Right now I’m in Vermont, soaking up as much sun as I possibly can (and yeah, getting burned too) and getting ready for the upcoming slush-fest known as spring series. I can hardly believe that it’s gotten up to 80 degrees here and somehow the Craftsbury Outdoor Center has saved enough snow for the Supertour Finals to go off…but it’s happening! Tomorrow we start with a skate prologue, then a mass start classic 10km on Sunday, and tuesday we have classic sprints and wednesday’s the hill climb. Then next weekend we’re supposed to race the 30/50km skate but we’ll have to see how long the snow can last. The Kaedings have been amazing hosts and I’m staying at their house, along with the rest of the CXC crew. I’ve been skiing in shorts and a tank top, which is always awesome until you fall. Ice-snow-slush really burns! Though I’m excited to be in Vermont and see all my friends again, for me the season ended (mentally at least) in Falun, and I’m just racing on adrenaline now. It’s too late to change anything, I just need to race it out with whatever I’ve got left!
photo from Salomon
The last World Cup race in Falun was such a fun experience, and a great way to end the season. I was really happy to have my last World Cup race be a good one, where I felt like I got in the zone and pushed as hard as I could but also enjoyed the excitement of the pursuit race format. I started in 17th place and right before the start I talked with Finnish skier Riitta-Liisa Roponen, and we knew once she caught me we’d work together to reel in a pack of girls starting ahead of us. It was great because Roponen was much more experienced and stormed past me with a ridiculous pace that I wasn’t sure I could hold for 10km. But I hung on and we’d trade leads, and after the first lap we caught 3 more girls and skied in a pack of 5. The last time up the Mordarbacken, I tried to break away but it didn’t work, and I ended up leading the gradual down into the stadium, which was a very bad idea. Because when it came down to a sprint, I got passed right and left with no energy left in me! But I don’t regret it; it was fun to try and the race was really exciting.
Some of the NAWTA (North American Women's Training Alliance) training group! photo from Margo Christiansen
So keep your fingers crossed for the snow to stay in Craftsbury – we race tomorrow!
