December 12, 2010 (Sovereign Lake, BC) – APU’s Lars Flora (USA) was the fastest man in the blizzard on Sovereign Lake Nordic this morning.  He was followed by Graham Nishikawa (CAN) in 2nd and Brian Gregg (USA) in third.

After a heavy snowfall last night, racers awoke to almost a foot of fresh powder piled on their team vehicles. Some even had to dodge the piston bully while they warmed up for the race, which kicked off at 9 a.m. Even so, the grooming crew at Sovereign Lake Nordic managed to lay down an extremely good course given the conditions. The rest was up to the athletes.

Eric Carleton (CAN) started early and put down two impressive laps, taking the early lead and holding it until late in the second lap. As the race progressed, and the course deteriorated, other names started asserting themselves. Gregg, Nishikawa, Pate Neumann (CAN) and Mike Sinnott (USA) were all battling for top-5 spots. Flora, one of the last to start, repeatedly knocked off the fastest time lap after lap and ultimately proved unbeatable.

“I started really well,” said Carleton “but I just couldn’t hammer like those guys on the final lap.” The pace certainly picked up, with the big names saving their best lap for last.

It was certainly a course for smaller, more agile athletes. That played well for the USA’s Mike Sinnott again as it had in the sprint yesterday.

“I’m so light I kind of dance on top [of the deep snow],” said Sinnott, who finished 6th. “I usually blow up spectacularly on this course, but today I tried to keep it calm and collected, and throw it down on the last lap.”

On the women’s side it was an American sweep with Holly Brooks (APU) taking the win over Caitlin Compton (CXC). Brooke Gosling, from Orangeville, ON, in 3rd, is the closest to a medal the Canadians came, as she now races for the US-based CXC team. Perianne Jones was the highest placed Canadian racer, finishing 8th behind junior sensation Jessie Diggins (CXC) in 4th, Kate Fitzgerald (APU) in 5th, Evelyn Dong (XC Oregon) in 6th and Sadie Bjornsen (APU) in 7th.

“I think their top women were just faster,” said Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) coach Chris Jeffries, acknowledging the American’s dominance. Even so, he said his team was still satisfied with the day’s efforts.

“If you look at the Canadians, we still did really well. We’ve done better this weekend than last, and we’re expecting the same next weekend in Rossland,” he added.

Gosling was very excited with her result today. “I love Silver Star, and I love this course, and I love racing in these conditions,” she said. Gosling is doing well with her new team having left the AWCA last year to join CXC. She said the change is good, and is happy racing for an American team.

“CXC’s awesome, and besides, it’s all one big ski community.” CXC certainly did well in the women’s field, a fact that Gosling attributes to their top notch waxing team.

Women’s results  HERE.
Men’s results  HERE.
Video interviews courtesy of Sovereign Lake Nordic HERE.