 |  |  | |||||||||
 |
| | |||||||||
 |  |  |
Worldloppet Trip
BY ADAM SWANK
After 2 weeks in Europe, I returned on Friday to prepare for the Noquemenon, a 50 Km classic race in Michigan. The trip to Europe was pretty sweet, and included 2 worldloppet races and “ski cross” sprint.
The first of the worldloppet races was a 50 K classic in the Czech Republic, and it began quite auspiciously. I was granted a front row start by the generosity of a fellow skier. Initially I lined up in the 2nd row of the elite wave, choosing to start behind a fellow in a Norwegian team suit. When he turned around, he offered to switch places with me, moving himself off the front row. I declined his offer, adding that if he was going to start fast, he should stay on the front line. He slowly reached down and moved his skis behind mine, replying that he had no intension of going fast. As he walked past me, I realized Bjorn Daehlie had just given me his start position. True to his word, he did not race fast - and finished around 100th place. I skied well until the last 10 km, and my abd muscles cramped up making the last 10 km of gradual descent very difficult for me. I dropped from around 25th place to finish 40th.
Upon leaving Czech, we went to Austria where I competed in ski cross sprint. The course included a 270 degree banked corner followed by a 3 foot ramp launching you into the air. The loop was only 125 meters long and was done 3 times. Each heat had 5 starters, and rarely did all 5 stay on their feet! Unfortunately I crashed on my 2nd lap going over the jump. The crowd seemed to appreciate my yard sale more than I did.
The following day was a 42 km skate - the Dolomitenlauf. His race went very well, as I had fantastic skis and felt well during the whole race. A pack of around 20 skiers stayed together for most of the race, and was able to get in behind the large frame of Thomas Aalsgard and draft for most of the race. A final 3 km climb neat the end of the race spread the pack out, and I finished just under 2 minutes behind the leaders in 17th place.
Returning to the US on Friday was a little pressured, as I closed on my new house the same day I landed. Then I had to drive 5 hrs to Michigan to pick up my bib for the Noquemenon. Additionally only half of my luggage arrived from Europe. Fortunately for me, I my skis did arrive, and I was able to borrow wax and other items from friends. The race itself was easy to wax for with temps in the high teens at the start, and course was in good shape except for some bumpyness in the first half. The terrain and scenery of the Noque are 2nd to none, with good views of the dead river basin and lake superior. Some fun downhills and challenging climbs make it a very enjoyable course. I started with teammate Zach Violett, and together we tried to hang with Andrey Golovko. Unfortunately , I could not hang with the pace very long and ended up skiing 40 of 51kms alone. Zach was able to hang with a strong Golovko for the whole race, only be edged at the line for an impressive 2nd. Fischer/Craft rounded out the podium as I hung for a 3rd place finish.
Canmore WC
By Colin Rodgers
While it is already the third day of racing up here in Canmore for the World Cup and I figure it is about time for an update for all of the Ficher/ Craft fans out there. This week has been full of excitement. We have seen some solid US finishes. My SVSEF teammate Morgan Arritola started it off right with a 24th place finish in the women’s pursuit. Although I did not make it out to watch the women’s race live I was watching it on the FIS website where they have live updated split times throughout the course. It was really exciting to see Morgan do so well and have her move up through the race. I am pretty sure at the 7.5k exchange she was around 28th or 29th and then laid the hammer down in the skate to finish number 24! -First World Cup points for the many time Baldy Hill Climb champion. Way to go Mo!
The men’s 30k race was no less exciting. The top 22 guys finished within 38 seconds! The pack lead never really broke apart after the classic exchange. There were a lot of familiar North American faces in there too. Devon Kershaw was battling at the front the whole time and even pulled the train for many portions of the race. George Grey and Ivan Babikov were right there in the final sprint and Kris Freeman was just off the back in the end. He hung tight though throughout the entire skating portion where at one point he even dropped off the back and then caught back up with the leaders. The guy knows how to suffer in order to hang on and it is pretty impressive.
Wednesday was the classic sprint. It was my turn to perform. I had great preparation going into the day and had a solid warm up. My strategy was to set a good pace out the opening stretch and through the first climbing switchback, push hard over the top, get a short rest and then open it up into the big striding section. The idea was to go out feeling quick and fast without overdoing it. The finishing stretch was long and I needed to have a strong push at the end. I felt like I did a good job with my game plan. There were a few uphill corners that I could have carried my momentum a little bit better on, but all in all it was a good performance. I ended up finishing in good company with- Goldsack CAN 6th in the sprint relay 2007 World Champs and U23 gold medalist, Zorzi ITA World Champ and Olympic gold medalist and Roddy Darragon Olympic silver medalist.
I know I can do better though. I was 3.37 seconds out from qualifying and finished in 46th . Usually my second race in a race series is generally better whether I like it or not. I am glad I have another shot to prove to myself that I can be closer to competing with the big boys. Newell, Koos and Cook all finished in the top 26 and my 19 year old teammate Reid Pletcher nailed the qualifier finishing 35th. He is going to be deadly at the World Junior Championships this year.
If there is anyone that I wanted to win this race though besides an American it was Borre Naess. In 1999-2000 I lived over in Norway for a year and we raced for the same club. We trained together hard and had many fun training adventures. Now he is arguably the best sprint double poler in the world. That is pretty sweet. When he asked me before the race if I was going to double pole the course on skate skis and I told him no I could tell that he thought it was going to be way faster. He was right. Coming into the final stretch the guys on skate skis were able to glide out and carry their momentum a lot further than anybody else on classic boards. The final was an impressive show of pure double poling power at the world’s highest level. It was cool thing to watch, but one day I want to be in there. There is a lot of work to be done.
Waiting it Out
By Brayton Osgood
January 2008 has been a bit of a tough month for me, but hopefully things will start to look up soon. I started off with a good skate race at Nationals, and then things sort of went downhill. A cold derailed my classic race (and my hopes of going to the World Cups in Canmore), so I changed plans and came back to the Midwest for more SuperTours.
I'm finally feeling good and ready to race again, but suddenly there's no racing. This weekend's races at Mt. Itasca got canceled on Wednesday, just a few hours after I arrived at the airport in Minneapolis, where, despite my best efforts, my bags didn't make it. It is very cold out right now, but supposed to warm enough for us to go skiing a little later in the day.
Part of being a skier is dealing with the frustrations of things not going according to plan. I'm pretty easy going and adaptable when it comes to changing plans, but I'm going to be more than ready to race when I finally get the chance!
In the Eyes of a 10 Year-Old
By Nicole De YongThis past week I had a new experience…I got to hang out with 10 year-olds!
Remember sharks and minnows? Tunnel tag? Tail tag? I don’t know about you, but it has a LONG time since I have played these games. On Monday, I had the privilege of playing games with the Sun Valley prep team and let me tell you, there are some quick little skiers out there! I did my best to keep up with them, but many times I was outnumbered by the kids and they managed to gang up on me, making it endlessly impossible to survive. Along with the fun games, I was able to help with a few technique pointers. Watch out, there are some good up-and-coming skiers from this area.
Along with fun games, I’ve been hanging out with kids at the YMCA. As part of my involvement with “In the Arena,” I have been helping with the “After-School Program” at the recently opened, Wood River YMCA. While we haven’t been playing familiar games like sharks and minnows, the kids have been teaching me how to play “guitar hero” and “dance dance revolution”. These are some pretty fun games! They are a true test of your hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes. Hopefully with a bit more practice, I’ll be able to keep up with these little experts.
I have to say that it’s been quite fun experiencing life in the eyes of a 10-year old. If you get a chance to be involved in your local ski club or your local community kid center, try out a day in the life of a 10-year old. I bet they’ll teach you a few things…
World Cup Here We Come
By Zach Violett
January 22, 2008 I get to do something totally new to me. I get to race. Not just any race, I get to start in a World Cup! I will be doing the 30km pursuit with the best in the world. Saying that I am super excited may be a bit of an understatement.
Despite my slow start to the season, I managed to qualify for the World Cup using the FIS points I got last spring racing in Europe. It is a little different than how the other guys made it, but I will take it.
Right now I am in Bend and enjoying the 120 inch base and sunny skies. I am attempting to get in some hard yet smart training. I have one week to be back skiing at my potential and I am going to give it everything I have. I am tired of being sick and injured. No more excuses, time to ski fast!
After Canada, I will be headed straight to the Midwest. I have a little score to settle with the Noquemanon after last year’s adventure. Watch out, I know the course this year. The next day I will be seeing everybody in Telemark. Hopefully the 50km will not wear me out too bad.
Fischer/Craft Team US Nationals Recap
The Fischer/Craft team has just returned from Houghton, Michigan where the 2008 US Cross Country Nationals were held. The races were an overall success for the team; with many team members achieving personal best finishes in the race series. At the end of the series, 3 team members were asked to compete in the upcoming World Cup races held in Canmore, Alberta at the end of the month.
Nicole Deyong and Brayton Osgood led off the first race with outstanding and personal best results. Nicole was 11th in the 5km skate race, which is her best US nationals finish since 2004. She just missed making into the top-10 by 3 seconds. Brayton had one of his best ever US Nationals races, finishing in 7th place. Andrew Johnson ended up in 14th, placing 2 men in the top-15.
Kate Whitcomb led the team on the classic day with an 11th place in the women’s 10km classic. In this hotly contested race, seconds and even tenths of seconds separated places. For example, Kate was only 3.7 seconds out of 8th place. Nicole skied to a respectable 23rd place. For the men, the day did not go as well. In this 15km classic race, the men skied two 7.5km loops, which were very tough. With the new snow and glazing tracks, the course and waxing made the day even tougher. Brayton and Colin Rodgers skied the first loop in the top-15, but were not able to keep up the pace and ended up in 25th and 30th respectively. Zach Violett skied even laps, finishing in 26th place.
The sprint day started off very well, with Nicole qualifying in 7th place, Kate in 16th place and Colin in 10th place. Adam Swank just missed qualifying for the rounds in 31st place. Brayton, Andrew and Zach all came down with colds and missed racing the Sprint. In the rounds, Nicole and Kate just missed advancing in their respective heats. Colin advanced in his quarterfinal heat and moved on to the semifinals. In his semifinal heat, Colin just missed out on advancing to the A-Final, but dominated the B-Final heat to finish in 7th place overall. Kate ended up 13th and Nicole 17th on the day for the women.
The sprint relay day brought some confusion with the start being delayed by 2 hours due to seeding problems. Colin teamed up with a teammate from his club team in Sun Valley, Idaho to finish 5th in the men’s race and Nicole teamed up with Liz Stephen from the USST to finish in 6th place. Zach Violett and his teammate ended up in 15th place on the day.
From the week of racing and the early season SuperTour races, 3 Fischer/Craft skiers were asked to represent the US at the January FIS World Cups held in Canmore, Alberta. Andrew Johnson, Colin Rodgers and Zach Violett were named to the team and both Colin and Zach accepted the nominations. Andrew declined the nomination, deciding to focus on marathon races coming up in February and March.
The team will regroup again in February for the Boulder Mountain Tour and then move along to SuperTour races in Aspen, then the Birkie in the end of February. Follow the team at the official team website, www.fischercraft.com, as they continue to race with hopes of representing the US at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
RCS Carbonlite Skating Ski
The new RCS Carbonlite Skating ski is the most technologically advanced ski in the Fischer line. Using materials and engineering from Fischer’s aerospace division, the Carbonlite ski offers unmatched gliding and skiing performance.
The Carbonlite ski is currently the lightest ski on the market. Lightweight carbon in the tips and tails give the Carbonlite ski the lowest mass inertia of any ski on the market. This means that the swing weight of the Carbonlite ski is virtually non-existent, giving the ski a feather-like feel when skiing.
Each Carbonlite ski comes direct from the Fischer factory in Reid, Austria with the most current and advanced stone-grinding pattern on each base. These structures are developed with input from Fischer’s World Cup service people and are currently being used with a great deal of success on the World Cup circuit. After the stone grinding process, each ski is pre-waxed with a layer of fluorinated hot wax, to protect and insure that the ski is race ready right off the rack. In fact, Kikkan Randall won her first World Cup race on a pair of new Carbonlite Skate skis that she received in Russia the day before the race with a factory grind.
Right now, the Carbonlite ski is the choice of every World Cup racer. Fischer has a commanding lead in the industry brand ranking on the X-C World Cup circuit due in large part to the development of the Carbonlite ski.
For those of you who will be at the 2008 American Birkie, Fischer will have a complete line of Carbonlite skis to demo. Look for the Fischer tent outside the expo area and come see for yourself what the future of X-C skiing looks and feels like.
Back in SV
By Colin Rodgers
The snow has seemed to let up out here in Ketchum, Idaho. I think it snowed nearly the entire time I was gone at Nationals and for the first few days after I got back! It has been pretty sweet around here, but obviously the skiing has been wicked soft. Classic is the way to go for sure. In the front yard the white stuff is waist deep. Up on the mountain there have been several avalanche slides in bounds on the ski hill, and one kid got buried on one of the main ski runs that had been skied on for half a day. Luckily he was pulled out injury free after 11 min of being under. Pretty wild for a Vermont boy. We don’t see this much snow too often. I have a lot to learn about out here in the wild west and would really like to get educated a little more on the subject of avalanche safety.
Despite all of the fresh white stuff I have been laying pretty low since I got back. I felt pretty wiped out after the travel and races last week in Michigan. I am trying to get fully recovered before I start some hard training in preparation for the races in Canmore. I did not officially catch a cold, but I feel like I have been fighting one off so I have been trying to be real patient until the energy stores are full again. I can’t wait for Canada though and looking forward to having some good pop in the legs and power in the double pole. I know that that finishing stretch in the stadium is pretty long so I have been visualizing feeling real strong coming into it- getting ready to “Stomp It” as Kershaw would say. Take it easy and you’ll be hearin’ more from me before too long- Colin
2008 Nats
By Colin Rodgers
2008 Nationals in Houghton, MI have come and gone. I made it back to Ketchum ID yesterday around 1 PM. It was quite a trip getting home since Mikey Sinnott and I had to miss our flight in order to race in the team sprint on Sunday. (We were supposed to fly out of Houghton at 5 PM but did not have a chance to make it since the races were delayed). Instead we had to rent a car and drive to Minneapolis, fly to Phoenix, AZ, crash in Boise (thanks Eric and Michelle Jensen), and drive back up to Ketchum the next morning. All in all it was definitely worth it. I was named to the Nations Group Canadian World Cup Team! The sprints went well for me over the weekend and allowed me to qualify. I am frustrated with my distance skiing because I know I can be more competitive than I was at nationals, but I know for sure I have a much better shot in the sprints at the World Cup. I am glad to go up there with just those to focus on.
In review I can recap some thoughts on the sprints. I was happy with my qualifying on Saturday. Even though I was 10th the times were very tight and I was closer to Newell, Torin and Cook than I have been in a long time- within 6 seconds of Newell, 1 second to Cook and less than one to Torin. That felt good and I knew my legs had some pop.
The first round was smooth. I finished 2nd behind Newell and there were no problems. I knew I could go faster too. The Semi final was going the same until in the final stretch when the Estonian from UAF kicked hard and nipped me at the line. I needed to get the speed up earlier coming into the last 100m. I knew there was still a chance to be a lucky looser, but it was slim since going down the hill in our semi no one wanted to lead and we lost time. In the end, I learned that the second semi heat was a lot faster than ours and I was not close to being the lucky looser to advance to the A final. I was bummed about this because my goal was to make it to the A final, but I did not let it bother me. I told myself, “One more round, and one more chance to prove myself. This time lay it all down.”
In the B final I did just that. It was perfect because everyone went out hard and I tucked right in on the downhill behind Garrott and Colin Mahood. We rounded the corner at the bottom and I pulled up right behind Garrott, slipped by Colin and skied side by side with Reid. It was all uphill from there to the finish and I felt good. I followed Garrott up the single remaining steep pitch, but felt I had more to go on so I made my move early. I wanted to get the speed up going into the finishing stretch and not miss-time it like I did in the Semi. I ended up having good punch and just gave it everything I had all the way to the line. It felt good to cross the line knowing that I really am a B final expert. Ha Ha . It seems like that is always where I always end up though. Either way, it felt good and my time was competitive with the A final. The highlight though was getting faster and faster each round. That means my fitness is good.
The sprint relay on Sunday was hard, but fun. The Semi was smooth and Mikey and I moved through without any stress. The Final went out fast and Mickey tagged me in 5th right on the back of the pack. I got back onto the train by the bottom of the hill, but pushed hard just to maintain contact with the leaders. Leif, Newell, Lars, and Teppan were all skiing fast. I wanted to push really hard and just get back up with them but I knew it was going to be smarter just to ski in control and not waste myself in the first round. Round 2 I was in 5th again with just a touch more time to make up, but this time I was on my own going down the hill, out of contact with the lead guys. From there I just started skiing my own race- hard but conservatively knowing that I wanted to have something left for the final leg. I knew we had a gap on CXC in 6th so I wanted to make sure I could bring it in on lap 3. In the end Mickey tagged me in a strong 5th place, all alone. I skied in with no problems to the finish. In retrospect I really wanted to hang on longer to the lead guys but they were just going at another speed on Sunday. It gives me something to work on. It is always good to be humbled. We did end up the 3rd American team, so it was fun to get to stand up on the podium at the awards ceremony and also to be named to the World Cup squad. Now it is time to find that next level of speed and relaxation so I can qualify top 30 in Canmore!
New Years Day Freestyle
By ADAM SWANK
2008 is here. It announced its presence via an intense and highly competitive 10 kilometer freestyle race. The conditions were great for skiing with light snow floating down, temps in the 20’s., and plenty of gusting winds. The women warmed the course up for the men, who didn’t start until after noon, with blistering 5 k times. The men followed suit with the winning time well under 25 minutes, and the rest of the field was packed like a Beijing street during the evening commute.
For myself, I was in the thick of it, finishing 27th. I felt strong, but lacked the extra pop to propel myself into the top spots. The course had sustained climbs followed by long gradual descents, giving plenty of time for recovery. The ability for recovery is what allowed the times to be so fast, because there certainly is good elevation change on the trail. I was pleased with my result, however I am still looking for ways to shave a few critical seconds. The temps are due to drop for our “off” day, Wednesday, and climb back into the 20’s for Thursday’s classic race. This should make for a well set track, and great kick and glide conditions.
Stay tuned…
5/10k Freestyle
By Kate Whitcomb
It was not because of lack of support! Coach Chris Hall, shown above, with about half of the team's skis. Classic skis have yet to migrate from our hotel rooms to the wax trailer...that will happen in the morning.
Today didn't go as I had hoped. My legs were heavy and they did not recover - I did not have any snap in my body and I was pretty flat all around. I also skied like a maniac. I was all over the place, out of control and gangly - which is not fast. I was shooting for top 5 but ended up 27th. I have it in me, I just have to find it and haul it out.
I started focusing on Thursday's 10k classic the second I crossed the finish line. I had my sport bar ready in my water bottle holder and had it down by the time I reached the wax trailer (about a 15 second walk). I changed my shirt and polished off a Nalgene full of sport drink, changed my shoes and went for a 20-minute jog. Then, after waxing my skis I drove the team home and started filling the tub...with cold water...and then I added 4 trashcans full of ice from the hall machine...
My legs were flat - and then they were cold. Frozen in fact, for 20 minutes before I got into the hot tub... This is called contrast bathing and it is one of the most painful things that I have ever voluntarily done. I had to call my father for the first 20 in the ice to get me through it (thanks Dad)! I rotated three times, starting and ending with the cold. It was terrible, but my legs feel better already. Well, they have started to FEEL again, but the better will come.
It did not go well for me today, but tomorrow is a new day with a new race on the horizon. Still in.
