Tag Archive | "Haywood NorAm"

Haywood NorAm & Teck Sprints Kick-off Interviews – Diggins on Her Dual Citizenship + Koos and Fitzgerald

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December 09, 2011 (Sovereign Lake, BC) – Many of the continent’s top skiers have gathered this weekend at  Sovereign Lake near the mountain resort of Silver Star, in Vernon, BC, for the first races of the season for the 2011-12 Haywood NorAm and Teck Sprint Series, which are being hosted at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre.

This weekend features a classic double-header, with classic sprints on Saturday and an interval start classic distance race on Sunday. US SuperTour leaders Jessie Diggins and Michael Sinnott will be on the start line along with most of the members of Canada’s Senior Development Team, including Kevin Sandau and Alysson Marshall, fresh back from some early season racing at the World Cup in Norway and Finland.

The strong fields include former US Olympians Torin Koos and Morgan Arittola who will both contest the races as well. Joining the elite racers will be hundreds of the top juniors from across Canada and the United States.

SkiTrax caught up the USST’s Diggins, Koos and Kate Fitzgerald (APU) during today’s official training day. Check out the vids as  Jessie Diggins reveals her Canadian roots… Sorry for the delay – the Fitzgerald interview is good to go. – ed.

 

 

 

 

 

Preliminary 2011/2012 FIS Events Calendar Released

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May 06, 2011 – CCC and FIS have released the preliminary 2011/2012 Events Calendar, including World Cups, NorAm races, US SuperTour events, and the Tour de Ski. The calendar will be updated following the FIS and CCC AGM’s in June. To check out the preliminary calendar, click HERE.

Nishikawas Dominate the Podium on Day 3 of Haywood NorAm Easterns

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February 14, 2011 (Cantley, QC) – The Eastern Canadian Championships, hosted by Nakkertok, wrapped up on Sunday with familiar faces on the podium. With temperatures rising throughout the day, peaking just below zero, the weather was more settled than it had been for the previous races.

Emily Nishikawa (Whitehorse/AWCA) took the top step on the podium for the 3rd time this weekend as she won the 15km classic Pursuit. Leading from the word go, Nishikawa kept ahead of her rivals as she led from start to finish.

Sarah Daitch (Rocky Mountain Racers) narrowly beat out Alysson Marshall (AWCA/BCST) for 2nd place, just 15 seconds back. Heidi Widmer (Foothills Nordic/AWCA) and Alana Thomas (Nakkertok) rounded out the top 5.

“I’m so happy with how this weekend went. I felt strong in all three races and was skiing well,” said Emily Nishikawa “The pursuit yesterday was a good race for me, I didn’t know how far back the other girls were so I just focused on my race and pushed as hard as I could. I’m pretty pumped about winning the overall, and very happy for my brother as well.”

Graham Nishikawa (Whitehorse/AWCA) took home his second gold medal, and third medal of the weekend, as he won the men’s 30km classic pursuit. Nishikawa powered away from the rest of the field from the gun and by the half way mark, had nearly a minute on the rest of the field.

“I had a perfect race today,” he told SkiTrax. “It was nerve racking being chased down by the field, but I just tried to focus on my own race and was able to ski away from the guys.”

“Thirty kilometers was a long distance to ski solo. It took a lot of mental focus. I am very happy to have won the mini tour. The organizers did a great job with the event,” added Nishikawa.

Kevin Sandau (Foothills Nordic/NST) was 1:22 back in second place, and Michael Somppi (Lappe Nordic/NDC T-Bay) took the bronze. Pate Neumann (Canmore Nordic/AWCA) and Karl Saidla (XC Ottawa) finished fourth and fifth, with Saidla posting the 2nd fastest men’s time of the day.

Both Graham and Emily Nishikawa easily led the overall standings after the weekend of racing, Emily by more than a minute, and Graham by more than two minutes over their closest rivals.

“I am not sure about the future, but I hope to head to the World Cups in the spring, after some much needed rest,” commented Graham Nishikawa.

This weekend’s racing was the final NorAm event in Canada this season.

Women’s results HERE.
Men’s results HERE.

Goldsack and Jones Win Haywood NorAm Telemark Mini Tour

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February 07, 2011 (Kelowna, BC) – Heavy snow greated the skiers on Sunday for the 3rd leg of the Haywood Multi-stage competition in Kelowna. The freestyle Handicap races got underway with the men’s competition with Drew Goldsack first out of the blocks. Stefan Kuhn followed 10 seconds later with Graham Nishikawa another 5 seconds back.

Nishikawa soon caught up to Goldsack and the two NST skiers battled the elements over the 15km course. In a sprint to the finish Goldsack finished .3 seconds infront of the Haywood NorAm leader. The race wasn’t over however as George Grey, starting in a non-seeded wave start position had the fastest time of the day with a stage time of 38:20.8.

The Canadian multi-stage format allows skiers to compete for single stage honours ever if they miss a leg. In Grey’s case, the 24-hour stomach flu kept him bed-bound during the prologue day.

SkiTrax caught up with Goldsack after his races: “It was a good weekend for me. The conditions have been excellent at the Telemark Ski Club. They’ve done a lot of improvements to the trails since the last time we raced here in 2003. The sprint course was pretty flat but a 200m+ finishing straight made it a suffer fest to the line. The Prologue and 15km (3x5km) courses were quite tough with some really short and hard steep pitches,” he commented.

“I’m finally coming back into some better shape after being sick. I was feeling pretty good this weekend but I’d say I’m not quite back to the form I had before Christmas,” added Goldsack.

The heavy snow didn’t seem to hold back National Team skier Perianne Jones as she steadily pulled away from the Women’s field finishing 2:27 in front of Junior skier Maya MacIsaac-Jones of the Rocky Mtn Racers. MacIsaac-Jones started 5th on the grid. Andrea Dupont finished 3rd with the 4th fastest time on the day while Rebecca Reid, another young Junior finished with the 3rd fastest time on the day and 5th overall.

In the Junior Girls Pursuit, Suzanne Stevenson of Foothills started beside Jill Reynolds of Black Jack and battled over the 5km course only to pull away over the last 60 meters to a 3-second victory. Susanne Fraser of Black Jack finished 3rd in the multi-stage event.

In the Junior Boys Pursuit, Julien Locke of Black Jack was the strongest on the day and won the overall multi-stage race by 50 seconds. Colin Ferrie skiing for Kimberley Nordic picked up second overall and a silver for the stage while Matt Saurett of Edmonton Nordic moved from 5th on the grid to take third on the day.

Mass start events completed the Haywood NorAm Western Canadians in Juvenile, Midget and younger age categories. Almost 450 skiers competed at Telemark, making the 2011 edition of the Western Canadians one of the largest ever.

Men’s Results HERE.
Women’s Results HERE.

Haywood NorAm Thunder Bay Classic Sprint Video

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January 12, 2011 (Thunder Bay, ON) – Here is another video  courtesy of Team Hardwood’s Graham Longford with highlights from the Classic Sprint heats and finals at the 2011 Haywood NorAm WJr/U23 Trials at Lappe Nordic Centre in Thunder Bay, ON last weekend. Brent McMurtry took the men’s win over Stefan Kuhn and Jess Cockney, who also snagged the U23 victory. In the women’s race, it was Dasha Gaiazova who chalked up another win to her name. NorAm leader Perianne Jones took the silver, while Alysson Marshall doubled as the senior bronze medalist and the best U23 – read more HERE.

2011 World Junior Trials Men’s 20km Pursuit Video

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January 11, 2011 (Thunder Bay, ON) – Here’s another great video by Team Hardwood’s Graham Longford with highlights of the Junior Men’s 20km Pursuit race at the 2011 Haywood NorAm and World Junior/U23 Trials held at Lappe Nordic in Thunder Bay, ON Jan. 6-9. Local boy Andy Shields won convincingly, skating away from the field in the final 10km to win by a 51s margin. Shields is now guaranteed a spot on the Canadian Junior Worlds team heading to Estonia.

Grey and Jones Earn 10/15km Skate Wins at Haywood NorAm WJ/U23 Trials

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January 09, 2011 (Thunder Bay, ON) – Competing on the domestic circuit as part of a plan to return to the World Cup circuit while their Olympic teammates wrapped up the Tour de Ski, Canada’s George Grey and Perianne Jones found their stride by winning the men’s and women’s skate ski races at the Haywood NorAms in Thunder Bay, Ont. on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Grey, of Rossland, B.C., is starting to discover the shape that helped him capture his lone World Cup medal two years ago in a team sprint with Alex Harvey in Whistler, B.C. The two-time Olympian captured his second victory of the weekend after completing the men’s 15-kilometre skate-ski race with a time of 39 minutes, 21.9 seconds at the Lappe Nordic Ski Centre.

“It was good race and a tough course today so I’m happy,” said Grey, who punched his ticket for a spot on Canada’s World Championship squad this weekend.

“Right now I’m going back to the drawing board. I’m working on my distance and getting my shape again. I have six weeks to go until Worlds so it will be good to get back around the team, and Justin (Wadsworth – head coach), to ramp it up to where I want to be.”

Grey has spent most of his summer and early season rebounding from knee surgery this spring.

“Motivation is tough to find for any athlete, and when you have injuries a dark cloud just follows you because you want to go but you have to be patient,” said Grey. “Everyone this weekend was peaking because it was trials for World Championships. To win twice I know I’m not far off so I’ll keep working hard at it.”

Grey was pressed for the podium by Graham Nishikawa, of Whitehorse, who claimed the silver with a time of 39:27.3, while Michael Somppi, of Thunder Bay, Ont., rounded out the podium in third (39:34.6).

Meanwhile Canada’s Perianne Jones is also patiently making her comeback to the elite international circuit. Jones, of Almonte, Ont., won her second race on North America’s premiere development cross-country ski race series after posting a time of 31:02.7 in the women’s 10-kilometre skate-ski event.

“I felt really good out there and I’ve known all year that I’ve just been feeling a lot better,” said Jones, who said her body felt a little bit up last year pushing the paces with the world’s best on the World Cup circuit. “My body was just really tired last year and it is nice to be building that confidence and racing professionally again here. I have been working hard on my technique and things have been going really well.”

Jones was put to the test this weekend with Daria Gaiazova, of Banff, Alta., who made her return from the World Cup. Gaiazova, who won a World Cup bronze medal in the team sprint earlier this year with Chandra Crawford, won the first two races of the weekend but was pushed to the second spot on the podium Sunday with a time of 31:18.3.

“It was awesome to have Daria here and bring the level of racing up a little,” said Jones. “It was a good reminder for me of how fast things are on the World Cup.”

Calgary’s Brooke Gosling claimed the bronze with a time of 32:27.5.

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

Open Female

1.    Perianne Jones (Nakkertok/NST) 31:02.7
2.    Dasha Gaiazova (Rocky Mountain Racers/NST) +15.6
3.    Brooke Gosling (Foothills/CXC) 1:24.8
4.    Sara Hewitt (Foothills/AWCA) 2:01.7
5.    Brittany Webster (Highlands Trailblazers/AWCA) 2:23.4
6.    Heidi Widmer (Foothills/AWCA) 2:34.4
7.    Alysson Marshall (Larch Hills/AWCA/BCST) 2:36.3
8.    Annika Hicks (Canmore Nordic/AWCA) 2:40.6
9.    Anne-Marie Comeau (Club Nordique M.S.A.) 2:44.3
10.    Erin Tribe (Team Hardwood/NDC Thunder Bay)2:44.6

Open Male

1.    George Grey (Black Jack/NST) 39:21.9
2.    Graham Nishikawa (Whitehorse/AWCA) 5.4
3.    Michael Somppi (Lappe Nordic/NDC Thunder Bay) 12.7
4.    Brent McMurtry (Foothill) 55.0
5.    David Greer (Whitehorse/CNEPH) 56.1
6.    Erik Carleton (Rocky Mountain Racers/RMR) 58.4
7.    Jess Cockney (Foothills/AWCA) 58.8
8.    Graeme Killick (Banff Ski Runners/ NST) 1:20.9
9.    Pate Neumann (Canmore Nordic/AWCA) 1:33.0
10.    Kevin Sandau (Foothills/NST/AWCA) 1:34.1

The Way I See It – Exciting Racing, Canadian Uniforms, George Grey, US Nationals, Haywood Trials, Dynamic Duo, Worlds Selections

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January 09, 2011 – What a week of racing – so exciting at all levels – the Tour de Ski (TdS), US Nationals and  the Haywood Trials to both pick the Senior Worlds, Junior Worlds and the U23 Championship teams that will all be heading to Europe in the next few weeks for their championships.

First to the TdS where the Canadian men are making all kinds of astronomical break through’s when it comes to the results and standing on the podium. It’s a very grueling series of races, and if you don’t believe that, look at how many people will be on the starting line tomorrow for the final race and the crowning of the King and Queen of the Tour. A total of 79 men started this trek along with 58 women and there will be 40 men and 36 women left to attack the Alpe Cermis – a very huge climb – to  continue to takes it’s toll right to the last second.

Canadian Team uniforms are interesting when seen from a distance – the lower legs being all white gives the appearance that the Canadians are skiing in knickers – the old fashion way.

Coverage of all of the competitions has really lifted the level of media exposure – press reporting, pictures by the 100s flying all over the place, twitter, and the video links to the TdS are all really cool. I was at a dinner party tonight and half the guests knew all about what was taking place at the TdS, and knew the skiers names. They sure slaughter Northug’s name!!! All an outcome of last year’s Olympics in Vancouver and of course the excellent results help the big time media pick up the releases in both countries.

George Grey made a very interesting quote after winning the first trial race at Thunder Bay at the Haywood NorAm Worlds Trials.

“It was awfully tight and very technical out there today,” said Grey. “I don’t really have my shape but I think my experience put me in the front in the end. The last few weeks of training have been challenging because my fitness isn’t there. But it will come around.”

It’s getting late George, half the World Cup schedule is done, you were in Europe before Xmas and had less than good results and have had the better part of a month to get things in order. The “Big 4” from Vancouver is now down to the “Big 2” as Ivan is also struggling to find his shape. Rumours have it that you made only one training camp all summer and fall and of course we all know about Ivan’s reality trip to South America and car buying trip to the US. This sport takes a full year of training effort every year – hope you guys catch fire soon.

The US Nationals were one soggy mess the first day of racing in Rumford. Use your imagination and instead of calling this Rumford, call it Oslo, as during the time that the Worlds are being hosted there it can easily be that ugly and worse. Plus the next day can be ass rattling icy. You had some good practice – be happy.

Haywood Trials one more time, and where was Canada’s sprint champion, Chandra Crawford? I know that she is headed to Liberec along with Dasha Gaiazova next week for some more international racing. I would have thought she would want to race the T-Bay races to lift her racing fitness to be ready for this tour. I know that she has had only one race since coming back from Europe over a month ago. She could have gone to Rossland with all the boys and Dasha the next weekend upon return and given those races a real lift by being there. Her counterparts in Europe are now at the 16-18 races for the year level and Chandra is only at 6-8 races. If Chandra makes it as a sprinter only, she will be the only one in the world.

The women who are the top women in the world are both sprinters and distance skiers, at all levels. I would use Kikkan Randall, a close friend of Chandra’s, as an example of the necessary steps that have to be taken. She was trying to make it as a sprinter two years ago – the light bulb went on and now she’s becoming a really good sprinter (currently ranked 3rd in the world) and is slugging her way through her first TdS quite nicely – and ranked 23rd on the WC distance list as I write this. Racing fitness comes from racing – it is the only way! There are not enough sprint races on the WC circuit to get anyone in shape.

Update on Canada’s dynamic duo, Devon and Alex, as they have been working there way through the TdS, they have also been improving the standings on the World Cup. Devon stands in 7th place overall and Alex has placed himself nicely in 11th. Too bad Alex didn’t make a better effort of being ready for the WC races before Christmas, coming late to the tour and then going home for some school exams. Who know how good he would be now?

Who makes the US Team to the World Championships in Oslo, Norway – here are my choices and I don’t have a clue about the criteria.

Women – Randall, Brooks, Arritola, Stephens, Symth – and as a PS send both Diggins and Bjornson to the World Jrs and U23s with the proviso that if they can make the top 10 in any event they come to Oslo.

Men – Freeman, Newell, Flora, Southam, Elliott and Hoffman – and have Hamilton prove himself in Drammen.

Both teams are building towards Sochi with older leadership, maturity and youth and will be on the international long road to getting ready for the big show 2014.

PS remember, no one can ski the whole schedule and you’re bound to have some sickness. Also – Oslo will be one hell of a show – close to or the equal of Sochii. Great place for the newbies to get their feet wet – no pun intended.

Talk to you soon.

Rossland NorAm 10/15km CL – Canada Sweeps Men’s Podium and US Women go 1-2-3

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December 19, 2010 (Sovereign Lake, BC) – It was a day of podium sweeps at the final stage of the Rossland Haywood NorAm mini-tour. The Americans owned the women’s tour podium but the Canadian men responded by taking all three top spots in the men’s. Thanks to the pursuit start, which factored yesterday’s results and time bonuses from Friday’s sprint, the first across the line today took the mini-tour title.

CXC’s Jessica Diggins won the women’s 10km pursuit with a blistering second lap to catch APU’s Holly Brooks and teammate Sadie Bjornsen, who had started 1st and 2nd respectively in today’s pursuit. By the end of the race, the start positions had reversed themselves with Diggins in 1st, Bjornsen in 2nd and Brooks in 3rd.

Bjornsen caught Brooks near the 3km mark, and the two skied the majority of the race together until Brooks started to fade on the final climb. When Diggins went by on the last few climbs, neither APU skier could hold on.

“We skied parallel for a lot of the race,” said Bjornsen. “It was probably mostly habit, just like we ski in training all the time.”

Diggins was trailing Bjornsen and Brooks by 15 seconds heading into the second lap. She was quick to give credit to her wax team for giving her the skis that helped speed her to the finish.

“The coaches did an absolutely awesome job with the wax,” said Diggins. “I’m in awe of how fast our skis were.”

As for her impressive final lap, Diggins said it just sort of happened.

“This might sound kind of weird, but I didn’t really have a race plan today,” she said. “I went into today having had a great weekend, and just waited to see what happened. My coaches have really helped with my classic technique this year, so when I had such good skis I just went for it.”

Conditions were very difficult, with unanticipated heavy snow flying all morning. Some teams struggled with wax, and those that nailed it were rewarded with podium spots.

“It was tough out there,” said Bjornsen. “You really had to pound it to make the skis work.”

“When it started snowing harder during the women’s race, the conditions started to transition,” said Canadian coach Eric de Nys. “We went with a bit more binder under the wax for the guys, mixed with a few drops of klister, and it seemed to work really well.”

The men’s results certainly reflected the Canadian team’s wax choice. Canada’s Stefan Kuhn put the perfect cap on his weekend, winning the men’s 15km pursuit after battling back from a difficult starting position and sprinting to the line with fellow Canuck, 2nd place finisher George Grey. Team mate Drew Goldsack (CAN) nipped Lars Flora (USA) for 3rd.

The race started with Goldsack, Flora and Grey forming the lead group and Kuhn, Jess Cockney (CAN) and Mike Sinnott (USA) chasing them down.

“I had to make up 19 seconds,” said Kuhn. “so I hammered from the start. Cockney and Sinnott went with me, and we caught the lead group pretty quickly, but I was pretty taxed when we did. I spent the middle part of the race yo-yoing off the back. The conditions dictated that the leaders would be working probably 20 per cent harder, so I used that. Coming into the finish I followed George. He plowed 80 meters of fresh snow; I only had to plow 20, so I was able to take him at the line.”

“It was an interesting race,” said 4th place finisher Flora (USA). “I was surprised how fast the three chasers caught us. I need to work on my classic skis a bit; I think I chose the wrong pair today.”

Women’s results  HERE.
Men’s results  HERE.
Overall Mini-Tour results HERE.