Article posted by Rocky Mountain Outlook - April 5, 2012

Ending their season with a high elevation race on wet snow, cross-country skiers are obviously gluttons for punishment.

So it’s no surprise two of Canada’s hardest working racers prevailed in such conditions at Mt. Sharkfest on Saturday (March 31).

Kevin Sandau and Alysson Marshall both beat out stiff challenges to claim victory in the 12.5 kilometre and nine km races, respectively. However, shortly after the win, their thoughts were on the month-long break ahead.

“This was a long season. I’m happy it’s over,” Sandau said, who has a trip to Hawaii planned to recover. “I’m exhausted from the racing and travel.”

Despite the tired legs, it was another positive building year for Sandau, who got to spend time racing World Cups in Europe and win several races on the NorAm circuit.

“It was such a good experience to race against the fastest in the world. And to race with (Devon) Kershaw and Alex (Harvey) was great,” Sandau said.

Despite the exhaution, he wasn’t going to miss Mt. Sharkfest.

“I’ve raced this race since I was in Jackrabbits,” Sandau said.

Marshall skied a controlled race in the heavy snow, and had just enough energy in the final 100 metres to edge out friendly rival Emily Nishikawa at the finish.

“I definitely wanted to be in vacation mode, but it’s good for me to race,” Marshall said.

She had plenty of reasons to race this year, as she earned a top 30 finish on the World Cup and had a successful string of NorAm wins.

“I’m still not there yet, but seeing the speed required is good,” Marshall said.

Marshall is one of the few racers without a vacation in the sun planned, as she’s heading back to work before visiting her parents in Salmon Arm, B.C. Then, back to another season of training.

In the men’s race, biathletes Nathan Smith and Scott Perras showed their speed, finishing second and third in the 12.5 km race.

“We finished weeks ago with a bit of training, but the shape went down fast,” Perras said. “Racing cross-country is way different. I just wanted to lay down halfway through the race,” Smith said.

Both stuck close to Sandau for much of the race, however, Smith managed to pass Perras in the final stretch.

“There was a midrace surge and I paid for it,” Perras said.

The duo have some time off before training ramps up again, but Perras already has his goal for next year.

“I can’t seem to beat Nathan on Canadian soil. I gotta work on that.”

Nishikawa was content with second place in the conditions following a successful season. She battled fiercely with Marshall on the NorAm circuit, and is poised to continue those improvements for next year.

“I’m happy with the way the season panned out. I had good results and there’s always room for improvement.”

The highlight of her year came the week before, where she won the women’s skate distance race at nationals.

“That’s what I’m most proud of this year,” Nishikawa said.

Rosanna Crawford finished third in the women’s race. She’s gradually gotten faster as the season wore on, cleaning up at Canadian nationals after missing a shot to go to world championships.

“I’m still happy with the season. I didn’t get to go to world championships, but I got to work with (Canmore Nordic biathlon coach) Roddy Ward on a lot of technique. I was way faster at the end and I hope I can build on that into training and into next year,” Crawford said.

While she’s planning a break as well, she’ll take advantage of the ski conditions in the Bow Valley over the coming weeks.

“I’ll ski as long as I can.”

Norway's gotta be one of the best places to race in the world. Besides the pretty spectacular ski trails around Oslo and at Holmenkollen, it seems like Norwegian spectators have a soft spot for Canadians. From start to finish on Saturday's 50km at Holmenkollen Park, there was no end to the shouts, "Go Canada Go!".

"Yikes." - that's how last weekends 30km skiathlon in Lahti, Finland can be summed up for me. After catching a cold in the final few days in Seizer Alm, my energy levels took a steep dive and remained low long after I got over the sore throat and runny. Upon arriving in Finland and skiing on the race trails, my body felt like dial-up internet yearning for some DSL. Come race day I was playing everything by ear, and after a hard warm up I figured the body was reacting well enough to give it a go. I didn't make it far into the race. Coming into the stadium at the 11.25km mark of the classic leg I pulled the plug and put a DNF (Did Not Finish) next to my name on the results sheet. With a serious lack of "oomph", or anything for that matter, it turns out my body wasn't quite ready to get back into racing yet.

 But that was last week.

 Fast forward to now and I'm less than 24 hours away from racing the 50km Holmenkollen World Cup here in Oslo, Norway. The body is feeling recharged and ready for a race that has been on my bucket list for this season. This is my first time in Norway, and let's just say the Norwegians love their Nordic skiing. With thousands expected to be lining the 8km loop tomorrow here at Holmenkollen, it sure will be quite the thing to witness. (I'll be packing earplugs just in case) 

Holmenkollen Ski Jump mixed in with the fog, which I feel like they get a lot of

I’m back in Europe - Italy to be exact. After wrapping up the Canadian NorAm Circuit last week, I grabbed the FIS Regional spot, giving me starts in all the March World Cups, including the Finals in Sweden. Rewind back to my last update, I had just finished racing at Callaghan Valley near Whistler and was in tight contention for this trip to Europe. Using the best of 8 races, it was a battle royale between club/sprint/teammate Brent McMurtry and I. After finishing 1^st at the Western Canadian Championships in Canmore, and 2^nd a couple weeks later at the Eastern Canadian Championships near Ottawa, I was able to lock up my spot to Europe and the opportunity to race the last three weekends of World Cups.

Racing has started up again for 2012, and I'm back in Whistler for what seems like the millionth time for some NorAm races. It took awhile for me find my legs in yesterday's 30km, but by the time I transitioned to skate, things were looking better and I was able to grab the win.

Taking a turn at the front in the skate leg, thanks to Angus Cockney for the photos

Brent McMurtry and I to the line, making it 3 for 3 for distance races this season. Jesse Winter grabbed this shot of the sprint to the finish - check out his shots at his website here

Tomorrow is the skate sprints, something I've started growing a soft spot for. We'll see how this one goes...

K

The racing is over and after hanging around in Rossland for a couple days, it's back home for me for some good ol’ Christmas time. Greyhound could be a bit more reliable with their bus service as I'm stuck in Revelstoke for the time being, but it's given me some time to do some computer jamming and whip out an update.

 This past weekend's NorAm's were a bag full of firsts for me, particularly in the skate sprint. I can't really remember the last time I've moved on past a quarterfinal and on to the later rounds. Saturday was a bit of a welcome surprise to me, as I started off the day with the 4th fastest qualifying time. Turns out there is a bit of sprint in me. 

The straggling bits of jet lag have passed and the racing season in Canada is in full swing. Upon returning back home from Europe, I had a week and a half of Canmore time before packing up my bag again and returning to the road. This time Sovereign Lakes and Rossland NorAms.

Already having more than a few races in the bank this season, I was excited for the 15km classic race at Sovereign, generally a good distance for me. There were a couple things I took away from my World Cup experience in November that I wanted to apply to Sunday's race, specifically speaking: ski smooth, long, and efficient. 

It seems like my brain is starting to function again after a few rough days of jet lag. I'm back in the snowy homeland after my three week stint in what could almost be described as Europe during the spring. Kuusamo, Finland was my last stop on the trip with some world cup mini-tour action. In the end I finished 73rd, jumbled back in the pack but gained some good insight and experience in my 3rd, 4th and 5th world cup experience. Insert race breakdown:

Day 1: Classic Sprint

Well, there had been quite a bit of emphasis in training over the summer to improve my short distance and sprinting speed, but this wasn't exactly the race to best gauge how things fared. Not to say that it wasn't a fun race. The course in Kuusamo was to my liking, with some good  steep climbs and little of the double pole stuff. I'd say of the sprint qualifiers I've done over the years, this one felt relaxed, fast, and with not a huge amount of pressure going into it, pretty controlled. I crossed the line in 111th and 20 seconds back. On to the good stuff.

Actually before we get to day two, a special note. Moustachioed Len Valjas started his season off pretty decently with a 5th place finish in the sprint, keeping the energy going from Harvey's 5th the weekend before in Norway. It must be the intimidation factor of his Movember Mo.

Day 2: Turkey Legs in the 10km

It's funny really. For dinner the night before we were served turkey, and the joke at the dinner table was if you eat too much of it, you'd be plagued with turkey legs the next day. The claim of turkey legs doesn't really have any scientific backing, or well so I thought. Saturday's 10km skate race was turkey legs buffet. Just after the first climb my legs locked up, unable to clear lactate quick enough to maintain any sort of fresh feeling for the remaining 8km. It was a battle between mind and legs as I tried to ski smooth to the finish line, and ended up with the 69th fastest time.

Day 3: Semi-redemption in the 15km

With yesterday's race behind me, I was focused on finishing the tour on a positive note. Because it was a pursuit style start, I started my race about two minutes after the leaders. Skiers were starting every second, so there was a long line of skiers going around the course and plenty of positions to move forward. The body was night and day compared to yesterday, and things started off smoothly and controlled. Things were going well until mid-way through the race on the downhill we had to repeat six times I had a small lapse in judgment.

Deciding to try the furthest right track for a change I got in my low tuck and gunned it on the downhill. Near the bottom of this hill is a slight left turn that flatten out before hitting a steep climb back into the stadium. Upon hitting the curve in the trail, I jumped out of my track to navigate the turn. Carrying a bit too much speed, and having to cross two other tracks, my one ski decided not to join me and gave me a sudden encounter with the ground. By the time I hopped back up, I lost all my speed for the next climb, and the time I thought I was making had slipped by. Shit happens.

It took me a while to get back in my groove and I did my best to try an regain some spots. By the end I finished the overall tour in 73rd, but withholding the result and the faceplant, Sunday's race felt good. So positive beats out the negative, 9 times out of 10.

I'm hoping a photo turns up, but in the meantime was reminded of the sweet crash I took of Brent McMurtry a couple years ago... O, the memories

So I'm back in Canmore... for now:

I've had a few days at home to ponder the overall early Europe experience, and well, I'd say it went by way too quickly. Seem's like not that long ago I was in Sweden praying for some cooler weather and less rain. Like all my trips across the pond, this one was a blast, with a sweet crew and some valuable racing moments to take home. 

There isn't a pause yet, with Canada starting it's racing season this weekend with some Alberta Cups in Canmore. Next weekend I'm off to Vernon for the start of the NorAm series and then to Rossland. Awesome.

Have a good one,

K

It's my final few days here in Östersund before boarding a plane and heading to Kuusamo for the final and most important stretch of my trip; the World Cup mini-tour. Today there was a race organized with some of the local clubs and us because our original races in Roveniemi were canceled. I ended up 3rd in the men's 12km classic race, just 9 seconds from the win. It was a nice change of pace compared to last weekend in Bruks, with today's 4km loop involving some much steeper and longer climbs.

And I'm not calling it a comeback, but I've finally made my return to YouTube. Check out the slo-mo fun Lenny, Nish and I had one afternoon. (Hopefully this was a test for things to come in Kuusamo. We'll see.)

Until next time,

Kev

The first few days in Europe have been nail biting to say the least. Getting off the plane in Östersund, Sweden felt more like a mild April day in Canmore rather than the cold weather I was hoping for. Not a good feeling when I left some pretty good snow conditions back home.

The teams home for the first few days was Camp Södergren, where some saved snow from last winter was made into a 3km track a couple weeks ago. With the lack of sub-zero temperatures, and some rain the week before, the loop felt like it was in its final days. Ice, lots of pavement, rocks and sawdust made up most of the trail and it seemed like my early racing start would turn into a dry land training camp soon.

Len Valjas and I giving the loop a go for the first time. Credit Graham Nishikawa

My first ski in Östersund was depressing. Over the two hours I was out there, the little snow they did have left on the loop was melting quick. Parts you swore were snow ten minutes ago were starting to show pavement the next time you passed it. That evening around the dinner table plans were being made to get out the roller skis since there wasn't any snow, or cold weather for that matter, in the forecast.

It wasn't like they didn't have any snow leftover in their saved snow pile, they had plenty. But with an unpredictable forecast and an urgent call for there to be snow for the first biathlon world cups at the end of the month, Camp Södergren was being cautious on the snow use. Luckily for us, a little snow goes a long way, and the next morning some snow was added to the nasty parts. A quick job with the tiller and the loop was back in business, and seemed to have improved significantly everyday from that point on. If you listened carefully you could probably hear a collective sigh of relief from the teams.

Östersund getting it's final minutes of daylight, at 4PM...

Yup, starting to get into the sunset photography business. The view from the city is pretty sweet at dusk.

Today we packed up and drove to Bruksvallarna for the first race of the trip, a 15km skate. With the lack of snow, many venues have had to move or cancel their races, including Bruks, which had planned three races this weekend. 184 racers are starting tomorrow with some pretty big names (Northug showed up) so it should be a good way to kick the season off.

K