Quebec City World Cup Finals!

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.

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).

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.

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.

You can take the girls out of Craftsbury… #muckbootsinthecity?

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 45^th 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 53^rd. 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.

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)

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)

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)

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)

Leading a train in the 10k pursuit (Photo Gretchen Powers)

Most of the US women after the tour. Happy to have finished 3 hard days of racing!

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!