February 02, 2015 (Barrie, ON) – Mother Nature was teasing the organizers, athletes, spectators and support staff in the lead up to the final day of the Haywood Eastern Canadian Championships. Weather forecasts were calling for highs of -19 on the Sunday, with the morning temperatures in the -22 range. Start times were once again adjusted, some distances were shortened, but when the day dawned, temperatures had moderated slightly and the race began in sunny and calm conditions. The thermometer read -19 or -20 depending on when and how you looked at it. Temperatures kept going up a bit as the day progressed and the course conditions were excellent.

Men's 15K classic start © Fred Webster

With 200 volunteers from 7 clubs involved in running the event, and close to 750 athletes attending from across the country, it would have been a shame to cancel the final day.  Kudos in particular to the volunteers, such as the Shovelfest participants; those out standing in the cold, cold, cold for hours on end; and those inside, serving 1200 meals a day in the lunch tent. All in all it was a very successful event.

The day began with the men’s 15k classic mass start. In the overall NorAm standings it was a continuation of the battle for the leaders bib between Kevin Sandau of Foothills Nordic and Michael Somppi of Lappe. Somppi was the leader heading into the weekend, but Sandau was sustaining a serious challenge to the lead in the last two races.

Sandu leading the pack © Fred Webster

It was a tight battle at the front of the pack as the skiers exited the stadium. Kevin Sandau had a slight early lead as he set a fast opening pace.

The lead pack had just finished “Dirk’s Dive” the major downhill, when a decisive moment occurred in the race. On a flatter section, Michael Somppi caught an edge on a bump and went down on the trail. This created a breakaway group of 7 led by Colin Abbot of Whitehorse. Somppi lost some ground with the fall, but at 5k had battled back to only be a couple of seconds down from the lead group.

Sr Men's Podium [CCC]

Over the 2nd lap Kevin continued a relentless pace, stretching out the lead group. Russell Kennedy was his closest challenger 4 seconds back at 10k, followed 7 second later by Andy Shields of Lappe. Bob Thompson of Team Hardwood and Michael Somppi were together, another 7 seconds back.

The last lap saw Kevin pull away from the field to register a 24 second victory. Andy Shields and Michael Somppi were both able to overhaul Russell Kennedy for 2nd and 3rd respectively. The race for 4th was tight, but Kennedy was able to hold off Thompson by half a second at the finish.

Sandau’s victory edges him even closer to Somppi for the overall Haywood NorAm lead. It is difficult to say what effect Somppi’s fall had on the final race result.

Jr Men's Podium [CCC]

With several mass start events, in a compressed time frame, action was pretty much continuous. A nice addition to the event was a big screen tv in the chalet, compliments of Telus, that showed archived World Cup race footage and live timing updates as the race progressed.

The action was feverish but nonetheless there was still time for Klister to put in a training bout, in his/her quest to make the 2018 Olympic team

The junior men’s race was a close contest with Joey Foster of Team Hardwood winning out by three seconds, over Antoine Blais of Skibec. David Askwith of Georgian Bay Nordic was 3rd, at four more seconds back.

Emily Nishikawa off the top © Fred Webster

The Open Women’s 10k followed close behind the men’s competition. Emily Nishikawa seems to be in a class by herself when it comes to Canadian women’s distance skiing and today was no exception as she led the 10k classic from start to finish.

Andrea Dupont of Rocky Mountain Racers led the early pursuit of Emily with Brittany Webster of Highlands Trailblazers, Annika Hicks of Canmore and Kendra Murray of Whitehorse keeping pace a bit behind.

Sr Women's podium © CCC

As the 2nd, 5k progressed Nishikawa opened up more than a minute lead, with Dupont falling off the pace. In the final few kilometres Kendra Murray moved into 2nd, leaving Hicks and Webster to battle for 3rd. At the finish, Webster held off Hicks by half a second, to claim a podium position.

The Junior Women’s race was initially a close, back and forth contest among Ember Large of Rocky Mountain Racers, Andrée-Anne Théberge of Skibec and Marie Corriveau of Mont Ste. Anne.

Théberge prevailed at the finish, by a second over her Quebec team-mate Corriveau. Ember Large was 3rd, a bit over 30 seconds later.

Jr Women's Podium © CCC

There were many other races taking place today, with Para-Nordic and University competitions adding to the mix.

Meanwhile across the ocean, Canadians were once again in action at the Finnish Championships. Alysson Marshall had solid results finnishing 19th in the 15k classic competition with a time of 53:54.  The race was won by Kerttu Niskanen in 48:14.

Alysson Marshall 
Fun time at Finnish Champs! Thx to @rexskiwax for fast skis, Lahden Hiihtoseura for adopting us & to all the people who made us feel welcome

Patrick Stewart-Jones started the 30k classic but withdrew after 2.5km.

Stay tuned for more information.