March 31, 2011 (Sun Valley, ID) – Here’s a mix of quotes from many of the skiers following Wednesday’s 10/15km mass start classic races as they shared their thoughts with SkiTrax on their performance and the upcoming classic sprints scheduled for Friday. Read what Jessie Diggins (CXC) told us when we asked her if she’s looking forward to the sprints….and not suprising Kris Freeman (US Ski Team/Waterville Valley) isn’t thrilled about them.

Freeman-Flora-Hoffman © David Wheelock

Tad Elliott (CXC)
“It was really good. That has to be my best classic race to date. Awesome skis. My skis were SO good! In the double-pole sections and downhills, if I had been dropped a little bit (on the previous climbs) I could just sit in and recover because my skis were really fast.”

Herring-boning the last time up Coaches’ Climb: “That was operator error (not bad skis). I was really tired. I was herringboning because I thought it would be better than (staying in the tracks) slipping and using my arms.”

Did he see Hoffman and McMurtry go down: “I was so pinned I didn’t see them (go down), . . . I saw McMurtry and Hoff on the ground. I felt bad because earlier I kicked McMurtry’s ski and he broke his pole, and it took him a while to get his pole, and then he got back in there and I was happy to see that. You don’t like to see somebody go out the back because of a problem like that when you cause it. Then I saw him on the ground with Hoff. He’s a good dude, he’s okay with it. He says that’s racing . . .”

Steady pace: “It felt fairly steady. It was hard for me on the climbs, but easy, well, not easy, but easier, on the flats because my skis were so good – I felt like I was surging. It was a fairly steady pace, which was nice. It was nice that it broke up and we had a solid Canadian and young US boy pack (Elliott and Hoffman). It was fun to ski with the Canadians.”

Overall? “I’m going to guess I’m fourth. I know Goldsack will be up there, but I gained some time on some guys today.”

Kris Freeman (US Ski Team/Waterville Valley)
“I wanted to get up front and build a good lead. When I was in front I was able to get the preems without having to sprint for them which was nice. But as has been a little bit of a trend for me I . . . didn’t have as good blood sugar control as I normally do, which I think is an effect of the altitude. I am planning to do a lot more altitude training this year to address that and figure out what’s happening exactly. My blood sugar was a little high and I think it made me explode a little bit over the last few kilometers.”

“It was kind of like the 50K – I got the gap without really trying on the top of Willy’s Climb. I came down the hill, and I looked back and saw I had five seconds and said, ‘I’m gonna go for it now.’ I felt really good until Willy’s Climb on the last lap. I felt like dog doo on Willy’s the last time up, and started skiing defensively at that point. I suspected that my sugar might be high at the finish. From testing over the summer whenever I get much over 250 my lactate goes up with it, and I was over that.”

“I need to fine tune it (my dosing strategy), and I’ll do that over the summer.”

Matt Gelso (SVSEF):
Were you the first SVSEF finisher? “Yes I think I was.”

“I was a little bummed because I fell about halfway through the second lap and lost the chase group (that I had been skiing with). I got back up and chased down six or seven seconds which cost me some energy and (contact with) that chase group.

“I fell right on that corner at the bottom of Willy’s – fell on my butt, and I lost a few seconds and it cost me.”

Happy with your race? “Overall, yes. I thought I was going to blow up after the first lap and a half, but I managed to hang in there, so I guess I must have some shape.”
“I think most of the people who beat me today were already ahead of me, so I hope I moved up in the standings.”

Friday’s goal: “I tend to have trouble qualifying sometimes. I’m not that fast out of the blocks – I’d probably be faster doing a sprint qualifier right now than on sprint morning. I’d like to be in the top 10 for sure.”

Drew Goldsack (Canada NST/AWCA)
“I was happy with the race. It was a hard, hard last lap. A lot of pushing the pace out there with different guys on the front. I was glad that I had a little bit left in the tank for the last two hills (Hammer and Coaches’ Climb). I was happy that it was enough. I was basically going as hard as I could.”

Did he look over his shoulder? “Not really. You can kind of hear whether someone is behind you, and I didn’t hear anyone, so partway up the last hill I was pretty sure I had second place.”

You were ahead of the crash? “Yes, that’s the other bonus of being in front. People have shaky legs and it’s hard to keep it upright in the last lap.”

Pacing? “It was fairly even. When Kris went off the front it slowed down a bit and people relaxed a little bit, and then I think it was Hoffman who went to the front and set the pace for a while, but generally it was steady and hard.”

Did anybody try to go with Freeman? “I tried, and maybe I was the only one to stick on him. I knew I was going to pay for it when I took the first preem from him. I didn’t even try to slow down. He came right by and we ended up with a little bit of a gap. He put in a few really hard kilometers and it was a bit too much for me.”

Kevin Sandau (Canada NST/AWCA)
“I’d like to say that I was following (Goldsack’s final surge), but Drew put on a pretty good surge there and I was just hanging on, trying to maintain with the group. There was a tumble up there (in front of me on top of Coaches’ Climb) which put me back behind Drew. I got a bit lucky there and was able to hang on to third.”

Graeme Killick (Canmore Alberta)
“I spent most of the race catching up. I got sort of a bad start. Every time the tracks would narrow I’d get squeezed back farther. I must have been in 40th or something like that. It wasn’t until the start of the second lap that I started to move up through the field. I was able to catch them (the chase pack) the last time through the stadium.

“At first I just sat in, but it was hard because then everyone started gunning up the hills. I was able to recover pretty fast and I felt good on the final climb here. For a while I was stride-for-stride with Drew, hoping for a medal, but it turned into chaos from that point on with a couple of crashes.

“I was totally happy to be able to catch up with the group and then be competitive with the group”

Simi Hamilton (US Ski Team/Sun Valley SEF)
On the 15km: “I think I’m still trying to figure that distance out. Especially with a mass start – I haven’t had a lot of experience with mass-start racing. I’m generally happy, but it could have gone better. I didn’t feel very good the first lap, but felt better the second and third laps. I tried to just stay relaxed and ski smooth. I picked up some time on the last two laps (note: he had the 9th-fastest last lap). We’ll see what happens Friday and Saturday”

Looking Forward to the Classic Sprint ?

Freeman – the Tour leader:
“I never look forward to sprints. They are long, painful days, but I think my chances are as good as anyone’s. Obviously Simi, Newell, Drew and Stefan (Kuhn) all have a little bit more of a claim as sprinters than me, but if I make the “A” final I’ll be happy on the day.”

Referencing his excellent Tour de Ski sprint performances: “If you look at my FIS points they were way better than any I had ever put up before, and I was racing against Emil Jonsson (so it wasn’t due to a weak field). My sprinting is getting better. Those were the first times that I have qualified, so I’m getting some confidence in it. . . . The qualification is always the problem.”

Goldsack:
“I’m Definitely looking forward to the sprint. I think it’s a good course for me – it plays to my strengths. There’s a nice fast finish which I definitely like to see. And it’s a hard climbing course.”

Killick:
“I’m hoping to hold my position – not lose too much. I have the odd really good sprint so we’ll see. Classic is usually better for me. We’ll see how it goes.”

Looking forward to the hill climb he opined “I don’t know whether I am (looking forward to it) or not. It’ll be my first hill climb. I’ve never done a hill climb – or a prologue. That (the prologue) was a shock yesterday, so I’m thinking the hill climb might be more of a shock.”

Hamilton:
“Last year at this time I had a good classic sprint. I hope it’s good, fast conditions. I like the sprint loop a lot. . . . I’ve done a fair amount (of sprinting at altitude). A lot as a junior, and a couple of the World Cup sprints aren’t super high, but somewhat close to this (elevation) – maybe 4000′ or 5000′. It will be a strong field with Andy (Newell) and Mikey (Sinnott).”

Brooks leading Diggins - a tight battle for second. © David Wheelock

Maria Graefnings (University of Utah)
On not being able to hold onto Randall on the 2nd lap: “I think it’s a combination of both (three races in four days, and Randall’s pace). I was really tired, and Kikkan was really strong, but I wanted to try (to stay with her). I blew up a little bit, but I’m satisfied anyway.”

Did she try to stay with Holly and Jessie when they caught her? “Yeah, I tried, but I couldn’t (stay with them). I was tired. It was a good race anyway.”

“I’m more of a distance skier. I will try to sprint, but I haven’t sprinted a lot lately because I’m in college and we never sprint. I’m going to give my best. It’s going to be fun.”

Morgan Arritola (US Ski Team/Sun Valley SEF)
“It didn’t feel great. I’m tired for sure. I just kind of kept skiing my pace. I had a terrible start and kind of worked up from there. Another hill or two and I might have moved up another place.

“I got behind a crash and just had a terrible start. But that’s the way it goes.”

“My body’s pretty toasted (from a long season in Europe), but that’s okay. A couple more races and then you get to relax.”

Mind still strong for racing? “Working on it. Lifting mental dumbells as we speak.”

Hillclimb: “It should be a hard course. I haven’t seen it yet, but it should be hard”
“You never know (if you’ll do well), but I hope so.”

Holly Brooks (APU)
Third today: “Yeah by half a ski-length”

“Yeah we had super skis, and that’s kind of my favorite pitch (Hammer and Coaches’ Climb) where it’s kind of medium pitch striding. I thought that was a good place to make a move, and it turns out that that was just a little too early. I died after that. My legs were pretty tired coming down the big hill into the hairpin turn at the bottom. Then the sun came out for the last hill, and I think that’s where Diggins got me. I was close at the finish, but I wasn’t able to pull in front of her at the end. She got me.”

“It was a great race out there, a good pack, the course skied really well.”

“People kept changing tracks trying to get a good line. For a while we tried changing leads, and no one wanted to take the lead. We were all kind of like ‘Okay, Kikkan, you take it.”

“As nice as it would be to get a preem, I think we all know the consequence of putting in an all-out sprint at altitude – it would be really costly. And if we were to try to make a surge we’re going against maybe the best sprinter in the world (Randall), so the chances of getting a preem today were slim to none.”

Becca Rorabaugh (APU)
Moved from 11th to 9th in the last km: “I think I caught them on the gradual uphill at the top of Coaches’ Climb. I found a little extra juice I guess.”

Your best race here? “I think so. It’s my best place. I think I was tired, I died off a little bit in the middle (of the race) and had a little something at the end so that I could get back into the top 10, which is pretty good.

Jessie Diggins (CXC)
Where did that big move in the last half a km come from? “I don’t know! Everyone was cheering really loud, and it’s hard to give up when everyone is screaming at you, so you just have to give it everything you have. The skis were fantastic, and I wasn’t slipping so it came together.”

When Holly was really pulling away: “I didn’t think I was going to catch back up. I was like ‘all right, three seems to be my number this week, so this is sweet.’ I was just trying to hang on and ski smooth and give it everything I have.”

Looking Forward to the Classic Sprint ?

Diggins
When Diggins was asked whether she was looking forward more to the rest day or the sprint, she thought for a moment then declared: “Saturday’s hill climb.

Rorabaugh:
Looking forward more to the rest day or the sprint on Friday? “That is an interesting question. I don’t know. For me a classic sprint with all that double-poling could be a bit difficult.”

Graefnings:
“I’m more of a distance skier (than a sprinter). I will try to sprint, but I haven’t sprinted a lot lately because I’m in college and we never sprint. I’m going to give my best. It’s going to be fun.”

Brooks:
“Looking forward to it very much . . . and to the rest day.