.: Ski XCOttawa.ca :: Skiing in Ottawa and Gatineau Park

HayWood NorAM WJT Buff Sprints
By:  Katie McMahon   (2015/01/10)

RSS
XCOttawa took to the tracks again today for the second race at this year's Trials. Today was classic sprint day, with the women tackling the 1500m course and the men the 1700m course. Overall all it was a super fun day, with lots of race experience, sore bodies, and great team support!

Results wise, the senior women (Sheila, Ingrid, Kyla, Liza, Katie) finished 14, 15, 16, 22, 23 respectively and all advanced to the quarterfinals. Our lone Junior woman Logan, was super speedy but unfortunately missed out on the heats by 2 seconds and a 32nd placing.

Our men; Steffan, Andre, Arthur and Mark finished 30, 35, 40, 41 respectively in a very competitive field. Steffan being the lone wolf to qualify to the men's quarterfinals. 

To get a better feel of how the race went, here is an interview with some members of the Team!

Ingrid

Q: What was the overall feeling of your race today?

A: Good. I felt snappy in the qualifier. Although didn’t feel as snappy in the quarterfinal, it was nice to have Kyla beside me to push me!

 Q: How does it feel to have the exact same quarterfinal time as both Kyla and Sheila?

A: I think it means that XCOttawa has a good group of fast girls that can really push each other and I think it is super beneficial that not only do we push each other in practice but in races too!

 

Logan

Q: How did your first sprint race as a Junior Woman go?

A: It went ok, I felt strong but felt like I still had more in me for the heats. I had fun spectating though!I really enjoyed being able to watch my new teammates and old teammates race and celebrating their success’. (Logan gets rookie bonus points for being such an awesome teammate!) 

Q: You narrowly missed out on heats by just 2 seconds!! Where do you think those two seconds are?

 A: Probably in the back section of the course. I had a really good start, but died after the turn (I was trying to catch up to Katie!) I had good motivation, but it was a really long sprint! 

 

Andre

Q: How was your pre-race ritual this morning?

A: I needed more coffee

Q: What did you think of the course out there today Andre?

A: Definitely long. The dry snow made for pretty slow times. A harder sprint than usual.

 

Sheila

Q: How does it feel to have the best cheering squad out there? (Sheila coaches the Nakkertok juveniles who were all out there cheering for her today)

 A: It feels amazing!!

 Q: What were your key words or thoughts in your race strategy today?

 A: Quick and smooth!

 

Sheila Sprinting it into the finish!


Arthur:

 Q: How did the first race of the season feel?

 A: Horrible. But I expected that. It’s all part of my plan!...

 Q: What did you learn from today’s experience?

 A: Pacing. I learned that ‘long classic poles’ maybe aren’t the way to go. At least not on this course with the steep punchy uphills. 

Katie Killin' it in her quarterfinal!

Thanks again to all the amazing volunteers and of course our awesome wax team of John Suuronen and Peter Rozmovits of Canadian WinterSport!

 
Interesting Reading. . .
Interested in supporting XC Ottawa or advertising on our site? Email: info@xcottawa.ca.
© Copyright 2001-2006, www.xcottawa.ca. All Rights Reserved. Contact us before re-publishing anything seen here.