Tag Archive | "xc"

Gatineau Loppet Celebrates 35th Edition – Feb. 15-17

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,


October 05, 2012 (Gatineau, QC) – Summer is not over and the first flakes have not yet fallen but the Gatineau Loppet’s organizing committee is ready to celebrate the 35th edition of Canada’s biggest cross country ski event which will be held from February 15 to 17, 2013. Cross-country skiers are excited by the completely new course that will go through the municipalities of La Pêche, Chelsea and Gatineau.

Two new linear 38 km and 55 km classic style courses will link Lake Philippe to Mont-Bleu High School in Gatineau. The president of the Gatineau Loppet, Mr. Yan Michaud, is “extremely pleased to offer this 35th anniversary gift for ski lovers in the region and abroad.” These new courses were tested last winter by Mr. Richard Weber, Canadian Explorer and cross-country ski master. He was thrilled with the quality of the courses and strongly encourages skiers to try them in 2013. Please note that, in addition to these new courses, races of 2, 5, 20 km classic style and 10, 31 and 51 km freestyle will still be scheduled from Mont-Bleu High School.

The organizing committee would also like to announce the official launch of registration starting today. A discount of up to 40% on all races will be offered to participants that register before September 28, 2012. Also, through a partnership with les Services récréatifs DEMSIS, participants of the Gatineau Loppet will get a 15% discount on the price of the winter pass of Gatineau Park if they register between October 15 and December 1, 2012.

The organizing committee wishes to mention the partnerships with Ville de Gatineau, National Capital Commission (NCC), Winterlude, les Services récréatifs DEMSIS, Chelsea Pub, Sport Échange Outaouais, Conférence régionale des élus de l’Outaouais (CRE- O), the Centre local de développement de Gatineau (CLD), the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports (MELS), École secondaire Mont-Bleu, La Relance Outaouais, Holiday Inn, Ramada Plaza Manoir Casino and Buff Canada.

For more information, visit the website of the Gatineau Loppet at www.gatineauloppet.com.

Hardwood Ski and Bike Swap and Open House – Oct. 20-21

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


October 04, 2012 (Oro, ON) – On October 20 and 21 we are holding our annual Ski Swap and Open House. This is the largest cross country ski equipment swap in Ontario with a wide selection of equipment. Buy or sell skis, boots, poles, bindings, roller skis at great prices.

You can also choose from new and used equipment available in the swap and in the retail store. You can also Save the Tax in our retail store on new 2012 equipment.

If you are looking to sell your equipment you can bring it in after October 13th for tagging.

Swap Hours
– Saturday October 20st – 9 am to 5 pm
– Sunday October 21st – 9 am to 1 pm
The retail store will be open both days from 9 am to 5 pm.

Two FIS World Cup Stops in Canada in 2012/13 Season – Quebec and Canmore

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


October 03, 2012 – This season, Canada will see the planet’s top cross-country ski racers make two stops in Canada for FIS World Cup events. The first layover will be in Quebec City, with the second in a perennial favourite venue, Canmore, AB.

Quebec City Sprints
Renowned Quebec event organizer Gestev is in charge of the Quebec City edition, December 6-9. Ski fans will see their favourite athletes go head-to-head in historic downtown Quebec in exciting sprint competitions, including individual and team sprint races. All hopes will be on local hero Alex Harvey’s shoulders as he goes full throttle on home turf.

More info HERE.

Alberta World Cup
Athletes will then head to the beautiful Rocky Mountain town of Canmore, AB, December 13-16. As the HQ for Cross Country Canada and the Canadian Ski Team, this is the country’s flagship event. Coming just two weeks before Christmas, World Cup 2012 will have a distinctive Christmas theme surrounding the actual races and part of the Canmore downtown activities as well.

Races will include sprint and distance events to test athletes to their fullest. The Alberta World Cup 2012 is hosted by the Alberta World Cup Society and is expected to have a worldwide TV audience of over 35 million people.

www.albertaworldcup.com

One Way to Launch High End Ski Wax Line

Tags: , , , , , , ,


October 03, 2012 (Vantaa, Finland) – The Finnish Nordic Sports brand ONE WAY will launch during the upcoming winter season a new high-end ski wax range with a wide program in Premio Fluor powders, high-Fluor and low-Fluor gliders. In addition OW will present a professional tool range for ski service with Roto brushes, hand brushes, wax iron, structure tools and other important tools.

The ski wax range is a perfect match with the ONE WAY cross country ski range combining a lot of experience and tests developing the fastest and best products for a Nordic athlete.

The testing phase for the new products with several National teams continues during this fall and the racing service team is aiming for the first medals during the World Championships taken with the support of OW SKI WAX.

www.onewaysport.com

American Birkie News – 8,900 Skiers, New Wave Updates and Closings

Tags: , , , , , ,


October 02, 2012 – We’re now at 8,900 total skiers registered for the Birkie, Kortelopet, and Prince Haakon races combined, to be held February 23, 2013. Our total, combined cap for these three races is 10,000 skiers, so if you plan on being part of our 40th annual celebration, now is the time to register! Last year registration closed on November 21, and we expect an even earlier closing this year.

Celebrating its 40th year, the American Birkebeiner, February 21-23, 2013, is the largest and most prestigious cross country ski marathon in North America. Spanning more than 50 kilometers from Cable to Hayward, the Birkie is part of the Worldloppet series of 15 international races, and part of the lives of citizen skiers from around the world.

Wave Closings & Updates
Skate:
– Wave 2 is closed
– Wave 3 is closed
– Waves 4 and 9 are 95% full

Classic:
– Waves 1, 2, 3, and 4 are 95% full

Find out more at www.birkie.com

Holmenkol Germany Announces New Ownership, U.S. Operations Unchanged

Tags: , , , , ,


October 02, 2012 (Boulder, CO) – German ski wax manufacturer Holmenkol AG has announced the completed sale of the company to Sporto-med GmbH, a family-owned German business specializing in physiotherapy, sports medicine and health. A new company, Holmenkol GmbH, has been formed as a subsidiary of Sporto-med and will continue the operations of Holmenkol AG. Business at Holmenkol continues as normal and the season’s first shipment of wax and tools has already arrived at Holmenkol’s US distributor. The sale was completed in early September and marked the company’s exit from insolvency proceedings.

Skiers in the United States will notice no difference in the lineup or quality of Holmenkol waxes and tools for the 2012-2013 season and should expect to see improvements and new products in years to come. “In the future too, Holmenkol will retain focus on the World Racing Team in Nordic Skiing and Alpine Skiing,” says Dr. Oliver Temme, chemist and director of Sporto-med GmbH’s research and development department since 2004. “Continuing development of waxes for racing skis has a high priority for us.”

Holmenkol’s production facility in Heimerdingen, Germany and team of employees remain unchanged during the transition and will continue to produce highly-innovative chemical surface systems for skis and snowboards as well as textiles.

Preparations Underway for FIS WCup Opener in Gällivare

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


October 01, 2012 – FIS Cross-Country World Cup season 2012/13 kicks off in 57 days in the Swedish Gällivare. With only a few weeks left until the opener, the organising committee reports record interest.

Almost 200 people came to the official kick off meeting for the partners that was held by the organising committee. “We are absolutely surprised by the interest of sponsors, partners and volunteers. So many showed up for this event,” Secretary General of the LOC Tommy Niva says.

The FIS Cross-Country World Cup opener is the biggest sport event in Norrbotten and preparations have been already in full swing. About 250 volunteers are needed to cope with all organisation aspects of the World Cup ranging from competition course to transport and catering.

“The World Cups activates the entire community. Everybody is very proud of the event and interest only increases every time we organise the first World Cup of the season. As early as in the sumer people would show up and asked about the chance to participate and help with the competitions,” Tommy Niva says.

“FIS has given us the trust to organise the season opener for the fifth time since 2004. I can say we are preparing a great skiing festival. Our goal is to secure all arrangements at the top level and the great interest gives us plenty of inspiration in this work,” Niva concludes.

FIS Cross-Country Word Cup kicks off in on November 24th. One week before the World Cup junior and FIS competitions will take place in Gällivare as test events.

You can find more information at: www.worldcupgellivare.com

Diggins Report: The Fun Stuff That Happens When I Get to Come Home

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,


September 29, 2012 (Afton, MN) – Wow, I LOVE being home! I forget sometimes how wonderful fall is in Minnesota, and it’s so beautiful driving through Afton with the trees turning leaves and hanging over the road. Especially since there’s so many people out enjoying the good weather – I must have seen at least 30 rollerskiers and bikers out yesterday in the 10 minutes I drove through Afton.

The Beech family invited a bunch of the skiers and friends from the Stillwater High School team over to help pick apples and press them into cider, and they have this really cool cider press that takes at least three people to work at once. It tasted delicious!

Everyone’s hands got super sticky sweet, and there were little bits of apple flying all over whenever the wheel got turned really energetically.

At the Art in the Park fair going on in downtown Afton, I got the most delicious acorn squash from my favorite booth… Siri and Carl Bohacek! I had the honor of going for a roll with their mom, Kris, earlier – a good Sunday morning tradition that I look forward to every time I come home.

Then I got to plant some bright fall flowers in the garden and help my Dad wash the deck and burn buckthorn… some fall chores that I was excited to be home to help with, since I’m never around to do my share normally!

My Dad had returned home just before I did, from a hunting trip down in South Africa, just outside of Kimberly. We all piled on the couch as my Dad scrolled through the amazing pictures of wildlife he took, including lions, zebras, warthogs, giraffes, impala, wildebeest, and springbok. He also had cool stories of the culture he experienced down there, and it was so neat to hear about a place that skiing will never take me but would be really fun to visit and learn more about.

Sweden Loves Jessie Diggins

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


September 27, 2012 (Acton, MN) – A reporter and cameraman from Sweden’s national TV network visited Acton, Minnesota this week in order to film and interview U.S. cross country skiing sensation Jessie Diggins. At 21, Diggins has shot to the top of the world’s elite female skiers, winning World Cup silver in a freestyle team sprint event last season with Kikkan Randall and picked up an individual top five in a 10km race along with other notable performances. While Diggins is popular in Nordic ski circles at home, she’s less well-known as an athlete in the USA at large, but Sweden has taken notice of the young blonde phenom on xc skis.

Read the full article about Diggins’s international media visit on TwinCities.com HERE.

 

Volcanoes, Glaciers and Rollerskis: 2012 Training Season Update with Coach Wadsworth

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


September 27, 2012 (Canmore, AB) – It’s funny. The athletes came into this training season more excited than ever, when one would think that after such a successful last season it would have been just the opposite. The amount of work this team has done over the last two years has been exhausting and I thought maybe people would slow down a bit and need to be encouraged back into training mode. Well, that couldn’t be further from the case.

Champing at the bit, the athletes travelled to Bend, Oregon for an on-snow camp combined with the US ski team. We had amazing skiing and weather which helped make this our best spring camp ever. Everyone on the team came into this camp fit and pumped up to get things going-it was great!

A few weeks after the Bend camp, our newly formed women’s team, led by Coach Eric de Nys, went north to Alaska for a half dryland and half on-snow camp with the US women’s team. This camp was a major success, with one of the largest (and for sure best) women’s training groups ever assembled in North America. Although the weather on the glacier wasn’t exactly sunny the women laid down some serious K’s and hours and came away more fit than ever.

While the ladies were in AK, the guys and I were hammering up from sea level to 10,000 feet on rollerskis on the island of Maui. The men tallied up more than 60,000 feet of vertical over 12 days, while camping high up on the volcano. There are other places to do altitude camps but nowhere else where you can do this kind of full-on vertical training. By far this was the camp where I saw the biggest changes in the guys, and everyone knew they had just gone up two notches in fitness. Straight from Hawaii we finished off the altitude training at the Haig Glacier in Alberta with 3 days of skiing at 3000 meters.

Since we have camps almost every month with most lasting around two weeks, I thought this summer would be a good time to give our athletes a six week break to settle in, train, and visit friends and family. During this period, Joel Jaques from our technical team and Perianne Jones from the women’s team got married and it was a celebration shared by many in the Cross Country Canada family.

In late August the women’s team joined forces with the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) in Whitefish, Montana for another large women’s camp. Once again energy was high and the women focused on a good mix of intensity and distance, with a couple hard time trials to start engaging the racing legs. Chris Jeffries, Head Coach of the AWCA, and Eric de Nys worked well together and the energy coming out of this camp would carry everyone for weeks.

During this same period, the men were in on-snow in New Zealand banging out big hours and focusing on skiing technique. Coach Louis Bouchard and I were extremely happy with the work done there and left excited for the real winter to come.

Both the men’s and women’s teams are now off to Park City, Utah. Although the teams have different schedules, we’ll be doing some workouts together and eating dinners as a group. It’s our last dryland camp of the year and it will be fun to get everyone back together.

We’re all back to Canmore after Park City for skiing on our “kept” snow for our famous Frozen Thunder event. The Canmore Nordic Centre scrapes off the sawdust used to insulate the snow during the summer and rolls it out Oct 15th. It’s such an advantage for us to know we can start getting the edge on our competition by skiing so early, and right at home!

The World Cup races start Nov 24th in Gellivare, Sweden, and then move on to Kuusamo, Finland for the first mini-tour of the season. From there it’s time to head back to Canada for the much anticipated Quebec City and Canmore World Cups.

Our team is in a better place than ever and it’s an exciting time for everyone involved in cross country skiing in Canada. Without the support of our CCC members, fans and partners we would not be where we are today. Thank you!

Justin

Lenny,-team-van,-Justin_cropped.jpg
From left: Lenny Valjas, Coaching Consultant Torbjorn Karlsen, Coach Wadsworth. Location:Canmore, AB

US XC Men’s Ski Team Euro Training Camp – Heading Home

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


August 14, 2012 – The US XC Men’s Ski Team recently spent three weeks training in Austria and Germany with some workouts on glaciers, in the gym, and skiing at the DKB Skisport Halle in Oberhof. When the camp wrapped up, the squad travelled together to Munich, where they sought out a gym for one last workout before their flight.

The next day, after enjoying a fabulous hotel breakfast, Noah Hoffman and Tad Elliott travelled back to Aspen, CO together, but not without some adventures along the way. Since his return home, Hoffman has enjoyed lots of family and friend time, as well as quality training. Read more about the US XC Men’s Ski Team and what the Hoff has been up to on his new website HERE.

Kikkan Randall’s Race Tails: Double Podiums in Düsseldorf and Davos

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


December 16, 2011 – The exciting new season continues! First off a skate sprint weekend along the Rhein river in Düsseldorf, Germany. In the individual sprint, I started off the day with a 10th in qualifying and then battled my way through the rounds on the narrow course to make the final. In the final, there was some bumping early on in the race, but I was able to stay on my feet and make a free-skating charge at the end to take the win.

In the next day’s team sprint, I lined up with my APU teammate Sadie Bjornsen and made it through to the finals.  On the first lap we had some bad luck and got stuck behind a fall, dropping us to last.  We never lost faith however, kept charging and on the last lap I was able to make up a few spots and get us into the silver medal position.  The first ever team sprint podium for a US sprint team!

The next weekend took us to Davos, Switzerland where the snow finally arrived and we got to contest a 15km skate on a 7.5km loop (a rarity on WC these days), and a skate sprint.

In the 15km, I had a good start early but then faded through the race, just managing to stay in the points at 27th place.  It proved to be a great warm-up for the sprint however, and I was able to qualify 1st and lead through the quarters and semis to make the final.

In the final I took the lead midway through and made an aggressive acceleration over the top of the hill to break up the pack. I ended up breaking away for the win.  I also got to wear the red Sprint Leaders jersey through the day, which was pretty fun!

Now we’re on to Rogla, Slovenia for the last weekend of Period 1.  There’s not much snow here but the organizers are working hard to put on some good races.  We’ve got a 10km classic mass-start and a skate sprint coming up!

Quote of the Day
“We all shared in the success and it made it so incredibly special! ”

What’s Coming Up
– Dec. 17/11 – 11 Rogla WC – 10km C Mass-start
– Dec. 18/11 – Rogla WC – Sprint F
– Dec. 29/11 – Tour de Ski – Oberhof Prologue
– Dec. 30/11 – Tour de Ski – Oberhof 10k C H
– Dec. 31/11 – Tour de Ski – Oberstdorf Sprint C
– Jan. 1/12 – Tour de Ski – Oberstdorf 10k Skiathlon

The Full Report
Hello everyone!  It’s been another couple of exciting weeks!  I have to admit that I’ve been having so much fun celebrating the good races and hanging out with my teammates that I’ve been a little delinquent in getting my Race Tails out.  Here is a quick recap of the last two weekends.

Following the mini-tour in Ruka, Finland, we headed down to Central Europe to the sun!  Winter had not arrived yet here either, and the first few days of training were confined to 1-3km loops of man-made snow on top of green grass!

Düsseldorf Sprint Weekend
Once in Düsseldorf, the scene was pretty much the same as the previous years.  Except, this time in the giant stadium attached to our hotel, the soccer field was covered with a car racing track.  We got to watch the drivers test out their cars and I have to admit it was pretty fun to see them sliding the corners and revving their engines.

On Saturday morning we awoke to pouring rain.  Luckily I had all my stuff this year and packed my bag with just about every piece of ski clothing I had brought!  The most exciting thing was that I had female teammates this year, three of them, which meant that we could actually ski in the team sprint for the first time!

Individual Skate Sprint
For the qualifying round I was given bib #1 for the 2nd week in a row, so with a fresh course before me, I set off around the 750m loop!  I came around the first corner so fast that I almost lost my balance.  Luckily, I stayed on my feet and made it around the course in less than two minutes.  It was a solid burn but over so fast!  I ended up qualifying in 10th position.

Thankfully the rain stopped in time for the heats.  In the quarters and semis, I had decent starts, worked my way up through the pack on the back stretch and used strong finishes each time to advance.

In the final, I did not get a good start and ended up bumping skis with a couple competitors down the first straight away.  After a few more bumps coming up to the first turn with fellow NA racer Chandra Crawford, I decided to settle back in the pack.  As we approached Mt. Düsseldorf I noticed a narrow opening in between Chandra and the Russian, Matveeva.  I went for it.  A few more bumps.  Over the top I managed to get myself into 2nd position.   As we came off the final turn, I worked an aggressive free skate and swung wide into the outside lane.  Skating low and without poles, I managed to sneak into the finish lanes just ahead of Matveeva and secured the win at the line.  I let out an ecstatic yell!

Düsseldorf has one of the most fun awards presentations after the race, up on a big stage next to the course.  They blasted techno music while they called up the top ten and I couldn’t help but do a little dance.  After the awards were presented, they played the US National anthem and it was incredibly special to hear it out loud. I sang every word.

Right away we had another important race to focus on, the team sprint.  It was decided that Sadie Bjornsen and I would team up on the first team, and Holly and Ida would team up for our second team.  We were all pretty excited to get in the mix!

Team Sprint
The next day we awoke to clearer skies and less wind.  While the snow was much dirtier than the day before, the course was holding up well.  We did some jogging to warm-up and then hit the course for a short window of ski testing before the race.  I found my legs to be quite tired from the full day before.

In the semis, Sadie skied our lead off leg.  Over the first few laps, we just hung contently in the pack and tried to avoid all the chaos.  The exchange zones were war fields every time but we managed to make it through unscathed and in good position going into the final lap.  I was able to pass a couple teams in the finish stretch to automatically advance us to the final.  The pace had been fast and furious and we both hoped we had more left in the tank for the finals.

Sadie and I hung out together in the wax trailer during the short break between rounds.  Sadie played it pretty calm, but disclosed to me later that she was really nervous.  The funny thing is, I was too.   Although, I did manage to drift off to sleep for a few minutes and dream about Santa Claus of all things.

For the finals Sadie again skied the lead off leg.  She got off to a fantastic start and was near the front when suddenly, just past the exchange zone, she got caught up behind a fall and dropped to the back.  Not panicking, I chased hard once I got the tag and over the next couple laps we just tried to get back in contention. Sadie skied a fantastic last leg and got us back on to the back of the lead group, we were in 9th.

Once I got the final tag, I decided to go for it.  I went wide up the first rise and around the corner and made up a couple places.  While everyone seemed to relax a bit on the back stretch, I again worked the wide lane and by the time I got over Mt. Düsseldorf, I was in 4th.  When we came off the final turn, I free skated like crazy again and headed for the far wide lane.  This time I did manage to use a couple of pole plants and somehow managed to get us into 2nd place by the time I hit the line.  Podium #2!

Sadie immediately ran over and gave me the biggest hug.  A wave of emotion surged over me.  We jumped up and down together and then our other teammates and coaches, who had been yelling like crazy for us, came over and we had a big group hug.  We all shared in the success and it made it so incredibly special!

We got to go up on stage for the awards ceremony and dance some more.  We did a special tribute dance to our teammates back in the US and took in all the atmosphere.  It was pretty fun to be watching Sadie do all this for the first time!

On Monday we packed up and headed back to Davos, Switzerland.  A little bit of natural snow had started falling and through the week, it would start to look more and more like winter.

I was pretty bagged for the first couple days and took it nice and easy to recover.  Davos is one of my favorite places in Europe.  Not only is the skiing (usually) amazing, but the town is really welcoming and cozy, and there is an incredible coffee shop called ‘Kafe Klatsch’ that is great for meeting up with our international friends.

Midweek activities included a Secret Santa poem night with our team, where we all had drawn a collegue’s name out of a hat and then wrote a poem about that person and gave them a small gift.  It was good for a plethora of laughs and team bonding!

The other highlight of the week was getting a fika (coffee date) with our Swedish friends Anna Haag and Charlotte Kalla.  We were discussing the early season success of the Norwegian women’s team and decided that if we were able to displace some of them from a podium spot during the weekend, we would spray champagne at the flower ceremony to celebrate.

15km Individual Freestyle
The first race of the weekend was the 15km skate individual start.  Earlier in the week when it looked like there wouldn’t be enough snow, the race was going to be shortened to 10km.  But the organizers did an amazing job and got the 7.5km loop ready in time for the longer distance.  Over the past few distance starts here in Davos I have really struggled.  So I was hoping a longer event on a slightly different course might help me break my Davos distance curse.

My plan was to start aggressive, which had worked well in Sjusjoen, and then try to maintain a steady but solid pace through the race.  Without really noticing, I managed to hit this strategy right on and at the first split at 2km, I was leading the race with 49 racers through.  The pace felt reasonable and I was feeling confident that I could build speed through the race.  But then, only a kilometer later, as I made my way to the high point at 4km, I began to unravel.  My body felt stiff and my focus started to waiver.

I kept fighting, reminding myself to work the gradual terrain, bend my legs and keep my tempo up, but I was really struggling to kick myself into the next gear.  Skiing totally alone, I had to keep trying to coax myself to stay on pace and dig deeper.   When I crossed the finish line, I was definitely exhausted, yet didn’t have that flop-on-the-ground, totally dead feeling I had wanted to achieve.  In the end I had to settle for 27th place.

While it was my worst race of the season so far, it was still a big improvement over my other distance results here in Davos, it was still in the points and only 13 seconds out of the top 20, and I had great results from my teammates (Holly in 13th and Liz in 21st) to celebrate.  I crossed it off as a successful day and turned my attention to the next day’s sprint.

Individual Skate Sprint
This time, I did not draw bib #1 for the qualifier.   But I did get to wear the red Sprint Leader’s jersey for the first time this season.  The sprint course would be two laps of a 600m loop and required the right pacing.

During the warm-up my legs felt pretty heavy and I was anxious about the 15km’s effects on my energy reserves.  Once I started the qualifier however, I could tell the feelings were good and I set off on an aggressive first lap.  As I came through the stadium for the lap, I could feel the burn setting in.  I dug down and pushed hard through every transition, not letting up until I slid my foot across the line.  The announcer immediately called out, “And now Randall has the new best time.”

When all the racers had finished, I had managed to stay atop the leader board by 0.11 seconds!  This was the first time that I had ever qualified first and it almost made me a little more nervous than usual.  I finished my cool down and then made my way into the athlete’s tent.  Many of the other teams had their massage tables out with therapists working on their athletes. Meanwhile, I laid on a foam stretching mat on the floor, covered myself in jackets and fought off shivers for the next 45 minutes.

Thankfully I was able to warm myself back up again pretty quickly in time for the quarterfinals.  I got off to a good start and controlled the pace from the front.  I put in a little extra push over the top of the last hill and stayed in the lead to advance to the semis.  The effort was hard however, and I wondered if I could handle such a pace for two more rounds!

In the semis I got off to a good start again and led the race.  This time I was able to relax a little bit more on the flats and then put in another good push over the top of the climb to keep my lead and advance to the final.
The sun was just setting as we lined up for the final introductions.  Just happy to be back in the final again, I gave an excited double wave to the camera and to the crowd.  Then we crouched…set…BANG!

I had a decent start and came out pretty even with the other girls.  We all spread out and I gradually worked my way up towards the front, but then let Matveeva take the lead around the first corner.  I followed her up and over the hill.  My skis were fast and I glided up next to her as we came back into the lap lane.  For a second, I thought I would try and tuck in behind her, but then I got the urge to take the lead.  I V2’d powerfully up alongside and as we approached the hairpin turn, I got into the lead.  I took one more second to relax and then accelerated coming out of the turn.  I jump skated like crazy and made sure to push over the top.

As we glided back down into the stadium, I took a quick glance over at the jumbo tron.  I saw three dark figures coming down the hill together and figured that was the other skiers right on my tail.  So I kept hammering, determined to stay in front.

When I burst onto the homestretch I opened up into a tall V2 and imagined the others shadows coming up beside me at any second.  Finally, when I got a few meters from the line I realized there was no one coming up and got to raise my arms in celebration across the line.  Another thrilling day!

I was immediately just so happy to have put together such a solid day, feeling strong through four rounds.  Once I caught my breath, I did a quick interview for the TV cameras and then got to exchange hugs and high fives with my team.  Suddenly I remembered that I had made that bet with Anna and Charlotte about champagne on the podium.  I asked Grover if he could try and find some at the last minute and he set off on a mission.

Just before the flower ceremony, Grover reappeared with a bottle of champagne.  So after they presented the flowers and the medals and our official photos were snapped, Grover snuck the bottle (slightly shaken and the cork poised) to me on the podium and I popped the cork and sprayed the champagne around.  I had always seen the alpine skiers do this on the podium and I was proud to show that the cross-country skiers can celebrate a good day too!

That evening I got to share another champagne toast with my team.  They really did a fantastic job of making sure all I had to think about was racing fast.  I’m so grateful to have such a hard working team behind me and it is the best thing to celebrate all together!  Later I got to share another toast with my Swedish friends, Anna Haag and Emil Joensson (who was also on the podium) and their families over dinner.  It was a great night.

All of the hard racing and emotion caught up with me the next couple days however and I was pretty bagged again.  So I just took it easy, enjoyed the good skiing, took long naps and did some Christmas shopping.

One little thing I decided to do, in celebration of the team’s great results so far this season, was to buy a small espresso machine for the team.  Already it’s getting a lot of use and makes us feel a little more at home in our hotel rooms!

Yesterday we said goodbye to Davos after a very delightful early morning ski and headed on to Rogla, Slovenia for the final stop of Period I.  Upon arrival, it feels like we’ve gone back to September again.  It was pouring rain here today and there was even thunder and lightning this afternoon.  The organizers are busy trying to piece together a course and we’re hoping the temperature will drop back below freezing!

We’ve got a 10km classic mass-start on Saturday and another (third in a row!!) skate sprint on Sunday.

More reports to come in a few days!!

I’m posting daily updates of my training on my SkiTrax Daily training rap which can be viewed here:  Kikkan’s Daily Training Rap

And you can also follow me on Facebook and on Twitter.

Cheers,

Kikkan

SkiTrax FIS Fantasy WCup 2011/12 Contest – Standings after Sjusjoen REVISED

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


November 27, 2011 (Toronto, ON) – With the 2011/12 Viessmann FIS XC World Cup season officially underway, we are pleased to announce the SkiTrax FIS Fantasy WCup 2011/12 Contest standings after round one of the series in Sjusjoen, Norway this past weekend and apologize for the delay. Leading the contest is team Paulleloupbleumauvevertgrisnoirblanc with 174 points. Probably the winning team trails by 6 points and is tied in second with team domy.

The World Cup series moved to Kuusamo, Finland this weekend for round two and we’ll have the contest standings following these races posted shortly.

For the Contest Standings after Sjusjoen click HERE.

SkiTrax Fantasy FIS World Cup 2011/12 Contest Prizes
* 1st Prize Fischer 11/12 Carbonlite Hole Skis, Xcelerator Bindings, Carbonlite Poles (value $1,100)
* 2nd PrizeSkiGo Carbon 780 Roller Skis (value $580)
* 3rd Prize
Alpina ESK Ski Boots (value $449)
* 4th Prize Bjorn Daehlie Exclusive US XC Ski Suit (value $300)
* 5th Prize Sporthill XC Pants/Tights and Glacier Top (value $220)
* 6th PrizeFresh Air Experience or High Peaks Cyclery Gift Certificate (value $150)
* 7th PrizeRottefella Xcelerator Skate/Classic Bindings (value $130)
* 8th PrizeBliz Proflip Visor (value $129)
* 9th Prize
Concept2 Goodie Duffle Bag (value $100)
* 10th PrizeAuclair Micro Mountain Olympic Gloves + Earbags (value $65)
* WCup BreaksBuff Headware (value $22) to top 3 contest leaders before the Tour de Ski

Thanks to all of our great sponsors, including Fischer, SkiGo, Alpina, Bjorn Daehlie Clothing, Sporthill, Fresh Air Experience, High Peaks Cyclery, Rottefella, Bliz, Concept 2, Auclair, and Buff.

SkiTrax is North America’s leading Nordic skiing publication and the official magazine of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and Cross Country Canada (CCC).