It’s been really nice being here in Norway – after the Drammen sprint races we moved into the Rica Park hotel which is right next to the venue. It’s so convenient to be able to just walk to training whenever you want!
Kikkan and I took a couple pictures with Bjorn Daehlie clothing for next year, and we’re pretty pumped on the bright colors and jackets! It’s a little random in this post but I thought I’d give you a heads-up on how bright these jackets are going to be next year.
Photo credit Magnus Osth
Photo credit Magnus Osth
For me, the Drammen sprint race was a mix of both a super fun experience and a little confusion as to why I was moving so slowly out there! I felt like I did better than I usually do in classic sprints in terms of keeping my technique together and trying to use big, powerful strides, but I ended up far, far back in the field. I think I might be carrying some fatigue with me from Worlds, and hopefully I’ll be able to shake it for the final races of the season!
Newell's mug shot at the start
Sadie, Kikkan, Torin Koos and Andy qualified for the US, and Kikkan was the only one to make it out of the quarters (and all the way into the final!), although Andy was skiing really strong and it looked like he’d move on. That is, until a Swedish skier poled sideways, swiping Andy’s skis out from under him and causing a crash that looked really painful. That is the part of sprint racing I really DON’T like – you can be really fit and fast and still have crazy things happen to you! Total bummer.
Sadie (far right in the picture) in her quarterfinal with Dasha (Canada)
We’ve had fun meeting a couple different groups of Norwegian Junior skiers, since they’re here for a big relay race they had in the Holmenkollen stadium on Friday. We skied with them the day before their race, and did some race prep too!
photo from Matt
We got to enjoy the beautiful views and sunshine the last few days but today it’s been snowing hard, just in time for the men’s 50km! Argh! We’re parked in front of the TV right now cheering for the men’s race, and tomorrow is the women’s 30km skate. Things are pretty interesting right now as ski changes are allowed in the race; there are pits set up in the stadium and the men have the option of changing every lap. However, to change skis you have to ski a little longer and it’s been taking the guys 23-28 extra seconds, which means that if you change skis you’ll lose the pack you were with. Crazy!
