My First World Cup!

This past weekend I raced in my first World Cup in Whistler B.C.! Despite a smaller than usual field of racers, the competition was strong and fierce! I raced in the classic sprint on Friday with hopes of qualifying for the rounds with a top-30. Unfortunately, I did not ski anywhere fast enough and saw my name at the bottom of the prelim results.

Start of classic sprint quarterfinals.

In my mind, I used the classic sprint as a warm-up for the 15k duathlon race on Saturday. A duathlon race is where you ski the first half of the race with classic gear and then you switch to skate gear for the last half of the race. The night before the race I talked to my coach about the duathlon race and he simply told me to ski my own race. He told me not to let my adrenaline push me for the first couple kilometers of the race, but to ski where I felt comfortable. I have to admit I had a lot of adrenaline pumping when I was at the starting line and had to force myself to hold back! I went out with the pack and stuck with the top American skiers throughout the classic portion of the race. At the exchange zone I was the 2nd American, 3 seconds out! I went into the skate leg still feeling pretty good but realizing that I was only half way through the race. The course was lined with spectators and the cheering was loud! It was exciting to hear people cheer my name all over the course. Someone informed me that I was in 30th place...the last place to score world cup points! I knew I had to finish strong in order to hold my position. With less than one kilometer to go, I powered as hard as I could to the finish…just 2 seconds ahead of 31sts! Yay, I scored my first world cup points! I was happy with my result.

View of men's sprint relay through the stadium.

With the sun blazing and temperatures in the 40's, I watched the sprint relay on Sunday. The women's final was very exciting. Sprint partners Kikkan Randall and Liz Stephens, skied to an amazing 4th place finish! The best sprint relay finish by American women! It was very fun to watch!

Crystal clear veiw of Black Tusk.

I am back in Sun Valley for a few days before heading to the Midwest for a few SuperTour races next week. In the meantime, I will get in some good training in the sun!

All for now!