November 17, 2012 – North America’s top xc skiers have had a good start as their official season got underway in Bruksvallarna, Sweden for the Canadians and in Muonio, Finland for the US Team.

On Day 1 it was Canada’s Alex Harvey was just off the podium in 4th in the men’s 10km CL while Chandra Crawford placed a strong 8th in the women’s 5km CL. For the Americans Andy Newell was also just off the podium by one spot in the men’s sprint while Ida Sargent signaled her form with a 6th place score.

Day 2 featured the first podium of the season for Canada as Ivan Babikov turned heads with a superb day claiming 3rd in the men’s 15km FR race in Bruksvallarna with teammate Devon Kershaw in 10th. Babikov, who struggled last year, lived up to head coach Justin Wadsworth’s prediction that he was ready to make a big jump in performance this season.

Meanwhile American Kris Freeman who also had a so-so season last year on the Euro circuit blasted out of the gates going for the win in the men’s 10km CL, one of his favourite races, and nailed a strong 4th. Liz Stephen was the top American woman in 13th in the women’s 5km as Kikkan Randall is on the sidelines still nursing her foot and hopes to be on the start line in Gallivare, Sweden for the start of the WCup next weekend.

We caught up with Babikov, Kershaw, Freeman, Jessie Diggins (28th today) and Noah Hoffman (30th today) for their impressions of the courses, the snow, their races and their form…

Ivan Babikov (CAN) © Nordic Focus file photo

Ivan Babikov – 3rd, 15km FR (Bruksvallarna, Sweden)
I felt pretty good during that race. Condition were good for early season… a very fast course and not hard enough for my taste, but that even more surprising for me was to ski that fast on that kind of profile.

Justin (Wadsworth, head coach) and I decided to try a bit different tactic today – start very conservative and save it all for the second part of the race. As you can see it worked very well.

That was more of a test race and next weekend it could be all very different, but hopefully I can keep my shape up till then.

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Devon Kershaw © Nordic Focus file photo

Devan Kershaw – 10th, 15km FR (Bruksvallarna, Sweden)

How did it feel to be on your first Euro start line of the season?
I felt no so bad starting today, but that quickly turned badly. The first 5km I was skiing well, smooth, relaxed and gliding well – but come my last lap things were going south. The last 3km especially. It was on really rolling terrain (short punchy hills, lots of corners) where you had to be attacking. But I was in survival mode – trying (and failing) to recover, so no kick to the finish for me. I’m disappointed with how it went.

How were conditions in Bruksvallarna compared to previous years?
Seems as though there is more snow this year than the last couple years, but not as much as we’ve had here 4/5 years ago type thing. It was warm (+2), misting a bit as well and the conditions were wet transformed snow, getting icy in the descents/corners for sure.

What’s the energy like on the team with a great start?
It was great to see Ivan ski so well, that’s amazing. Everyone is really happy for him as he’s worked immensely hard this year (as all years), and is extra motivated to snag some World Cup podiums. Looks like he’s in a great place. Also, yesterday’s highlights (Alex 4th, and Chandra 8th) makes the team’s energy quite good. Alex was in such a tight classic race, and for Chandra to be so close to Olympic medal winners like Anna Haag in distance races looks really good. Everyone is excited for tomorrow too – the course suits Chandra super well (short, corners, lots of free skating) – so it’ll be exciting to see how she, Dasha and Peri do. Alex will take the line for the men, and I have no doubts that he’ll be wicked-fast.

And what’s the status of your foot?
Foot isn’t super, but I can ski and train fairly normally. Just going to take some time.

Is your conditioning on track with your expectations as the season begins to unfold?
I’ve trained quite a bit as per other years so I’m feeling a bit beat down. Of course I expect great things out of myself week in, week out, but you have to roll with it, believe in the preparations you’ve done and stay positive. Today was marginally better than my opener last year – whatever that means – so there you go. Training has been going really well and it’s too early for me to read too much into these first few weeks of racing.

What’s your focus for next weekend’s World Cup start?
Of course, with next weekend’s World Cup opener I am hoping first and foremost to be feeling better than I was feeling out there today. That first World Cup of the year is usually terrible for me (as in, not even in the points), so it’s important for me to ski super smooth, focus on the technique and perhaps dial back my starting speed a bit to give myself the best chance to have a great last lap where I can take the most time on people that are coming unglued. I just hope I’m not one of those guys coming unglued like I was today. We’ll just have to see what happens. I’d expect Ivan will be super great, Alex too (he was 5th in the opener last year in Norway). Should be exciting for our team!

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Veteran skier Kris Freeman © Nordic Focus file photo

Kris Freeman – 4th, 10km CL (Muonio, Finland)

How did it feel to be on your first start line of the season?
I have been on snow frequently this summer and raced two week ago in Calgary.  It didn’t feel like my first race of the year.

What were conditions like and how was the course?
The conditions were ideal.  Special purple/multigrade hard wax. The course is pretty flat but has a 4-minute gradual sustained climb that can result in a lot of lactate.

How did the race unfold?
I went out hard and was 6th at the lap. I tried to speed up and was 4th at the finish.

Was the podium on your radar from the start as the 10km CL is one of your favourite races ?
I was trying to win.

Tell us a bit about your conditioning and how your training has gone?
I introduced a lot more intensity this off season and also began using the weight room for the first time in five years.

This has to build confidence for next weekend’s World Cup start?
This race was better than any result I had last year.  So yes.

What’s the energy like on the US Team this season?
Very positive

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Jessie Diggins... © Kikkan Randall

Jessie Diggins – 28th  5km CL (Muonio, Finland)
Today was another good chance to shake out more cobwebs. I was focusing on process goals like smoothly testing skis and making sure I focused on technique during the race instead of getting sloppy. So the game plan was to not worry about results or placing but to get in a really good workout, zone in on what race-pace needs to be, and work out the kinks of racing again. The tracks were perfect and the coaches and wax techs did a great job today.

For me, the race felt like it was over much too fast; I think I could have gotten in a sharper warmup and pushed much harder sooner. But I guess that’s why we’re doing this – to remember what a 5km pace is really like!

I trained as hard and well as I could all spring, summer and fall (like I do every year) so I am happy with where my body is. As a younger athlete I’m still trying to learn what pre-season and early-season feels like in the body when you’re going to have a good year, so whenever people ask me if I’m “fit” I honestly don’t know how to answer. I have no regrets with my training or what I’m doing, so I’m happy, and that’s all I really need.

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Noah Hoffman...

Noah Hoffman – 30th, 1om CL (Muonio, Finland)
I have had a very light training load this week, so I felt rested and ready to go on the start line this morning. Unfortunately I didn’t have the result I was looking to achieve, but it is a result I can build on in the weeks to come. The times were very tight.

My skis were good and the conditions were perfect, blue skies, hard tracks, and temperatures just below freezing. My training overall has gone as well as I could have hoped all summer long. I hope to put it to good use in the weeks ahead.

This is my third season on the World Cup circuit and while I haven’t achieved the level of USST A Team yet my goal is to make it into the Red Group (top-30 distance skiers in the World) to do that.