Bozeman Recap

This past week the MOD squad competed in three separate races here in Bozeman, MT, enduring record-high temperatures (up to 50 F) and minimal snow coverage. These races comprised 75% of the qualifying criteria for the Canadian World Cup team, which will compete over the next two weekends in Quebec and Canmore. All three of us (Sam, Brian, and Caitlin) had our sights set on these World Cups, and our training put us in good position to qualify. The quotas for these World Cups varied slightly by gender and event, but we all knew that we had to basically be in the top-6 in points totals, in either distance or sprint events, to make the cut.

Sam (on right) making a lunge for the line. Time to start stretching...
Our first event was Thursday's skate sprint, which had been postponed from last weekend in West Yellowstone due to conditions. Despite a near-fall in the icy-glazed conditions, Sam managed to qualify 16th, with Brian right behind in 17th in fine form. Caitlin qualified 4th for the women, only five seconds off the lead. Heading into the quarterfinals, Sam got a great start and in typical fashion, was the first out of the double-pole zone. He quickly slotted in behind the leader and focused on relaxing his way around the course. Halfway through the third place skier drew even with Sam and they formed a line coming off the biggest climb, as Sam fought to find an avenue around the now-second place skier. Following the main descent were a series of twisting corners and a gradual meadow downhill before a turn and a straight shot to a short climb into the stadium. Coming around the last corner, Sam accelerated and came nearly even with the two in front of him, and they all three proceeded to drag-race to the line. It was only by a whisker that Sam missed the lunge finish, but unfortunately given his bib number he was unable to move on as lucky loser, and his day was done.

Brian had a similar experience in his quarterfinal, and was third as well, unable to proceed. Caitlin held up the MOD honor and advanced all the way to the "A" final, where she held her own against the other women to finish 3rd on the day, a great race in the bank for World Cup qualifications.

On Saturday the three again toed the line, this time in the classic sprint competition. Due to rapidly decreasing snowpack the sprint was moved into the upper meadow at Bohart Ranch, and the moderate course allowed for an all-double pole technique for the men, meaning that they all donned skate equipment for quicker glide and relied solely on their double-pole power to get them around the 1.4km course. In qualifying, Sam intentionally held back in effort in order to save his arms and legs for what would hopefully be a long day through the rounds. As such he finished 20th in the time trial; not a great finish in its own right but sufficient to move through. Caitlin again skied strong from the start, and qualified 7th. Brian wasn't able to find the speed and power for the day, and didn't qualify for the rounds.

In his quarterfinal, Sam found himself facing off against a few of the same athletes as his quarterfinal on Thursday, and was determined to redeem himself. He again had a great start out of the gates and was tight with first position at the top of the course's only main climb. He sat perfectly in second place through most of the course, avoided a near-tangle at the bottom 180 degree turn. Then he and his Northwest teammate Dakota Blackhorse-Von Jess proceeded to turn on their formidable double pole power and burn away from the pack, finishing first and second in the heat to easily advance to the semis. In Caitlin's quarterfinal she struggled with the rapid striding happening in the women's heats, and didn't make the cut to the semifinals.

In semifinal A for the men, Sam again lined up with the intention of sitting in the pack until the final climb. Unfortunately, his strong starting speed provided a sabotage. Rather unplanned, Sam found himself in first position at the top of the big climb, and was forced to lead the pack through much of the course. The danger in leading a sprint is in not knowing if or when the pack will try to come around you. When it does happen, it's difficult to manage the surge without finding yourself moving instantaneously from first to last. And that's what happened to Sam; the pack surged coming out of a short, steep dip in the course and he got tangled with the sixth position skier, whose pole snapped, leaving Sam in fifth place behind a wall of skiers ahead. He attempted a pass out of the 180 degree turn before the climb to the stadium but was shut down and had nowhere to go. He wasn't able to find a gap to break through and finished fifth in the heat, and 9th overall for the day.

For the sprint qualifications, Caitlin acquired sufficient points from Thursday's sprint to gain one of the coveted spots in the Quebec City sprints - yes!. Sam unfortunately just missed the cut by a handful of points, and ended in a 10th place ranking, only four spots away from the trip.

The race course. No joke.
Today's (Sunday) race was a real ugly battle. The snow at Bohart was on its last legs; the air temperature in town was 50 F at 7:30am, and it was a classic race. Read: pain and suffering for wax techs and racers alike. In the women's race, Caitlin held strong despite slowing skis and marginal kick to finish 9th overall but several minutes off the lead pack, in a completely exploded field of races. For the men, Sam made a fatal mistake (a gamble) in choosing to race on zeroes: a synthetic base classic ski with tiny hairs for a kick zone, to be used in high-moisture conditions. In testing the skis seemed to perform on par with klister (the kick of choice for 98% of the field), with slightly-better glide. Unfortunately, given the beaten condition of the snow on course and the scrambling nature of the climbs, Sam was barely 1km into the mass start carnage before realizing he had both NO kick and mediocre glide. He made the tough call after one lap to drop out, preferring to not bury himself for a sub-par finish. Never an easy choice.

Brian fared little better; while he did manage to find skis that allowed some kick, his glide was also lacking and, after a lost pole tip in the first 50m of the race, he struggled to stay in touch with the lead pack through the 15km, and finished in an exhausted 34th.

All in all, it was a tough week for the MOD squad, with some successes and some hard-fought lessons. The challenging conditions and makeshift courses certainly put strain on all the athletes and coaches here at the Super Tour, but that is the nature of the sport, and it becomes even more so as the years progress. From here the team splits; Caitlin is heading to Quebec this week for some World Cup city sprint action; Scott, Brian and Sam are driving back to the Methow tomorrow then on to Silver Star next weekend for two NorAm distance races. Then the whole crew rejoins in the Methow for some solid weeks of training through Christmas before embarking to Utah for National Championships. See you all soon!