February 11, 2008 (Otepaeae, Estonia) – I’m back in Europe for the third period of 2008 World Cup season. Conditions are quite different here in Otepaa than the winter wonderland we experienced in Canmore. The tons of snow and clear skies have been replaced by grass, ice, rain and misty clouds. While it hasn’t been the most ideal conditions for racing, the World Cup goes on, and two races were contested this weekend.

The first race was an individual start 10km classic, 2 laps of a 5km loop. I started bib #11. Over the first of two laps, I worked my way into a solid rhythm, pushing through the slush and dirt spots. A large crowd had gathered on one of the toughest uphills and was cheering “hup, hup, hup,” to every stride. On the 2nd lap I was able to hold a steady pace and pull back some spots. I finished the race in 42nd place. It was a solid day.

Race #2 was a classic sprint. Conditions continued to get even warmer causing the course to slowly disintegrate. Rain was coming down and a stiff headwind was blowing down the finishing stretch. I started midway through the Red group and gave the course my best effort. The last 200m into the wind was very challenging, especially coupled with the patches of standing water. I crossed the line for 22nd position and a ticket onto the heats. In the quarterfinals I held fourth position through most of the race and just got out double-poled in the last 100m to finish fifth. That gave me a 25th place overall for the day.

While I’ve had a taste of big success this year, it’s the little successes that count too. Both races this weekend compliment an upward trend in my overall results, getting me ever closer to my goal of being the best in the world. The two races here in Otepaa kick off a big six week period ahead, with races every weekend. Next stop is the Czech Republic where the snow conditions are reportedly bare as well. Should be fun!

The Full Story

Leaving Canmore and returning to Europe was both a little bit sad and at the same time exciting. I enjoyed the opportunity to be able to race in North America, where the other competitors were dealing with the time change and different food for once. We got to have the advantage of “hometown” fans, and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with my family and my fiancé between races. Canmore provided great training conditions and a comfortable living situation. Heading back to Europe however, was a bit of an unknown.

Arriving in Otepaa, Estonia was like being in another world. The snow was much less plentiful, the air temperature was quite a bit warmer, and the humidity level was much higher. At least this time I have a roommate and fellow female along, my APU teammate Laura Valaas. Our first couple of days were spent at the Tehavani training center, an odd building in the shape of a half circle, built out of concrete reminiscent of the former Soviet Union.

The first evening I was sitting in the lobby working on my computer when I swore I heard “American” voices. It turned out to be one of our US junior teams, over in Estonia racing in the Nordic Youth Games. We had the pleasure of watching them race over the weekend and it was fun to observe their youthful spirits in action. It was a short overlap however, and after Sunday’s race they headed back to the US while we turned our attention to preparing for the upcoming World Cup races.

Most of the week was actually pretty nice, despite the low snow. We moved from the Tehavandi to a brand-new hotel across from the stadium and trained twice a day. The trails were being freshly groomed each morning. On Monday, Laura and I did intervals on the sprint course in fast, icy tracks. Then on Wednesday we used our rest day to do a little exploring to check out our surroundings. (See my blog on FasterSkier for pictures).

As the weekend approached, activity around the stadium area became busier and busier. Tents were being constructed, banners were being put up, TV wires were being laid–all the hoop-la necessary for putting on a World Cup. Despite all the hard work and effort going into preparing for the big events, mother nature was not cooperating. Each day the temperature seemed to get a little warmer, the snow seemed to get a little dirtier and there was always a constant headwind in the stadium.

10km Classic
By Saturday morning, the course was in rough shape. Several sections were down to water-saturated ice, troughs had to be cut to drain standing pools of water, and the snow was more grey than white. Yet, the races were on as scheduled. Not deterred by the unpleasant weather, I greeted my wax technicians with a smile as I headed out to test my skis. On the first couple tries my skis were too slick. Then on the third try I had enough kick but slower glide. I asked if my skis could be “speeded up.” Larry looked at me and laughed, and then took my skis to see what he could do. I didn’t get another opportunity to test my skis before race time.

Having not raced a distance event since US Nationals in early January, I was excited to get back into the swing of things. I started off as bib #11. On my first trip up and out of the stadium, my skis were a little slick. With so much water and ice in the track, it was hard to get a solid kick. I focused on a quick kicking impulse and heavily relied on my arms. The first kilometer went smoothly. At the bottom of the monster hill (basically followed the ski jump out run) at the 2km mark, I could tell my skis were a little more slick than the skier ahead. While my thoughts wanted to turn negative, I fought to keep my attention on the task at hand. I counted to myself, “1-2,1-2,” and chanted “I love this hill, I love this hill,” to make it over the top.

For the rest of the first lap, I jumped in and out of the track to avoid water, and stopped trying to fight my slippery skis and just herring-boned the uphills instead. The wind was strong coming through the stadium as I double-poled. Yet I still had good energy. Going up the hill out of the stadium for the second time, I focused on driving forward with a quicker tempo. The red group skiers were now starting, and I knew I would soon have some company.

Coming up to the 7km mark, Seraina Mischol (who was just starting her first lap) caught and passed me. She got a short gap but I tried to hang on for a little while. I was able to stay within a few meters of her for about half a kilometer until we started to climb the monster hill again. She slowly pulled away and I turned my focus back to my own skiing. The effort of the race was starting to set in, so I forced myself to stay quick.

As I came around a fast turn at a low point on the course, I could see another skier gaining out of the corner of my eye. I purposely stepped into the outside track to be out of the way when she caught up. However, a few strides into it, I got the “hup,” command and had to move tracks. Then this little Norwegian speedster came huffing by. She was breathing so hard, and her arms and legs were moving at an incredibly fast rate. It was Therese Johaug, who would go on to finish third in the race. She too, pulled away as we headed up a short steep.

Over the last two kilometers of the race, I skied as hard as I could, really trying to drop my body down on my skis and poles for maximum power. For most of the race I had been getting splits that I was in sixth position out of the ten skiers that had started in front of me. By the final kilometer, I had worked my way up to second, and was gaining on bib 10. I charged up the last uphill and as I sat in a low tuck on my way back into the stadium I told myself to pretend I was in the sprint for the win. I came up out of my tuck just before the final turn and double-poled with all my might for the last 200m. At last I slid across the line and hung on my poles.

For a minute or so I held second place. Then bib numbers behind me began to come in and I slipped down the list. My final place was 42nd, about two and a half minutes from the lead. It wasn’t quite as good as my 10km classic race in Davos before Christmas, but it was another solid race. Classic skiing in wet conditions has been a weakness of mine that I’ve been trying to improve, and slowly I’m making progress. At least it was a good workout to prepare for the sprint!

The highlight of the day came when I got to cool down with German skier Claudia Nystad, who had finished fourth, just 1.4 seconds off the podium. We had a great ski around the course chatting about training, and racing, and oh yeah, married life! (Claudia is married to former US head coach Trond Nystad). It was fun for me to ski with a successful veteran of the World Cup circuit and feel like part of the gang.

Classic Sprint
We hoped conditions might get better overnight with colder temperatures and a little fresh snow, but when we looked out the window in the morning, the opposite proved true. More standing water, more dirt showing through, more ice. Oh well, the race goes on!

Qualification didn’t start until 11:45am, so it was actually a casual morning. I think I spent an hour or so on the internet, probably looking up wedding stuff (which I tend to do a lot these days). With our hotel located right across from the stadium, it was a short walk over to the wax cabin. It started raining right about the time I reached the wax table on course to start testing skis. After trying a couple different skis, it was evident which pair was best. Careful not to get too much dirt in the skis, Larry insisted that I not ski on my race skis until my start. So I finished my warm-up on my 2nd pair.

I got pretty wet during my warm-up so it was nice to change into a dry race top and dry headband before heading to the start. I grabbed my skis, careful not to get a glove full of klister, and jogged over to the start area. The Red Group (top 30 ranked sprinters) would be starting first, so all the big guns were there getting ready to go. I did my usual back and forth drills across a strip of pavement and proceeded to get my tights all wet in the process before stepping into the starting line.

As bib #19, I got to watch as the first few racers cross the finish line before it was my turn. I was surprised to see that the times were upward of three and a half minutes (on the long side for a sprint). Then I slid up to the gate and headed out on course. I took one stride in the track before quickly jumping to the side to avoid water. The first hill was a challenging mix of transitions from snow to ice and then back again. I strided hard, yet a little cautious, to the top and accelerated around a hairpin turn. There was a short rest, two more corners and then a trip up and over a small bump.

Coming up the second climb I strided fast and furiously, pushing my skis through the water-saturated track. Rounding the corner at the top, I could see Chandra surging up from behind (she was bib 20). I continued to focus on my pace and double-poled most of the way back down into the stadium and down the long, straight 200m stretch to the finish. Water was everywhere making it impossible to ski in the tracks. I pushed myself through the slush, into the headwind, pumping my body up and down as fast as I could. It seemed like forever until I finally reached the finish.

I quickly looked to the scoreboard and was disappointed to see 18 by my name, 15 seconds from the lead. Like in Canmore, and here in Otepaa last season, I once again dreaded that I may not make the heats. It was an anxious 15 minutes or so while the rest of the women’s field finished before my final result was confirmed, 22nd place. Whew, I made it in!

After a good cool down, I came back to the wax cabin and changed into a complete set of dry clothes. With about an hour of downtime until the heats started, I tentatively swallowed a banana, sipped some sports drink and listened to my iPod. On many sprint days I get these weird shivers that I can’t figure out. Either I’m cold and actually shivering, or it’s my body trying to release the adrenaline built up from the qualification round. I sat in the wax room next to the heater, trying to ward off the shakes, but they came anyway. So I put on my down jacket and rode the stationary bike for a while.

The time passed quickly and soon I was back out on course. I did a quick preview lap of the sprint course to check which start and finish lanes to use, and to see where I could best avoid the dirt and water. Then I headed to the start and watched the first three quarterfinals from the big screen.

In my quarterfinal, I was the second slowest qualifier so I got second to last lane choice. That put me to the far left, into a lane with a giant puddle 25m from the start. I knew I would have to get off the line fast. The starter called us to the ready position and then fired the gun. I took a couple quick strides and then jumped out of the track to avoid the puddle just as the lane markers ended. I cut over to the right and immediately got mixed up in a frenzy. When we all rounded the corner to the right, I got delegated to last place. Unfazed, I slipped into a lane behind the other skiers.

Midway up the hill however, I was feeling blocked. So I moved over to the far left lane and tried to make up some ground. I made it up next to Zeller, who was in fourth, but she was able to cut in front of me around the hairpin turn. I took a few running steps as we headed into the downhill and made up some surprising momentum. After tucking in behind for a few seconds, I was able to sling-shot around the German and make up ground back to the leading three.

I followed the group around the turns and up and over the small bump. Coming up the second climb I was sitting behind the Russian, easily keeping contact.

Around the second hairpin turn, the Russian somehow got a little gap and I missed being able to tuck into her draft. So as the top three went far right to try and ride some icy snow, I made a gamble and took the inside left. I came out of my tuck early and started madly double-poling into the long 200m finish stretch. The inside snow was no good, and when the tracks broke I switched back to the right. I was holding my position in fourth until the final 100m. Another Russian came from behind and pulled beside me as I felt my double-pole start to weaken. She pulled ahead and I had to settle for fifth in my heat and 25th place for the day. No more racing for me.

I watched the fifth quarterfinal heat go off, with my fellow North American teammate Chandra Crawford skiing a smart race to take 2nd place at the line and move on to the semi’s. Because Chandra and I have done some training sessions together, seeing her do well makes me more hopeful that I too can soon make the semi-finals in a classic sprint. I did my cool down while Chandra was preparing for the semi’s and we talked strategy. I told her everything I learned from my heat in hopes it might help her.

I watched the rest of the races from a tent inside the start pen, out of the rain. Each heat was nerve-wracking and the long finish stretch proved to be decisive in almost every round. In the end, it was Petra Majdic that took the win just ahead of Astrid Jacobsen. In the men’s race the Norwegians swept the top three places, although the number one qualifier from Sweden had fallen early in the race and may have been a threat if he’d stayed on his feet. Despite the gnarly conditions, it was a great day of racing.

While I was disappointed to be knocked out in the quarterfinals, it was a solid classic sprint for me. I have taken some big steps result-wise in the past few seasons, but I have to remember that most improvement comes in small steps. Last year I in Otepaa, I wasn’t able to qualify for the heats. This year I qualified and didn’t get dropped too bad. Maybe next year I can make it into the semi’s and from there work on getting into the A final. I still have a two more classic sprints left this season, so there is a lot to look forward to.

As quick as the venue was put together for the races here in Otepaa it was taken apart. Most teams departed directly after the race and only a handful of skiers were out on the course today. The next stop on the World Cup tour is in Liberec, Czech Republic next weekend. Liberec is the host of next year’s World Championships so we are all anxious to get there and see the courses. However, Czech is also hurting for snow and we will actually be racing at the different venue. Our only chance to see the race courses will be on foot, and hopefully not in too much mud!

More stories headed your way next week!

Cheers,
Kikkan 🙂