Vermont Cup #1: Craftsbury, VT
Discerning ski fans do some regular reading of langrenn.com, essentially the Norwegian version of fasterskier.com. Of course, Google translate helps with this process. A few weeks ago an article about a race in a Norwegian snowstorm referred to the whiteout, via translation, as “Jotunheim’s wind balls” and ever since it has been a term that Mike Millar and I use whenever possible. Yes, we are both over 30 years old…
We haven’t actually seen much of this weather this year, except for when it decided to show up right at the start of the men’s classic race this weekend, part 1 of the “Vermont Cup” race series, effectively the Eastern Cup of the COVID season. After a calm start to the day, with only light snow impeding our 4:30AM drive to Craftsbury, Mike and I set up the wax cabin and got to work preparing skis when, soon after, the rest of our awesome coaching contingent arrived.
All was calm…skies and trails alike. Then the snow started. Jotunheim’s wind balls were dumping down at a furious rate, and at 32 degrees it meant think sloppy snow all over the place. Chaos! No klister worked. No hardwax worked. Not even our secret “Blellow” homemade kickwax mixture worked. It was time to make what are called “hairies” and give them a try, along with zeros. We did not use fluoro treatment, but found that the Toko Base Performance spray used over the kick zone had the same effect of reducing moisture/icing and keeping the glide good.
The first group out was the U18 and U16 boys, who raced on these hairies and zeros and had good reports. But then,
Rosie striding up the hill with Lydia in pursuit!
the snow turned to rain and it was back to the klister! The girls almost universally raced on klister, with a few on zeros.
It was a good day to see how our whole group handled this crazy situation…not only was it one of the first big races, it also required a lot of solo efforts because groups could not gather, coaches could not be grouped up with skiers out on the course or helping things along…skiers needed to be very self-sufficient and responsible and I think everyone did a great job! From first-time Eastern Cup racers to seasoned vets, this was a class act of a crew.
We had 29 racers, possibly our largest-ever contingent to an Eastern Cup. In that group we had one skier doing his first-ever Nordic race, and another who is heading to Junior World Championships next month. How cool is it to think that MNC is able to play a role in that whole spectrum?
Taking the WIN in the U16 women’s race was Virginia Cobb, who has been poised for a breakout race like this since the end of last season. I’ve been a part of this club now to have known Virginia since she was basically in a car seat, and seeing her really tap into her diligent training side (in the off-season) and her competitive side (in race season) has been awesome to watch. The U16 girls in general were on a tear, with Julia Thurston following-up in 3rd, Esther Cuneo in 4th, and Rosie Brown in 6th.
The open women featured competition from 5 pro skiers as well as the Junior contingent. Ava managed to sneak ahead of one of those pros, and finish 4th overall behind Alayna Sonnesyn (SMS T2, who then boarded a plane to the Lahti World Cup this weekend), U23 World Champs competitor Alex Lawson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project/Middlebury), and recent UVM grad and current Craftsbury Green Racing Project athlete Margie Freed. All down the results sheet, however, were strong MNC performances including many of these U18 ladies racing in their first 10km distance.
Our men’s team was bolstered by on-break college skiers like Silas Brown (Bowdoin) and Charles Martell (St Mikes) and Geo DuBrosse who looked like a seasoned racer in not only his first 10km but his first Nordic race ever! The U16 squad began what looks like a long-term battle with a contingent of strong SMS U16 boys…this young MNC squad is going places! Brady, Taylor, Anders, Niko, Rye, Carl, Jack…remember those names!
Thanks to all the athletes who competed in this race and showed some great maturity and a continued diligence in COVID awareness and care. Thanks to the parents who helped facilitate a smooth event. And thanks to the coaches who helped make great skis, provide great athlete support, and awesome attitudes.
Next week, we are cautiously approaching the follow-up to VT Cup #1 with VT Cup #2 in Bennington. Stay tuned!
