World Cups

The season has started races have been raced and results have been posted. The first weekend of December saw many of Canada’s top skiers arrive in Canmore for the seasons first set of NorAm races. These races were of a special importance given that they were being used as qualifying races for domestic spots at the Canadian world cups. It is fairly unusual for the first races of the year to be so important so the nerves were extra high going into these first big tests of the season.

Racing got underway with a skate sprint on December 1^st. I had a subpar qualifier, but still made it into the heats (my qualifiers in skate sprints seem to still need some work).  My quarterfinal however went much better. I skied a good tactical race and crossed the line second managing to beat one of the Swiss National Sprint team skiers who were using the race as a tune up for the Quebec world cups. Despite my best efforts I was unable to repeat this in my semifinal and ended up in the B-final where I used what energy I had left to finish 3^rd putting me in ninth on the day and as fifth Canadian. This was good enough to guarantee me starts in all the sprint races in the Canadian world cups. However with the next days 15km individual classic race there was no time to let the prospect of starting my first world cup sink in.

Sprint days are perhaps the most tiring races there are in skiing after Saturdays race my body felt like a wreck. My legs and lungs were sore I had a headache. Four times sprinting around Canmore’s relatively short but difficult sprint course had really taken a lot out of me.  As a result the next morning it was difficult to get my head in the right place before going out and racing four times around Canmore’s notoriously difficult 3.75km course (which is actually just over 4km long). After testing skis and attempting to gain some focus by doing more intensity than normal during my warm up I was off.

I started steady focusing on skiing well and being efficient. I was surprised how good I felt and lap after lap I tried to lift my pace. On the last lap I got a split telling me I was in 10^th place and skiing to a possible distance world cup start. Over the final few kilometers I gave it everything I had. I finished in 10^th securing the last domestic spot for the distance races at the Canadian world cups!

Skiing into the top ten for the second day in a row in Canmore.
Photo courtesy of Stoneham Ski Apparel  http://stonehamski.ca/

With this result however came a difficult decision. With the prospect of doing all three world Cup races in Canmore something had to give. Although it would have been tremendous to race my first world cup on the streets of downtown Quebec I had to be honest with myself. If I was going to race all three races in Canmore I was going to need to come into those races as well prepared and rested as possible. Flying across the country for a four day period where I would have to train on foot and deal with time change did not fit into my plans. So as the entire ski community turned its attention on Quebec City I was off to Silver Star BC to train and race in perfect conditions at the second set of NorAm’s.

After qualifying for the Canadian World Cups I quickly came to the realization that racing them is a rather intimidating prospect. Going into the 15km classic mass start at Sovereign Lakes I had no lack of motivation since I wanted to prove (mostly to myself) that I deserved my starts in the distance world cups.

The pack after two laps during the 15km classic in Sovereign Lakes (I'm Number 20)
Photo Credit: Angus Cockney

After a bad start that saw me get tangled up a couple of times I was well back heading up the first climb. I worked hard to get myself through the field. By half way through the first lap I was at the front of the pack. I stayed there and was surprised that as the pack got whittled down I was able to stay with the front. At the start of the third lap, Jens Eriksson, one of the Swedish skiers using the NorAm as a tune up race for the World Cups, made his move. I tried to respond but soon I was all out and losing more time to him. Eventually four of us formed a chase group and it came down to a sprint finish for second where I was able to beat my teammates to the line. I was super happy. One of my goals for this season had been to podium on the NorAm circuit, but I have to admit I did not see it happening in Silver Star, or in a distance race at all for that matter. 

Sprinting to my first NorAm podium in Sovereign Lakes
Photo courtesy of Cross Country Canada

So with that done, it was on to the world cups. With my Second place in Sovereign Lakes My confidence was high and I couldn’t wait to race my first World Cups

The day of the first world cup in Canmore I woke up to blue sky’s and perfect skiing conditions. I felt good and much less nervous than I thought I was going to be. The race started off well climbing the wall (Canmore’s biggest and most intimidating hill) for the first time the pack was tightly bunched and the pace seemed reasonable. That’s the thing about racing in Canmore the courses are so hard that you don’t need to go fast for you to be working hard you just sort of ski at a certain speed and the courses are so hilly and so steep that before you know it you are working right at your max. This is what happened to me. Before I knew it I was getting distanced by skiers. I felt like I had no energy and couldn’t hold my technique together or kick my skis properly. I went through the race attempting to stay focused and stay with any skier who was passing me. I crossed the line exhausted in 58^th position. I didn't have any expectations heading into the race , yet I was disappointed nonetheless. After my race in Silver Star my first World Cup was something of a reality check

On to Saturday’s skate sprint. Skate sprint qualifiers have been something of a weak point for me the past couple of years. I can never seem to find that perfect balance between being powerful and fast. My first world cup was no different though I was skiing well on the gradual climbing parts of the course I was in full “egg beater mode” (lots of movement not a whole lot of speed) on the steeper climbs. I ended up 58^th again. I took some consolation in the fact that it was a better qualifier than the NorAm cup two weeks earlier.Though my day of racing was done after less than three minutes this wasn't the case for two of my teammates. I have to say it was pretty inspiring to see Phil Widmer and Jesse Cockney Both ski into the top 15. I train with these guys every day and it was pretty exciting to see their hard work pay off.

Jesse Cockney showing everyone how its done. He turned heads in the skiing world with his  9th place  during the Canmore World Cups

World Cup Sprint 
Photo courtesy of Stoneham Ski Apparel

With the sprint done I immediately turned my focus to preparing for the next days 30km pursuit. Unfortunately however it was not to be. I woke up with a headache and sore throat. I did my normal pre race routine hoping I would feel better but when I got to the race site and talked with my coach’s we decided that with U23 trials so close It wouldn't be a good idea to dig myself into too deep of a hole. Though I did not race I was again inspired to see another great performance from one of my teammates Graham Nishikawa who finished 15^th in the pursuit. He has been knocking on the door for a great World Cup result for a few seasons and it was great to see him do so well at the highest level.

The pursuit in Canmore concluded the pre-Christmas races for this season. I have to say overall I have to be happy with how things went. I qualified for and raced my first World Cups and got my first NorAm podium. Even though I didn't get any great results from my first set of World Cup races it was still a great experience. I was great to see Canada put on such an awesome show for the world. I have to thank all the volunteers in Canmore and Quebec for making it possible. 

A Beautiful Sport

When you are training every day it is perhaps normal to fall into a bit of a routine. Perhaps too often getting out of the door to go training can become something of a chore. Skiing at its core and in its most simple form is done in the wilderness far away from everyday nuisances. The ideal image of cross-country skiers is that of a small group of people deep in the woods in some beautiful part of the world.

Of course when you are racing this ideal image rarely corresponds to the actual day to day training. For nearly a month I have been skiing most days on a loop of manmade snow less than 2km long. It took about 6 minutes on the first day of skiing to completely explore the boundaries and outer reaches of this loop. Since then I have been around it hundreds of times in both classic and skate, both counter clockwise and clockwise (although mostly the latter).  Not only have I done hundreds of loops I have often done these loops in the company of hundreds of people (ok I might be exaggerating here), but the loop does get quite crowded. This year skiers have travelled to Canmore from all over to enjoy this early season snow.

At its peak there were at least four local clubs and half a dozen teams from across North America training on this one loop. Skiing on frozen Thunder often resembles more closely a morning rush hour commute than the idyllic image of a cross-country skiing. With everyone going at different speeds you are constantly moving out of the way of skiers doing intervals, sprints or time trials or working your way around people if you are doing intensity yourself. The truth is if this was the everyday image of skiing that I had grown up with I’m not sure I would have fallen in love with the sport. Still the competitive side of skiing has kept me motivated and if I’m honest more than happy skiing on this short loop for nearly a month. The everyday competitive drive is more than enough to keep me walking up to the Nordic Centre with my boots in my backpack and my skis and poles in my hands every morning. Since many of the people reading this are still in rollerski season I am certainly in no position to complain.

The last week has brought the first blast of sustained winter to Canmore (we had a week long taster in October). This has brought enough snowfall to Lake Louise for us to enjoy our first all-natural skiing experience of the winter. On Sunday I woke up to blue skies and minus fifteen degree weather. Our team made our way to Lake Louise for the second time this year. About an hour in to my three hour ski I noticed something. This was the first time I had checked my watch since we had started skiing. Not only was this the first time I had checked my watch a part of me was disappointed that I only had two more hours left of skiing. This was the last day of a twenty plus hour week and by all means I should have been tired, and wanting to get the ski over with. I was tired, but I didn’t necessarily want to be done skiing. It was a beautiful day the sun had warmed the temperature to a pleasant minus ten. The snow was cold enough to get more than enough grip with a couple of layers of blue wax and the unglazed track meant that you didn’t have to re-wax once during a three hour ski. The conditions were perfect. This was a better reminder than any of just how beautiful of a sport skiing is and although the desire to perform is more than enough to motivate every day it’s the days like this that made me enjoy skiing in the first place.     

The Winsport frozen thunder classic sprint brought an even more competitive field this year with many  on the top Americans as well as Canadians in attendance. Although I fell in my semi-final I still had a great day finishing in 7th (as the second Canadian)
I'm number 13 on the right
Photo:© Craig Douce
Another pic of the frozen thunder sprint
Photo:© Craig Douce

With a month to go until the world cup visits Canmore and less than three weeks to go before trials to decide who gets the precious Canadian spots the excitement is starting to build around Canmore.
I, like many will be hoping to be able to race at these home world cups.

That's all for now

Patrick

  

Long Summer Days

Summer has come to what seems to have been a very abrupt end here in the Bow Valley. It seems as though only a couple of days ago I was training in Whitefish Montana enjoying life on a lake and temperatures in the 30's during the afternoons. I guess it was only a week ago. Now, my last 4 training sessions have been done wearing tights and this morning there was snow in the mountains above Canmore.

Don’t get me wrong it has been a beautiful summer in Canmore. We have had more than our fair share of warm sunny days. I am not lamenting the arrival of fall either. I love fall, although that’s mostly because it is followed by winter. In some ways I am even happy that fall has come early (I realize this is probably not the case for most people reading this). Summer, at least for me, can be a difficult time for ski training. The excitement of the spring and getting back into training and getting to know your new teammates is gone. You settle into a rhythm and train every day. The winter however is a long way off and sometimes it’s easy to lose track of what you are working towards. I don’t know what others think, but going for a rollerski in the middle of July when its 30 degrees out is not always very inspirational. Luckily even in the middle of the summer there are short term goals to work towards. Whether this is a running race, a rollerski time trial or even just trying to get stronger in the Gym these are the things that, at least for me, keep me going during the long summer days. 

Summer can often feel difficult for skiers, yet come the end of august (sometimes even earlier) it seems as though you turn a corner. The ski season is still a long way off yet it starts to feel closer also you start noticing the small differences from the year before. You notice that you are maybe a little stronger, that you may ski a little better. I know it’s only the beginning of September and most people still have some summer to get through, yet the ski season is getting closer. It’s now less than 100 days until the Canadian World Cups and less than 90 until my first race. Just the thought of the ski season approaching is more than enough to get me out of bed in the morning. So with the end of summer comes renewed motivation. You are always training with your goals in mind, yet the closer you get to the ski season the more real they feel. Yes I know I might be getting ahead of myself a bit here, but I figure if it gets you motivated to train everyday then it cant be a bad thing.     

Beautiful day of training in Whitefish Montana. We were there for 10 days for some of the hardest training this year.
Photo credit: Stefan Kuhn (I think)

Pretty awesome group to train with. At the top of Big Mountain (yes its actually called that) during our Whitefish camp.
Photo credit: Stefan Kuhn

This was one of the most fun training sessions  this year. We rollerskied up the road on the left . Which  is appropriately named the road to the sun (in glacier National Park) and ran along this hiking trail in the opposite direction. Here Kevin is showing us how to properly wear bright spandex shorts.
Photo credit: Jess Cockney

Not sure what I'm doing in this picture, but this is later on the same day at a very European-esque chalet along the trail.
Photo credit: Jess Cockney

A good way to end a hot training session.
Photo Credit: Jess Cockney

This picture was taken yesterday during the final day of training of our three week block. It was a cold September day in   k-country just outside of Canmore and was therefore a great opportunity to wear even more neon yellow training gear.
Photo credit: Stefan Kuhn

That's all for now

Patrick

Inspired

For those who don’t know I am a bit of a cycling fan, ok that’s an understatement I am a huge cycling fan. I often joke that if I wasn’t a skier biking would be my sport of choice (although I don’t know how good I would be). In a way being a fan of road racing is easy for a skier. Our season ends just as theirs starts to get interesting. April is spring classic season, when I find my Sunday mornings are dominated by watching people race bikes on the narrow paved or cobbled streets of northern Europe. Since there aren’t any  channels that broadcast these races in Canada (not that I have channels anyway) I find myself watching them on a small pixelated computer screen which sometimes cuts out or during the most interesting part of the race will all of a sudden become dominated by some pop-up add telling me I have won a prize. Sometimes I wonder why I don’t just watch basketball or baseball. So being a cycling fan outside of the month of July is not easy, but I have to say the last few of weeks it was well worth it.

I would have followed the Giro (Tour of Italy) no matter what. Like I said April is for the one day classics but once May rolls around It’s grand tour season. The fact that this coincides with the start of training for us winter athletes is a nice coincidence. I find watching people hammer on bikes for hours on end to be good motivation. During the Giro however what is usually simply a source of motivation and entertainment quickly became a source of inspiration.

Our first camp of the year took place from the 16^th to the 28^th of May in Bend Oregon. It was an on snow camp. Every morning we would drive the 25minutes up to Mount Bachelor and ski on a ridicules amount of leftover snow all the while forgetting that it was May and summer in most of the world. In the afternoon we would do normal summer training down in bend. As is my routine every day I would watch the Giro while eating breakfast. Unfortunately I usually missed the end of the stages (our 8:00am departure time was generally some 15 minutes too early).

I took this picture on the last day of our camp. May 27th!!!! Decent amount of snow  eh?

I’m not sure if I ever really believed that Ryder would win the Giro. I have been following his career for about 4 years and have seen his steady progression from domestique to team leader, yet like many I never saw him as a potential grand tour winner. Maybe it’s because in my mind he just seemed like such a normal guy, very down to earth and real. In my head grand tour winners seemed to have some sort of quality or aspect that separated them from others and that somehow made them different maybe less accessible than the average person. It’s a difficult thing to explain. Ryder has always come across as a normal person who just happens to be a talented bike racer.

As our camp progressed and Ryder was asserting himself more and more as a contender for the overall win, I found my mornings were becoming more and more rushed. I was trying to maximize my Giro watching time and this meant rushing everything else I was doing. It wasn’t ideal, yet I couldn’t help myself. I have always been a cycling fan because I find the racing to be exciting. Of course I have always had my favorites that I would route for, yet if they didn’t win it wasn’t such a big deal, I cared mostly that the race was exciting and if my guy happened to win then that was a bonus. With Ryder however, it was different I really really wanted him to win.

The end of the 19th stage. The day that many (including Hesjedal himself by the looks of it) realized he could win the Giro

The last day of training on our camp also happened to be the last day of racing at the Giro. I managed to watch Ryder go through his first split point on the twisty technical time trial course in downtown Milan before having to leave for training. At that point he had already taken back 27 of the 31 seconds needed to win the overall. By the time I was putting my skis on for our last ski up at Mount Bachelor, Ryder Hesjedal from Victoria British Columbia had won the 95^th Giro D’Italia. Needless to say I was pretty pumped about that.

I really like this poster

I don’t know if the perception I have of Ryder Hesjedal being more of a “Normal Guy” is accurate or just something that I’m imagining. His win however has reminded me that all the athletes we see on TV accomplishing amazing feats are human. They are all blood flesh and bone like the rest of us. They have had good days and bad days, wins and loses. Of course this is something we all know. I suppose if I truly believed that anyone at the top of their sport had something that separated or differentiated them from the rest of the population (besides of course their drive and determination) then I probably wouldn’t be working so hard to get there.  This being said it never hurts to be reminded and in that way you never need to look far for inspiration.

This was taken on an afternoon run at smith rock outside of bend (opposite direction  as Mount Bachelor). Pretty  cool desert landscape.

That's all for now

Patrick

Crazy Québec Nationals and Season Wrap Up

Warning this post is quite long so if you’re planning on reading the entire thing please make yourself comfortable.

Last week was a week of record breaking heat for most of eastern Canada. Within days winter was turned into summer with spring being decidedly skipped over. This was also the week when nationals were held in Quebec. This made for an interesting set of races.

 On March 15^th we traveled from Canmore to my home province Quebec for the 2012 National Ski Championships. This came with the realization that I have now been skiing long enough to be revisiting locations for Nationals. Since this was my second time going to Quebec City for Nationals having been there five years ago as a juvenile.

The week started off with a team sprint. I teamed up with fellow Nakkertok skier and longtime friend Steffan Lloyd. The team sprint as it turns out would be a great day but it wasn’t without its mishaps. The plains or Abraham in downtown Quebec were in a state of meltdown. With temperatures reaching 15 degrees they had trucked in snow (some of which appeared to have come from a snow bank behind a Tim Hortons) to make a course. In the semifinal I felt flat on the first leg (having not warmed up very well due to the lack of a warm up course) on top of that my skis were running rather slow. Once I had finished my first leg I handed my skis to the coach’s to see if they could do something to make them faster. It didn’t take much, as it turns out a piece of chewing gum had gotten stuck in my grip zone causing the ski to drag. Gum removed the rest of the semifinal round went much better. Steffan was skiing really well and I was feeling better on each leg. Things were looking good, however when I was leading going down the last hill into the finish strait, I lost my balance on a slower section of snow and went down. I got up as quickly as I could and realized that although two teams had passed me I was well clear of the fourth guaranteeing our team a spot in the final. Needless to say it had been an eventful semifinal.

In the final thanks to a fast pace being put down by the Whitehorse team the race was soon strung out with three teams (Foothills, Whitehorse and us) making the front of the race. Steffan was skiing great and I was feeling awesome however my bad luck was about to continue. On the second leg my basket came off my pole and in the soft slushy conditions I was quickly distanced from the front two. From then on, there was no way back to the front.  With the relentless pace being set by the front two all we could do was try to hold on to third, which we did. I was pretty cool to stand on the podium at nationals in a year were I definitely wasn’t expecting to, yet at the same time is was extremely frustrating to lose the front of the race on bad luck*.

Steffan (bib 534)skiing with the leaders early on in the relay.
Photo Credit: Charles Brassard

Me navigating a downhill just before the basket indecent.
Photo Credit: Charles Brassard

Two days later it was time for the 10km classic. This was a race I was really looking forward to. Things didn't totally work out however. Somehow I felt flat and skied to a disappointing 33^rd place.

The next day was the 15km skate. Having had a disappointing race the day before and with the field getting stronger with the addition of skiers having come back from competing on the world cup I wasn’t sure what to expect in the 15km skate (usually not my best race). With the temperature on the course surpassing 20 degrees it was looking like a slushy nightmare out there. Overall however things went rather well. I tried ski smooth and efficiently (soft slushy snow can be a bit like quick sand the harder you try the slower you go). Over all it was quite a decent race. I crossed the line in 32^nd place in a tough field.

Twenty plus degrees for the 15km skate required some rather drastic wardrobe options.
Photo Credit: Bernard Pigeon

Next was the sprint day. I don’t have much to say about the sprint day. My body felt terrible and I made a bad choice of skis resulting in possibly my worst sprint day ever. I don’t know what place I came in but needless to say I was a long way from qualifying.

Next Up was the last and longest race of the season, my first 50km. With the crazy warm temperatures finally subsiding the course (which had been changed from a 10 to a 5km loop due to flooding) was for once fast and icy. I had a good start and early on found myself in a good group of skiers. As the laps went by I went through many high and low points. A 50k is such a long race that you have time to go through all sorts of different mindsets and feelings. You can go from feeling good and skiing comfortably on one lap to feeling like all the energy is taken out of you on the next. This is something I experienced in the last 10km of the race. At 8km to go I felt good and thought I could respond to any sort of acceleration, yet at 6km to go all of a sudden I felt like all the energy had been drained from me. Needless to say when the pace quickened with 5k to go I was unable to follow and faced a long (ok not that long) last lap of racing. In the end I crossed the line 21^st having lost over a minute to 15^th place (the best finisher of those in my group) in the last 5k. All in all it was a good race and a good learning experience.

Early on in the 50k
Photo credit: Bernard Pigeon

Now, just like that, the season is done. When I got back home (Chelsea home) from nationals there was no snow to speak of. Spring (and a bit of summer) had definitely arrived. Now I am kicking myself for not having sent my road bike home before nationals since watching the Tour of Flanders has put me in the mood to ride my bike (it won’t get better when Paris Roubaix is on next weekend). Looks like I’ll have to wait until I’m back in Canmore for that. Speaking of which I will be back there next year, training with the Alberta World Cup Academy for my second year and continuing to chase some crazy dream.

Thanks very much to my sponsors Classic Wood Mouldings, Dr Beverley Mckeown Dentistry and Salomon for your support. Honestly (and I mean this) it would not be possible without you. Thanks also to V2, Gatineau Nordic Sport, Fresh Air Experience,  the Nationals Winter sports Association, Ski de Fond Quebec, Nakkertok Ski Club and of course the Alberta World Cup Academy. Having such an incredible group of supporters is what makes everything possible. It’s been quite a season full of ups and downs with hopefully many more to come. I know I’ll be back next year.

Thanks for reading, that’s all for now.

Patrick    

* I know that referencing bad luck is not generally a good idea since pretty much everything is in your control. However my basket falling off was not the result of it having been poorly glued on but rather a broken piece that holds the basket on. This in my opinion does fall into the category of s*** happens.

Ups and Downs

I’m not going to lie I have had some trouble motivating myself to write this update. I'll keep it short and to the point. Ever since I moved to Canmore last May, I have pretty much only had good things to write about. Training and more recently racing had always been going well. I had good days and bad days but overall everything was going in a positive direction.

After trials in Whistler however, things started to change. A week after Whistler during the Western Canadians in Canmore my results were slightly below where they had been in at trials. Two weeks later at the Eastern Canadian championships my results were again slightly below were they had been out west. At the final stop of the Nor Am cuircut in Mont Orford Quebec the trend did not improve and I was again below where I had been only a week earlier. 


To be honest the final race in Orford (a 20km skate race in cold windy conditions) I was simply happy to get to the finish line. I was hurting both mentally and physically and I needed a break. This is a trend every skier is familiar with. The reality is I started the year off well, pulling off some really good races even before the first Nor Am in SilverSstar. Now I was paying the price. It can be difficult to keep motivated during this type of period, but the truth is every athlete experiences it, you can’t (especially at a young age) always be at your best.

Racing the 30km classic during the Eastern Canadian championships at Nakkertok (my home club). A fun race but not quite the results I was hoping for. 
Photo Credit: Jo-Ann Holden Musicianonskis.ca

Luckily after the last stop of the Nor Am circuit in Orford there was a long break until Nationals (the next and final set of races of the season). After Orford I spent a little over a week back home before heading back to Canmore and getting back into the normal training routine. Since then everything has been going relatively well. Yesterday I competed in the Lake Louise Loppet this was my first race in three weeks and although my 7^th place overall was nothing special it was a step in the right direction. I am regaining some confidence in my fitness and I am looking forward to Nationals in Mont Saint Anne.

The start of the Lake Louise Loppet., Old school Bibs, narrow trails, temperature around zero and a mix of  former and current athletes made for an interesting day.

Photo Credit: Angus Cockney

On another note my sister Emilie competed in her first ever World Junior ski championships In Turkey last month. She raced very well with a personal best of 41^st in the skiathlon and did a very good job holding of the USA on the last leg of the relay. Not bad for a 16 year old with many years ahead of her.

That’s all for now

Patrick

Trials

The last couple of weeks have been a busy mix of racing and traveling. With two sets of Nor Am races two weekends in a row and a 10 hour drive in between the two venues there hasn’t been much time to sit down and reflect. It’s been a while so I’ll take it from the start.

After two weeks at home over the Christmas holidays I was back in Canmore to prepare for what are probably the most important races of the year. Though the three races in Whistler were regular Nor Am cups they were also being used as the selection races for Junior and U23 world championships.

 The first race at what is known as “trials” was a 30km skiathlon, a race I was a bit nervous about because I had only done one 30km before in my life (last year at nationals) and it had not gone very well. This time however things were different. I had a decent classic leg and got to the exchange zone in 14^th. I had a very good skate leg (traditionally my weaker technique) and managed to gain one position to finish in 13^th as the 6^th under 23 skier.

Men's pack going up the first hill in the 30km skiathlon
Photo credit: Angus Cockney

Me during the classic leg of the skiathlon
Photo Credit: Angus Cockney

The next race was a skate sprint and although Mother Nature had been kind to us so far, we knew that in Whistler, it was unlikely to last and on sprint day we woke up to 15cm of fresh snow with more coming down throughout the day. Despite the conditions I managed one of my better skate sprint qualifiers setting the 12^th fastest time of the open men (I got beat by a few juniors). In my quarter I got off to a bad start and since the snow was still falling I ended up having to ski wide in the deep powder to make my way through he group. Still, by the end of my heat I managed to move myself up into 2^nd place gaining a spot in the semifinals. I my semifinal I again got off to a bad start (I still need to work on those) and again had to move through the field in the deeper powder on the side. By the end I had moved myself up into 3^rd position which meant I had to wait and see if I had gotten one of two lucky loser spots in the final. In the end it wasn't to be and I was put I the B final were my legs finally started to give way. I held on for 3^rd putting me in 9^th on the day as the 4^th under 23.

My quarter final on sprint day. I'm in 3rd with bib 312.
Photo credit: Angus Cockney

After two good but not outstanding races I needed to find something special the next day in the 15km individual classic if I stood a chance of making U23’s. I tried to start hard knowing that it would be my only chance yet halfway through it was clear that the first couple of races had taken their toll and in the last half of the race I was running on fumes. I ended up 17^th on the day (8^th U23) not a terrible result but far from what I had hoped for and needed.

Running on fumes in the 15km classic
Photo Credit: Angus Cockney 

So I’ll have to wait one more year to test myself against the best under 23 skiers in the world. Yes I’m disappointing, yet I can honestly say that I did my best. The races in whistler were the hardest ones of my life and there is no one thing that I can point to as being the difference between qualifying and not qualifying. I simply raced as hard as I could and in the end it wasn’t good enough. As they say it’s much easier to live with defeat than to live with regret and I regret nothing. In 12 months I will come back hungrier than ever and hopefully then it will be a different story.

Lastly I would like to congratulate both my sisters Emilie and Katherine who both raced amazingly well in Whistler. Emilie qualified for her first world juniors and Katherine was pretty close. So although I will not be representing Canada this year there will a Stewart-Jones on the trip to Turkey.

I’ll have an update on the western Canadian championships in a few days. That’s all for now though.

Patrick