January 08, 2015 (Duntroon, ON) – Faced with extreme wind and blowing snow, athletes had to compete against the elements as well as each other in the2o/30km Skiathlon races at the NorAm World Junior/U23 Trials event hosted by Highlands Nordic.

Tough windy conditions © Jenn Jackson

The competition runs January 8th-11th and doubles as the selection races for Canada’s Junior/U23 Nordic World Championship teams. Qualifying athletes will have a couple weeks to make final preparations at home before travelling to Kazakhstan for the championships held from Feb. 1-8.  While the younger athletes compete for spots on those teams, seniors continued to battle for Continental Cup points to earn themselves World Cup and B Tour starting positions.

The first race of the day saw the Senior Men take to 3.75km loops, making four rounds in classic and four rounds of another 3.75km loop in skate to complete the 30km event. Graeme Killick (Ptrarmigan, AWCA-NST) was first across the line in a time of 1:31:24, winning his second consecutive NorAm Skiathlon ahead of first-year U23 skier Scott Hill (Team Hardwood, NDC Thunder Bay), who finished 47.5s behind Killick. The podium was rounded out by Michael Somppi (Lappe, AWCA-NST), who finished 51.3s off the pace after leading much of the earlier parts of the race.

Killick in charge of Senior Men's race © Jenn Jackson

“It went really well… yesterday skiing and testing the track was very windblown and I thought it would be really difficult to break away from the group today, which we tried a couple times today, me and (Michael) Somppi. He gunned it up the first climb on the first two laps and I was trying over the top but the group kept coming back, but on the final (classic) lap I able to start cruising a little faster on the flat sections leading into the hill then lengthen the hill out a bit and I was able to make a small gap then double pole as hard as I could for the rest of the lap and was able to hold it,” explained Killick.

“(In the skate) I kept the power on the whole time and just trying to keep a steady pace. I wasn’t sure what the group would end up doing, because going around the skate it was especially soft and windblown so I wasn’t sure if they would just catch me right away or what would happen. I just kept the power on and skied a 15km individual race and was able to put in a few seconds every lap,” he added.

Killick also talked about this World Cup experience. “At the World Cup I was just shy of a top 30, within 25s in one race, but I’m still just getting a taste of what it’s like to race close to the points. My first goal from here is to get to Rybinsk, Russia and get some World Cup races in and then see from there.”

Scott Hill had an impressive showing © Jenn Jackson

Scott Hill felt in control while en route. “The race went as I had hoped, as planned. The pace never got to hard at all, and with the wind the group stayed together for most of the classis then slowly split up through the skate. I was in the chase pack for the majority of the skate race then was able to break from the pack with about 2km to go.

“I made a fairly decisive move, no one really made a huge effort to try to go but everyone realized it was the time of the race where if moves were going to be made, they had to be made there, so the pace just increased with the whole chase pack at that point.”

On qualifying versus last year’s pre-qualification for the Junior World Juniors. “I think the excitement will be higher after qualifying closer to the actual World U23 races so I’m hoping that will result in some better races than last year.”

Nish leading Browne in the Senior Women's race © Jenn Jackson

In the women’s 15km Skiathlon, it was top female distance skier Emily Nishikawa (Whitehorse, AWCA-NST) who took prevailed for the win over U23 skier, Cendrine Browne (Fondeurs-Laurentides, CNEPH-NST), in a time of 50:37 (19.9s ahead of Browne) after skiing together for the first half of the race. In the battle for third, Andrea Dupont  (RMR) pulled away from teammate Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Fondeurs-Laurentides, RMR) to claim third.

“I had a good race, Cendrine was really strong today as well, she was right on my heels the whole time which was good,” Nishikawa told Trax post-race. “I struggled a bit with the kick so I used a lot of energy in the classic and then I used what I had left in the skate to go as hard as I could.”

“It was really windy out there today,” she continued. “I probably could have conserved more energy if I wasn’t leading the whole time but sometimes that’s how it goes, I knew I was feeling strong today so I was out in the lead the whole time but there were definitely some major headwinds and I could barely see where the trail was at time because it was a complete whiteout in front of me when the wind picked up.”

Senior Women's podium © Jenn Jackson

Looking forward Nishikawa shared her plans, “It’s great to be back in Canada, racing NorAms is always a fun time and it’s nice to see everyone again. I’ll be racing the NorAm next weekend as well, in Canmore, and then doing a bit of training at home there. I’m going to skip the Rybinsk World Cups and prepare for World Champs and the races after too. There’s lots to look forward to for the rest of the season.”

For Browne it was a fun race but tough at times. “I started really well with Emily, I was relaxed and it was hard with the wind but I found it really fun – the conditons were really hard today but it was a good race, a good day for me, I had great skis in both classic and skate so overall it was a good.

“She [Emily Nishikawa] pulled away from me on the first skate lap, then I caught up but she pulled again in the first uphill – I lost her there and couldn’t catch up. I lost both my contact lenses and couldn’t see anything so it was pretty hard, but yah, it was good,” added Browne.

In preparation for U23 Worlds, “We (CNEPH) will go to the United States to race and continue skiing as we prepare ourselves.”

Junior men's race © Jenn Jackson

The junior races proved to be very exciting, with athletes contending for a spot on World Championship teams and the chance for some international racing. The first NorAm of the new year always showcases the younger athletes on top form.

The Junior Men were first to take to the trails for their 20km journey, and a sizeable pack formed for the first couple turns of the 2.5km loop. As the racers came in to the transition, Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier (Fondeurs-Laurentides) and Alexis Dumas (Skibec, CNEPH), both of whom were on last year’s Junior Worlds team, had established a 20s lead over David Askwith (Georgian Bay, NDC Thunder Bay).

In the early parts of the skate leg, Askwith and Zachary Cristofanilli (Orford, CNEPH) both started to pull back time on the leaders, but as the race progressed they were unable to make up the deficit. Cristofanilli had a strong skate ski and was able to pass Askwith to take 3rd position while the top of the podium was decided in a sprint finish which saw Dumas getting the better of Izquierdo-Bernier by 1s.

Junior men's podium © Jenn Jackson

The last NorAm event of the day was the Junior Women who raced a 10km Skiathlon. A shorter race often requires more aggressive tactics; Maya Macisaac-Jones (RMR) set the early pace, extending her lead over chasers Katherine Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok) and Anne-Marie Comeau (MSA, CNEPH) by 20s and 38s respectively, at the transition.

Macisaac-Jones’ early pace may have been too much, given the slow conditions, as she was quickly caught and passed by her pursuers in the first skate lap. Comeau had a remarkable skate leg, splitting the 5k nearly a minute faster than the second fastest skater in the field, to win the race ahead of Stewart-Jones who finished second. Macisaac-Jones was able to hold on for third place, just ahead of Marie Corriveau (MSA).

Results

Junior Women

1. Anne-Marie Comeau       41:27
2. Katherine Stewart-Jones            +:34
3. Maya Macisaac-Jones     +1:24
4. Marie Corriveau               +1:29
5. Sophie Carrier-Laforte    +2:20

Junior Men

1. Alexis Dumas                   1:11:16
2. Ricardo Inquierdo-Bernier         +:1
3. Zachary Cristofanilli                    +:38
4. David Askwith                  +1:10
5. Eduoard Reed-Métayer   +1:54

Open Women

1. Emily Nishikawa              50:37
2. Cendrine Browne*                       +:19.9
3. Andrea Dupont                 +1:36
4. Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt*            +1:54
5. Dahria Beatty*                 +1:55

Open Men

1.     Graeme Killick          1:31:24
2.     Scott Hill*                  +:47
3.     Michael Somppi       +:51
4.     Knute Johnsgaard*  +1:02
5.     Colin Ferrie*             +1:02

* Under 23

Full results here.