by Jen McGill
April 22, 2001
Jen McGill (left), with
Kelly Schalk at the
Idaho Spring Series
|
The Idaho International Cross-Country Series bills itself as
a "competitive, educational and fun event which is held annually
and is sanctioned by the United States Ski Association (USSA)
and the International Federation of Skiing (FIS)." To the racers
"Spring Series" is also known as the "spring break" of nordic
skiing, as well the last chance to get good points before the
season ends.
Last year Katrina and Kristin Smigun from Estonia, the Canadian
National Team, the Canadian Development Team, the Swedish
National B Team, the Norwegian National B Team, and yes, the
Mongolian Team were all in attendance. This year's Idaho International
Spring Series didn't attract as much of an international field
nor was it entirely 'springy'.
The races began on March 31st, with a luge of a course at
over 7000' atop Boise's local alpine hill, Bogus Basin. Living
up to its name, this evening sprint "criterium" held under
the lights was treacherous yet fun. The course had been salted
prior to the start, making it super fast. Many racers opted
not to race this series opener, because the track was so icy
and the race was not being scored for points. Almost half
of the junior women ended up in a pretty spectacular pile-up
of skis and lycra during the first loop of their 6km race.
In the senior women's event, Nina Kemppel and Tessa Benoit
placed first and second. Following the women in a deluge of
rain, Martin Koukal and Lucas Bauer from The Czech Republic
were the first two senior men to finish. Noteworthy Twin Cities
racers, Chad Giese and Jill Troutner, placed sixth and tenth.
Originally scheduled for McCall, Idaho, the remaining races
were rescheduled due to poor snow conditions to Galena Pass,
outside of Sun Valley, Idaho. The races started near the Galena
Lodge at 8000' in the very same open meadow where the Boulder
Mountain Tour begins. These races included a pursuit beginning
with a skate race on April 2nd, followed by a classic on April
3rd. It was hard to believe it was an April morning when the
gun went off for the skate race. A wet spring storm a la Birkie
2001 had moved in over the Sawtooths the night before, and
it continued to dump on the skiers during the race. Undeterred
by the snow, Nina Kemppel and Sarah Konrad took the women's
field by storm. The Czech racers took first and second again
in the men's field, with Justin Wadsworth a mere six seconds
behind them.
The following day proved that the name "Sun Valley" is not
a misnomer. The blue skies, sunshine, blue kick wax and a
delayed start lifted even the slowest skiers' spirits. The
classic portion of the pursuit followed the same 5 km loop
as the skate race. The crux of the race was a long insidious
2 km climb that crept narrowly through the lodgepole pine.
While the Czech senior men with the ultra-low points stole
the day again for the senior men, and the Swedish juniors
swept the junior women's field again, two interesting battles
developed amongst the senior Americans. Although she did not
edge out Nina Kemppel for the pursuit win, Wendy Wagner bested
Nina's classic time by seventeen seconds! Similarly, in the
men's field Kris Freeman didn't finish the overall pursuit
in front of Justin Wadsworth, but he did finish the classic
race seven seconds faster than Justin.
Once again, on Thursday April 5th, we found ourselves back
classic racing on the same Galena loop (the only snow in town.)
The women's race skied the 5km loop once, while the men's
race looped it twice for 10km. In the junior women, Kristina
Trygstad from Bridger Nordic dug deep to finish fifteen seconds
ahead of the Swedish duo, Britta Nordgren and Johanna Ojala
. The top three senior women to finish were Nina Kemppel,
Wendy Wagner, and Uni Odegard. For the senior men, the now
familiar Czechs, Lucas Bauer and Martin Koukal, were chased
to first and second place by third place Patrick Weaver.
The last day of racing, a two person relay, typified the
Spring Series atmosphere: low-key, fun, end-of-season racing
in the sun. While the results were somewhat predictable in
the senior categories, with the Czech duo winning for the
men and Kemppel and Wagner winning for the women, the times
were close. Chad Giese and Dave Chamberlain cruised to a sixth
place finish with Dan Campbell and Casey Ward following in
twelth. The biggest, most heart-warming story of the Spring
Series was Kenyan athlete Richard Rono. Rono rounded out the
men's field, and what he lacked in experience, speed, and
technique he made up for with his gumption and style. Watching
him battle the uphills and sail down the unfamiliar blue icy
downhills at Galena was truly a testimony to amateur athletics.
After Saturday's relay the Spring Series drew to a close
with a wonderful party at The Roosevelt in Ketchum.
|
by Jill Troutner
April 22, 2001
Boise Venue
The Northern Lights Racing Coalition (a team name my Dad came
up with because I got tired of being called "independents" and
never getting a wax room or range point at biathlon races),
consisting of myself and my coach/Dad arrived in Boise Thursday
night. We decided to check out the Bogus Basin Venue since it
looked like a short drive. Several thousand feet higher and
40 minutes later we got there.
I climbed out of the truck, hopped on my skis, and dragged
myself up the alpine course (the loop was a 2k that consisted
of the lower portion of the alpine ski area), and what goes
up must come down. I made it 2/3 of the way down and wrecked
(they had salted sections of the snow to help it last). I
got up and scraped the ice crystals and salt off my face,
plowed the rest of the way down and fearfully dragged my butt
the rest of the way around. Official training was the next
day, but my entire right arm and shoulder wasn't working too
well, thanks to yesterday's tumble. So I went for a jog in
balmy Boise, enjoying the 70+ degrees. We checked out registration
the next day and met Rick Capella who was a no-nonsense, here's
the info and in 5 minutes you are on your way kinda guy. We
decided we really liked Rick Capella and his crew.
Saturday night under the lights the first racers hit the
start line. Watching warm-ups was entertaining as more than
half the skiers got wrapped around the snow fence or hurtled
off the course, trying to make the right turn off the big
downhill. A hundred skiers were all trying to practice and
watch each other's line on that corner. I watched half the
junior women crash there in a pretty spectacular pile-up of
skis and lycra during the first loop of their 6k race. I told
my coach that my race strategy tonight would be based on survival.
I lined up with the rest of the girls and listened to the
Swede on my right chatter about how easy the course was. There
is always one of those people in every race. I made my way
around the required three times and stayed on my skis. There
was a nice crowd up there who cheered everyone in as we finished.
The rain started to pour down as the elite men took off. The
pack of men on that downhill and hitting the corner was truly
spectacular-some minor wipeouts but these guys made it look
easy. By their 3rd loop they were pretty spread out, and the
rain was coming down so hard that visibility was becoming
bad. But the announcer was still begging people to stick around
for the post-race fireworks display. As we headed for shelter,
most of us had one thought: Sun Valley will be better!
Sun Valley
Another no-nonsense, short and sweet, meeting by Rick Capella
Sunday afternoon in Sun Valley to give the lowdown on the
race.
Monday morning we all drove up to the venue to be hit by
a snowstorm. That skate race was a shorter version of the
Birkie except with snow falling thicker and faster as the
races went on. The elite men had 2 loops to do and went last.
I didn't envy them at all. By the time I finished I had to
dig my backpack out of the snow and was wishing for a nice
Swix visor. Jen McGill, Sarah Konrad, and I slogged out for
a cool down and watched the men suck it up for 10k of deep
snow and little oxygen. By this time I was completely wet
and wondering why I had even wanted to ski a cool down. We
finished up and went back to our truck, which was pretty much
buried in snow, and headed for the hot tub.
The next day's classic race was cold. Luckily for everyone,
grooming problems led to an hour's delay and things warmed
up a bit. It was a blue kick kind of day, and the cold came
as a shock to some of the skiers; spare clothes were being
begged, borrowed and liberated everywhere. The start and ski
check crew were all upbeat and having fun getting us lined
up, and placing the occasional bet. It was a nice classic
loop until you hit that section of what felt like almost 2k
of incline that completely kicked my butt and 10 people passed
me. When Jen and some others suggested a cool down, I skied
along feeling completely bonked. My Dad skied with us and
took off ahead, and I don't think I could have caught him
if my life depended on it. It's amazing what 5k can do to
you. Dan Campbell even said he was feeling tired, but I think
he was just being nice.
Wednesday was a day off and while some went up and skied
(the Bozeman crew was up there in force cutting tele tracks
up on the hills between the trees in all that fresh deep snow),
I opted for several pots of coffee and the bakery instead.
Thursday was beautiful and a blast -- my best day and I felt
pretty good and didn't even die on that 2k incline. I think
everyone else was tired (there was some partying going on
last night), and I managed to move up a few spots. Finally
a nice day to hang out with everyone and chow down at the
post-race barbecue on the deck of the lodge. But I had to
hit the road for home Minnesota so I could make my National
Guard drill weekend and watch my former boss and still mentor,
Maj Longfellow, get promoted to LTC Longfellow. I was official
cake cutter and wasn't going to let her down.
|
