediates, while advanced skiers can enjoy such routes as

There’s only one egress/access route from the Center, and those first

White Lightning and Ambush – altogether a wonderful mix of meadows,

three gentle kilometres of Sawmill Flats get “punished” by skiers and bikers.

climbs and rolling terrain meandering through pine, fir and aspen groves,

Then a bunch of trails diverge, mixing easier with intermediate trails and

even along a burbling creek. Everything is groomed for both Classic and

just three, short advanced runs.

skating, and most is two-way. Higher altitude, mostly advanced routes have gorgeous views of the Sierra Crest.

The Alder Creek Center, built in 2015, has a wax room, locker rooms, rental shop and showers. The cafe uses locally-sourced ingredients. It’s all part of a vast real-estate development where you can also try tubing and downhill skiing. And for real novelty, you can take a laser biathlon clinic.

Northstar Any longtime Nordic skier can probably name marvelous Nordic skiing affiliated with downhill resorts, for example, Silver Star, B.C.; Bretton Woods, N.H.; and Mount Bachelor, Ore. I’d suggest adding Northstar Cross-Country Center to your list. All ski trails are open to fatbiking, plus there’s approximately nine kilometres of dedicated snowshoe routes.

The Northstar staff is a kick to talk with. Camille Bishop, who’s worked there since 2013, loves Nordic skiing for the endorphins, plus it “brings out the best in everybody.”

For convenience, you can stay at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, just a couple of minutes’ walk from the Center.

Just the Facts For particulars on hours, activities, rates and snow conditions for all the North Lake Tahoe trails, see: • Auburn Ski Club: www.auburnskiclub.com, 530-426-3313 • Granlibakken: www.granlibakken.com, 877-552-6301 • Northstar Cross Country: www.northstarcalifornia.com, 530-562-3270 • Resort at Squaw Creek: www.squawcreek.com, 800-327-3353 • Royal Gorge: www.royalgorge.com, 530-426-3871 • Sugar Pine Point State Park: www.parks.ca.gov, 530-525-7982 • Tahoe Cross Country: www.tahoexc.org, 530-583-5475 • Tahoe Donner Cross Country: www.tahoedonner.com/cross-country, 530-587-9484

Northstar Cross Country

Overnighting All of these resorts are an easy drive from each other (figure on more traffic on weekends and holidays due to downhill skiing) – say half an hour between the larger areas, an hour from Reno/ Tahoe Airport and no more than a couple of hours from Sacramento Airport.

There’s a wide mix of accommodations in the town of Truckee and along the lake. My favourite is Granlibakken, a charming resort in Tahoe City with its own trail system and a sumptuous buffet breakfast.

Jonathan Wiesel is a longtime SkiTrax contributor as well as Northstar Cross-Country Center

30 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Nordic consultant (www.nordicgroupinternational.com). www.skitrax.com

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 31

photos: –Jack Cook

Legendary Fast Trax Run & Ski Shop in Edmonton fosters a sporting community in a fun atmosphere.

Fast Trax Run & Ski Shop is a legendary Edmonton, Alta. cross-countryski and running store founded by Roger Tetrault and Harvey Bauer, and currently owned and operated by Jack and Shauna Cook. by Ron Johnson “For years, I watched how Roger and Harvey helped people enjoy getting out to kick and glide across the snow as athletes, as recreational skiers or anywhere in between,” says Cook. “When they decided to sell the shop, I was honoured that they offered it to me and my wife, Shauna. And I’m proud to think that we can help carry on the tradition and fun atmosphere that they started so many years ago.”

In 2006, after the Cooks bought the store, they made the decision to move it down the street and set up in a larger space that allowed for more customization, including beautiful woodwork created by someone Cook refers to as the “Wood Jedi.”

“In honour of Roger and Harvey, we still use the original Fast Trax logo,” says Cook.

When Cook first took over the shop, he was the only full-time employee, and the rest of the team was made up of people with “real jobs” (accountants, journalists and teachers, etc.) who had a passion for the sport and wanted to be a part of the Fast Trax atmosphere in some small way.

“We all come to work every day because we want to help people enjoy the sports they do,” says Cook. “Let me tell you, nobody works at an independent run and ski shop to get rich!” Cook says that there is a lot of crossover between the two sports of running and cross-country skiing, hence the combination.

32 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

“Many cross-country skiers are runners and many runners are cross-country skiers,” he explains. “We make it our goal to help people impress themselves no matter what their goals are.”

Fast Trax is as much about fostering a sporting community in the Alberta capital city as it is about outfitting snow-loving folks with a fresh set of sticks. It’s an attitude that pervades Edmonton and translates to the shop floor where Cook and company hold court. And why not? All around the city, there is an abundance of trails, from the popular Goldbar Park, which now offers snowmaking, to the Strathcona Wilderness Centre that Cook says has the best grooming in the country.

The shop also has a club that offers weekly runs and workouts, as well as fitness, coaching and technical consultations, in addition to sponsoring both run and Nordic athletes. Cook certainly knows a thing or two, having been a national-level cross-country skier and ultra-marathoner.

“I love putting my toes on any start line,” says Cook.

Trends come and go whether in winter or summer, but for cross-country skiing, Cook identifies skin skis – strips of climbing skins added to the bottom of skis, enabling skiers to access more remote areas in the backcountry – as “the biggest game-changer at our shop in recent years.” www.skitrax.com

Fast Trax offers a welcoming shop where no question is out of line.

A fabulous Nordic selection amidst beautiful woodwork created by the "Wood Jedi."

Fast Trax takes pride in helping people enjoy life and the sports they do.

Runners and crosscountry skiers unite.

“Skins have certainly made Classic skiing much more accessible for everyone, from racers to folks out for a Saturday afternoon shuffle,” he adds.

Fast Trax is also serious about waxing, and offers an extensive product line and many service options, from base-cleaning and training wax to race waxing and stone-grinding, even clinics. And no question is out of line, according to Cook, who points out that they did get a question just other day asking how to clean cat urine off of skis.

So there’s that.

“Sure, we can talk about the fancy powders and toppings (and don’t get Patrick started about hand structure),” he says. “But we know that it’s also important to be able to give solid advice to someone who may have just pulled their skis out from under a pile of canoe paddles in the garage.”

Cook and his crew demonstrate a true love of sport and are passionate about what they do, but beyond the day-to-day operations, Fast Trax staff also take pride in helping people, including their participation in the Spirit North charitable program founded by Olympic www.skitrax.com

gold medalist Beckie Scott to help indigenous youth participate in cross-country skiing.

“I was at a local loppet just the other day where some of those kids – who, without Spirit North, almost certainly would never know the joy of gliding down a trail – were out on the course giving it their all,” he says. “It was such a touching moment to watch them and cheer, and to know that we did a very small part to help make that possible.”

JUST THE FACTS

Fast Trax 7326 101 Ave. Edmonton, AB, T6A 0J2 Tel: 780-469-XCXC; Toll-free: 1-866-469-XCXC fasttraxskishop@shaw.ca @fasttraxrunski www.fasttraxskishop.com SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 33

Marker indicates receding Sperry Glacier now one-fifth of its original size.

Old pika hay pile

Pika Poop, Mountain Goats and

RECEDING GLACIERS Story and photos by Jean Arthur

R

apidly shrinking glaciers in Montana’s Glacier National Park alarm scientists and visitors to the mountainous 4,100-square-kilometre (1.013-million-acre) park along the Alberta border. In the past half-century, more than half of Glacier’s ice pack has disappeared.

All the glaciers have retreated.

To measure the impacts of a changing climate in the high country, the park and other national lands, volunteers monitor animals that may be at risk of diminishing populations or even extinction due to increased temperature, loss of glaciers, change in habitat and the demise of forage.

The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center, based in West Glacier, Mont., recognized that mountain goat and pika populations declined outside Glacier, yet the park’s research staff needed baseline data to examine changes in these two highelevation mammals.

In 2008, the Crown of the Continent staff established the High Country Citizen Science Project. Since then, a few hundred volunteers have collected data on species of concern, pika and mountain goats, animals that rely on the cool temperatures of the high country for their foraging and escape from predators.

34 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

For the past five summers, my family and I have volunteered to backpack into Glacier’s mountains and valleys to document pika and mountain goats and their habitat.

We look for pika poop. My husband, Lynn, and son, Bridger, scramble over a boulder field between Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park, where we start our backpack trip, and Bowman Lake, where we finish our five days in the high country.

We pack binoculars, a GPS with the study sites preloaded, a telescope, tripod, goat and pika survey forms and little envelopes to collect pika scat. Oh, and each of us packed a canister of pepper spray in case of a chance encounter with one of Glacier’s apex predators: the grizzly bear.

“Shhhh,” I whispered. “I think I hear pika.”

Lynn can’t hear it. Bridger is skeptical. “It’s a marmot,” he says, and darn if the 23-year-old isn’t correct. The good news is that marmot and pika often share the same scree fields. The bad news is that we don’t find pika at this site.

“I found a haypile,” says Lynn, shining a super-bright flashlight between metre-high rocks. “It’s really old though. And the scat is all white – old.” www.skitrax.com

We look for an hour for evidence: fresh scat, pika calls and haymove? Relocating seems unlikely given that, in many cases, the next piles, which can reach as much as one metre high and a metreclosest scree and boulder fields are half-kilometre or more away. Movdiameter pile of drying grasses, sedges and wildflowers. During the ing to higher elevation would make sense except that Glacier has only Crown of the Continent field-training session five years ago, we hiked six mountains of more than 3,000 metres, which is the far end of the to a pika site near Two Medicine Lake. As we examined a haypile, a range for pika. pika squeaked its “Eep!” and dashed under a boulder while carrying There is some good news among the dire. A new United States a mouthful of purple flowers. Pika are cute.

Geological Survey (USGS) study released in July 2017 indicates that The endearing American pika is an herbivore that looks mouse-like some wildlife is displaying “behavioral [sic] flexibility – the ability to but is instead related to the rabbit and hare rapidly change behavior [sic] in response to family. At 120-175g, the cinnamon-brown or short – or long-term environmental changes gray furballs shelter among boulders. As subsuch as climate variability,” notes the study’s nivian creatures – pika don’t hibernate – they lead researcher, Erik Beever. tunnel under the snow that can be several me“Given that species must cope with varitres deep in Glacier each winter. ability in environmental conditions over multiThey hide from predators, coyotes, weaple time scales, behavioral [sic] flexibility can sels, ermines, martens eagles and other birds allow some animals a means by which to rapof prey – and now climate change. idly and effectively cope with such variability, Summer temperatures linger deeper into yet without committing to more permanent fall and spring, warming and melting glaciers characteristics that won’t always be benefiat a faster pace than ever documented. Special,” says Beever. cies that must have cool weather to survive The researchers gleaned data from 186 might not be able to relocate to higher, cooler studies worldwide that looked at animals’ elevations. Pika’s body temperature at 104.2°F flexibility in dealing with climate changes. can quickly increase to a deadly 109.6°F even “The most common behavioral [sic] reMountain goat visits when the outside temperature is below 80°F. sponse exhibited by species involved changour campsite in They don’t sweat or pant so they need habitat ing the timing of life events such as laying Glacier National Park.

– cool places – to prevent their body temperaeggs, giving birth, mating or starting migratures from rising dangerously high. tion,” notes the USGS website. “Such behavAccording to the National Park Service, ioral [sic] flexibility was found most frequently “Climate models predict that the average temperature in North Ameramong studies of invertebrates, followed by birds, mammals, reptiles, ica will rise by 2°-10°F by the end of the 21st century. Northwest Monamphibians and fishes.” tana’s average temperature has already risen 2.34°F (1.8 times the And for my favourite little mammal? The study revealed that, global average) in the last century, with high-elevation areas warming occasionally, pika exhibit flexible behaviours to avoid and accommoat an even faster rate.” date climatic stress by changing “foraging strategy, habitat use and What results is a reduction of pika habitat, when conifers en­­ heat-regulating postures.” croach the alpine meadows and reduce forage and negate the pika’s ability to Park maintenance crew on Boulder Pass Trail with detect predators. remnants of Boulder Glacier behind – 75% of its surface area was lost between 1966 and 2005.

That’s when the glaciologists from Glacier National Park sound an alarm. They estimate the glaciers’ age at 7,000 years from the Little Ice Age. Prior to that, during the Pleistocene Epoch, which ended approximately 12,000 years ago, ice covered the Northern Hemisphere, lowering sea levels some 300 feet.

Near Glacier National Park, ice was a mile deep.

Massive receding glaciers shaped the hanging valleys of Glacier – thus its name.

The park’s iconic arêtes and horns, cirques and tarns, and chains of lakes called paternoster lakes were all shaped by glaciers. Based on current research models, all the glaciers will disappear by 2030.

None of the study sites we examined in 2016 and 2017 revealed current pika residents. Did they perish? Or www.skitrax.com

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 35

While it appears to still be large, Sperry Glacier has diminished from an estimated 930 acres at the end of the Little Ice Age (mid-19th century) to 200 acres.

The seemingly unsuitable habitat may be the pika’s new home, although more research is needed to determine if pika in the Northern Rockies will be able to find the cool, snowy, rocky territory.

Why should skiers care about a furball that few see? Ochotona princeps’ decline is a harbinger of the decline of moisture in the mountains, stored as snowpack atop glaciers. That snowpack in the high country fills our streams and rivers. Glacier’s Triple Divide Peak is a hydrological apex with waterways that flow into three major river systems to different oceans: the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean and Hudson Bay/Arctic Ocean.

As seen this year after hotter and drier years across the West, Glacier and Waterton suffered months of wildfires, and at this writing, part of Glacier’s Going-to-the-Sun Road remains closed due to fires.

What harms pika, harms people.

We feel a bit helpless. After all, what can a few lovers of winter and mountain spaces do to alter what appears to be the course of climate change? Skiers can commit to limiting vehicle use – both Lynn and I bike to work. We can buy locally grown foods and products with minimal packaging and recyclable containers. We winter-lovers can volunteer vacation time to help gather data or support the organizations seeking sustainable solutions to climate issues. The Crown of the Continent is one of 19 research and learning centres supporting national parks across the country, combining science and education to help preserve and protect important places for generations to come.

Bridger Sellegren at Hole In The Wall campsite in Glacier National Park

Jean Arthur writes from Bozeman, Mont. Her most recent book, Top Trails: Glacier National Park Must-Do Hikes for Everyone, is a trails and cultural history guide to Glacier.

36 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

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Gusti Photography

Petter Northug (l) and Brian Gregg at the start of the Iceland Loppet’s 50km Classic.

ICELAND The Iceland Loppet, known locally as the Fossavatnsgangan, sounded both exotic and challenging – we mean tough. Caitlin and Brian Gregg mentioned using “spring events to extend our winter season,” and the timing of the Fossavatnsgangan is perfect. What else would we be doing in late April?

David Knoop

Our trip to Iceland was spectacular with beautiful scenery every inch of the way.

38 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

H

ow many Icelandic krónas does it cost to enter the Fossavatnsgangan, or to rent car, or to reserve a hotel room? Dinner costs approximately 6,000 krónas. The conversion to U.S. dollars was not that bad, so Dalia and I decided to register for the event.

We flew into Reykavik, Iceland and rented a car and drove the six hours to Isafjordur, near the race start. The trip was spectacular with beautiful scenery every inch of the way. We drove through tunnels, saw waterfalls, mountains and curved roads that opened up to spectacular fjords. There were expansive fields with horses that ran along the side of the road. It took several hours before we hit skiable snow. Along Routes 61 and 60, we saw snow-capped mountains, glaciers and cloud formations . . . then we found the sun and snow!

Birds, gulls and swans also entertained our eyes. This was the scenic Iceland we’d heard about. You absolutely cannot capture it in a photo, though we stopped several times to try. However, it’s like nothing like what you experience in person. www.skitrax.com

Petter Northug celebrates his first Fossavatnsgangan 50km CL victory.

Gusti Photography

We drove to the race staging area two days before the 50km Classic main event to inspect the course and to watch the 25km skate warm-up races. Caitlin [Gregg] won the women’s competition and Brian [Gregg] was second in the men’s. We were stoked for them and David Knoop of National Nordic Foundation fame, who finished 11th overall. The top Canuck was Amish Morrell in 33rd.

Two days later when we saw that the sun was up and the winds were down for the 50km race, we were grateful and happy. The day before, the weather had been a completely different story, with rain, high winds and almost no visibility. Even going outside for a short time took some considering.

The ride up the mountain to the race start was made in a very comfortable coach bus, and the air buzzed as skiers from many nations chatted in their native tongue.

It was very casual at the race start, as you could seed your own place in the start gate given where you thought you might finish. This year for safety purposes, there is a new rule requiring one to wear a backpack containing additional clothing, though this didn’t seem to be an issue for anybody.

Everyone was friendly and supportive, and the race course was fantastic. There were long gradual climbs followed by long downhills for recovery. The grooming was excellent and the scenery stunning, with mountains in every direction. The Greggs stated that this was one of the most beautiful race courses they had ever skied.

We saw many people stopping in the middle of their race to admire the scenery and take photographs with their phones. We also noticed a high number of skin skis of every brand on many of the

cakes and coffee while the awards are handed out. Later on in the evening is the big Fossavatns party, which includes a grand seafood buffet, live music and dancing. This is a major event for the town, and everyone comes out to join in on the fun. We sit at long tables with other skiers and participants from all over the world and enjoy

LOPPET

by Dan and Dalia Clausen

www.skitrax.com

American Caitlin Gregg (c) took home the win at the women’s 25km FR women’s race.

Gusti Photography

racers. The skins seemed to perform quite well in the varied conditions along the race course. At the finish line, there were post-race celebrations, as everyone continued to enjoy the warm sunny day.

Great appreciation must be accorded to the people who laid out this race course and to those who groomed this route. While walking to the start line, one could not help but notice the perfectly cut ski tracks. For Classic skiers, tracks such as these are like two feet of powder to an alpine skier or black ice to an ice skater. The grooming was consistent, a top-shelf product throughout the entire 50 kilometres. On the very long and fast downhills, there was not a wiggle in the tracks, nor were there any sharp turns, which helped to make it safe for everyone.

The open fjords in Iceland also allowed skiers to view the course ahead and anticipate and prepare for the coming uphills or downhills. The groomer was obviously a longtime skier. He received the largest amount of applause from all, including the top skiers at the seafood buffet later that evening.

Another impressive feature of Fossavatnsgangan is its litter control. It was a big deal. A racer would be fined if seen dropping litter on the ground – the organization takes this very seriously. There is much pride and respect for the land here.

The Fossavatnsgangan is also known for a post-race cake buffet put on by the race organizers, where you can enjoy local handmade

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 39

delicious food. Then the live music starts and, amazingly, nearly everyone in the room is out on the dance floor . . . for hours.

Several days after the race, we sat down and chatted with Kristbjörn “Bobbie” Sigurjónsson, the current race manager, who is also a local ski-shop owner. He was Fossavatnsgangan’s race chairman for approximately 17 years, and though he stepped down a few years ago, he is still heavily engaged in the race’s production. The Fossavatnsgangan has been around since 1935 and began as a 20km race. It is now part of the WorldLoppet series, something that Sigurjónsson worked very hard to achieve.

Sigurjónsson is originally from a town close to Isafjordur. He began cross-country skiing when he was in his mid-30s and has been immersed in the sport ever since.

He was most excited to talk about the success of the 2017 Fossavatnsgangan. “We are thrilled, it was fantastic, and beyond our expectations, especially the increase in participation,” Sigurjónsson said, smiling. There were many more participants this year, and the organizers plan on increasing the number of racers in the 50km.

Isajordur is a smaller town, so while there are limitations within the infrastructure when it comes to supporting a large race, Sigurjónsson seemed confident that the Fossavatnsgangan could slowly increase its race-participant numbers over the next few years.

The town itself is very involved in the race. Sigurjónsson described the community volunteer efforts as “outstanding,” and says approximately 3,500 people enthusiastically help to pull off the event. In addition to the ski racers, it seemed as if the entire town was at the post-race seafood banquet. “This event is the finale of the crosscountry-ski season in Iceland, so it is a very important to the community, and is always a well-attended event,” explained Sigurjónsson.

Sigurjónsson was also pleased to see the many Canadians and Americans attending this year, emphasizing how “easygoing” they were. He always enjoys hosting racers from other countries and stated that the highest number of international skiers this year were from Norway, whereas last year, they were from Finland. There were 28 countries represented at this year’s event.

In terms of snow conditions, the weather can change from day to day, even hour to hour. We lucked out with a sunny warm day 40 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Gusti Photography

David Knoop

Geothermal huts above Reykjavik harvesting steam for a huge hydroelectric power plant in the valley below.

Petter Northug interview . . . fans and organizers were stoked to have him onboard.

with limited wind and good snow coverage. It was a klister-condition day, however, just a few days prior, Sigurjónsson was predicting a hard-wax condition. A relatively new course, just a few years old, its changes in conditions and elevation still take some getting used to.

The Fossavatnsgangan offers a 50km race in one loop, rather than repeated cycles throughout a course. This was an important factor when developing the route, as Sigurjónsson claimed that “every ski racer prefers that” rather than skiing several rounds of a shorter loop.

There are views of impressive fjords, as well as mountains to ski. As there aren’t many trees in Iceland, the views go on and on. There are long uphill climbs, but also very rewarding downhill portions to recover on. There have been years when the conditions were such that these portions were really quite fast, and Sigurjónsson recalls clocking 65kph on some of these downhill sections in the past.

“Norwegian star Petter Northug, who won the 50km race, was very happy with the event and the race course,” added Sigurjónsson. Northug double-poled the entire race. This year, the course conditions were conducive to double-poling, but there’s a difficult hill toward the end of the race, which Sigurjónsson said can be quite a challenge. Northug stated that he was very tired when he arrived at the last uphill, though he still made it.

“This race is a great event for Elite skiers to begin their season training for the following winter,” said Sigurjónsson, and he said hoped that Northug enjoyed his time in Isafjordur and would return to the Fossavatnsgangan in the future.

Sigurjónsson said he’d travelled to the U.S.A., where he completed the American Birkebeiner, which he found to be “enjoyably challengwww.skitrax.com

Courtesy of Team Gregg

If you love fresh seafood like Dan Clausen, add Iceland to your bucket list . . . and enjoy.

All smiles at the finish (l-r) Brian Gregg, David Knoop, Caitlin Gregg

Dan Clausen

Dalia Clausen

Clausen . . . and amazing adventure with memories of lifetime.

ing.” The Iceland Loppet had a booth at the American Birkebeiner expo to recruit racers here to this event, and he said he enjoyed the energy in the U.S. We noticed that this was also a great time to visit Iceland, it being a slower time of year for tourists. It’s advantageous to stay a few extra days to enjoy the country. Without much traffic or line-ups, which can be the case during peak tourist time, we easily got around to see the sights. The days now were long, with many hours of daylight, so we were able to see and do a lot. We hiked trails, visited small quaint towns and saw gorgeous waterfalls. There are tours where one can experience glaciers, thermal pools, backcountry skiing, horses and birds. As Knoop stated, “The entire country is like one giant National Park!”

Another great thing about Iceland is its people, who are fantastic.

Everyone was friendly, helpful and welcoming. It is a comfortable place to be, as you don’t feel like a tourist because the locals make you feel right at home. English is commonly spoken, which makes it easier for North Americans. You can easily get around most of the towns by foot, so park the car and walk to explore. We found this especially convenient during race week in Isafjordur. It was exciting to walk around the town and see people from many countries in their varied ski-race gear. It was quite the international scene! www.skitrax.com

The food is amazing, and if you love fresh seafood, add Iceland to your bucket list and enjoy it there as often as you like. Produce is grown in greenhouses, so fresh veggies with your meal is a given.

Iceland has fantastic cheeses and yogurts as well, freshly made all over the country, so you are never without a variety of fresh delicious dairy food to eat.

We were always excited to see what the local catch was each time we entered a restaurant, and always enjoyed the salad options.

There are certain local Icelandic foods that the country is famous for and are well worth a try: various breads, yogurts, as well as its many meat options. We suggest sticking with the fresh catch of day, as that is always a wonderful choice!

By the way, if you’re wondering how to say “ice” in Icelandic, we asked a few locals. It’s klaki.

Just the Facts Fossavatnsgangan Brautarholt 2, 400 Isafjordur, Iceland Phone: 011-354-896-0528 fossavatn@fossavatn.com; www.fossavatn.com Iceland Tourism Sundagaroar 2, 104 Reykavik, Iceland Phone: 011-354-511-4000; Fax: 011-354-511-4040 www.iceland.is; www.inspiredbyiceland.com Worldloppet Ski Federation info@worldloppet.com; www.worldloppet.com

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 41

TOUR DE

by Jack Cracker and Noah Simms

The 2018 Tour de Ski proved to be one of the most dynamic and historic editions of the prestigious stage race. The U.S.A.’s Jessie Diggins became the first American to land on the final overall podium, taking third in the women’s race, while Alex Harvey claimed Canada’s first-ever final podium as well, also finishing third, for an amazing climax to this year’s Tour. Swiss ace Dario Cologna won a record fourth title, while Norway’s Heidi Weng became only the second woman to win back-to-back titles.

Jessie Diggins became the first American to land on the TdS final podium, taking third overall in the women’s race.

Alex Harvey claimed Canada’s first-ever final TdS podium, finishing third overall in the men’s race.

Stage One – Lenzerheide, Switzerland – 1.5km Freestyle Sprint The 2017-18 Tour de Ski began with a top result from American Sophie Caldwell, landing a career-best second on the final podium in the women’s sprint freestyle, as local star Laurien Van Der Graaf thrilled the home crowd, securing the opening stage.

Including Caldwell, five U.S. skiers qualified for the heats. Jessie Diggins, the second-fastest qualifier, finished fifth, Sadie Bjornsen ended up 14th, Rosie Brennan raced to 15th and Ida Sargent was 20th. No Canadian women were racing.

Caldwell won her quarterfinal and was second in her semifinal. In the final, she was in the mix from the start, taking second behind Van Der Graaf, who dominated for the win. “I was really happy with my race today. I love this course, and I was psyched to have some good feelings today,” said Caldwell, who qualified third just behind Diggins.

Canadian star Alex Harvey was seventh on the day, just missing the final by a boot toe in the men’s 1.5km sprint freestyle, as defending champion Sergey Ustiugov (RUS), also the top qualifier, won the opening men’s stage.

Americans Simi Hamilton (15th), Andy Newell (20th) and Erik Bjornsen (25th) also made the heats, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Hamilton 42 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

www.skitrax.com

SKI

The U.S.A.’s Sadie Bjornsen skied to a career-first distance podium, placing third in the women's 10km Classic.

Photos: Nordic Focus

American Sophie Caldwell took home a career-best second in the women’s freestyle sprint on Stage One.

Switzerland’s Dario Cologna won a record fourth TdS title.

was disappointed with his performance on the opening stage, but happy to be healthy heading into the rest of the seven-stage race.

Harvey handily won his opening quarterfinal and was on pace in his semifinal. After a tight battle and exciting finish, the Canadian narrowly missed out.

The U.S.A.’s Erik Bjornsen finished 27th, while the Canadian Devon Kershaw was forced to withdraw after coming down with an illness. Harvey dropped two spots in the standings and sat ninth overall behind Sergey Ustiugov, who finished 10th on the stage, but continued to lead the Tour.

Stage Two – Lenzerheide, Switzerland – 10/15km Classic Individual Start The U.S.A.’s Sadie Bjornsen landed that country’s second podium of the race, placing third in the women’s 10km Classic on Stage Two. The American’s career-first distance podium, it also marked Sadie Bjornsen’s third podium this season. Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg won the event over her teammate Heidi Weng, leading the race by 32.8 seconds.

Diggins, who placed seventh, commented on the difficulty of the track, noting the snow conditions changed dramatically throughout the course.

Sadly, American veteran Kikkan Randall did not start the second stage, suffering from a foot injury. Diggins held onto fourth, Sadie Bjornsen moved up to fifth and Caldwell sat seventh overall.

Canada’s Harvey finished 20th in the men’s 15km Individual-start Classic, as local Swiss hero Dario Cologna won on home soil for his 23rd World Cup victory in notably challenging conditions with the warm weather and changing precipitation.

Stage Three – Lenzerheide, Switzerland – 10/15km Freestyle Pursuit The U.S.A.’s Diggins skied to her first podium this season in the women’s 10km freestyle Pursuit race at Round Three, making it three consecutive podiums for Team USA at the Tour.

Norway’s Oestberg won again over teammate Weng in second and headed into the first rest day of the Tour with a 32-second margin in the overall standings. Diggins now sat third overall after a strong individual performance. Fellow American Sadie Bjornsen dropped one spot to fifth as Krista Parmakoski (FIN) took over fourth.

Canada’s Harvey stormed to a strong fourth-place finish in the men’s 15km freestyle Pursuit, and sat fourth overall. Harvey pushed the pace, catching Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR), but just missed the podium, as Cologna (SUI) took the stage win and the race lead. American Erik Bjornsen had a strong day as well, finishing 22nd and having the best Tour of his career. The Tour then took a short one-day break, with athletes traveling to Oberstdorf, Germany.

www.skitrax.com

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 43

The U.S.A.’s Erik Bjornsen was a record 20th overall before departing the Tour after Stage Five to prepare for upcoming races.

American Rosie Brennan wrapped up her Tour, finishing 24th overall.

Canada’s Harvey (r) claimed bronze in the men’s 15km Classic mass-start for his first podium of the season.

Reese Brown

Photos: Nordic Focus

The U.S.A.’s Patrick Caldwell completed his first Tour, finishing 38th.

Stage Four – Oberstdorf, Germany – Cancelled The fourth stage of the FIS Tour de Ski was cancelled due to severe weather as extreme rain and strong winds made the competition unsafe for the athletes. The race was stopped after the women’s Classic Prologue, which will not count toward the Tour de Ski, but will for FIS points.

Stage Five – Oberstdorf, Germany – 10/15km Freestyle Mass Start Both men’s and women’s races were held on a modified course due to the previous day’s weather, as Norway’s Oestberg took another victory, winning the women’s 10km mass start and extended her lead over teammate Weng.

The U.S.A.’s Diggins positioned herself well for the final sprint, but fell on the final downhill into the stadium, placing 24th, yet remained third overall.

Sadie Bjornsen dropped two more spots to seventh overall.

In the men’s 15km freestyle mass-start race, Canada’s Harvey raced to a strong fifth-place finish even after suffering a broken pole, and held onto his fourth place overall. Norway’s Emil Iversen claimed the stage win, taking charge on the final hill to pass his teammate Sindre Bjoernestad Skar for his first victory of the season.

44 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Tour leader Cologna was fourth on the stage, and with bonus seconds gained during the competition, had a 53-second margin with two stages remaining.

The U.S.A.’s Erik Bjornsen finished 32nd on the day and ranked 20th overall, but did not start Stage Six in order to prepare for upcoming races.

Stage Six – Val di Fiemme, Italy – 10/15km Classic Mass Start American Diggins claimed a valiant fourth in the women’s 10km Classic mass start, but was fourth overall, as Norway’s Weng put in a dominant performance to close the gap on Tour leader Oestberg to a mere 1.8 seconds, with one stage remaining.

It was Diggins second-best Classic race, and she credited her wax-tech team for her fantastic result. Her teammate Sadie Bjornsen struggled with some tactical errors that left her poorly positioned on the first lap. She was then involved in a crash and burnt too many matches battling to make it to the front, yet she was still fighting for a top 10 in the overall.

Canada’s Harvey, 29, stormed to his first podium of the season, claiming a brilliant bronze in the men’s 15km Classic mass-start race, which was won

by Alexey Poltoranin with one stage remaining in the Tour. www.skitrax.com

Historic final women’s overall TdS podium (l-r) Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg 2nd, Heidi Weng 1st, Jessie Diggins 3rd

Men’s historic final overall TdS podium (l-r) Martin Johnsrud Sundby 2nd, Dario Cologna 1st, Alex Harvey 3rd.

American Liz Stephen completed her final Tour ranked 16th, having held the previous U.S. record of 5th overall.

It was Harvey’s first podium in a Classic event since the 2015 Nordic Worlds. The Canuck was at the front of a large pack for the first 10 kilometres and then broke away with a group of five on the penultimate lap, and remained in fourth overall heading into the final stage.

Stage Seven – Val di Fiemme, Italy – 9/9km Freestyle Pursuit The U.S.A.’s Diggins captured historic bronze on the slopes of the alpine ski hill Alpe Cermis, becoming the first American to finish on the final podium at the Tour de Ski. Sadie Bjornsen placed ninth – the first time two Americans have cracked the top 10.

Weng of Norway overtook her teammate Oestberg on the steep upper section of Alpe Cermis to claim her second-straight Tour de Ski title by 48.5 seconds.

Diggins started the race 10 seconds back from Parmakoski, and as they neared the start of the climb, she began to close the gap, attacking on the steepest part of the Alpe Cermis to solidify her podium position. American athletes Liz Stephen and Brennan also had a strong race, and wrapped up the Tour with the fifth- and 16th-fastest stage times. www.skitrax.com

Harvey became the first Canadian to finish on the final podium at cross-country-skiing’s famed Tour de Ski, fulfilling a long-term goal of the Canadian team. The 29-year-old finished third overall behind Tour winner Cologna, who claimed his fourth overall title.

Harvey tackled the nine-kilometre stage with the final three-kilometre climb up Alpe Cermis that maxes out at 28%, battling with Norway’s Johnsrud Sundby for the silver medal. The Canuck was ecstatic to land on the podium after several years of coming up short, earning the 26th World Cup podium of his career.

FIS Tour de Ski 2017/18 Dec. 30/17 – Jan. 7/18 Men 1. Dario Cologna (SUI) 2:49:29.8; 2. Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) 1:26.5; 3.

Alex Harvey (CAN) 1:30.6; USA 38. Patrick Caldwell (USA) 11:54.8; . Women 1. Heidi Weng (NOR) 2:20:56.5; 2. Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) 48.5; 3. Jessie Diggins (USA) 2:23.2; USA 9. Sadie Bjornsen (USA) 6:15.0; 16. Liz Stephen (USA) 8:25.8; 24.

Rosie Brennan (USA) 10:59.6.

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 45

Canmore Para-Nordic World Cup Season Kick-Off

Canada’s Emily Young capped off a week of power performances, earning her third bronze medal.

by Jenn Jackson

P

photos: Pam Doyle

ara-Nordic World Cup season got underway at the Canmore Nordic Centre in the heart of the Canadian Rockies with cross-country and biathlon competitions running December 9-17. Racing on home snow, Canadian teams and their American counterparts put on inspired performances with several athletes notching podiums and showing strong form and confidence heading into this Paralympic season.

Dec. 10 – Skate Middle Distance The second day of competition saw the U.S.A. take home two fifthplace finishes in the Visually Impaired category by Mia Zutter and guide Kristina Trygstad-Saari in the women’s event and by Adicoff and Kesselheim in the men’s race.

Canadians Young, Wilkie and Hudak repeated their strong opening-day performances, sweeping third through fifth in the women’s Standing 7.5km Freestyle behind Rumyantseva and Milenina. “I went out a little hot in the first lap, but the whole plan was to ‘just go’ from the gun,” said Young. “I knew I had put myself in the top three after the first lap so I just kept fighting.”

On the men’s side, Mark Arendz opened his World Cup season with a fourth-place result in the men’s Standing 10km.

In the women’s Sit-Ski, Eskau edged Masters for the win, besting the American by five seconds over 5km. In the men’s 7.5km Sit-Ski, the U.S.A.’s Cnossen improved by one place from the sprint, finishing fifth and only 20 seconds shy of the podium.

The U.S.A.’s Oksana Masters completing her sweep of the biathlon events at Canmore.

Canada’s Mark Arendz shot clean for biathlon silver in the men’s Standing.

Dec. 9 – Classic Sprint In a sprint final showdown between Canadian and Russian athletes, Emily Young landed her first podium of the season claiming a bronze medal in the women’s Standing Classic Sprint, just ahead of her Canadian teammates Natalie Wilkie in fourth and Brittany Hudak in fifth.

First and second place went to Russia’s Ekaterina Rumyantseva and Anna Milenina.

In Sit-Ski categories, the U.S.A.’s Andrew Soule took a third-place finish behind Russians Ivan Golubkov and Aleksei Bychenok, while American Oksana Masters ended the day in sixth after being relegated in the final, which gave the victory to Germany’s Andrea Eskau.

Other top Americans on the day were Jacob Adicoff and guide Sawyer Kesselheim, who finished fourth, narrowly missing the podium in men’s Visually Impaired. The U.S.A.’s Daniel Cnossen finished sixth in the men’s Sit-Ski competition.

46 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

www.skitrax.com

Photos Pam Doyle

Team Canada celebrates as successful hosts of the opening round of the Para-Nordic World Cup season in Canmore, Alta.

U.S.A.’s Dan Cnossen shot clean for silver in the men’s biathlon 10km Sit-Ski race.

Canada’s Brittany Hudak debuted with clean shooting for biathlon bronze.

Dec. 12 – Classic Long Distance Canada’s Young and the U.S.A.’s Masters earned a pair of silver medals in the Mass Start events rounding out a strong weekend of cross-country competitions for the North American women, as Russian and German rivals held the top step once again. Cnossen was the top American in the men’s 15km Sit-Ski race, battling right to the line as he tied Martin Fleig of Germany for fourth.

Dec. 14 – Biathlon Individual After sitting out the cross-country Mass Start, Canada’s Hudak shot clean at her first biathlon World Cup of the season, earning bronze behind Russia’s Rumyantseva and Milenina. Marking good skiing form and consistent shooting, Masters took a decisive victory for the U.S.A. in the women’s Individual Sit-Ski. Canada’s Arendz scored a silver medal behind Benjamin Daviet of France in the men’s Standing as both shot clean. “I was feeling good enough in the range, but I can push a little more,” said Arendz. “It was a good race, but there’s room for sharpening being the first ParaBiathlon race of the year.”

Dec. 16 – Biathlon Sprint Masters battled through the women’s Sit-Ski Sprint, ousting Marta Zainullina by 7.1 seconds for the win after missing single shots in both shooting sessions. Canadians Young and Hudak finished just outside www.skitrax.com

American Andrew Soule won men’s Sit-Ski bronze on the opening day.

the podium finishing fourth and fifth respectively in the women’s 6km Standing event.

The men’s Standing Sprint proved to be one of the tightest podium races of the Canmore World Cup as second through fifth were only separated by 11.6 seconds. Even with his sharp shooting, Arendz finished fourth, just off the podium, while Daviet continued his dominance, leading the competition by over a minute.

Other strong performances in the sprint came from Canada’s Colin Cameron, who finished eighth just behind American Cnossen in a very large, competitive men’s Sit-Ski Sprint race.

Dec. 17th – Biathlon Pursuit Young capped off a week of power performances, earning her third bronze medal and fourth podium in the women’s 10km Standing Pursuit. Canada was well represented on the day with Hudak finishing just behind her teammate in fourth and Arendz placing fifth in the 12.5km men’s Standing. Rumyantseva and Daviet both took their third World Cup biathlon wins of the season.

Masters continued to show her strength with decisively fastest skiing in the women’s 10km Sit-Ski, completing her sweep of the biathlon events in Canmore. After a consistent week of top-10s in both cross-country and biathlon, the U.S.A.’s Cnossen made his mark with clean shooting and solid skiing to take home silver in the men’s 10km Sit-Ski race.

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 47

Masters World Cup 2018 Shines

Matthew Liebsch anchored the U.S. men’s AG1 (30-34) relay team to gold.

by Julie Melanson

The organizers demonstrated that they could put together a sound championships on a 7.5km loop in the heart of the city. Despite lower numbers than forecast and wacky weather, the Loppet Foundation delivered another stellar well-organized Masters World Cup in North America.

The medal count added up to 434 medals. The top nation was the U.S.A. with a total of 177 medals. Norway finished second place with 55 medals, and in third place was Finland with a medal count of 47.

Warm temperatures in Minneapolis were a big change for the region where skiers had spent a good portion of the season dealing with near- or sub-zero temperatures. Warm klisters were used for the Classic events that featured wet, granular snow along the 7.5km loop.

Master skiers compete in five-year age categories from 30 to 90 years, starting with AG1 (30-34) up to AG12 (85-89). J.D. Downing, World Masters Association (WMA) president and national director of the American Cross Country Skiers (AXCS), said that the oldest competitor was Idaho’s Charley French, who is still kicking and gliding with the best at 92 years.

“Because of Charley,” said Downing, “we actually changed the WMA rules, effective with the MWC2018, so that skiers 90+ (we usually only have one every eight to 10 years) would have their own race category instead of being combined with the ‘kids’ in the 85-89 categories.” Other ‘kids’ included Canadian Thor Vikstrom at 89 years and American Patricia Kaald at 81 years.

Races were held over seven days, with six days of racing and one rest day on Jan. 23. Day One on Jan. 20 featured Classic-technique events, and the U.S.A. got on the scoreboard early in the 15km women’s races, as American Alexandra Jospe won gold in the AG1 (30-34) event, Margie Nelson took home the AG2 (35-39) victory, Kim Rudd won the AG4 (45-49) race, Elizabeth Youngman ruled the AG6 (55-59) field and Carolyn Tiernan won AG8 (65-69) gold.

In the women’s 10km CL AG9 (70-74) race, American Gabriele Andersen, 73, opted to double-pole the entire course, winning over compatriot Trina Hosmer. The U.S.A.’s Kaald was the only competitor in the 10km AG11 (80-84) race, winning gold. In the men’s 30km AG2 (35-39) race, American Erik Solberg took the win, as John Bauer won 30km CL AG4 (45-49) gold for the U.S.A. On Day Two, the same distances were run on the same course, but the technique switched to freestyle. American Jospe won gold again in the 15km FR AG1 (30-34) race, along with fellow U.S. skiers Nelson AG2 (35-39), Bonnie Weiskopf AG4 (45-49), Kathy Maddock AG5 (50-54), Jan Guenther AG6 (55-59), Muffy Ritz AG7 (60-64) and Hosmer, who won AG9 (70-74) gold in the 10km FR race. Canada’s Sarah Peters was the top AG3 (40-44) finisher in the 15km FR race, while Judy Buchanan-Mappin won gold in AG8 (65-69) event. In the men’s races, the U.S.A.’s Barry Makarewicz took home gold in the AG6 (55-59) race, and Canadian Vikstrom won AG12 (85-89) gold in 10km FR event.

48 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Photos Steve Kotvis

Skiers from around the world gathered at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the 2018 Masters World Cup from Jan. 19-26. Representing top Nordic nations such as Norway, Finland, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Russia, the downtown city venue was a unique setting for this global event.

Day Three saw skiers choose between a 7.5km morning Classic race (5km for some categories) and a 7.5km afternoon skate race.

In the Classic, Kathleen Dewahl (USA) took AG1 (30-34) gold, and it was Nelson (AG2) and Weiskopf (AG3) winning again. U.S. skier Kelly Milligan won the AG6 (55-59) race, Andersen took the AG9 (70-74) event, and in the 5km, Kaald took home AG11 (80-84) gold again.

Matthew Liebsch (AG1) and Craig Cardinal (AG2) took gold for the U.S. as well, while Irvin Servold won gold in the men’s 5km AG12 (8589) race for Canada.

The U.S.A.’s Jospe (AG1) proved herself a triple threat by earning three Masters World Cup gold medals in as many days. It was gold for Gina Chythlook of the U.S. in AG2, Erika Saveraid in AG3, Kelly Skillicorn in AG5, Youngman in AG6, Kate Ellis in AG7 and Tiernan in AG8. Canadian Jim Ballendline took gold in the AG11 5km race, while Vikstrom claimed the same in AG12 contest.

The events that really challenged nations were the relays held on Day Four. It was the only event to not hold races in every age category, finishing at AG10, meaning that any skiers above the age of 75 raced in AG10 (75-79) category.

Americans Liebsch, Christopher Harvey, Mark Johnson and Zach Varty had the fastest men’s 4x5km relay time of the day, winning the AG1 (30-34) race. The U.S. men went on to win the AG5 (50-54) and AG6 (55-59) races as well. The Canadian men took the AG4 (45-49) race, courtesy of Gabriel Babin, Bruce Macneil, Luc Tremblay and Michel Labrie.

The American women were also on fire, winning a clean sweep of all 4x5km relay age-group categories from AG1 (30-34) through AG5 (50-54). AG1 winners included Dewahl, Chythlook, Tamra Kornfield and Davya Flaharty. When the dust settled, the U.S.A. took home a total of eight relay golds, followed by Finland with five relay victories. www.skitrax.com

Day Five featured Classic races covering 15km, 20km, 25km, 30km and 45km distances. For the women, the U.S.A.’s Elspeth Ronnander raced to gold in the 30km AG1 (30-34) event, with Nelson winning the AG2 (35-39) race and Weiskopf the AG4 (45-49) competition. Youngman also won gold for the U.S. in the 30km AG6 (55-59) event. Magdelena Bowen won the 20km in AG7 (60-64), and Andersen scored her third gold in 15km AG9 (70-74) race, while Kaald won gold in the AG11 (80-84) 15km competition.

Harvey started off the men’s gold run for the U.S., winning the 40km CL AG1 (30-34) race, with Cardinal following in the AG2 (35-39) event. Carl Hoerger was the winner of the AG7 (60-64) 20km race, and Markus Gapany won the 30km AG7 (60-64) category. Canada’s Kim Poole took home AG7 (60-64) gold in the 35km Classic, the distance for the men’s AG7 event. Reno Deprey and French took gold in the 15km AG12 and AG13 races respectively.

The final Day Six featured the same distances, but the technique switched to freestyle. American women started off the gold run with Flaharty taking the AG1 (30-34), Lindsey Bengtson the AG2 (35-39) and Jennifer Santoro the AG3 (40-44) events – all 30km. Canadian Frances Vice took the AG4 (34-49) gold in 30km freestyle women’s race. Then it was back to the U.S. with Mary Beth Tuttle winning AG5 (50-54) gold. Renowned Jan Guenther won the AG6 race (55-59)

race, Tiernan took the AG8 (65-69) contest and Kati Campbell won the AG9 (70-74) race. Vikstrom was the sole notable gold for Canada in the men’s 15km AG12 (85-90) competition.

The MWC2018 will go down in history as the first major international cross-country-ski championship to have a distance Classic race impacted by a parked train on the course. Far better still, thanks to lightning-fast reactions of volunteers, the impact on the races was remarkably limited.

Competitors to this day are left wondering what the conductor was thinking – still, he or she certainly had prime spectator seats!

Tragedy also hit the annual competition, where on the last lap of the very last race of the MWC2018, Russian skier Andrey Shamshurin collapsed and later passed away.

Shamshurin was one of just 11 Russian skiers in Minneapolis, rather than the expected 70-80 Russian competitors who were ready and willing to come, but who could not attain the travel visas needed to enter the U.S. The Loppet Foundation hosted a truly top-notch cross-country-ski event in the Twin Cities. The man-made loop in Theodore Wirth Park was the longest artificial snow loop in the U.S. in the winter of 2018 and was accessible to all skiers.

With the improved physical capacity and infrastructure built for the event, the downtown Park that hosted MWC2018 is now indeed a world-class venue.

Renowned Jan Guenther from Minnesota of Gear West Ski & Run fame won two golds.

Canada's Sarah Peters was the top AG3 (40-44) finisher in the women's15km FR race.

American AG1 skier Alexandra Jospe took home three Masters World Cup gold medals in as many days.

Canadian Bruce Macneil en route to gold in the men’s AG4 (45-49) relay.

www.skitrax.com

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 49

FIS Junior/U23 Nordic World Championships U.S.A. Wins Three Medals

© jwsc2018

by Noah Simms U.S.A.’s Hailey Swirbul (r) claimed historic bronze in the women’s 10km Skiathlon, earning her third career Junior Nordic Worlds medal, the most of any U.S. Nordic skier.

The 2018 FIS Junior and U23 Nordic World Championships were held in Goms, Switzerland from Jan. 29-Feb. 3. The Championships were hotly contested by all countries, including the typical favourites of Norway, France, Russia and host nation Switzerland. The U.S. and Canadian teams were poised to have a successful event in Goms, with the American squad looking to build on its two medals from 2017.

Day One – Jan. 29 The junior women’s freestyle sprint kicked off the Championships with the U.S.A.’s Hannah Halverson finishing eighth as the top North American, behind Moa Lundgren of Sweden, who took the win. Norway’s Kristine Stavaas Skistad and Sweden’s Frida

Karlsson rounded out the podium for second and third. The top Canadian finisher was Hannah Mehain of Sovereign Lake Nordic in 29th.

In the junior men’s race, Canada’s Graham Ritchie claimed 12th, with the U.S.A.’s Gus Schumacher in 19th. Tom Mancini of

France won over Joergen Lippert of Norway, with Valerio Grond of Switzerland in third.

The U23 sprints followed as Canada’s Laura Leclair finished 15th in the women’s event won by Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng.

Nadine Fähndrich of Switzerland finished second in front of the home crowd, as Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia rounded out the podium in third. Lauren Jortberg was the top American, placing 22nd.

Norway swept the men’s U23 sprint with Erik Valnes on the top step, followed by teammates Jan Thomas Jenssen and Even Northug. Canada’s Ricard Izquierdo-Bernier finished 40th, with Bill Harmeyer the top American in 46th.

© jwsc2018

(l-r) Luke Jager, Gus Schumacher, Hunter Wonder, Ben Ogden claimed silver, the first-ever Junior Nordic Worlds relay medal for the U.S. men.

50 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Day Two – Jan. 30 The following day held the junior Classic events. In the women’s 5km race, Hailey Swirbul claimed a historic silver medal for the U.S.A., becoming the highest-placed American skier at the FIS Nordic Junior World Championships. Russia’s Polina Nekrasova won the gold, finishing 14.4 seconds over Swirbul, with Finland’s Anita Korva in third. The top Canadian finisher was Natalie Hynes in 36th.

Jon Rolf Skamo Hope of Norway took the win in the men’s 10km Classic over Russian Sergey Ardashev and fellow Norwegian Lippert. Ben Ogden of the U.S.A. led the North Americans, finishing in seventh, while the top Canadian was Antoine Cyr in 12th, finishing at 1:07:7 behind the leader. www.skitrax.com

15th, while Félix Longpré was the top Canuck in 28th. Harald Oestberg Amundsen led a Norwegian podium sweep, taking the gold over Hope in second, with Lippert in third.

Day Three – Jan. 31 Racing continued the next day with Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones the top North American, placing 29th in the U23 women’s 10km Classic race at 3:07 behind winner Yana Kirpichenko of Russia.

In the men’s 15km Classic, Norway’s Mattis Stenshagen took the win over Russian teammates Denis Spitsov and Ivan Yakimushkin.

The top North American was Canada’s Alexis Dumas finishing 31st, with American Ian Torchia right behind in 32nd.

CCC

Hailey Swirbul took home historic silver and bronze, becoming the highest-placed American skier at the FIS Nordic Junior Worlds.

Day Five – Feb. 2 The next day, Russian Spitsov claimed the gold in Canada’s Félix Longpré the U23 men’s 30km Skiath(l) and Étienne Hébert lon race. Frenchman Jules Lapierre was second and Norwegian Ole Joergen Bruvoll secured the bronze. Torchia of the U.S.A. led the North Americans, finishing 27th.

The U.S.A.’s Jortberg placed 29th in the 15km women’s race, with Canada’s Stewart-Jones in 31st. Anastasia Sedova led a Russian podium sweep, with Nepryaeva in second and Kirpichenko in third.

© jwsc2018

Day Six – Feb. 3 The final day of racing saw the relays for both men (4x5km) and women (4x3.3km), as the U.S. junior men closed the Championships with a strong silver-medal performance. Luke Jager, Hunter Wonder, Ogden and Schumacher finished just two seconds off the gold medal, won

by Norway, with Russia in third. The Canadian team finished 11th.

Germany claimed the gold in the junior women’s race with Russia and Sweden filling out the podium. U.S.A.’s Swirbul, Kathleen O’Connell, Margaret and Hannah Halvorsen finished eighth, while Team Canada’s Mehain, Hynes, Annika Richardson and Alexandra Racine placed 15th.

The U.S.A.’s junior squad had another strong showing at these Championships, bringing home a historic three medals. The teams look forward to next year’s FIS Junior/U23 Nordic World Championships to be held in Finland in 2019.

Day Four – Feb. 1 American Swirbul made history, earning her third career Junior Nordic Worlds medal, the most of any U.S. Nordic skier. The Colorado native claimed bronze in the women’s 10km Skiathlon behind winner Karlsson of Sweden and Lone Johansen of Norway, who took home the silver.

The top Canadian was Hynes in 24th, with teammate Mehain in 37th.

In the junior men’s 15km Skiathlon, American Schumacher placed

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 51

COMP USA

2018 L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships Caitlin Patterson Claims Four National Titles

by Julie Melanson

photos: Michael Dinneen Photography

Women’s 10km freestyle podium (l-r) Caitlin Gregg 2nd, Caitlin Patterson 1st, Chelsea Holmes 3rd

A

nchorage, Alaska hosted the 2018 L.L. Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships from Jan. 3-8 in a blizzard of snow.

Held at Kincaid Park, one thing became crystal-clear – it was a good Championships if your surname was Patterson or Hanneman.

A 2.5km manmade snow loop was used for racing: four laps for the women and six for the men. While course conditions deteriorated – firm at the start and mushier through the day as more snow and skiers hit the trails – the looped course and interval starts made for spectator- and timing-friendly viewing.

The opening day saw the brother-sister combo of Scott Patterson (Alaska Pacific University [APU] Nordic Ski Team) and Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) sweep their respective races impressively. Scott took the men’s 15km freestyle by a 55-second margin, while sister Caitlin won the women’s 10km freestyle en route to four titles.

A 2.5km manmade snow loop was used for racing: four laps for the women and six for the men. While course conditions deteriorated – firm at the start and mushier throughout the day as more snow and skiers hit the trails – the looped course and interval starts made for spectator- and timing-friendly viewing.

52 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Scott Patterson’s sizzling 36:33.7 bested second-place Noah Hoffman (Ski & Snowboard Vail), with Matthew Liebsch (Pioneer Midwest) taking third.

Caitlin Patterson used a steady start and a strong finish to secure a 20-second gap over second-place finisher Caitlin Gregg (CXC/ LNR/Team Gregg). Chelsea Holmes (APU) took the final podium spot, finishing third out of the 147 starters.

On the junior side, a trio of teenagers cracked the top 10 overall in their respective events. Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars), 17, skied to an impressive sixth place overall, while Ben Ogden (Stratton Mountain School) placed ninth. In the women’s 10km, Hailey Swirbul (University of Alaska Anchorage) raced to eighth overall.

Day Two featured Reese and Logan Hanneman in the sprint freestyle competition. While Logan clocked the fastest qualifying time, it was Reese who took the Nationals crown.

After climbing the small final hill and taking a tight corner into the stadium finish area, Reese Hanneman pulled away from Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley), who settled for second, while APU’s Tyler Kornfield finished third. Schumacher continued to impress, advancing into the semifinals. www.skitrax.com

Reese Hanneman takes the men’s freestyle sprint crown.

Caitlin Patterson continued her domination, winning her second National title in the freestyle sprint, making a strong case for a spot on the U.S. women’s National team.

In the final, she covered the 1.4km sprint course in 3:20.93. Finnish skier Jasmi Joensuu (University of Denver) was second, followed by the Czech Republic’s Petra Hyncicova (University of Colorado) in third. Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury) was fourth overall and the secondfastest American, followed by U.S. junior skier Hannah Halvorsen (APU), who had a special day as the only junior to race in the finals.

Caitlin Patterson en route to victory in the women’s freestyle sprint. www.skitrax.com

Caitlin Patterson continued her domination at the Championships, finishing as the fastest American woman in the 20km Classic massstart race on Day Three. University of Colorado’s Hedda Baangman of Sweden was the official winner.

Caitlin Patterson had almost four seconds on third-placed Rosie Frankowski (APU), the second-fastest American finisher. Jessica Yeaton (APU), an Australian national who moved to Alaska when she was 12, was fourth overall and Miller was fifth as the third U.S. skier.

In the men’s 30km Classic mass-start race, Kornfield (APU) burst

Hedda Baangman from Sweden wins the the women’s 20km Classic race on Day Three.

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 53

APU’s Tyler Kornfield from Anchorage claimed his first Classic distance national title, winning the men’s 30km CL.

away from a tight pack of seven skiers in the final stretch for his first Classic distance National crown.

“Two kilometres out, I felt fast and knew I had to make my move,” said Kornfield. “I knew if I didn’t go hard, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”

Kornfield crossed the finish line just ahead of four chasers, with APU’s Eric Packer claiming second a mere 0.7 seconds back.

Norway’s Eivind Romberg Kvaale (University of Denver) was third overall, followed by Nordic legend Kris Freeman (Caldwell Sport), the third-fastest American and fourth overall.

APU’s Halvorsen won the junior women’s 5km Classic, followed

by Swirbul and the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks’ Kendall Kramer (who is a U16 racer). APU’s Hunter Wonders won the junior men’s 10km, followed by Stratton Mountain School’s Ogden (a U18 racer) and APU’s Canyon Tobin in third.

2018 USSA SuperTour Standings as of Jan. 8, 2018 Overall Men 1. Tyler Kornfield (APUNSC) 136; 2. Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley SEF) 132; 3. Eric Packer (APUNSC) 121; Women 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury GRP) 321; 2. Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury GRP) 207; 3. Rosie Frankowski (APUNSC) 164.

Distance Leader Men 1. Scott Patterson (APUNSC) 86; 2. Brian Gregg (CXC/LNR/Team Gregg) 83; 3. Noah Hoffman (Ski & Snowboard Vail) 78; Women 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury GRP) 161; 2. Rosie Frankowski (APUNSC) 121; 3. Hedda Baangman (University of Colorado) 112.

Sprint Leader Men 1. Reese Hanneman (APUNSC) 157; 2. Tyler Kornfield (APUNSC) 112; 3. Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley SEF) 111; Women 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury GRP) 160; 2.

Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury GRP) 120; 3. Jasmi Joensuu (University of Denver) 112.

54 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

On the final day of racing, the dramatic ice fog and cold lifted for a clear and sunny three rounds of Classic sprint racing in the afternoon. Demonstrating her strength and grit, Caitlin Patterson took a dramatic come-from-behind win in the women’s final, for four National titles in four races over six days. She arguably saved her best for last with some vicious double-poling to reel in Joensuu in the final downhill with just 200 metres to go for the win.

In the men’s 1.6km final, Reese Hanneman and Kornfield broke away from a tight pack on the last major hill climb and speedy downhill. It was Hanneman who popped up first into the 100-metre flat stretch to the finish line, with Kornfield chasing hard. Hanneman stayed just far enough ahead to stave off Kornfield’s frantic finishing move. The win was decided by the length of a ski-pole handle, with Hanneman taking the win, an impressive finish to the 2018 L.L. Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships in Alaska.

2018 L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships Anchorage, Alaska – Jan. 3-8, 2018 Men’s 15km Freestyle 1. Scott Patterson (APUNSC) 36:33.7; 2. Noah Hoffman (Ski & Snowboard Vail) 55.2; 3. Matthew Liebsch (Pioneer Midwest) 1:16.5; Women’s 10km Freestyle 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury GRP) 27:09.1; 2. Caitlin Gregg (CXC/LNR/ Team Gregg) 19.7; 3. Chelsea Holmes (APUNSC) 24.4; Men’s Freestyle Sprint 1.

Reese Hanneman (APUNSC) 3:08.53; 2. Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley SEF) 3:07.88; 3.

Tyler Kornfield (APUNSC) 3:11.00; Women’s Freestyle Sprint 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury GRP) 3:27.86; 2. Jasmi Joensuu (University of Denver) 3:23.88; 3. Petra Hyncicova (University of Colorado) 3:24.10; Men’s 30km Classic 1. Tyler Kornfield (APUNSC) 1:21:43.6; 2. Eric Packer (APUNSC) 00.7; 3. Eivind Romberg Kvaale (University of Denver) 01.0; Women’s 20km Classic 1. Hedda Baangman (University of Colorado) 1:00:55.3; 2. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury GRP) 15.9; 3. Rosie Frankowski (APUNSC) 19.6; Men’s Classic Sprint 1. Reese Hanneman (APUNSC) 3:21.93; 2.

Tyler Kornfield (APUNSC) 3:26.16; 3. Benjamin Saxton (SMS T2 Team) 3:29.82; Women’s Classic Sprint 1. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury GRP) 3:46.17; 2. Jasmi Joensuu (University of Denver) 3:41.40; 3. Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury GRP) 3:44.33. www.skitrax.com

COMP 2017/18 Haywood NorAm Season Openers

by Julie Melanson

Kai Symington-Kruss

CANADA

Julien Locke edged Evan Palmer-Charette for the win in the men’s freestyle sprint at Rossland, B.C.

The 2018 Haywood NorAm season opened with more than 550 budding Olympians determined to deliver their best efforts as they gathered at the Rotary Stadium at Sovereign Lake, B.C. for the first Canadian stop of the series and second on the USSA SuperTour.

CCC

Dec. 9-10 – Sovereign Lake, B.C. Course conditions were ideal, with sunny skies, a -7°C temperature and hard-packed snow in Sovereign Lake, B.C. for the Open Women’s 1.3km Classic sprint qualifier.

Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Nordic) set the women’s best time, while the fastest Canadian qualifier was Sophie Carrier-Laforte (Skinouk) in fourth. Cole Morgan (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation [SVSEF]) led the men’s qualification, with Bob Thompson (Team Hardwood) the top Canuck in fourth. Sovereign Lake’s own Hannah Mehain and Antoine Cyr (Skinouk) were the fastest junior qualifiers.

Thompson was the lone Canuck battling five Americans in the Open Men’s A-final as the NTDC Thunder Bay athlete proved his early-season fitness winning by a mere Bob Thompson topped the 0.03 seconds over senior men’s sprint CL podium.

Ben Saxton (Stratton Mountain School). Morgan (SVSEF) finished third.

Miller (Craftsbury Nordic) dominated winning all of her heats and the Open Women’s A-final, besting Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Nordic) by almost one second.

Rounding out the top three was Hannah Halvorsen (Alaska Pacific University [APU]). The top Canadian was Carrier-Laforte (Skinouk) in sixth. Mehain (Sovereign Lake) and Cyr (Skinouk) took the junior women’s and men’s Classic sprint races respectively.

On Day Two, the U.S.A.’s Ian Torchia (Northern Michigan University) won the Open Men’s 15km freestyle Interval Start ahead of Jack Hegman (SVSEF) in second, with Brian McKeever (Fast Trax Run & Ski) in third.

56 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Patterson (Craftsbury Nordic) took the senior women’s 10km skate event, besting Rosie Frankowski (APU) by 30 seconds, with Caitlin Gregg (CXC Team) rounding out the top three. The top Canadian of the day was Zina Kocher (Foothills Nordic Ski Club) in eighth.

Halvorsen (APU) claimed the junior women’s 5km skate race while Hunter Wonders (APU) topped the junior men’s field.

Dec. 16-17 – Rossland, B.C. Brian and Caitlin Gregg (Gregg Team Gregg/Loppet Nordic Racing) skied away as Haywood NorAm champions in the 5km and 10km Classic events on Day One in Rossland, B.C. with -5°C temperatures and fresh falling snow. Scott Hill (Team Hardwood) finished second at 30 seconds behind, with Thompson (Team Hardwood) third, retaining his status as NorAm leader. On the women’s side, Annika Hicks (Canmore) was second and Carrier-Laforte (Skinouk) finished third.

Mehain (Sovereign Lake) set the standard in the junior woman’s 5km CL race, while Ty Godfrey (Canmore) grabbed the win for the junior men.

On Day Two, Caitlin Gregg (Gregg Team Gregg/Loppet Nordic Racing) made it two for two, winning the senior women’s freestyle sprint over top-qualifier Andrea Dupont (Rocky Mountain Racers), with Kocher (Foothills Nordic Ski Club) in third. In a photo finish, local favourite Julien Locke (Black Jack) edged Evan Palmer-Charette (Lappe Nordic) by 0.01 seconds for the win in the men’s freestyle sprint, while Julian Smith (Georgian Bay) prevailed over top-qualifier Thompson (Team Hardwood).

Mehain (Sovereign Lake) won the qualification and junior women’s sprint FR final over Hannah Shields (Lappe Nordic), while the bronze went to Benita Peiffer (Whistler). In junior men’s freestyle sprint, Graham Ritchie (Big Thunder) edged Cyr (Skinouk) in the qualifier, but Cyr turned the tables, winning the final over Ritchie, with Reed Godfrey (Canmore) prevailing over Pierre Grall-Johnson (Nakkertok) for the bronze.

On the final day, both Greggs (Gregg Team Gregg/Loppet Nordic Racing) were unstoppable, winning the 10km/15km freestyle skate Pursuit races to claim the overall mini-Tour titles as well. Kocher (Foothills Nordic Ski Club) was second in the women’s competition, while Dupont (Rocky Mountain Racers) finished third. In the men’s race, Andy Shields (Lappe Nordic) was second, with Jack Carlyle (Soo Finnish) in third.

In the junior women’s 5km race, Kaia Andal (Caledonia Nordic) skied strong to pass and finish ahead of Mehain (Sovereign Lake), while Godfrey (Canmore) www.skitrax.com

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Jan. 5-11 – Mont-Ste-Anne, Que. The Haywood NorAm and Olympic/World Junior-U23 selections resumed in the new year at Mont-Ste-Anne, Que. as top-qualifier Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse Ski Club) won the Open Women’s 1.35km Sprint Classic final, with Maya MacIsaac-Jones (Rocky Mountain Racers) second and Katherine StewartJones (Nakkertok Nordique) in third at the newly upgraded setting in Centre de ski fond Mont-Ste-Anne.

In the men’s 1.35km Classic sprint, it was Locke (Black Jack) taking the men’s final over top-qualifier Russell Kennedy (Canmore Nordic) in second, followed by Thompson (Team Hardwood) in third.

Day Two continued after the weekend’s pause due to extreme cold temperatures with a balmy -11.5°C for the Skiathlon, even as a group of 25 senior women began their 15km event in the falling snow. A surprise addition was the return of AnneMarie Comeau (Université Laval), who led the Classic portion, chased by Cendrine Browne (Fondeurs-Laurentides/CNEPH), Beatty (Whitehorse Ski Club), MacIsaacJones (Rocky Mountain Racers), Laura Leclair (Chelsea Nordic) and Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok Nordique) at 20 seconds. On the last lap of the skate leg, Browne caught and passed Comeau to finish with a 12-second margin, with Beatty coming in third.

In the men’s 30km event, 41 senior men toed the line as snow fell heavily. Jesse Cockney (Foothills Nordic Ski Club), Knute Johnsgaard (Whitehorse Ski Club) and Carlyle (Soo Finnish) led a front group of 13 in the Classic leg. The lead changed several times during the 15km free-technique course, as a great battle to the finish saw Johnsgaard clinch the top spot followed by Graham Nishikawa (Whitehorse Ski Club/CPNST) in second, with Gareth Williams (Telemark) in third.

Natalie Hynes (Whitehorse Ski Club) had a consistent strong race in the junior women’s 10km, going head to head with India McIsaac (Rocky Mountain Racers) for a 1-2 finish, with Lisle Compton (Kenora Nordic) in third.

The junior men battled over a 20km course, as Cyr (Skinouk) had a solid 28-second lead at the transition. Local favourite Félix Longpré (Club Nordique Mont-Ste-Anne) challenged during skate leg for an exciting finish though Cyr prevailed, with Longpré second. Thomas Manktelow (Canmore Nordic) grabbed third in a photo finish with Étienne Hébert (Montériski).

At the newly upgraded Centre, Beatty won the Open Women’s 1.35km sprint freestyle final, with Browne second and Kocher third on Day Three. In the men’s sprint race, it was Cockney (Foothills Nordic

Kai Symington-Kruss

led from the start to capture the junior men’s 10km win, with Ritchie (Big Thunder) second and Sam Hendry (Canmore) in third.

Caitlin Gregg winning the women’s 10km freestyle skate Pursuit as well to claim the overall mini-Tour title in Rossland.

Senior women’s sprint FR podium

Senior men’s 30km Skiathlon podium

Ski Club) winning over Andy Shields (Lappe Nordic) in second, followed by Thompson (Team Hardwood) in third.

Annika Richardson (Hollyburn Ski Club/ NTDC Thunder Bay) topped the junior women’s sprint field, followed by Elizabeth Elliott (Revelstoke Nordic/BCST) in second, with Catherine Reed-Metayer (Skibec/ CNJrST) taking third. Cyr (Skinouk) led the charge in the junior men’s sprint over Ritchie in second, with Hébert (Montériski) in third.

On the final day, Browne topped the field in the Open Women’s 10km Classic Individual Start, with Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok Nordique) second and Comeau (Université Laval) grabbing third. Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier (Fondeurs-Laurentides/ CNEPH) claimed the men’s 15km race over Hill (Team Hardwood) in second, followed

by Nishikawa (Whitehorse Ski Club/CPNST) in third.

Mehain (Sovereign Lake) was the fastest junior woman in the 5km Classic followed

by Hynes (Whitehorse Ski Club) in second, with Richardson (Hollyburn Ski Club/NTDC Thunder Bay) taking the final podium spot.

Cyr (Skinouk) led the junior men’s charge in the 10km CL race over Longpré (Club Nordique Mont-Ste-Anne) in second, with Hébert (Montériski) in third.

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 57

Western Canadian Championships

by Jenn Jackson

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Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt won both the qualification and final in the opening skate sprint at the Western Championships.

Rob Smith

ild weather greeted athletes for the Canadian Western Championships at the Riverbend Recreation Area in Red Deer, Alta. from Jan. 19-21. The fourth stop for the 2017-18 NorAm, the circuit also doubled as a test event for the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

In the opening skate sprint, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Fondeurs Laurentides/Rocky Mountain Racers) won both qualifying and final rounds ahead of Zina Kocher (Foothills Nordic) and Annika Hicks (Canmore Nordic/AIAWCA). Russell Kennedy (Canmore Nordic) had the top time for the men, ahead of Jesse Cockney (Foothills Nordic), but the final would see their places reversed, as Cockney took the win ahead of Kennedy and Patrick Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok).

Day Two saw racing action unfold with Classic Mass Starts. A lead group of nine skiers formed in the men’s 15km after lap one, but a steady pace gradually saw athletes falling off until only Kennedy, Cockney, Andy Shields (Lappe Nordic) and Scott Hill (Barrie XC) remained heading out for the final lap. At the line, it was Shields with a nine-second gap over Kennedy and Hill, but the results were later revised and Hill disqualified for wearing the Senior women’s wrong bib, giving Cockney third place.

15km CL podium 10km Commissaires were cracking down this weekend, handing out written reprimands to 15 of 42 men in the race.

The three main protagonists from Friday’s sprint returned to the fore in the women’s 10km Mass Start. Bouffard-Nesbitt, Kocher and Hicks remained together, along with Laurence Dumais (Founders Laurentides/AIAWCA) until things started to heat up toward the end of the race.

Hicks made a decisive final move to take her first NorAm win of the season. She Senior men’s was followed closely by Bouffard-Nesbitt 15km CL podium and Kocher 23 seconds back.

After two days of intense Individual-Start racing, visiting Team BC took a slim 130-point lead of 3,337 to Alberta’s 3,207 going into the final day of competitions for the Western Championship title. Saskatchewan was in third with 484 points aided on Day Two by a strong Para-Nordic showing.

The Open Men’s race initially saw a close competition between Ontario and B.C. in the skate three-person relays. On the final leg, however, it was day-before winner Ontario’s Andy Shields (Lappe Nordic) who skied to the win by a 20-second margin over B.C.’s Greg Kilroy (Telemark). Alberta took the bronze. Shields was joined on the Ontario team by Hill (Barrie XC) and Michael Somppi (Lappe Nordic).

The Open Women’s race was dominated by the Alberta team of Hicks (Canmore Nordic/AIAWCA), Kocher (Foothills Nordic) and Emma Camicioli (Rocky Mountain Racers). A young B.C. team finished second, while Alberta also had the third-fastest team across the line.

The final determination of the Haywood NorAm Western Canadian Championships came down to the wire, and had to wait until the end of the day after the Midget relays were completed. After the racing concluded, Alberta came back strong to be crowned 2018 champions with an 80-point lead over B.C.

Eastern Canadian Championships

by Jenn Jackson

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he Eastern Canadian Championships, held Feb. 2-4, got underway at Nakkertok in Cantley, Que. with chilly -15°C temperatures, but lots of sun. Doubling as a U.S. SuperTour and Canadian Para-Nordic National Championships, the senior fields were stacked with top athletes from across the continent and the Para competitions hotly contested.

Morning Classic qualifiers were won by Becca Rorabaugh (Alaska Pacific University [APU]) and Julien Locke (Black Jack). Locke won by a commanding five-second margin, an impressive performance especially considering he travelled over from the Seefeld World Cup just a couple days before.

The women’s heats saw Rorabaugh (APU) continuing her winning ways, out-lunging Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury) and Erika Flowers (SMS T2) to take the early lead for the weekend’s mini-Tour. Laurence Dumais (Fondeurs-Laurentides/AIAWCA) was the top Canadian woman, placing second in the B-final.

Top men’s qualifier Locke (Black Jack) dominated the early heats, but in the final was challenged by Ben Saxton (SMS T2). Locke made a small tactical error on the final corner, giving Saxton a break as they entered the finishing straight, which was enough for Saxton to hold off Locke with a photo-finish win. Home-crowd favourite Patrick Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok) claimed third, just ahead of four-time U.S. Olympian Kris Freeman (Caldwell Sport/Stratton).

Para-Nordic athletes kicked off the weekend with a Prologue that saw Derek Zaplotinsky (Strathcona Nordic) win the men’s Sit-ski by just 0.3 seconds over Sebastien Fortier (Skibec). Cindy Ouellet (Para-Club Nordique Mont-Sre-Anne) took a decisive win in the women’s Sit-ski, while Andy Lin (Nordic Racers) and Lyne-Marie Bilodeau (Orford) earned titles in the men’s and women’s Standing categories.

It was another cool, sunny day at the Nakkertok Ski Centre in Cantley with the “The Cyclery” Race Day beginning with the men’s 15km www.skitrax.com

Rob Smith

Individual skate races. John Hegman (Sun Valley) took a 10-second victory over David Norris (APUNSC) in the Open Men’s competition.

Tad Elliott ((Ski & Snowboard Vail) was third, while Jack Carlyle (Soo Finnish) of Sault Ste Marie, Ont. was the top Canadian in fourth, just three seconds from the podium.

For the women’s 10km, Rosie Frankowski of Anchorage (APU) dominated the event with a 37-second margin of victory over the previous day’s sprint winner Rorabaugh (APU), while Flowers (SMS T2) finished third. The top Canadian in fourth was Frédérique Vézina (Mont-Ste-Anne/CNEPH).

In Para-Nordic events, Ouellet won her second title in the women’s 2.5km Sit-ski race, while Fortier (Skibec) was the fastest over the same distance in the men’s race and was joined on the podium

by Yves Bourque (Mauriski) and Ethan Hess (Nordic Racers). Kyle Barber (Laurentian Nordic) won the 5km men’s Standing competition, while Bilodeau (Orford) doubled up on the women’s side.

The weather changed dramatically as warmer temperatures and heavy snow greeted the racers at the “Fresh Air Experience” Classic Pursuit races at Nakkertok Nordic.

Para-Nordic racers were the first to take to the tracks with Zaplotinsky (Strathcona Nordic) returning to the top of the podium ahead of Fortier (Skibec) and Bourque (Mauriski) in the men’s 5km Sit-ski and Tanya Quesnel (Para-Laurentian Nordic) earning her first National Championship title in the women’s 5km.

In Standing categories, Barber (Laurentian Nordic) claimed his second gold of the weekend, while Bilodeau (Orford) made it a clean sweep of the women’s StandBen Saxton wins the men's ing events with a sprint CL in a photo finish with third victory. top-qualifier Julien Locke.

In the Open Women’s competition, Frankowski (APU) claimed her second gold in two days in a dramatic race with her teammate Rorabaugh (APU). Frankowski started the day 47 seconds ahead of Rorabaugh, who clawed back most of that time over the 10km, finishing just two seconds back at the finish. Third, with the fastest elapsed time of the day, was Miller (Craftsbury). Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Fondeurs Laurentides/Rocky Mountain Racers) was the top Canadian in fourth.

In the men’s 15km race, Hegman (Sun Valley) started the morning with a 10-second advantage over Norris. Norris quickly overtook Hegman and skied on for a commanding 1:18 lead over Vermont’s Ben Lustgarten (Craftsbury). There was a photo finish for third, as Minnesota’s Brian Gregg (CXC/LNR/Team Gregg) beat out Colorado’s Tad Elliott (Ski & Snowboard Vail) in the final sprint. The top Canadian was Scott Hill (Barrie XC) in ninth.

The weekend concluded with Quebec topping Ontario for the Overall Eastern Canadian Championship title.

NorAm / SuperTour Standings after Eastern Championship 2018 Men 1. Andy Shields (CAN, Lappe Nordic) 565; 2. Brian Gregg (USA, CXC/LNR/ Team Gregg) 510; 3. David Norris (USA, APU) 455; 4. Bob Thompson (CAN, Team Hardwood/NTDC TBay) 451; 5. Jesse Cockney (CAN, Foothills Nordic/Canadian NST) 396.

Women 1. Kaitlynn Miller (USA, Craftsbury) 555; 2. Becca Rorabaugh (USA, APU) 543; 3. Rosie Frankowski (USA, APU) 516; 4. Zina Kocher (CAN, Foothills Nordic) 488; 5. Caitlin Gregg (USA, Loppet Nordic Racing/CXC/LNR/Team Gregg) 461.

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SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 59

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U.S.A.’s Sadie Bjornsen (r) claimed her first Classic sprint podium, finishing second at the World Cup opener in Finland.

INTERNATIONAL

Strong Start for Team USA Norway’s Klaebo Record Seven Wins

photos: Nordic Focus

by Jack Cracker and Noah Simms

Canada’s Alex Harvey had a strong start to the season.

Americans Sophie Caldwell and Jessie Diggins at Davos, Switzerland.

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he U.S.A. got onto the scoreboard quickly as the FIS World Cup 2018 series opened in Ruka, Finland. Canada soon followed, but the real talk of the early season in this Olympic year was Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who notched a record seven wins before the New Year.

Nov. 24-26 – Ruka, Finland Rising U.S. star Sadie Bjornsen claimed her first Classic sprint podium, finishing second at the FIS World Cup opener in Ruka, Finland, battling with victor Stina Nilsson of Sweden. Yulia Belorukova of Russia was third. Bjornsen’s teammate Sophie Caldwell finished eighth, while Ida Sargent was 15th. Dahria Beatty was the top Canuck in 64th.

On the men’s side, Canadian Alex Harvey started out his World Cup season with a 21st-place result, posting the 13th-fastest qualification time. Six other Canadians and five Americans hit the start line, but fell short. Norwegians Klaebo and Paal Golberg sprinted to the top two spots. Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson rounded out the podium in third.

U.S.A.’s Diggins delivered a top-10 finish in the women’s 10km Classic interval-start race, as Marit Bjoergen of Norway was in charge, with Charlotte Kalla of Sweden in second, edging out third-place Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg of Norway. Sargent finished 22nd with Sadie Bjornsen in 23rd, followed by Caldwell in 36th. The top Canadian was Emily Nishikawa in 53rd.

Canadian Harvey finished 13th in the men’s 15km Classic Individual-start race, as Norway went 1-2 with Klaebo setting the pace, followed by Didrik Toenseth in second, with Livo Niskanen of Finland in third. American Erik Bjornsen raced into the points, claiming 26th, with Canadian Devon Kershaw earning the same time.

U.S.A.’s Sadie Bjornsen raced to 10th in the women’s 10km freestyle Pursuit, as Kalla of Sweden claimed the final stage win and took the overall mini-tour victory, besting Bjoergen of Norway. In third, Ragnhild Haga of Norway recorded the fastest time of the day. American Diggins finished 12th, with teammates Kikkan Randall moving up to 25th overall and Rosie Brennan also finishing in the points at 28th overall.

60 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Sweden's Charlotte Kalla wins first-ever 30km Skiathlon in Lillehammer, Norway.

In the men’s race, Canada’s Harvey finished a fabulous fourth, 0.6 seconds off the podium, as Norway’s Klaebo claimed the mini-tour victory. Fellow Norwegian Martin Johnsrud Sundby settled for second, with Alexander Bolshunov of Russia taking third. American Erik Bjornsen landed in 26th, while Canadian Kershaw was 29th. The U.S.A.’s Noah Hoffman followed in 39th, with Len Valjas in 44th for Canada.

Dec. 1-3 – Lillehammer, Norway American Sadie Bjornsen claimed her second sprint Classic podium this season in Lillehammer, Norway, topping the qualifications and landing third in the 1.3km Classic sprint. Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway powered away on the final climb for the win over second-placed Krista Parmakoski of Finland. American Diggins finished a strong sixth, while teammate Caldwell was ninth. Top Canadians were Nishikawa in 58th and Beatty in 59th.

“Today was another really awesome day of ski racing here in Lillehammer. After last weekend’s podium, I tried to keep the momentum and confidence going,” shared Sadie Bjornsen.

On the men’s side, Canada’s Harvey finished 28th as Norway’s Klaebo continued his streak, winning the men’s 1.3km Classic sprint.

Sergey Ustiugov of Russian was second, with teammate Bolshunov in third. Harvey was the lone North American to qualify, with Erik Bjornsen the top American in 35th, followed by teammate Andy Newell in 38th.

On Day Two, U.S.A.’s Diggins claimed a stellar fifth in the women’s 15km Skiathlon, showing her fine form, while Sweden’s Kalla took home her first-ever World Cup Skiathlon victory. Norway’s Heidi Weng was second, with teammate Haga in third. Americans Sadie Bjornsen finished a strong 10th, while Randall was solid in 16th, followed by Brennan, also in the points, placing 29th, and Liz Stephen 36th, with Chelsea Holmes placing 38th. The top Canadian was Cendrine Browne in 45th.

On the men’s side, Canada’s Harvey earned a strong sixth-place finish against a stacked field in the men’s 30km Skiathlon, as Klaebo captured gold again, besting teammate Sundby, who settled for second with Hans Christer Holund, completing the Norwegian podium www.skitrax.com

The U.S.A.’s Kikkan Randall earned her first World Cup podium of the 2018 season since having her child.

Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo grabbed a record seventh World Cup victory before the New Year.

sweep. Canada’s Kershaw battled to a solid 19th-place finish, while the U.S.A.’s Erik Bjornsen claimed 20th, showing great form for his best Skiathlon result.

Dec. 9-10 – Davos, Switzerland The U.S.A.’s Randall earned her first World Cup podium of the 2018 season since having her child, finishing third in Davos, Switzerland.

Sweden’s Nilsson battled to victory in a close race, besting Norway’s Falla at the line. There were three Americans in final, with Diggins in fourth and Sargent finishing sixth.

In the men’s race, U.S.A.’s Simi Hamilton led the North Americans, finishing ninth after advancing to the semifinals in the men’s 1.5km freestyle sprint. Norway’s Klaebo recorded his sixth-straight victory, tying fellow Norwegians Sundby and Petter Northug, Italy’s Federico Pellegrino was the only skier to go with Klaebo into the final, but he was outmatched, finishing 1.8 seconds back. In third place for the second weekend in a row was Russia’s Bolshunov. American Newell also made the quarterfinals, but did not advance, finishing 21st. Harvey was the lone Canadian to qualify, but placed fifth in his quarterfinal round and his day ended early.

Sadie Bjornsen led four Americans into the top 20 on Day Two with a solid 12th-place finish in the women’s 10km interval start, as Norway’s Oestberg topped the field once again in Davos. Her teammate Haga was second at 5.9 seconds behind the winner, while Finland’s Parmakoski took the final podium spot at 7.9 seconds back. Randall finished 14th, followed by a disappointed Diggins in 15th and Brennan in 17th. The U.S.A.’s Holmes made the points in 29th, followed by Stephen in 40th. Brown led the Canadian women in 45th, followed by Nishikawa in 50th.

Canada’s Harvey posted his best result at high altitude in Davos, finishing 10th in the men’s 15km Individual start won by Maurice Manificat of France. Russia’s Ustiugov finished second at four seconds back, while teammate Bolshunov landed on the podium for the second time in Davos, claiming third. Harvey followed his race plan to near perfection, starting conservatively and picking his way through the field until the final loop, powering up to the top-10 result. Caldwell was the top American in 41st, followed by Canada’s Kershaw in 44th, American Hoffman in 48th and Canadians Graeme Killick in 59th and Russell Kennedy in 68th.

Dec. 16-17 – Toblach, Italy Diggins led the U.S. Ski Team with a seventh-place finish in the women’s 10km freestyle in Toblach, Italy. Teammate Sadie Bjornsen placed a career-best ninth, as Sweden’s Kalla took the victory. Haga of Norway took second place, with her teammate Weng settling for third. American Brennan finished 17th.

Canada’s Harvey was just off the podium in fourth in the men’s 15km Individual-start skate race as Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krueger won his career-first Individual World Cup. Manificat of France, the current red-bib overall World Cup distance leader, was in second, while www.skitrax.com

American Simi Hamilton was ninth in the men's freestyle sprint at Davos, Switzerland.

Britain’s Andrew Musgrave finished third. Erik Bjornsen was the top American, finishing 29th. Kershaw was the next best Canuck in 38th, followed by the U.S.A.’s Hoffman in 40th and Scott Patterson in 42nd, with Canadian Killick in 49th.

The U.S.A.’s Diggins claimed another strong result, finishing seventh in the women’s 10km Classic Pursuit, followed closely by her teammate Sadie Bjornsen in ninth. Bjoergen edged out her teammate Oestberg, as Weng made it a super-close all-Norwegian podium in third at 0.8 seconds behind. The Americans also landed in the points, with Brennan finishing 25th, followed by Holmes in 39th, Stephen in 48th, while Nishikawa of Canada in 53rd.

Canada’s Harvey took home a strong ninth in the men’s 15km Classic Pursuit, while Norway’s Klaebo blasted to a record seventh World Cup victory before the New Year. Russia’s Ustiugov finished in second place at 1.9 seconds back, with Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin taking the final podium spot in third at 4.5 seconds behind. Klaebo leads the overall World Cup standings, eclipsing fellow Norwegians Northug and Sundby, who both had attained six victories prior to the New Year. The top American was Erik Bjornsen in 26th, with Canada’s Kershaw in 33rd, Americans Patterson in 39th, Caldwell in 44th and Hoffman in 49th, while Canada’s Killick was 50th.

2017/18 FIS XC Ski World Cup Overall Standings after Toblach, Italy Men 1. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) 753; 2. Maurice Manificat (FRA) 428; 3. Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) 402; CAN/US 6. Alex Harvey (CAN) 343; 40. Devon Kershaw (CAN) 42; 42. Erik Bjornsen (USA) 40; 53. Simi Hamilton (USA) 29; 71. Patrick Caldwell (USA) 12; 78. Andy Newell (USA); 93. Noah Hoffman (USA) 3; Women 1. Charlotte Kalla (SWE) 610; 2. Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) 512; 3. Heidi Weng (NOR) 506; CAN/US 6. Jessie Diggins (USA) 334; 8. Sadie Bjornsen (USA) 318; 18. Kikkan Randall (USA) 135; 22. Sophie Caldwell (USA) 91; 29. Ida Sargent (USA) 65; 33. Rosie Brennan (USA) 45; 69. Chelsea Holmes (USA) 2.

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 61

BMW IBU World Cup 2017/18

by Noah Simms

Canada’s Julia Ransom raced to a career-best ninth with perfect shooting in the women’s 15km Individual at Oestersund, Sweden.

Fast-skiing Herrmann claimed her second World Cup victory for Germany, winning the women’s 10km Pursuit despite missing two targets in the first standing stage, with Canada’s Ransom in 23rd, suffering two penalties.

On the final day of competition, the U.S.A.’s Bailey was 17th in the men’s 12.5km Pursuit with two penalties, with France’s Martin Fourcade seizing the victory with one penalty. Scott Gow was the top Canuck in 21st.

Hochfilzen, Austria – Dec. 7-10, 2017 The second round of the BMW IBU World Cup was held in Hochfilzen, Austria from Dec. 14-17, as Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway was perfect on the range to take the win in the men’s 10km sprint. Canadian Smith finished 19th, while American Sean Doherty was 22nd, both shooting clean.

The U.S.A.’s Clare Egan led the North American women, finishing 35th in the 7.5km sprint that was won by Darya Domracheva of Belarus.

Emma Lunder was the top Canadian in 42nd.

Doherty was once again top American in the men’s 12.5km Pursuit in tough weather conditions, finishing 17th with two penalties at 2:12.8

Canadian Scott Gow claimed a career-best 16th with clean shooting in the men’s 10km sprint in Sweden.

Oestersund, Sweden – Nov. 29-Dec. 3, 2017 The 2017/18 BMW IBU World Cup season kicked off in Oestersund, Sweden on Nov. 29-Dec. 3, with Norway winning the Mixed relay.

Team Canada finished 15th, while the American squad was 21st.

Austria won the Single Mixed relay, as Team USA finished 19th, followed by the Canadians in 22nd.

In the women’s 15km Individual, Canada’s Julia Ransom raced to a career-best ninth with perfect shooting, as Nadezhda Skardino of Belarus claimed her first-ever victory, also with clean shooting.

Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe won the men’s 20km Individual, as the U.S.A.’s Tim Burke finished 32nd, while Canadian Nathan Smith was 37th.

Germany’s Denise Herrmann took home her first World Cup victory in the women’s 7.5km sprint despite one penalty, as Canada’s Ransom led the North Americans in 29th with clean shooting again.

In the men’s 10km sprint, Canada’s Scott Gow shot clean to claim a career-best 16th, with Norway’s Tarjei Boe taking the win. Lowell Bailey was the top American in 22nd.

American Sean Doherty delivered two top-20 results, first in Austria and then in France.

behind winner Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway. Canada’s top finisher was Smith at 31st. In the women’s 10km event, Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia won, while Canada’s Lunder led the North Americans in 27th with one penalty.

Team USA’s Bailey, Burke, Doherty and Leif Nordgren raced to a ninth-place finish in the men’s 4 x 7.5km relay, as Norway claimed a solo victory in windy Hochfilzen. The Canadian team was 15th.

Canada’s Lunder, Ransom, Rosanna Crawford and Megan Bankes raced to a ninth-place finish, with Germany taking the win in the women’s 4 x 6km relay. Team USA finished 15th.

Annecy-Le Grand Bornand, France – Dec. 14-17, 2017 The U.S.A.’s Susan Dunklee shot clean, finishing 10th for her best performance of the season in the women’s sprint at Round Three in Annecy-Le Grand Bornand, France. Kuzmina of Slovakia claimed her second victory of the season, shooting clean.

American Burke shot clean to finish 10th in the men’s 10km sprint, as Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe took his fourth victory this season. Canada’s Scott Gow finished 16th with clean shooting as well, followed by the U.S.A.’s Doherty in 17th, also with perfect shooting.

Dunklee took home a sixth-place result in the women’s 10km Pursuit with fast skiing despite two penalties, as Laura Dahlmeier of Germany captured her first win of the season with one penalty. Canada’s Lunder finished 18th, also with one penalty.

62 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

www.skitrax.com

The U.S.A.’s Bailey shot clean, placing 14th in the men’s 12.5km Pursuit, as Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe earned his fifth consecutive victory this season. Canada’s Scott Gow was 27th.

The U.S.A.’s Dunklee led the North Americans with a 20th-place finish in the women’s 12.5km mass start with three missed targets, as Frenchwoman Justine Braisaz cleaned to earn her first career World Cup victory in front of the home crowd. Lunder was the lone Canadian in 28th.

In the men’s 15km mass start, Fourcade took the victory with clean shooting as well, securing a sweep for France. The U.S.A.’s Bailey finished 23rd, while Canada’s Scott Gow was 26th.

Photos: NordicFocus/US Biathlon

Oberhof, Germany – Jan. 3-7, 2018 Canada’s Ransom started off the new year with clean shooting at Round Four in Oberhof, Germany in the women’s 7.5km sprint that was won by Slovakia’s Kuzmina, who took the event with one penalty.

The U.S.A.’s Burke had a good start as well, just off the podium in fourth, also with clean shooting in the men’s 10km sprint that saw France’s Fourcade take the win. The top Canuck was Scott Gow in 32nd with one penalty.

Burke led the North Americans again, finishing 14th with three penalties in the men’s 12.5km Pursuit as France’s Fourcade claimed another victory. Christian Gow was the top Canadian in 21st with one penalty.

American Tim Burke was just off the podium in fourth with clean shooting in the men’s 10km sprint at Oberhof, Germany.

(l-r) Max Cobb (secretary-general USBA), Joanne Reid and Susan Dunklee who took home 6th in France.

Kuzmina of Slovakia took the women’s 10km Pursuit and the leader’s yellow bib, as Canada’s Ransom finished 37th with three penalties at 3:54 behind the winner.

Sweden won the men’s 4 x 7.5km relay with one penalty and nine spare rounds, as Canada’s Gow brothers, Brendan Green and Carsen Campbell finished 10th with six penalties and 20 spares. The U.S.A. did not enter a squad.

In the women’s 4 x 6km relay, France took the win in difficult conditions with one penalty and 10 spares, upsetting the favourites from Germany. Canada’s Ransom, Lunder, Sarah Beaudry and Megan Tandy finished 14th with two penalties and 13 spares.

Rupholding, Germany – Jan. 10-14, 2018 France’s Fourcade took his fourth consecutive win in the men’s 20km Individual event at Round Five in Ruhpolding, Germany, with Doherty leading the North Americans in 31st. www.skitrax.com

Career-best third for Canada’s Rosanna Crawford with perfect shooting in the women’s 15km Individual in Germany.

Canada’s Crawford delivered a career-best third with perfect shooting to land on the podium in the women’s 15km Individual. The winner Dorothea Wierer of Italy shot clean as well. Dunklee skied strong in the opening lap, but suffered three penalties to finish 27th.

Norway was unstoppable again in the men’s 4 x 7.5km relay, with France second and Russia third. Team Canada was 14th, while the U.S. squad finished 24th.

Canada’s Crawford delivered another day of perfect shooting en route to fourth in the women’s 12.5km mass start, as Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen sprinted past Germany’s Dahlmeier in the last 100 metres for the win.

In the final race of the weekend, Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe defeated France’s Fourcade in a nail-biting finale in the men’s 15km mass start, with the U.S.A.’s Burke finishing 21st.

Antholz-Anterselva, Italy – Jan. 18-21, 2018 Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff shot clean to win the women’s 7.5km sprint at Round Six in Italy, with Dunklee leading the North Americans in 35th.

American Emily Dreissigacker shot clean to qualify for her first-ever World Cup Pursuit race.

Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway defeated France’s Fourcade to take the top step of the podium in the men’s 10km sprint, with Bailey placing the North Americans in 41st.

Then in the men’s 12.5km Pursuit, Boe shot clean again and delivered a perfect race for another victory, with the U.S.A’s Burke finishing 21st with one penalty.

Germany’s Dahlmeier won the women’s 10km Pursuit with one penalty, as the U.S.A.’s Egan suffered three penalties to finish 37th.

The weekend ended in snowy, windy conditions with France’s Fourcade taking the men’s 15km mass start despite four penalties, with American Burke in 22nd – not a single competitor shot clean.

Domracheva of Belarus won the women’s 10km mass start in snowy conditions, staging a dramatic comeback. She fell to 19th after a penalty in the early stages, but did not miss another target on her way to victory.

The BMW IBU World Cup takes a break after the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

BMW IBU World Cup 2017/18 Standings after Round Six Men 1. 1. Martin Fourcade (FRA) 834; 2. Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) 780; 3. Jakov Fak (SLO) 467; 4. Anton Shipulin (RUS) 460; 5. Arnd Peiffer (GER) 443 CAN/US 29.

Tim Burke (USA) 188; 38. Lowell Bailey (USA) 107; 39. Sean Doherty (USA) 105; 42.

Christian Gow (CAN) 90; 44. Scott Gow (CAN) 83; 53. Nathan Smith (CAN) 53; 82.

Brendan Green (CAN) 8 Women 1. Kaisa Makarainen (FIN) 592; 2. Anastasiya Kuzmina (SVK) 577; 3. Dorothea Wierer (ITA) 525; 4. Laura Dahlmeier (GER) 490; 5. Darya Domracheva (BLR) 436; CAN/US 37. Julia Ransom (CAN) 121; 39. Susan Dunklee (USA) 110; 43. Rosanna Crawford (CAN) 95; 55. Emma Lunder (CAN) 50; 70. Sarah Beaudry (CAN) 18; 78. Claire Egan (USA) 10.

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Nordic Combined World Cup 2017/18

by Jenn Jackson

The U.S.A.’s Bryan Fletcher had a top early-season performance, taking seventh in Ramsau, Austria.

Ruka, Finland – Nov. 24-26, 2017 Ruka, Finland’s inaugural tour for the Nordic Combined World Cup got underway on Nov. 24-26 with Espen Andersen taking the opening 5km Gundersen Round ahead of fellow Norwegian Jan Schmid and Japan’s Akito Watabe.

For the U.S.A., Bryan Fletcher finished 17th in the opening event and showed excellent form the following day, skiing the four-fastest time en route to 18th in the 10km Gundersen. Watabe took a decisive win and the overall series’ lead that he carried to the next World Cup in Norway.

Lillehammer, Norway – Dec. 1-3, 2017 Bryan Fletcher was joined by teammates Jasper Good, Ben Berend and Taylor Fletcher for the first Team competition of the year. Together, the American squad placed ninth, just missing out on Nations Cup points.

Bryan and Taylor both were skiing well, posting the second-fastest and

photos: Romina Eggert and USA Nordic

Good

64 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Jasper Good contributed to the American squad’s ninth-place team relay finish in Lillehammer, Norway.

fastest times for their respective legs. After trading leads early in the race, Norway just edged Germany for the win, as France outsprinted Finland to finish third.

To the delight of the home crowd, Andersen led Norway to a podium sweep with Schmid and Joergen Graabak in the 10km Individual Gundersen. The win also moved Andersen ahead of Watabe in the overall World Cup as Schmid moved up to third, just one behind the Japanese skier.

Taylor Fletcher led the U.S.A. in Seefeld.

Ramsau, Austria – Dec. 16-17, 2017 Bryan Fletcher had a top early-season performance, taking seventh in Ramsau, Austria with the second-fastest ski time over the 10km course. “Bryan skied a smart race today,” said Martin Bayer, head coach. “He had good skiers around him and had a good plan going into the race. We had good strategy and good skis; the whole team came together today.” The race was won by Germany’s Eric Frenzel ahead of teammate Fabian Riessele and Norwegian Schmid, who took third.

Bryan Fletcher had another solid day in Ramsau, skiing up to 14th from 45th with the third-fastest time of the day. After facing some difficulties in jumping, younger brother Taylor skied the second-fastest time of the day, and turned an unlucky day into a strong performance, finishing 34th.

The World Cup lead shifted once again, as Schmid’s consistent performances moved him ahead of Andersen, while Watabe still held on to the overall podium in third, and Bryan Fletcher sat 19th.

Otepaa, Estonia – Jan. 6-7, 2018 The fourth weekend of World Cup action was cancelled due to poor and worsening conditions in Otepaa, Estonia. According to project leader Ago Markvardt, the call was made with a heavy heart, but the organizers were left with no other choice. “As the primary concern was the trail, where rain has done a lot of damage over the past week, we discussed various alternatives, but unfortunately getting even a shorter trail ready in time for the race is in all likelihood mission impossible,” he said. www.skitrax.com

ly-season leader Watabe return to the podium after a dominant jumping performance, finishing just 1.7 seconds behind Schmid and 20 seconds ahead of Finland’s Ilkka Herola in third. The relay podium was completed by Germany and Finland.

Adam Loomis posted an impressive eighth-fastest skiing time to finish 24th overall in Habuka, Japan.

Val di Fiemme, Italy – Jan. 12-14, 2018 Norway’s Graabak found his way to the top of the 10km Gundersen podium in Val di Fiemme, Italy after an extended holiday break. Graabak was consistent in his jumping and skiing, holding off Johannes Rydzek of Germany and Austria’s Lukas Klapfer, who completed the podium in a tight race with Schmid. Bryan Fletcher was the top American on the day, placing 32nd.

Bryan and Taylor Fletcher tagged off in the 2 x 7.5km team sprint, earning a ninth-place finish, with the sixth-fastest Combined skiing time of the day. The result also boosted the U.S.A. to eighth in the Nations Cup standings, led by Norway and narrowly ahead of Germany.

Schmid closed out the weekend with another win, extending his overall World Cup lead over Rydzek, who now sat second. Bryan Fletcher made up impressive ground, skiing almost on par for the fastest time of the day, leaping from 34th to 19th. Meanwhile, youngster Ben Loomis had a strong day, advancing from qualifications and finishing 38th overall.

Seefeld, Austria – Jan. 26-28, 2018 Watabe took a stunning hat trick of wins in Seefeld, Austria. Spearheaded by big jumps, the Japanese skier’s cross-country speed steadily improved over the weekend. After narrowly beating Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber in the opening 5km, Watabe went on to win both of the following 10 and 15km events by more than a minute, boosting him back up into the lead for the overall World Cup. Taylor Fletcher led the U.S.A. all weekend, finishing 28th in the 5km and then topping the field with the fastest ski time the following day as he flew 10 places up in the overall standings for a 31st-place finish.

Habuka, Japan – Feb. 3-4, 2018 Home snow saw Watabe continue to dominate on the opening day of competitions in Habuka, Japan, beating the field and overall World Cup rival Schmid by 1:12 over 10 kilometres with the best jump and third-fastest ski time. Schmid fought back to win the following day, as Watabe seemed to struggle with his jumping, but held on for the podium behind the Norwegian and Estonia’s Kristjan Ilves, who capitalized on a strong jump to finish second.

The U.S.A.’s Berend achieved his top World Cup result of the season in Japan, finishing 23rd with the 16th-best jump in the Saturday event. On the Sunday, Adam Loomis also posted an impressive eighth-fastest skiing time to finish 24th overall.

Schumann

Chaux-Neuve, France – Jan. 19-21, 2018 The U.S.A. was represented by Berend, Good, Ben Loomis and Stephen Schumann in Chaux-Neuve, France, with Loomis finishing, leading the team to 11th in the 4 x 5km relay after posting a 37th-place finish in the 10km Individual competition.

Schmid and Norway continued to extend their leads with wins in the Individual and Nations World Cup. The weekend also saw earThe U.S.A.’s Ben Berend scored his top World Cup result of the season in Habuka, Japan, with the 16thbest jump to finish 23rd.

Rising star Stephen Schumann joined the team in Chaux-Neuve, France.

2017/18 FIS Nordic-Combined World Cup Overall standings after Habuka, Japan 1. Akito Watabe (JPN) 905; 2. Jan Schmid (NOR) 885; 3. Joergen Graabak (NOR) 528; 4. Fabian Riessle (GER); 527; 5. Johannes Rydzek (GER) USA 29. Bryan Fletcher (USA) 95; 61. Ben Berend (USA) 8; 62. Adam Loomis (USA) 7; 68. Taylor Fletcher (USA) 2. www.skitrax.com

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 65

Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup Nov. 18-19, 2017 – Wisla, Poland Round One of the Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup kicked off in Wisla, Poland on Nov. 18, 2017 with Norway jumping into the lead in the Large Hill team event, followed by host Poland, with Austria in third. The Individual competition saw Junshiro Kobayashi of Japan take the opening round, and he was joined on the podium by Polish star Kamil Stoch and Austria’s Stefan Kraft.

Nov. 25-16, 2017 – Ruka, Finland At the second stop in Ruka, Finland, the Norwegians continued to assert their strength, doubling up on the team event, with Germany and Japan completing the podium. Jernej Damjan of Slovenia put together a clean set of jumps to win the Individual event ahead of Norway’s Andre Johann Forfang and Germany’s Andreas Wellinger. Canadian Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes made his World Cup season debut in 41st, while the U.S.A.’s Will Rhoads kicked things off in 47th.

Dec. 2-3, 2017 – Nizhny Tagil, Russia Rhoads, the only North American competitor, had a strong showing in Russia, finishing a career-best 21st with the 11th-best second jump on opening day. With a win on Day One and a second place on Day Two, Richard Freitag of Germany moved into the overall World Cup lead, followed by Wellinger, who won on the second day of competition as the competiton moved to Central Europe for the next block.

Romina Eggert / USA Nordic

by Jenn Jackson

Canada’s Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes earned a season-best 28th, followed by 23rd in Willingen, Germany.

Dec. 30, 2017-Jan. 6, 2018 – Four Hills Tournament, Germany and Austria The prestigious Four Hills Tournament, showcasing competition venues in Germany and Austria, saw Poland’s Stoch take a stunning sweep of the entire series. The four wins boosted him into the overall World Cup lead ahead of Freitag, who had to withdraw from the Tournament after crashing in the third round at Innsbruck, Austria. Canada’s Boyd-Clowes secured his best result of the season to date at the first round in Oberstdorf, Germany, picking up a 34thplace finish.

Dec. 9-10, 2017 – Titisee-Neustadt, Germany Poland took Norway right to the final jump in the team event, but the Norwegians managed to clinch their third consecutive win by just 0.8 points. The Germans took a comfortable third place, with Freitag and Wellinger taking first and second again in the Individual Large Hill. Germany is now just ahead of Norway in the Nations Cup standings, while Norwegian Daniel Andre Tande, who was third this weekend, also sits third overall.

Dec. 16-17, 2017 – Engelberg, Switzerland Anders Fannemel of Norway picked up his first win of the season, edging World Cup leader Freitag by 0.1 points, as Poland’s Stoch took third. Freitag snapped back and decisively won the second round in Switzerland, while Stoch also moved up a step, making room for Austria’s Kraft to return to the podium.

Jan. 13-14, 2018 – Tauplitz/Bad Mitterndorf, Austria The first Flying Hill event of the year brought new faces to the front of the field as Norwegian Andreas Stjernen captured the victory in

The U.S.A.’s Will Rhoads had a strong showing in Russia, finishing a career-best 21st.

66 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Nordic Focus

Romina Eggert / USA Nordic

Position only

Poland’s Kamil Stoch took a stunning sweep of the entire series at the prestigious Four Hills Tournament. www.skitrax.com

Romina Eggert / USA Nordic

American Kevin Bickner had his best results of the season, placing 24th both in Austria and Germany.

Nordic Focus

Nordic Focus

Richard Freitag of Germany sits second overall.

a close battle with teammate Tande, as the pair comfortably placed ahead of veteran Swiss skier Simon Ammann. American Kevin Bickner had his best result of the season, moving up from his 30th in qualification to 24th in the finals. The second day of competition was cancelled, as winds continued to build throughout the weekend.

Jan. 19-21, 2018 – Oberstdorf, Germany Back on the Flying Hill, Tande won his first Individual World Cup of the year ahead of Stoch, as well as Freitag, who returned from injury. Tande and the rest of the Norwegian squad continued their streak of Team Hill wins, with Slovenia and Poland rounding out the podium. It was another solid weekend for Bickner, who matched his 24th at Austria.

Jan. 27-28, 2018 – Zakopane, Poland A return to home snow was all Poland needed to jump ahead of the Norwegians in the Large Hill Team event in Zakopane, with Germany taking second and Norway settling for third. Anze Semenic of Slovenia secured his first Individual World Cup win on the Large Hill with a www.skitrax.com

Willingen podium (l-r) Kamil Stoch, Daniel DanielAndre AndreTande, Tande,Richard RichardFreitag.

Freitag

set of strong, clean jumps. Wellinger of Germany and Peter Prevc of Slovenia joined Semenic on the podium.

Feb. 3-4, 2018 – Willingen, Germany After several podium finishes, Tande of Norway clinched his first win of the season, besting Freitag by just 0.8 points. The second day in Willingen, Germany saw Norway’s Forfang regaining some of his early-season form, topping Stoch and Poland’s Piotr Zyla. Stoch, with his second-place finish, extended his lead over Freitag in the overall World Cup standings heading into the Olympic Games. Boyd-Clowes cracked the top 30 for Canada with a 28th-place finish on the opening day, only to improve the following day, placing 23rd for season-best results.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup 2017/18 Men’s overall standings after Willingen, Germany Men 1. Kamil Stoch (POL) 863; 2. Richard Freitag (GER) 820; 3. Andreas Wellinger (GER) 736; CAN/USA 46. Kevin Bickner (USA) 18; 49. Will Rhoads (USA) 12; 51.

Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes (CAN) 11.

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Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup

Romina Eggert / USA Nordic

Dec. 16-17, 2017 – Hinterzarten, Germany In the first Team event of the season in Hinterzarten, Germany, the American squad comprised of Lussi, Ringquist, Englund and Sarah Hendrickson took eighth and points towards the overall Nations Cup. Japan dominated the Team event with a total of 956 points, outscoring Russia and France by 97.7 and 109.6 points respectively.

The Individual competition would see Lundby return to the top step of the podium, this after her new Hill Record of 109 metres on the Hinterzarten jump in the Team event.

Althaus and Takanashi completed the Indi-

The U.S.A.’s Abby Ringquist earned her best result of the season in Sapporo, Japan, jumping to 23rd after sitting 18th following the first round.

68 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

Nita Englund was the top American, placing 30th at the first World Cup of the season in Norway.

vidual podium. After two weekends of jumping, Lundby and Althaus were in a dead heat for the overall World Cup. Jan. 6-7, 2018 – Rasnov, Romania Due to warm weather and a lack of snow, the Romanian World Cup was rescheduled to early February.

Jan. 13-14 – Sapporo, Japan In Sapporo, Japan, Lundby picked up right where she left off after an extended holiday break; winning both competitions to re-take the series lead. Althaus and Takanashi would each score a second- and third-place finish behind the Norwegian.

Ringquist of the U.S.A. earned her best result of the season, jumping to 23rd after sitting 18th following the first round. Canadians Taylor Henrich and Strate also picked up World Cup points, finishing 29th and

Ben Pieper Photography: Print Productions, LLC

Dec. 1-3, 2017 – Lillehammer, Norway Lillehammer, Norway once again played host to the opening round of the Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup – this year as a threestage mini-tour.

On Day One, Norway’s Maren Lundby delivered a decisive second jump to take her first win of the season in front of the home crowd, ahead of Germany’s Katharina Althaus and Carina Vogt. Althaus gained momentum through the weekend, edging Lundby on Day Two, and setting a new 140-metre Hill Record on the final day with a jump of 139.5 metres. Japanese skiers Yuki Ito and Sara Takanashi took bronze on the second and third days respectively.

Nita Englund was the top American athlete, advancing through the Qualification Round to place 30th in the first World Cup of the season. Her teammates, Abby Ringquist, Nina Lussi and Canadians Nicole Maurer and Abigail Strate, were among the top 30 – just outside of qualifying.

Romina Eggert / USA Nordic

by Jenn Jackson

30th respectively on Day One. Henrich would improve on her result the following day with a 25th-place finish, Strate was 30th again and Natalie Eilers earned a season-best 28th.

Jan. 19-20, 2018 – Zao, Japan After a strong weekend in Sapporo, the Canadians saw two more athletes with top30 finishes – Atsuko Tanaka in 29th and Natasha Bodnarchuk in 30th on the opening day in Zao, Japan. Lundby would take another Individual win, making it five consecutive victories.

The North American rivalry would see the momentum shift in favour of the U.S.A. in the team event, as the American women took seventh just ahead of the Canucks in eighth. Japan won its second team competition, while Slovenia and Russia rounded out the podium.

Former world champion Sarah Hendrickson was on hand for the first Teamevent in Hinterzarten, Germany, where the U.S.A. placed eighth. www.skitrax.com

Feb. 3-4, 2018 – Hinzenbach, Austria The seventh round of the Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup in Hinzenbach, Austria was called off due to unseasonably warm weather, making it the second cancellation this season.

CXC NEWS

Nordic Focus

Jan. 27-28, 2018 – Ljubno, Slovenia The 13th World Cup of the season in Ljubno, Slovenia saw a familiar podium, topped by Lundby, ahead of Althaus and Takanashi. On Day Two, however, it was a breakthrough performance from veteran Austrian skier Daniela Iraschko-Stolz for her first World Cup win since the 2016 Slovenian World Cup. Lundby would still finish second on a tight podium separated by only 3.3, and was joined by Althaus in third.

Lundby of Norway, who has now won seven World Cups this season and only falling to second place in the other three Individual events, leads the overall by 300 points to Germany’s Althaus. The Nations Cup is still led by Japan, followed closely by Germany.

Day One podium in Ljubno, Slovenia (l-r) Katharina Althaus 2nd, Maren Lundby 1st, Sara Takanashi 3rd

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup 2017/18 Overall standings after Hinzenbach, Austria Women 1. Maren Lundby (NOR) 940; 2. Katharina Althaus (GER) 640; 3. Sarah Takanashi (JPN) 580; CAN/USA 42. Abby Ringquist (USA) 8; 42. Taylor Henrich (CAN) 8; 46. Natalie Eilers (CAN) 3; 47. Atsuko Tanaka (CAN) 2; 47. Abigail Strate (CAN) 2; 49. Natasha Bodnarchuk (CAN) 1; 49. Nita Englund (USA) 1.

Personal Coaching for Masters skiers allows participants to live more and train more.

Central Cross Country Skiing offers several training options to support preparation for the Nordic ski season. In April, at the beginning of the training year, the CXC receives questions about the "right" training-plan choice. The answer can vary greatly depending on the athletes and their needs.

However, there is advice that CXC gives any athlete competing in the Masters ski category. Look at your overall life, the needs of your family, the needs of your job, the state of your health, as well as any possible constraints, and then choose a plan that supports all of it. Do you doubt that your life can fit around an online Masters training plan developed for the masses? CXC agrees. That’s why as well as its three levels of CXC Academy online training plans (www. cxcacademy.com), CXC also offers "Personal Coaching."

Personal Coaching for Masters skiers allows participants to live more and train more, as the training plan is designed week by week by your assigned personal ski coach.

Your coach builds your training plan around you, and even then, you can personally reschedule workouts if need be. Or you can just inform your coach to do that for you!

CXC Personal Coaching uses Training Peaks’ online platform that allows you to see the workouts planned by your coach; to log the Surpass your goals. work you did either by hand or transfer it straight from your heart-rate monitor; to oversee your progress, fatigue and peaking towards an event; as well as instantly informing your personal coach of any changes needed for your well-being and to progress in the sport. To improve your ski technique, your CXC personal coach asks that weekly you send in a video of your ski workout, to be evaluated in your weekly video call. This is a timesaver and a great way to gain valuable ski knowledge.

A Masters skier from Iceland, Einar Kristjansson said, "I have been using the Personal Coaching program at the CXC Academy for almost a year, and it has been a great success. I have made significant improvements, and my training has been much more enjoyable since I started working with a personal coach at the CXC Academy. The program is customized for my needs, and I always have access to my coach when I need to make any adjustments.

I was training for the 70km Marcialonga in Italy and 90km Vasawww.skitrax.com

Photos: CXC

Personal Coaching with CXC

loppet in Sweden, as well as for local races in Iceland, and the excellent preparation helped me achieve and surpass the goals that we set for the winter. This is a highly recommended program [staffed with] enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable coaches who are certainly worth using."

Do you have to be a race machine to access this program? Of course not! Though if you are, that’s fine. The CXC’s personalized coaching can accommodate the desires as well as support the goals of any level of a cross-country skier. Nordic skiing is a great way to stay healthy. If you have a busy work schedule and love skiing, but struggle to fit supportive workout sessions into your day, personalized coaching could be a great option.

Nordic skiing can also support in exceeding one’s limits and going further than before. If you’ve participated in the sport your entire life, however now suffer some physical limitations but still wish to fulfill your dream of enjoyably skiing the Birkebeiner or Vasaloppet rather than becoming hurt or suffering through the experience, CXC Personal Coaching is a great way to adjust your training to your health. If your body still runs like a perfect machine, but you haven’t yet had the opportunity to do high-level racing in your desired category or if you have time constraints, CXC Personal Coaching can build a professional skier plan that works around your job and leisure time. With CXC Personal Online Coaching, your obstacles in training are riddles for CXC solve.

"Through the personal-training program, CXC coaches helped me be successful in training for and completing the 90K Vasaloppet," said Cynthia Flores. "My coach not only helped me build the endurance to complete this endeavour, my technical skills improved through coaching. I couldn’t have done it without this program! The weekly check-in calls were invaluable. They helped me stay focused, and my coach was able to adjust to my work schedule so that my training remained consistent."

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 69

WAXWORX

by Patrick Moore and Jack Cooke

Keeping Athletes and Staff Healthy

he importance of preventing illness in athletes is commonly understood and pursued. As coaches, and as waxers, however, it is equally important that we consider and practise good habits to prevent illness within the staff. Given the close proximity in which waxers work and the general sharing of tools, viruses have a tendency to spread Practising good habits to prevent between staff extremely rapidly. illness with staff is Being sick athlete on a race trip is 6:45 PM HPeaks 8th ST Ann a2013_Pedal Template 2017-12-19 Page 1 equally important not fun. You will be segregated to a single as for racers. room, eat your meals alone and generally spend your time resting by yourself. Being • Learn to cough/sneeze properly – Despite a sick waxer on a race trip is even worse. what your mother told you, do not cover You will also be relatively segregated from your mouth with your hand. Cough or the rest, will probably eat your meals alone sneeze into your elbow. and end up spending any free time by yourself. But unlike athletes who have the oppor• Handshakes – Save your politeness for tunity to rest, you will still need to complete the spring. If you must shake hands, sanyour regular work. Here are some ways itize your hands immediately after (at the to avoid that unfortunate occurrence and risk of offending your friend). stay healthy.

• Hand sanitizer – Carry it in your pocket • Flu shot – Get one every year. It is not only at all times. Keep a bottle in your car. Use for your benefit, but also for the health of it frequently. those around you.

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Lake Placid

• Hand cleaning – Wash your hands regularly with soap and water or alcohol-based hand cleaner. As a doctor friend once told me, “Wash your hands A LOT. Like until they are chapped.” Key times to consider would be before all meals, after contact with the mouth and nose, and after visiting the washroom.

• Contact with sick people – Keep your distance from people who are coughing, sneezing or have a runny nose. Try not to come closer than one metre (see handshakes, above).

• Sleep – Appropriate rest is critical in not only avoiding illness, but also for recovery.

Adopt practices to facilitate quality sleep.

Download an app to filter blue light on your devices. Or, better yet, close your screens at least one hour before bed.

ADVENTURES

• Sharing drinks – Sharing your drink with someone is gross, and will make you or them sick. The same applies to drink belts, water bottles and eating utensils.

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• Communication – At the first sign of illness or feeling even slightly off, inform the team leader immediately so that a plan can be put in place to minimize the spread of infection.

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HighPeaksCyclery.com 70 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

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• Vitamin C – While the science is a bit weak, there is some evidence to suggest that 400-800mg of Vitamin C per day may reduce the risk of illness in people experiencing heavy exertion.

Everyone on the team should pay as much attention to routines that prevent the transmission of illness from yourself to others, as from others to you. Practise the same standard of hygiene and prevention as you would expect others to practise toward you. www.skitrax.com

GRAVES ON NORDIC

by Peter Graves

Nordic Focus

B

y now, everyone is aware of the amazing early-season results had by both U.S. and Canadian cross-country skiers. They mark a very, very strong start to the 2018 Olympic season.

What follows here is not intended by any means to be Olympic predictions, but indicates how well our athletes are doing in the ramp-up period to the Games.

For most, the early-seaChris Grover, son results have been U.S. head coach reasonably predictable.

Norwegian superstar Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo went on a tear with an impressive string of victories, while the Norwegian women’s team has proven to be a constellation of excellence with Heidi Weng, Ragnhild Haga, Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg and Maiken Caspersen Falla looking powerful. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla has also been triumphant with her first-ever Skiathlon World Cup win, accompanied by Stina Nilsson, who has started with a strong campaign as well. Weng again demonstrated her readiness for the Olympic Games by being a repeat winner at the Tour de Ski. Then, of course, there’s Marit Bjoergen, the most decorated cross-country female skier of all time, who rested and trained during the Tour de Ski and will be ready to rock Pyeongchang.

Canadian superstar Alex Harvey is off to a sensational start with his brilliant performances. At the team’s pre-Olympic training camp in Livigno, Italy, Ivan Babikov, the Canadian team’s head coach, said, “You can just tell that he [Alex] is coming into his optimal shape for the next period when he climbs up Alpe Cermis with one of the best times of the day. In the past, it used to be one of his hardest races, and [now he’s] had an historic finish on the last day.”

Harvey’s early-season results included a fourth in Ruka, Finland; sixth in Lillehammer, Norway; 10th in Davos, Switzerland; fourth in Toblach, Italy; followed by two fourths and his first podium of the season in the men’s 15km Classic at the Tour de Ski, plus a third overall finish at the Tour – a Canadian first. These fine results indicate that Harvey is in a great space. This has to help the entire squad have an optimistic mindset.

The U.S. women’s team has also captivated the world’s attention with their extraordinary streak of success.

Recently, Chris Grover, U.S. head coach, spoke about the season’s fast start: “I was a bit surprised that some of our results were so strong, so early. The fields were incredibly deep in Period One of the World Cup, with some of the men’s fields exceeding 100 starters and very strong nation’s groups in Finland and Norway in particular.

The U.S. athletes also had a relatively short period to acclimate to the time change and to log time on snow before Ruka, as compared to the Scandinavians and some of the central Europeans. But the U.S. athletes stepped up and demonstrated that they had done an excellent job preparing for the season.”

Clearly, it was a great start for the U.S. team. “The athletes can have a lot of confidence in knowing that their hard work during the preparation period is already paying off and will continue to do so as we move closer to the Olympic Games,” he noted.

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With skiers such as Jessie Diggins, Sadie Bjornsen, Sophie Caldwell and Kikkan Randall’s notching up some stunning performances, Grover expressed his thoughts on this impressive surprising string of podium achievements: “Well, I think there were several great surprises, the biggest being Sadie’s [Bjornsen] back-to-back podiums in the Classic races. We’ve had Classic sprint performances in the past by Andy [Newell], Kikkan, Sophie and Ida [Sargent], but they’ve been infrequent and sporadic. Sadie’s podiums solidify this event as a possible medal event for the U.S.A. at Pyeongchang. Other surprises for me included the strength of the U.S.A. sprint group in Davos, and how well Paddy Caldwell was skiing in his first season on the World Cup.” And the U.S.A. women have impressive depth – to wit, four American women were in the top 20 in Davos, Switzerland in the 10km freestyle race.

Diggins’ start was perhaps more predictable, with Ivan Babikov, Canadian a string of impressive finhead coach ishes. She said, “I’m really happy how the start of the season has gone for myself, but I’m also totally wowed by the team overall – what a great way to get the season rolling. I’m focusing my peak of the season towards the Olympics, so for the first period of the World Cup, I felt like I was in good shape, but without that ‘sharp’ feeling you get when you are in peak form.

This was the plan, so I’m not worried about it, but I am looking forward to getting those feelings back as we move closer to the Games and we start to shift my training a bit.”

Diggins was equally impressive on the Tour, taking a brilliant historic third-place overall – an American first. Sadie Bjornsen, too, capped a stellar nine-day Tour de Ski, finishing ninth overall and putting two U.S. skiers in the top 10, also a record.

Rosie Brennan also looked impressive in some of the early World Cups and could well have a breakout season.

Prior to the start of the Tour de Ski, Grover was asked how the men’s team was coming together. “The men’s team start has been solid, but it’s still fermenting and coming together. Erik Bjornsen has been impressive in training all year, so it’s very gratifying to see him skiing well in both skate and Classic, distance and sprint. Paddy [Caldwell] has also entered his rookie season with a lot of poise and maturity. Andy [Newell] and Simi [Hamilton] both had rough starts to the first World Cup period, but were starting to come into form in Davos, where they qualified 10th and 12th respectively. The next weekend, they dominated an OPA Cup sprint, with Simi narrowly out-lunging Andy in the final for the victory.”

Caitlin Patterson also shone brilliantly Stateside, as she dominated the 2018 L.L. Bean US Cross Country Ski Championships at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska by sweeping to four straight gold medals.

Impressive indeed.

The Winter Games are on the horizon, and the timing of all of this simply couldn’t be better. Let us hope for the best Olympic Games possible, one that celebrates the best in the human spirit and that just might help ease existing political tensions.

Pam Doyle

Strong Early-season Results

SPRING 2018 SKITRAX 71

SASSEVILLE REPORT

Petter Northug

Marit Bjoergen

by Jack Sasseville

Northug, Bjoergen, Klaebo, Holland and Russian Doping etter Northug Done? – Is this the end for Petter Northug? Calle Halfvarsson from Sweden seems to think so. He was quoted in a Swedish newspaper saying that he felt that Petter Northug would never again return to the top of the standings in world-level competition.

After a disastrous 2016-17 season caused by overtraining, Northug supposedly had a great training season and was ready to race fast again. However, the Norwegian Ski Federation was not convinced when he missed the first races in Beitostolen, and kept him out of the first World Cup weekend in Ruka, Finland. Instead, Northug had to race in Gaalaa in Norwegian Cup races, where he barely made the top 20 in the first two races and then skipped the third race.

Many people in Norway feel that he is not getting a fair deal because he has opted to train outside the team on his own and also because he has been so critical of the Federation. They feel that the Federation has been looking for an excuse to push Northug out.

It is very tough to be at the top of skiing in Norway. There are 15 men on the Norwegian team, with many more who are very fast right behind these guys. For Northug to continue to race for Norway on the World Cup and at the Olympics in February, he is going to have to prove that he can ski at least in the top 10 for the rest of the early-season World Cup races. If he does not, then it looks like he will not be given the benefit of the doubt and he will be left at home.

Russia and Doping – Okay, so it has now been shown, again, that the urine samples for Alexander Legkov (and others) were tampered with in Sochi 2014. It has also been shown that there is no way that this could have happened without them knowing what was going on.

So he and others have been banned for life from the Olympics.

I can remember seeing how exultant he was after he won the 50km race. He and his fans were screaming and chanting and singing for at least an hour after the race was over. This was the pinnacle of his skiing career, and it was all a sham.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) in its usual head-in-the-sand way decided to let the skiers banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) compete in the early-season World Cup races. Finally on Dec. 1, it put a provisional ban on the six skiers that it had banned before. Again it is hedging its bets, as it is only provisional for now.

But the biggest issue is that neither the IOC nor the FIS are interested in going after the real culprit in this story – Russia. There is no doubt in my mind after watching the documentary film Icarus and reading the McLaren Report that everything that has happened has been supported and promoted by the government, and that there is no way there should be any Russian athletes in Pyeongchang in February. In Rio in 2016, the IOC would not do anything, but the Paralympic Association had the guts to stop Russia from competing.

End of an Era? – For the first time that I can remember, I watched someone ski away from Marit Bjoergen in a race. In the final race of the Ruka Triple, Charlotte Kalla pulled away from Bjoergen in the last few kilometres to win the overall title. It is usually the other way around, and I am wondering if this is the first sign that Bjoergen is finally coming back to the rest of the world. One race does not make a season, so it could be that she was tired. Kalla and Bjoergen were well ahead 72 SKITRAX SPRING 2018

photos: Nordic Focus

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Johannes Klaebo

Tom Holland

of the field, so it could also be that Kalla has taken a step forward and not that Bjoergen has taken a step back. It would be great to have this continue all winter.

A New Superstar – Johannes Klaebo is the real deal. His three wins in three races to start the season prove that last year was no fluke.

And he has changed the technique of diagonal stride forever. His uphill running style is already being copied by young skiers around the world. Like other new techniques that have come from sprinting to distance skiing, it looks like this one is here to stay. I have been trying to get young skiers to stop doing this for more than 40 years. I will be very interested to see any studies that might show the energy cost of this ski technique versus the traditional way of climbing.

By the way, if you have not had a chance to check out his vlog on YouTube, you should. It is a great insight into the life of a superstar skier in Norway. I watch it for the technique and training insights; teenage female skiers around the globe watch it for other reasons.

Holland Retires – Tom Holland, high-performance director of Cross Country Canada, announced his retirement and the search for his successor has begun. Love him or hate him, Holland has been at the helm of the most successful period in the history of cross-country skiing in Canada. Olympic medals by Beckie Scott, Chandra Crawford and Sara Renner, World Championships medals by Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw and Renner and a solid place near the top for the Canadian team have all been a result of Holland’s leadership.

Canada is a small country with very few skiers compared to the Scandinavian nations and Russia, but under Holland’s leadership, we have proven that we can take what we have and support it at the top.

Sure, there have been issues and mistakes and decisions that some disagree with, but overall I think Holland has done a great job. Thanks Tom, and have fun in your retirement. www.skitrax.com

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