It was an unexpected, but
nice surprise when I found out three weeks ago that I had clinched the last
Nation’s Group spot for the US for World Cup finals, and would be able to race
the three day mini-tour in Quebec to close out the WC season. Enter a flurry of
rearranging travel plans, since I would no longer be traveling to OPA Cup
Finals in Europe, adjusting my mindset, and of course, last-minute race
sharpening, and I was feeling (mostly) ready to go. From what I’ve experienced
on the World Cup so far, you’re never really ready. The pace is always furious,
the races can be blurs of surges and counter-attacks, tactics, and blow-ups,
and of course, there’s the nerve factor of competing on the World’s biggest
stage. However, if I waited around for years until I was truly “ready”, I would
never make it, so there’s something to be said for getting my feet wet, and I
was psyched to have another opportunity to dive in.
Even though I’ve lived in the
East for nearly eight years now, before last week I had never been to Quebec
City, and only been to the province of Quebec for training camps in Foret and
to fly out of the Montreal airport. Being in the city and racing on the Plains
of Abraham right next to the Quebec Parliament building was an awesome
experience. All of the World Cup teams stayed in the Hilton, a five minute walk
from the venue, and also five minutes from the Old Town, the historic center of
Quebec City. From a little research I did, I discovered that the Plains of
Abraham were the site of a battle during the French and Indian war, but the
battle itself lasted less than 30 minutes. This seemed fairly appropriate
considering we were slated to race a sprint and two 10k’s, the longest of which
would take a little less than half an hour! Let the battle begin.
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For these races, the GRP
qualified five athletes, a new record for the team! We were very lucky to also
have Pepa to coach and Nick to make fast skis for us. Being on the World Cup on
your own can be overwhelming, and having familiar faces around really helps (Photo John Lazenby).
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Bon apetit! Matcha almond
milk lattes in the old city= weird but surprisingly delicious. Thanks to my friend Meghan for letting me
photograph your plate, and for being an awesome fan and coffee date last weekend.
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Ida modeling proper Skida
attire for an afternoon jog- if you don’t have at least
three flower patterns
on, you’re doing it wrong.
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You can take the girls out of
Craftsbury… #muckbootsinthecity?
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Alright, back to the races! In three days we raced a freestyle sprint, a 10k classic mass start, and a 10 freestyle
pursuit, with the start order determined by the total time back from the two
previous days. The freestyle sprint was a bit of a struggle for me as I
remembered how to wake up and race hard. However, I felt really good the next
day and was happy to finish 45th in the 10k classic, which is
probably my best result in a full (ish) World Cup field. Starting in bib 50 for
the pursuit, I battled it out with a group of Americans, Canadians, and some of
the World Cup sprinters who started ahead of me, and finished the overall tour
in 53rd. My overall feelings from the races were happiness mixed
with extreme fatigue, but it’s funny how sometimes you can still find an extra
gear, or get into a rhythm even when your body is riding the edge of tiredness.
I think the best part of the
whole weekend was competing as part of a huge US group (27 skiers, well 27 who qualified, 25 raced) on North American soil,
with so many North American fans! It’s not often that the World Cup comes to
the US and people cheer for you by name all around the course, even during your
warm-up. I also loved catching up with friends from the circuit and skiing
together with Nation’s group skiers from other clubs in the races.
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Freestyle sprint qualifier. You can't see the Parliament building, but you can definitely tell that the venue is right in the city! (Photo Gretchen Powers)
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Mayhem in the 10k mass start
classic. Right about when this photo was taken, there was a massive pile-up in
the back of the pack, and I found my ski tips smashing into the boots of the
skier in front of me! Luckily I stayed on my feet, and was able to move up, but
I never really even saw the front group break away (Photo Gretchen Powers)
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Working together with Annika
Taylor, who skis for Great Britain. We were college teammates at UNH and it’s
so awesome to race with her now on the World Cup (Photo Deb Miller)
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Two exciting things about
this photo- 1. We were all really happy to have survived a fast and furious 10k
classic. 2. Photo-bombed by Marit Bjorgen!! (Photo Gretchen Powers)
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Leading a train in the 10k
pursuit (Photo Gretchen Powers)
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Most of the US women after the tour. Happy to have finished 3 hard days of racing!
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With no rest for the weary, I’m now in Fairbanks,
Alaska, for SuperTour finals, which start up next week. After that, and a quick
trip to NANA nordic, I’m really truly done with the season, and I can’t wait!
