January 30, 2008 (Canmore, Alta.) – A report from sprint number two of the Canmore World Cups, this time freestyle! It turned out to be a beautiful day for racing. My morning started off well with a solid 5th place finish in qualifying, just 1.3 seconds out of the lead. I took charge in my quarterfinal and led all the way to the line, moving on to the semi’s. For my second heat of the day, I changed my strategy and opted to sit back in the pack, hoping to pull a sling-shot move in the final stretch. This turned out to be a disastrous tactic however, as I spent the whole round fighting for position. Two skiers were able to pull away over the top and I was unable to catch back up. I missed advancing to the A-final. In the B final, I got out strong and stayed near the front, but Petra Majdic was able to out glide me coming into the final stretch and I had to settle for 8th place.

While I didn’t make it into the A final, my good friend Chandra Crawford skied a strong race to win the whole thing in front of her hometown crowd. Overall it was a great day of racing.

Now I head back to Europe for the second half of the season. Next races will be in Otepaa, Estonia in two weeks.

Video highlights of the race available on SkiTrax.com here.

The Full Story

Not advancing to the heats in Wednesday’s classic sprint gave me extra motivation to have a good race in Saturday’s freestyle sprint. I took an easy day Thursday, and then built back into my race preparation mode on Friday. Honestly, I didn’t feel that great during my morning ski, as I zipped around the course to try and get a feel for how it would ski. But I was confident that by race day I would be ready to go.

Saturday morning, things were looking up. The air temperature had warmed up to a much more comfortable 20 deg F, the wind wasn’t blowing too hard, and as I skied my first few warm-up laps, I could tell my body was feeling good. Ski testing went very smooth and Peter and I both decided that #195 (the pair I raced on in Rybinsk) were the fastest skis for the day. I finished off my warm-up and headed to the start feeling very warm and revved up.

In the qualifying round I started in the middle of the pack at bib #18. I watched the first few skiers go over the course, checking to see where they tucked and where they free-skated. Then I took my turn. The course took out straight across the stadium, in the opposite direction of the classic sprint start, and then cut around a hard right and into a short steep. Over the top there was a short downhill into a V2-grade uphill. Then a gradual slope down to the hairpin turn, around the turn and into the 200m drag strip to the finish. I powered my way around the course, pushing over the top of all the hills, and staying light on my feet. The snow was fast and I finished in about 2min 10 sec, good enough for fifth fastest.

Although the qualifying round was short and fast, the effort was still very hard. It took me a good twenty minutes to clear the lactic acid out of my muscles and to chase off the feeling that I might throw-up. Once I cleared the race residue, I went into the athlete lounge to change into dry clothes. Gradually the lounge began to fill up with competitors. The Finns were on one side, the Japanese set up a massage table in the middle of the room, the Germans fit in where they could and the rest of us took the far corner. After choking down some bananas and bread with honey, I put my feet up against the wall and faded out to the sounds of my iPod. Every few minutes I would start thinking about the race and my body would tense up. I laid there for about an hour until it was time to get going again.

Qualifying fifth put me in the third quarterfinal heat. I skied several laps around the race course to wake my body back up. As I jogged down the corridor to the start, the first heats got underway. Virpi Kuitunen, the top qualifier took charge of her heat and led to the line. I decided I should try to do the same. I got off to a good start and led up the first hill. As I came back down the other side, I watched the shadows in front of me to see where the other skiers were. No one challenged, and I skied controlled and relaxed to the line to win my heat and advance to the next round.

Leading my quarterfinal had felt great. I could ski relaxed, and out of trouble. As I watched the men’s heats however, I noticed several skiers come from third or fourth off the final downhill, sling-shot’ing into the lead and advancing. Knowing that the competition in the semi’s would be more challenging, I changed my tactics, and decided not to try and lead at the beginning. I would try and go for the sling-shot move in the final 200m.

While we lined up for the semi-final, Beckie Scott was announcing that this may be one of the toughest heats of the day. Randall, Crawford, Majdic, Fabian, Genuin, Boehler. I got off to a good start. Midway down the first stretch, I backed off on my pace slightly, allowing some of the other racers to pull ahead. As we went around the first corner, Crawford took the lead, while I was in a jumble with several racers. Already, I started to regret my new strategy. Coming up the steep, I was trapped on the inside and unable to move up. I powered over the top and tried to build enough momentum to pass on the next hill. But as I rose up to start V2’ing, Majdic was side-by-side, trying to force me off the course. I battled with her over several meters, with my right ski dangling off the edge of the trail. I was able to fight her off by the top of the hill, but Crawford and Genuin were pulling away. I free-skated hard into the hairpin turn, drafting off of Fabian and hoping to still have a chance. But as we raced into the last 200m, the gap was too much. Majdic just got me at the line, relegating me to fourth place in the heat, and to the B final.

I was very frustrated not to be moving on to the A final, missing out on a chance for another podium finish. My change in tactics had been foolish, forcing me to waste energy and loose contact with the leaders, and I would not make the same mistake again. Lining up for the B final, just a short 15 minutes after my last heat, I decided to go for the front once more. I had a good start, but couldn’t quite take the lead before the first corner. Sarasoja got there first, while Majdic and I battled. She tried to force her way in from the inside, but I held my line and got into second.

As we charged up the steep, I took the left side this time, trying to take the lead from Sarasoja. We went over the top and battled side-by-side up the next hill, while Majdic followed closely behind. For some reason, be it tired legs or nervous energy, my V2 was choppy and unexplosive. By the top of the hill, Majdic had managed to sneak ahead while I just barely got into second. As we glided down the gradual stretch to the hairpin turn, Majdic skis were out gliding mine, and a gap was forming. I powered around the turn and chased after, but she gained more meters before the final rise. I sprinted hard towards the line, but Majdic got the better of me and I had to settle for 2nd in the heat, and 8th overall.

With my racing finished, I watched the women’s A final. Chandra (whose hometown is Canmore) skied a very smart and powerful race. She took the lead out of the start and up the first hill. While she didn’t control the pace the entire way, as you watched, you could tell she was confident and had a plan. Coming off the final turn she accelerated, took the lead, and didn’t relinquish all the way to the line, winning in front of her hometown crowd. As Chandra’s some-time training partner, I couldn’t help but feel very proud of her, excited to see another display of North American domination!

I was walking away from the finish area, feeling a little disappointed, when I ran into a group of fellow Alaskans that had come down to watch the races. This wild group had K-I-K-K-A-N written on their stomachs in pink paint and upon seeing me, they enveloped me in a giant, dancing group hug. It certainly brought a smile to my face! We posed to take a picture and then all sorts of spectators came over and started snapping pictures too.

Then I got a big hug and a kiss from my fiancé, and a lift-you-off-the-ground squeeze from my Mom. It is so wonderful to be supported by so many great people!! A big thank you to everyone that came to Canmore to support me!

I let the disappointment melt away as I took a moment to reflect on the day. A top ten result was still a good finish. A year or so ago, I would have been ecstatic. It’s just that now that I know I am capable of winning these races, it’s hard to feel satisfied when I’m not on the podium. Today was another great learning experience. It showed me that I must be more confident and aggressive. Next time I won’t sit back!

I have had a wonderful week in Canmore. It’s such a treat to be able to compete in North America, where the fans speak our language, and cheer so loudly for us. For once, the Euros complain about the long travel, weird food and sleep adjustments! I was also fortunate to have my coaches Erik and Frode here watching the action this week, seeing how I function in the World Cup environment.

It was very sad to say goodbye to everyone as I prepare to head back to Europe for the second half of the season. Yet, I am excited and energized for this next period of racing. Joining me in Europe, are the US National team guys and my APU teammate Laura Valaas. It will be great to have a female companion this time! The racing schedule will have us at a new venue each week and there will be lots to report! So stay tuned!

Thank you for being part of the journey!

Cheers,

Kikkan 🙂