After a 1-year COVID hiatus, the Climb to the Castle rollerski race returned! A group of MNC Junior and Masters raced 5 miles straight up the mountain road on Sunday amid a foggy backdrop with views of the actual height only occasionally popping through the dense cover.
This race is quite unique…I like to think it is one of the most beneficial rollerski races in a different way than most. It’s the least like a race we do in the winter, with no downhills and almost no technical terrain.
However, it can be quite tactical on a skier-to-skier level. Drafting can be huge on a windy day (which was not the conditions this year, thankfully) but even just matching a competitor stride-for-stride can be really key and a good learning experience.
The day prior to this race, Coach Sara and I were attending some US Ski and Snowboard conference events. In one presentation, US Ski Team coach Bryan Fish remarked on the +/- 5% concept…that being able to ski with someone means you’re likely in the range of either 5% faster or 5% slower than them. Any greater difference than that and you’ll likely pull away, or get dropped, as the case may be. With 77 competitors and relatively big waves of 15 people (our first “mass start” ski race since spring 2020!) there was ample passing, dropping, and skiing in packs or pairs.
That means lots of learning opportunities, tactical analysis, and even some serious technical analysis as skiers found what components of their strength, body position, or aerobic capacity broke down at certain points. And believe me, at 5 miles uphill it breaks down even for the winners, World Cup and Olympic regulars like Caitlin Patterson and Jake Brown.
But beyond the racing, it was yet again another reminder of how fun team trips, big races, and exciting adventures can be. With the help of spraypainted shiny helmets, the MNC crew couldn’t NOT bring home the gold.
(including both Juniors and Masters podiums for MNC! Or MSN, if you are Virginia Cobb)
