The Eastern Cup series went by fast and furious this season. The 4th weekend was moved to Craftsbury after rain and warm temps continued to thwart any sense of winter this season. Another amazing job was done by everyone at the Outdoor Center. I always say that “Craftsbury is the future of the sport” but more and more it seems like Craftsbury is both the future AND the present. So many thanks go to them!
The weekend started off with a high note, as Greg WON the very first race of the day. It was a close-fought battle with Ben Ogden from SMS but in the end Greg prevailed by just under 2 seconds. This is a shot from the classic race the next day where Greg placed third. Great form and momentum ripping up the final hill toward the finish.
Yes…this is a photo from the classic race, not the skate victory. It’s just too great a shot not to post! (by Gary Solow)
The rest of the U16 boys continued their strong racing. In Lake Placid we set a goal of having 3 in the top 10 and narrowly missed it with a 2nd, 9th and 11th. This time the crew succeeded with Greg 1st, Kai in 9th and Tim in 10th. Baxter was not far behind in 15th.
Kai getting after it in the skate race
Baxter ripping around the corner with confidence
Tim loves hills but even on this flat course he showed his strong fitness in 10th
The final U16 rankings show 4 male Pugs in the top 15. SMS is the only other group with that depth in this category. In the women’s U16 field, MNC has a big crew of racers ready to make the leap into those standings next season! The Devo group of Ali, Magda, Sammie and Camille each raced their first Eastern Cups this weekend to get their feet wet (or cold, I guess) in the scene. They had a blast and you’ll see mor e of them next season. Ali, Sammie and Magda will be U16 racers next year, while Camille is still a 7th grader…whoa!
Sammie takes on the Eastern Cup field for the first time!
Having a group to ski with (and support) you definitely makes it more fun! When the girls weren’t racing they were cheering on each other loudly!
The longer races were combined again with a collegiate and Supertour field. Lots of confusing results, deep fields and fast racers all over. When all the dust settled the results were again strong for MNC. Eliza got back into racing after sickness left her out in Lake Placid, while Charlie and Peter continued to show good form and better technique than ever.
Charlie found some fast skiers to rip with
Eliza was blazing on some fast new boards: thanks Leigh Mallory!
Ben hung tough and was rocking the glide on the V2-alternate sections…it’s well-known that Ben doesn’t like to V2 but it has been looking good when he does it!
Peter Unger, wondering just how many times he’s climbed the steep “Chip Hill” at Craftsbury this season
Sunday brought about a classic race in some classic East Coast conditions…granular corn and icy tracks, with new snow falling. We broke out the klister and hardwax covers and got everyone happy with the kick on the first try! Greg was on the podium again, while MNC summer training bud Conor Munns took his first Eastern Cup win! Conor and Greg have been training and racing together for a long time so having them each win a race this weekend was pretty special. Way to go boys!
Greg, Sam Hodges and Conor all racing together. These 3 are all headed to JNs! Greg and Conor are even with the same NENSA point average…138.23 vs 138.69
After watching the other Devo kids racing the day prior, Aidan got in on the action Sunday
The open races were huge…4 laps, 15-second intervals and fields of 200+ had things looking more like a mass start. A day before I predicted that the top 10 men would all be double poling without kick…Garrott Kuzzy seemed to doubt me but it came true! There was a lot of skate skis out on course…you can bet we will keep upping the ante with out DP workouts.
Will had another strong classic day to close out his Eastern Cup campaign, while Charlie skied smoother than ever. Marika again notched a top classic event as well.
Here is Will chasing Walker from GMVS. Another strong classic race for Will!
We had a big support crew this weekend…Rick helped out at the wax bench, Sara was a great ski tester, Kate took lots of video (and made sure I remembered to eat food), and parents provided a wealth of goodies…alongside fuel from our new sponsor Bobo’s Oat Bars! We even had a big morale boost by the appearance of our team mascot Tyke on Sunday! Here are some other non-racing photos:
Loving the support from our newest sponsor, Bobo’s Oat Bars! Healthy, tasty and perfect for athletes!
Tyke ponders the various wax choices…
Magda gets the last-minute pep-talk from Coach!
Rick helping to make fast skis!
Camille makes a mean snowball!
