December 22, 2008 (Dusseldorf, Germany) – Here’s an inside look of the 800m Skate Sprint competition at round #5 of the Veissmann XC World Cup in Dusseldorf, Germany by top US skier Kikkan Randall who is also a contributor to our SkiTrax Diaries.

Cliff Notes

On Thursday, we left snowy Davos, Switzerland and traveled to the big city, Dusseldorf, Germany for a World Cup sprint weekend. There was no snow to be found outside the race course, which was built of snow made in an indoor ski hall. I warmed up on roller skis!

This was my first trip to Dusseldorf and what an experience. It rained most of the day Saturday. The snow on the course was pretty dirty and felt slow during the warm-up. Once I got on course during the qualification round however, the skis were running very fast and my race was over in less than two minutes.

Unfortunately I was not on my game today, and I finished in 40th place, a second outside of the top 30. My misjudgment of the snow speed tricked me into thinking I needed to pace myself, when I should have been skiing more aggressively. Since you only get one shot, I was done for the day. And, because I am the only US woman over here at the moment, I would not be starting the team sprint on Sunday, and therefore my weekend of racing, and my first period of competition, was done as well.

While I would have liked to start off the season with stronger results, there are many races left and I have gained more valuable experience.

Now, I look forward to returning home for Christmas and racing at US Nationals in two weeks in my hometown of Anchorage, AK.

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!

The Full Story

When we left Davos, it felt like Christmas was just a week away. Arriving in Dusseldorf however, felt more like mid September. There was no snow in sight, green grass in the parks, and rain was falling from the sky instead of snow. Only the Christmas music playing in the hotel lobby reminded us it was December.

For Friday’s training I went for a run in the morning, and then did my race prep workout on roller skis in the afternoon. It definitely felt different from real skiing but I got in a solid workout and felt ready for Saturday’s race. On my way back from training, I noticed a friend of mine, German skier Klaudia Nystad, in the window of a SUBWAY restaurant next to our hotel. I immediately ran in and picked up a few of my favorite cookies (White Chip Macadamia Nut) and sat down for a chat.

When I woke up Saturday morning, I ran to the window and saw that the forecast had proved correct, pouring rain. The rain stopped for a few brief periods throughout the day, one long enough for me to sneak in a morning run, but mostly it was a constant down pour.

The qualification round didn’t start until 1:30pm so it was another long day of waiting to race. I ate breakfast once at 8am and then again at 10am to make sure I was fueled up. That second breakfast was a little harder to eat as the anxiousness began to build.

The course was only open to racers for 35 minutes just before the start. So I began my warm-up on a stationary bike inside the wax cabin before heading out to test my skis. Our techs had already done some ski testing by the time I got there, so I only had to pick between two skis. Usually it’s a tough decision because the skis feel so similar. But after two loops around the 800m course, it was clear which pair was fastest. Grover took the race skis to the cabin for final preparation while I continued with my warm-up.

With such a short loop, the track was packed with racers and service techs. I darted in and out, doing pick ups on different parts of the course. The snow was really dirty and with the rain falling, the snow felt pretty slow. The pick-ups felt hard and with no real rest at any point on the loop, I started to formulate my strategy: get up to speed, think about being quick and light and really hammer the second half.

I started bib #24 so I got to see the first few finishers coming by before I stepped up to the gate. Some of the skiers looked wobbly on their legs as they approached the finish line, which I took note of. There was a slight headwind blowing as I took my start position. Then 3..2..1..go!

A couple of jump skates got me out of the start and I felt like I got up to speed fairly quickly. I was surprised to find that my skis felt really fast on the snow and it was almost hard to keep my balance. I pumped my arms in a quick V2, carrying me across the flats and into a slight uphill. I came around a tight turn with quick feet and made smooth movements through an S-turn section. Up ahead was the only real hill on the course, a slight rise up and over a pedestrian walkway dubbed “Mt. Dusseldorf.” I quickened my tempo coming into the hill and jump skated over the top. I remember thinking coming down the other side that I was feeling good and fresher than expected. Time to really hammer!

I skated hard into a tight 180 turn and danced around the corner. I had really good energy coming out the other side and I V2’d aggressively into the final straight. The snow was fast and I charged down the final stretch trying to really carry my momentum forward. Then I slid my foot across the line.

Just as I finished, I glanced over at the finish clock and just barely got a look before sailing by. I saw place 23 next to bib 24. “Oh no,” I thought, “that’s not good.” It actually caught me by surprise because everything had seemingly gone well out on course. I was definitely breathing hard and my legs were feeling a little burn. I immediately realized I was in a precarious situation. Even though many of the fastest skiers had gone ahead of me, I knew there were still skiers on course that could bump me out of the top 30.

I went off for a jog to cool down, the whole time crossing my fingers and hoping for another chance.

When I got back to the wax cabin, I saw the results. I couldn’t even believe it at first. I scanned the top thirty and then kept scanning. I didn’t find my name until I got all the way down to 40th place. I took a glance at the time, and I was even a full second out of qualifying. It was a little mystifying. I mean, I knew that I hadn’t skied as aggressively as I should have for such a short course, but to be done already, with no more chances was just frustrating and disappointing.

Wanting a little time to myself, I grabbed my roller skis and headed across the bridge to work through the race in my head. Usually I’m pretty good at analyzing my races, but this time was so hard because the race had gone by so fast. I couldn’t really think of anything concrete that had gone wrong. I just had to lock the experience into my memory so that I would be better prepared next year.

It was still pouring rain as I finished my cool down and I was totally soaked. So I quickly changed into dry clothes and headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately they didn’t really show much of the races on TV, so I was stuck wondering how the race was unfolding and how my teammates were doing. Finally, I found the last round of semi-finals on one of the German channels and got to watch the finals. It was some wily racing, with lots of contact and skiers going down. Andy Newell fought his way through to 11th place.

Last year at this time, I had just won my first world cup race and was at the pinnacle of racing success. A year later, I am instead at the bottom of the pit, after having one of my worst ever world cup sprint races. While it’s frustrating and difficult to not race up to my expectations, I have to remember that this is a journey, and no one said it was going to be easy.

Thankfully, this is still only the beginning of the season. I get to go home now, to recharge, dial in my training and get back on track. I get to celebrate Christmas with my family, and my new husband, and enjoy the snow.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. I will be reporting back from US National Championships in my hometown of Anchorage, AK beginning January 3rd.

Until then…

Cheers,
Kikkan 🙂

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