January 16, 2016 (Thunder Bay, ON) – Haywood NorAm’s Race Day 2 got underway at Lappe with interval start, classic races. Temperatures were moderate, -10 deg. C., but about 10 centimetres of fresh snow overnight made the tracks a bit “squeaky” slow. The favourite in the men’s race would be Kevin Sandau, the dominant distance skier on the Haywood circuit this year and a silver medalist in the same 15k classic event at the 2016 U.S. Nationals, earlier in the month.

Kevin Sandau on his way to victory © CCC

Sandau would ski to a 15-second lead over Team Hardwood’s Scott Hill on the first lap, to finish with a lead of 31 seconds at the finish. Hill staked his claim to a spot on the U23 World Championship team with his result as Brian McKeever of Lifesport took 3rd, another 30 seconds back. Hill represented Canada at last year’s  U23 World Champs in Kazakhstan, with a best placing of 40th.

Senior Men's podium © CCC

The Junior Men’s 10km race was a bit tighter as Antoine Blais of Skibec set a very fast pace on the first lap but faded a bit on the second, to take the win by 8 seconds over Ryan Jackson of Hardwood. The final hill “The Grunt” got the better of many racers today. Another Skibec skier, Philippe Boucher was 3rd.

Senior Women's podium © CCC

The Senior Women’s 10k podium was a repeat of yesterday’s sprint result as Andrea Dupont from Rocky Mountain Racers grabbed her 2nd gold medal with Team Hardwood’s Jenn Jackson at 15 seconds back in second while Sophie Carrier-Laforte of Skinouk was 3rd. As the top U23 racer for the second time, Jackson will look to be nominated for the U23 Worlds team, while Carrier-Laforte should be a frontrunner for a spot as well.

Junior Women's podium © CCC

The Junior Women’s 5km race was also a close contest as Annika Richardson of Hollyburn won by 8 seconds over Mont-Ste-Anne’s Marie Corriveau. As race winner, Richardson would qualify for the World Junior team, but will decline the position as she is representing Canada at the Youth Olympic Games Feb. 12-21. In 3rd was Molly Miller of Kimberley.

Audio Interview with Annika Richardson of Hollyburn

Complete Results