November 30, 2012 (Kuusamo, Finland) – The Ruka Triple is underway in Kuusamo, Finland, the first mini-tour of the season, and the North Americans are there in force for round two of the FIS XC World Cup. SkiTrax caught up with some of today’s top players in the 1.4km Classic Sprints as American Ida Sargent scored a personal best laying down some fine skiing… here’s what they had to say about today’s races.

USST’s Ida Sargent
Thanks! It was a fun day! I was really nervous before the qualifier but then I was a late starter and I was hearing lots of finishing times in the start pen. All the people I skied with in the Muonio [Finland] sprint were doing really well so that gave me confidence that I could be there too. I was really excited with the qualifier so I was just psyched to be there and didn’t have any expectations for the heats.

The course was great with a lot of hard striding which was good for me. There is also a hard slightly uphill double pole finish after the big uphill which I struggled on the last couple years but I’ve worked on my double pole a lot this year and I think that helped.

My game plan was to stay relaxed and calm and go for it on the big uphill and then try to hold it into the finish. That worked really well in the quarterfinal and I was able to accelerate over the top of the hill and put myself into a good place for the finish.

In the semifinal, I got boxed in at the bottom of the hill and didn’t have my own track. I had to slow down and then change tracks. I wasn’t able to go for it as much on the uphill and then Lahteenmaki was just stronger double poling into the finish and snagged the second lucky loser spot. I think if I had a better track on the uphill I could have stayed at the front on the uphill and then maybe made the final. It’s tough being so close to the final but I’m still incredibly happy with the day. It was a really fun day and I can’t stop smiling!

I had awesome skis thanks to our techs and coaches who were out there all day long in the cold. There is so much motivation and inspiration being on this team right now. It’s fun to be a part of. Gallivare was an amazing weekend and I was so proud of that relay team. We’re riding a great wave and looking forward to the next couple days of racing!

USST’s Kikkan Randall
The course was in great shape today, actually quite fun to race the longer course. The extra distance provided an actual downhill rest in the middle. My skis were solid today. The track was breaking down up the big climb but our guys did a great job of finding more kick for me and still keeping the glide nice and fast. My strategy today was to lay down a good qualifying round and then get stronger through the heats. I haven’t been able to do any sprint work because of my foot so I was hoping the qualifier would kick me into gear. Didn’t quite work out as I had hoped but today will be really good to build from.

Really great to see Ida [Sargent] ski so strong today, especially with he strong finishes in both the quarters and semis. We could tell she was looking really strong in her intervals earlier in the week and it’s cool to see her get right in the mix and nail a top 10! This is great news for future team sprints in classic!

I was very satisfied with the way I skied tactically today and put myself right where I wanted to be in the semi. Unfortunately I was a little flat today and I didn’t have my sprint gear when the girls kicked it in up the last part of the hill. I got tense and heavy and a little too far forward and wasn’t carrying my momentum as well as I had in practice yesterday.

Even though I didn’t ski as well as I had hoped today, it was still a decent day. I used to not even qualify if I was just a little bit off – so to be top 10 today is still a good sign.

I was a little flat today but otherwise I’m feeling pretty good. I did some max strength on Tuesday that may have been a little hard on my fast twitch fibers. Feet are doing pretty well. Today was a lot of pounding but we seem to be able to keep everything in a good place with the daily PT work.

NST’s Perianne Jones
Kuusamo has been a dark place for me in the past. I’ve never really been good here so I’m really happy with today. I got in behind Kowalczyk on the last big climb because I figured she’d win the heat, and I just double-poled like mad to the finish.

My skis were awesome today and I was so fast on the downhills. I slipped on some ice a bit on the corner of the first climb in the semifinal and lost connection with the group, but I still need to be happy.

I do feel now is the time for me to start to peak and I think that is the reason we are doing a lot more intensity than usual. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t see the results, but it is nice to see the training pay off today.

NST’s Dasha Daria Gaiazova
I was feeling really good today in the race and at the halfway point I was skiing so well and in control that I knew I was fit enough to advance. Unfortunately I made a mistake at the bottom of the hill #2, my typical being too nice and letting a competitor jump in a track ahead of me, thus boxing myself in for the main uphill.

I wish I was more aggressive at that moment and didn’t let her in because then I would have had my own track and could have skied with a longer and more comfortable stride, as opposed to trying to match Johaug’s frantic pace and wasting energy skiing behind her. Once I learn how to race aggressively for the whole duration of the race, there is no stopping me!

USST’s Simi Hamilton
Thanks for the email. I’m pretty happy with how the day turned out, but skiing faster in the quali and past the quarters would have made me happier. This is a really hard course to ski fast on (especially for me) and the field is always one of the strongest of the season. I feel like I’m starting to figure out how to ski this course, so I’m psyched for the future.

I felt pretty flat all day, and that was probably due to the cold temps (I’ve struggled with that a lot on the past) as well as a pretty terrible night of sleep last night. But oh well… I’m psyched to race on a course that is better suited for me on a day when my energy is good.

My skis were good… Our techs have been working their butts off and it’s great to feel confident on that front day in and day out. In my quarter, I just didn’t have a lot in the tank going into the big climb and couldn’t drop it into the gear I needed to make a move. But I’m encouraged to know that my striding has progressed as much as it has in the last two years.

The momentum that the team has is great. It was awesome to see Ida and Kikkan in the top 10 and I think that we are all heading into this season pretty darn psyched for each other.

USST’s Andrew Newell
Yeah today was a pretty bad day for me out on the sprint course. I feel fine physically and my fitness is good I just didn’t feel quite as snappy as I did in Muonio for the last classic sprint and didn’t manage my skis super well.

In the qualification round I got super lucky because I almost went down after the first climb. There was a bit of ice before the downhill and my skis completely crossed and I don’t know how I didn’t fall but I managed to stay up despite losing a little time. So I was happy enough to qualify 21st.

In the 1/4 final I felt fine and was able to manoeuvre they way I wanted to. I had a few close calls with a Chinese skier, we were banging into each other a lot for some reason. I was in a good position going into the big climb which is always my goal on that course. I was able to get an open track but just didn’t have the kick I needed on the steeps in order to keep pace with Emil [Joenssen] and [Petter] Northug. It’s a bummer to slip on this course and I just wasn’t able to run the hill the way I normally can.

I’m not too worried because I’ve been feeling great, definitely feeling a lot better than what the results from today will show. It’s just the first sprint of the year and it’s only half points here so I’m not too concerned. Just looking forward to doing some more sprinting soon.