December 17, 2007 (Val Cartier, Que.) — A day of rest is all that Alex Harvey (29.41.5) required to regenerate his batteries as he battled a large field of senior skiers and a winter blizzard en-route to a decisive victory in the mass start 10 km classic event at Val Cartier, Quebec. For her part, Madeleine Williams reinforced why she is the current Haywood NorAm leader after pulling away from Perianne Jones and Liz Stephen on the gradual uphills for a 40 meter victory in the 5 kilometer event.

“Every time I tried to get away the field caught up with me,” stated the junior Harvey shortly after the race. “I was lucky the women had already gone over the track so the snow hadn’t had a chance to build up.” Harvey’s good fortune was a nemesis for Williams. “I knew Liz (Stephen) had really quick tempo and Peri (Jones) was fast on the downhills so I had to get away.” commented a happy Williams at the finish. ‘I didn’t want to break track for the girls behind me so I skied part of the race outside of the tracks.” The strategy paid off as Williams picked up her second win of the Haywood NorAm race series and opened up a 40 point lead in the overall standings with 186 points. Jones sits in second.

A field of 100 men and 63 women started the open events in an uncommon short distance mass start. “Usually when we do mass starts they are long distance events, so the field is pretty relaxed,” commented Williams. “Racing only 5 kilometers was like a relay race start with 60 teams, we were all a little anxious at the beginning.”

Just 7 seconds back of Harvey was NST member Stefan Kuhn. Robin McKeever completed his weekend in good style by gaining the podium for the second time, finishing in 29.56.5, eight seconds behind Kuhn. McKeever was second in the 20 km pursuit on Saturday. In the overall race for the Haywood aggregate crown, Graham Nishikawa takes over the green bib with 132 points, 3 in front of McMurtry and 7 ahead of Harvey.

Although Williams was clearly out in front of the women’s pack, second and third came down to a sprint as Perianne Jones planned her finish kick to perfection, overtaking Stephen (Saturday’s winner) in the final 60 meters to place second by 3 seconds. “I just love racing up here,” commented Stephen prior to the awards ceremony. “The race officials did a great job all weekend and today with the cold and snow they are still at it. The trails at Val Cartier are so much fun, I’m looking forward to coming back in the near future,” summarized Stephen.

The Haywood NorAm series takes a 2 week break and resumes in Duntroon, (Collingwood), Ontario on January 3 for the World Junior and World Under 23 Trails. Formats include sprint, pursuit and interval start races.

For complete results check www.zone4.ca.

Haywood NorAm Results (brief)

Women’s 5km Cl Mass Start
1. Madeleine Williams (Can) Edmonton Nordic 17.11.4
2. Perianne Jones (Can) Nakkertok 17.20.2
3. Elizabeth Stephen (USA) USST – BMA 17.23.1
4. Brooke Gosling (Can) Foothills Nordic 17.29.2
5. Ida Sargent (USA) Dartmouth College 17.46.1

Men’s 10 km Mass Start
1. Alex Harvey (Can) Mont Ste Anne 29.41.5
2. Stefan Kuhn (Can) Canmore Nordic 29.48.3
3. Robin McKeever (Can) Foothills Nordic, Calgary 29.56.5
4. Graham Nishikawa (Can) Whitehorse 29.59.4
5. Brian McKeever (Can) Foothills Nordic, Calgary 30.08