It was another busy weekend on the Eastern Cup, with the season’s second sprint race on Saturday and the season’s longest distance races on Sunday! I’m not sure there is any event on a schedule so hectic and busy as an Eastern Cup classic sprint. When you not only have the top 30 “Open” heats but an entire bracket of U18/U20 heats and also an entire bracket of U16 heats, it makes for very stressed coaches and very worn-down fingers from lots of klister/hardwax covers.
Saturday began with a beautiful layer of fresh snow atop some chunky ice. Testing wax early on was a nice feeling: “we haven’t had classic skiing this nice since Mont Sainte Anne!” I believe I said at one point. Boy, was I asking for trouble with that one.
You can tell this is early morning because the klister is not quite flowing yet (Dave Priganc photo)
Our hardwax combo was receiving good reviews from all the testers, but as the first starters hit the course hard the tracks quickly broke down to the ice underneath. We were on a pretty warm wax already to deal with that by providing a cushion, but it was covered with a fast blue wax on top and all of the women (and some of the early-seeded men) were on some real slippery boards. This seemed like the theme for most teams. The few racers that were somewhat lucky were later male starters, as the feedback tricked in and we were able to do a bit of panic-waxing with some new ideas.
There was still striding to be had! (Gary Solow photo)
Everyone handled it really well though, and I was really impressed with the way the team didn’t let this misshap get them down. For sure, I am still kicking myself for it because we had several folks (Ali, Will, Brandon, Isaac) just outside the open heats and I’ll always be dwelling on “what if…” but the past is the past. There wasn’t time to hesitate too much, as a few older athletes we were waxing for did make the open heats with Ian from Bowdoin qualifying in 21st and Carly Wynn qualifying 3rd. We were also scheduled for a lot of action as 7 Pugs were into the Junior rounds for the afternoon. Of course everyone took good care of themselves before the races with a creative cooldown:
I think this is the new World Cup wamup method? (Dave Priganc photo)
After the quirky morning snow and waxing, many folks just threw in the towel. But I pride myself on being able to create skis that kick well and I was determined to make up for the slick boards of the morning. The Pugs were just as eager to throw down and get some redemption in the Junior heats, and boy did it happen!
Timmy got 4th in his heat, but then rebounded to storm to a decisive victory in the U16 B-final. Timmy has made a lot of improvement in his classic technique and the sets of uphill striding intervals have been paying off!
Sammie found herself in a similar spot, just missing out on the A-final but rebounding to ski right away from the rest of the pack to win the U16 B-final convincingly.
Both Magda and Ali confidently skied into the U16 A-final, where they blew the doors off the competition. Ali emerged from the woods with a 10-15 second lead, and Magda popped out next with a big gap over third. The two ladies cruised to a dominant performance!
In the U18 men’s A-final, it was another banner moment for the Pugs as Isaac, Brandon, and Will stormed the heat to take a 1-2-3 podium sweep. Isaac opted for skate skis while Will and Brandon strode. Way to go boys!
This biathlete can still rock it on some classic skis! Great forward body position and balance here!
Ali and Magda taking no prisoners in the A-final! The photo above was early on in the heat, while the video below shows the gaps the Pugs were able to put on the field!
Another big moment: U18 men’s final SWEEP! L-R Dingo, Isaac, Will
With spirits high after an eventful afternoon, everyone was excited to tackle a fast and fun course the next day. The 3k race loop skied a lot like the Range, with twists and turns all over and quick, punchy hills. The transformed snow stayed hardpacked for the U16 races but quickly turned into East Coast ice/sugar for the open races. No issues for this crew who fearlessly shoot down curvy rollerski loops all summer and fall.
Things kicked off with Timmy taking a solid 4th place in the U16 race, Aidan grabbing another top 10 in 9th place, and Gavin tackling his first Eastern Cup! Although he had a solid classic sprint, Timmy was quick to point out how his time was closer to the winner in the 6k skate race than the 1.6k sprint race the day previous. There’s quite a strong and close group of U16 boys headed to JNs this year!
Welcome to the Eastern Cup Gavin!
Aidan skiing smooth as always. Jake Hollenbach concurred the other day when I described his technique as “Alex Harvey-esque”: nice relaxed push-off with each stride even at high speed
In the U16 women’s race all 4 ladies were in the top-15, led by Ali in 6th place. This was a definite heart-breaker as Ali was in position to possibly win the entire race before a fall in the last kilometer killed her speed on a downhill and “took her head out of it” as Ali put it. The battle for JN qualification is going to come down to the last weekend but something tells me that Ali is ready for the challenge.
Sammie notched another top-10 result while Camille and Magda finished just a few seconds behind. This group of ladies has been turning heads all season and it’s great to see them able to mix it up in nearly every discipline and event!
Serious squad time, out to cheer!
The open races were busy affairs with the women racing 3 laps and the men racing 5. Eliza and Coach Sara were the first to tackle the longer event with solid efforts in the 9k event. Lots of skiers on course means pack racing and chances for real breakthroughs. One of the members of “MNC South” (hailing from Brattleboro), Isaac Frietas-Eagan upped his Junior sprint heat victory from Saturday by latching right onto Walker Bean (GMVS) and James Kitch (CSU) before putting the hammer down on the last lap to score an incredible 14th place!
In similar fashion, Will latched himself onto Nick Wilkerson (GMVS) en route to a 23rd place finish and his second-best Eastern Cup ever!
Riding the berm, with great control and focus!
There were MNC suits dotting the trails all race, as the Pugs put forth great races all over. Charlie skied really consistently and didn’t let a busted pole phase him en route to a strong result, and Alex found himself powerfully hammering to a great finish. Baxter returned to the Eastern Cup scene strong with only his second race ever over 10k and he skied with tons of energy and pop the whole time.
After having an unfortunate run-in with a tree in the sprint qualifier, Charlie rebounded in the skate race. This looks like it could be a photo from the Stowe Derby with those berms!
Ben and another member of “MNC South”, Dave J from Brattleboro. Great weight shift from Ben. great power application from Dave!
Eli “Don’t Call It A Comeback” Grossman gets smoother and more confident with every race. Great skate effort!
More shoutouts are in order for other racers and friends out there this weekend. Sammy Leo made it a double-skate weekend after a race at the Range on Saturday, while Phil came out for the classic day. Cameron continues to set himself up well in each U16 race. Ian from Bowdoin rocked it on Sunday and Carly, who finished 3rd on Saturday, won the whole darn thing on Sunday! Honorary Pug Adam Glueck notched a top 10 in the skate race, while familiar alums like Greg, Conor, and Olivia were all super speedy. Many thanks to Rosemary and Max Cobb for helping with all sorts of duties, from waxing to splits to making sure I consumed food. Sara put in tons of work testing skis in addition to racing herself, and all of our parents kept everyone filled with hearty, healthy food!
Lots of photos up already, with more to come, from Dave and Gary. The photos above are all from them, and you can find more below.
Flickr Rikert Album (more to come)
