March 06, 2011 (Vernon, BC) – The first day of the Sparkling Hill Masters World Cup started with high spirits in the fog. As the sun came out, so did the level of competition in every age category. The men’s 30km M02 race proved to be a fast start with the likes of Glenn Bond, Nordic ski manager of neighboring Silver Star Mountain Resort, and Banff Loppet winner Kirk Howell, in the mix. But first to finish was Alexsandr Pushkarev of Russia, with Howell in third.

The fastest skier of the day in the 30km was American Eric Martin with a time of 1:18:51 in the M03 category while fellow Yank Barry Malarewicz won the M04 category. Italy’s Giovanni Gerbotto topped the M01 field.

Similar to the men, the 15km freestyle women’s races featured strong competition. Highlights of the day include a first place finish by Nikki Kassaei of Prince George, BC finishing in a time of 45:04 in the women’s F02 category.

“It’s a beautiful gliding course. When I did the pre-ski, I thought it was going to be a lot harder course but it wasn’t. It’s a fast course with snow that’s cold and dry,” said Kassel, one of the 472 Canadians taking part in the seven-day SHMWC. “I’m happy with placing first – it’s a good way to start the week.”

The women’s F01 category was won by Catherine Pendrel, an Olympic mountain bike racer, who scored the first place finish with a  time of 46:07 followed by a local Sovereign Lake skier Marta Green. “Today was great, the conditions were awesome, the snow was fast and well groomed, plus the sun is shining,” said Pendrel.

Top US master skiers, Laura McCabe and Leslie Hall, both former Olympians, showed their strength in their respective categories. McCabe’s first place in the women’s 15km skate F03 match was won in 41:12 – the fastest time for all women skiers – while Hall won the women’s 15km freestyle F04 race in 42:26, the second best overall time.

Sovereign Lake skiers were also well represented with Pat Pearce taking first place in the women’s F06 Category with a time of 50:03. She took an early lead and never looked back and was amazed with her result. “I led out to the staging area and I was ahead when I finished.”

As for the competitions coming up she says of the team, “We’re ready, we’re fit, we’ve trained well, and it’s very exciting.”

Pearce added that it was a great course. “We had quite a bit of elevation at the beginning – a fair bit of climbing – and then for 6-9km it rolls. When your skis are fast they glide really nicely and then there are some nice downhills for the last five with a hard climb to the finish.”

Former US National team skier, Trina Hosmer, finished first in the F08 category with a time of 50:18 – read more about Hosmer HERE.

The last finisher of the day was also the oldest. American Daniel Bulkley, 94, of the M12 category finished his 10km race in 1:47. When asked if it was a long race, he replied, ” Yes – I haven’t gone that far this year yet.”

And at the end of the day, with the sun still shining, it started to snow. Saturday’s races will include the 30km Men 01-06, 15km Men 07-09, 10km Men 10-12, 15km Women 01-08 and the 10km Women 09-12.

Full results HERE.
For more information on the races visit www.mwc2011.com.