The SuperTour Finals just wrapped up in Craftsbury. Due to the rapidly dwindling snow, the races were held on a 1.6k loop. Craftsbury has done a stellar job making and stockpiling snow this year, and it's a minor miracle that they had enough to pull off even this small loop. Our team was ably represented in last weekend's races by Spencer and Kaitlynn. Spencer had a solid performance in the 3.3k skate prologue, finishing 40th. He was the 10th EISA skier, with almost all of the top EISA skiers in attendance, so this was a very good showing, especially in his first crack at the prologue distance (not quite a sprint, but far shorter than our typical distance race).
The following day was a 10/15k classic mass start. With the snow disappearing rapidly, the course was reduced to a 1.6k loop. The tiny loop meant limited snow access, which gave racers very little chance to test wax and make adjustments to their race skis. Spencer ended up choosing his zeroes, which worked well during the brief testing window before the race - unfortunately, by race time the conditions had changed enough to render them useless. This made for a tough day, but he hung in there and raced respectably considering that he had almost no kick. With this lesson learned, they were able to pull together a workable klister combination for Kaitlynn; her skis weren't great, but she skied a solid race. It's tough enough to do a classic race without someone to help you with waxing and testing, and on a tricky waxing day with limited snow access it's even tougher. Still, I'm proud of these guys for giving their best in trying circumstances.
RESULTS
Even though it's almost April, Spencer still hasn't had enough; he's headed back to Craftsbury for tomorrow's 50k skate race - THIRTY laps on the 1.6k loop. Luckily, some intrepid teammates will be there to cheer him on and, more importantly, count laps. Should be an interesting race.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Sugarloaf 25K
Last weekend, Riley and Spencer jumped into the Sugarloaf 25k. In spite of the ridiculously warm weather throughout New England these past few weeks, the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center has held onto its snow remarkably well. At the gun, Spencer and Riley quickly formed a 3-man lead pack with Jordan Buetow of Bates. Riley led for the first several kilometers before falling back, leaving Spencer and Jordan to ski together until the finish. Spencer was able to hold off Jordan in a sprint finish, winning by a mere tenth of a second. Jordan is one of EISA's top skaters, as well as one of the best sprinters, so this was an impressive win for Spencer. Riley cruised in for a solid 4th place finish - a good showing for both Eusdens.
RESULTS
Here are a few photos, courtesy of Steve Fuller of Flying Point Road.
RESULTS
Here are a few photos, courtesy of Steve Fuller of Flying Point Road.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Bretton Woods 2012
Jackson and Kaitlynn raced the Bretton Woods 50k classic last weekend. They were fortunate to have a dedicated and capable support crew (Spencer, Riley, and Steph) in attendance - these guys tested waxes and got the skis dialed in, and then headed out on course for feeds and cheering. Both of our racers had strong performances, so the wax techs obviously did a great job. Kaitlynn finished 2nd for women, while Jackson was the 8th man, close behind a group of college skiers who all scored NCAA points this year. Both of them were right in the mix - another great learning experience about skiing in groups and pacing a distance race.
50k Results
The following day, Spencer raced the Mt. Washington Cup, a 15k skate race - he skied to a convincing victory over a strong group of skiers. In a sport where only one out of dozens or hundreds of competitors gets to win any given race, winning is nice - it's a rare and special thing to cross the line first.
15k Results
50k Results
The following day, Spencer raced the Mt. Washington Cup, a 15k skate race - he skied to a convincing victory over a strong group of skiers. In a sport where only one out of dozens or hundreds of competitors gets to win any given race, winning is nice - it's a rare and special thing to cross the line first.
15k Results
Monday, March 5, 2012
Rangeley 2012
Last weekend we continued our annual tradition of racing the Rangeley Loppet, with Drew, Alec, Jackson, Erin, and Shelby all taking part. This race is a fun way to wrap up the season, and it's a great experience for the skiers. It's good chance to practice tactics, fueling, and pack racing, and also to get comfortable with a 50k - the longer distance helps put our 15/20k EISA races in perspective. This year featured perhaps the deepest field I've seen in this event - lots of college skiers and a few fast seniors and masters. It had snowed a few inches the night before and was snowing on and off that morning, even switching over to ice pellets at one point. Even though the course had been groomed a few hours before the race, high winds had blown dry powder all over the course. It was slow, sloppy skiing, and the lead pack went out at a very relaxed pace, allowing Alec and Jackson to settle in and cruise for the first several kilometers. By the end of the first lap, Jackson was still hanging in there among a group of 10 or 12 pretty elite skiers. With the course now well-packed by a couple hundred skiers, things sped up considerably, and the pack gradually splintered. Remarkably, although he skied alone for much of the 2nd lap, Jackson was able to keep a steady pace and pick off a couple other skiers in the final kilometers to finish 9th overall and 2nd in his age group - an impressive performance, especially for a 50k rookie. Alec skied a good tactical race, working with a 3 person chase group to pick off places as the 2nd lap went on - he ended up second in a 4-man sprint to claim 12th place overall and 3rd OJ. Shelby also brought home a sweet age group medal - she skied a steady race in her first 50k ever, finishing as the 13th woman and 3rd OJ. Drew paced himself well - when I saw him at 45k, he was pushing the V2 well into the lower section of a long climb, and I thought, "Who is that guy?" (he was wearing his Ely race suit, so I didn't recognize him at first). He had a huge grin on his face and was really flying - he passed several racers in the final 5k to finish in style. Erin had a pretty massive bonk - when she saw me late in the race, she was feeling woozy and stopped to tell me about this strange tingling feeling she was having throughout her entire body. I was a bit concerned that we'd be carrying her off the course, but I kept this to myself and told her that it was just a little bonk and she'd be fine. Oddly enough, this seemed to reassure her, because she took off and skied strongly for the last few kilometers. It was a nice display of determination and a fitting way to finish her Bowdoin career. Overall, a good showing by our team and a fun day for all of us.
RESULTS
With that, we're done with team races and practices for the year - sad but true. Still plenty of winter left, though - in fact, we have more snow at Pineland right now than we've had for the past 2 months. There's lots of skiing and racing to be done for the rest of the month - I'll keep the post-season updates coming as always.
RESULTS
With that, we're done with team races and practices for the year - sad but true. Still plenty of winter left, though - in fact, we have more snow at Pineland right now than we've had for the past 2 months. There's lots of skiing and racing to be done for the rest of the month - I'll keep the post-season updates coming as always.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Regionals Recap
What a way to finish the season! EISA Regionals 2012 (aka, the Middlebury Carnival, by way of Stowe) was an event none of us will soon forget. Friday was pretty standard - 5/10k skate on nice fast snow. We had a good showing, one of our best team performances of the year. Spencer led the men in 18th, with Kevin adding to his already impressive list of achievements with a season-best 27th place finish. The men's team performance was good enough to beat Colby (first time the men have beaten Colby in my 5 years at Bowdoin), as well as SLU and a few others - a very good day. The women skied as well as I've ever seen - all of them looked strong and snappy. I was thrilled to see them scrapping for seconds in the transitions, and above all pushing the V2 into the uphills. On the final long climb before entering the stadium, Kaitlynn V2-ed almost the whole thing, looking efficient and controlled the whole way. I watched all of the top women come through this area, and none attempted to V2 past the first few meters of the climb, so this was impressive. Another highlight that jumped out at me was how Erin battled to stay in contact with the skier who'd started 1 bib behind her and passed her at 2k - after losing 30 seconds in the first 2k, Erin kept it close and gave up only 12 seconds for the final 3k. It was a pretty rewarding race to watch as a coach - it was as if all of the little details I've been nagging people about all season came together for one morning. I couldn't be happier with how the women in particular skied in this race.
One final noteworthy item from the skate day (I can't call it a highlight): A skier from another team accidentally ran over a squirrel during warmups. The unfortunate creature wasn't quite dead, and the kid didn't know what to do with it. Fortunately, Riley came around the corner at the right moment - he took decisive action and put the poor thing out of its misery. Not a happy ending, but a weird and memorable incident at the end of a weird season. Good for Riley for doing what he had to do.
That evening, we got together with several team parents for a banquet of sorts at Pie in the Sky. The official banquet was cancelled when the carnival moved from Middlebury to Stowe, so we decided to get dressed up and have a banquet of our own to honor the seniors and thank the parents. It ended up being a pretty fun time and a good meal. Remarkably, we were joined by Drew, Chris, and Sierra, who had driven up from Bowdoin to watch the team race the next day - or, rather, Drew had driven them up, through darkness and some pretty heavy snow in the final miles, a heroic performance that marks him as a van driver to watch as his Bowdoin Nordic career continues.
Did I mention that it had started snowing on Friday afternoon? Several inches had accumulated by the time we turned in that night, and it was still going strong the next morning. We (the coaches) were actually unable to get the gear van up the access road to Trapps on our first try - not what I was hoping for on what was shaping up to be a tough waxing day. Eventually, we all made it to the venue to find ever-deepening snow on course and high winds howling across the field and parking lot. After some testing, we ruled out zeroes but were unable to find the perfect hard wax - the snow was reasonably warm and a bit wet and clumpy, so the cold waxes didn't give quite enough kick, but the mid-temperature waxes iced pretty badly, even when covered. The wind shaking our tent didn't make the job any easier. In the end, we sent the women off with wax that was a bit too warm for my comfort and hoped it would work out. The race was crazy - with the tracks nearly obliterated by falling snow, no one wanted to take the lead, so the pace was pretty sedate for a long time. Even if they'd wanted to ski faster, they would have had a hard time on the soft, sloppy snow. Most skiers were also struggling with skis that either slipped or clumped up with snow. Our skiers fell into the latter category, but they persevered and hung in for respectable finishes - Kaitlynn was 27th, Hannah was 35th, and Erin gave a gritty effort resulting in perhaps her best race of the season, a 45th place finish.
With some lessons learned from the women's race and a bit more time to test, we were able to get closer to an ideal wax for the men, but it was still tough to find the sweet spot between not enough kick and too much. The wind intensified and almost tore apart our tent as we were frantically waxing in the final minutes, but we managed to get the skis done on time, albeit less well-tested than we would have liked. Spencer pulled back at the last minute from what would have surely been a distastrous decision (to use his zeroes), and the race went off. The pace was even more laid back than the women's race - the leaders looked ridiculously relaxed. Gradually, the pack strung out, with Spencer hanging on to the end of a very large lead pack and Kevin in a chase pack not far behind. Over the next several kilometers, the lead pack broke up and then came back together several times. I've never seen anything like this at the collegiate level - normally when the leaders break away, they're gone, but not on this day. This was good for Spencer, as he patiently worked his way up from the low 20s to the high teens entering the final 5k lap. As the pack continued to splinter, he kept moving up - by the time we saw him for the final climb, he was at the head of a group just outside the top 10. He passed one more skier, held off his pursuers, and crossed the line with a career-best 11th place finish - a fine way to end a great career. Kevin hung in for 35th, and Scott delivered a vintage Longwell performance, leaving the stadium at the back of the pack and doggedly working his way through the field to finish 38th. Overall, it was a great effort by all of our skiers - determination and persistence played as much of a role as fitness and technique in this race. I'm extremely proud of how our team skied - they showed lots of heart out there. The only cloud on the day was the skis - ours were functional, but not as good as they could have been (we hit it for Spencer, but our adjustments for others were a bit off). It was a tough waxing day, and very few racers had great skis out there, but I think a slightly different call on my part could have improved our skis considerably and made a good day into a great one. Ah well - a good day nonetheless, and a weekend that all of our skiers can be proud of.
A final thanks to all of the parents and family members who supported us so well us all year long - they were out in force last weekend as usual, and they took great care of the skiers on a tough day for racers and spectators alike. A special thanks to Wilson, who once again provided outstanding waxing support. It was tough to see him out of the action for most of the season, and I know it was extra hard for him to be at the races yet unable to compete, yet he stepped up week after week for the sake of the team. Honestly, I don't know how we would have done it without his help this season - I'm sure we would have managed, but it would have been a lot tougher, and we probably wouldn't have had good skis as often as we did. Lastly, a sad farewell and congratulations to all 7 of our seniors - it's been a great run.
Of course, nothing's over just yet. A few folks are racing the Loppet at Rangeley this weekend, as well as a few other events throughout March. We'll keep the updates coming as things happen.
One final noteworthy item from the skate day (I can't call it a highlight): A skier from another team accidentally ran over a squirrel during warmups. The unfortunate creature wasn't quite dead, and the kid didn't know what to do with it. Fortunately, Riley came around the corner at the right moment - he took decisive action and put the poor thing out of its misery. Not a happy ending, but a weird and memorable incident at the end of a weird season. Good for Riley for doing what he had to do.
That evening, we got together with several team parents for a banquet of sorts at Pie in the Sky. The official banquet was cancelled when the carnival moved from Middlebury to Stowe, so we decided to get dressed up and have a banquet of our own to honor the seniors and thank the parents. It ended up being a pretty fun time and a good meal. Remarkably, we were joined by Drew, Chris, and Sierra, who had driven up from Bowdoin to watch the team race the next day - or, rather, Drew had driven them up, through darkness and some pretty heavy snow in the final miles, a heroic performance that marks him as a van driver to watch as his Bowdoin Nordic career continues.
Did I mention that it had started snowing on Friday afternoon? Several inches had accumulated by the time we turned in that night, and it was still going strong the next morning. We (the coaches) were actually unable to get the gear van up the access road to Trapps on our first try - not what I was hoping for on what was shaping up to be a tough waxing day. Eventually, we all made it to the venue to find ever-deepening snow on course and high winds howling across the field and parking lot. After some testing, we ruled out zeroes but were unable to find the perfect hard wax - the snow was reasonably warm and a bit wet and clumpy, so the cold waxes didn't give quite enough kick, but the mid-temperature waxes iced pretty badly, even when covered. The wind shaking our tent didn't make the job any easier. In the end, we sent the women off with wax that was a bit too warm for my comfort and hoped it would work out. The race was crazy - with the tracks nearly obliterated by falling snow, no one wanted to take the lead, so the pace was pretty sedate for a long time. Even if they'd wanted to ski faster, they would have had a hard time on the soft, sloppy snow. Most skiers were also struggling with skis that either slipped or clumped up with snow. Our skiers fell into the latter category, but they persevered and hung in for respectable finishes - Kaitlynn was 27th, Hannah was 35th, and Erin gave a gritty effort resulting in perhaps her best race of the season, a 45th place finish.
With some lessons learned from the women's race and a bit more time to test, we were able to get closer to an ideal wax for the men, but it was still tough to find the sweet spot between not enough kick and too much. The wind intensified and almost tore apart our tent as we were frantically waxing in the final minutes, but we managed to get the skis done on time, albeit less well-tested than we would have liked. Spencer pulled back at the last minute from what would have surely been a distastrous decision (to use his zeroes), and the race went off. The pace was even more laid back than the women's race - the leaders looked ridiculously relaxed. Gradually, the pack strung out, with Spencer hanging on to the end of a very large lead pack and Kevin in a chase pack not far behind. Over the next several kilometers, the lead pack broke up and then came back together several times. I've never seen anything like this at the collegiate level - normally when the leaders break away, they're gone, but not on this day. This was good for Spencer, as he patiently worked his way up from the low 20s to the high teens entering the final 5k lap. As the pack continued to splinter, he kept moving up - by the time we saw him for the final climb, he was at the head of a group just outside the top 10. He passed one more skier, held off his pursuers, and crossed the line with a career-best 11th place finish - a fine way to end a great career. Kevin hung in for 35th, and Scott delivered a vintage Longwell performance, leaving the stadium at the back of the pack and doggedly working his way through the field to finish 38th. Overall, it was a great effort by all of our skiers - determination and persistence played as much of a role as fitness and technique in this race. I'm extremely proud of how our team skied - they showed lots of heart out there. The only cloud on the day was the skis - ours were functional, but not as good as they could have been (we hit it for Spencer, but our adjustments for others were a bit off). It was a tough waxing day, and very few racers had great skis out there, but I think a slightly different call on my part could have improved our skis considerably and made a good day into a great one. Ah well - a good day nonetheless, and a weekend that all of our skiers can be proud of.
A final thanks to all of the parents and family members who supported us so well us all year long - they were out in force last weekend as usual, and they took great care of the skiers on a tough day for racers and spectators alike. A special thanks to Wilson, who once again provided outstanding waxing support. It was tough to see him out of the action for most of the season, and I know it was extra hard for him to be at the races yet unable to compete, yet he stepped up week after week for the sake of the team. Honestly, I don't know how we would have done it without his help this season - I'm sure we would have managed, but it would have been a lot tougher, and we probably wouldn't have had good skis as often as we did. Lastly, a sad farewell and congratulations to all 7 of our seniors - it's been a great run.
Of course, nothing's over just yet. A few folks are racing the Loppet at Rangeley this weekend, as well as a few other events throughout March. We'll keep the updates coming as things happen.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Craftsbury Photos
Here are some photos from the classic races at Craftsbury, courtesy of Greg Askins:
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Craftsbury EC Day 2
Perfect conditions for today's skate races - a frozen, fast, hard track that softened slightly as the day went on but never got slow. This, combined with the mass start format, made for some really fun racing, both for the athletes and the spectators. Great effort by all of our skiers - Alec destroyed his previous best points for a NENSA race, and Riley had another great race that left him just short of qualifying for JNs. It's always tough to miss by such a small margin, but it was pretty exciting to see him take his racing to a new level this weekend. Lots of reasons for us all to be excited for Regionals next weekend. Many thanks to Tyler, who once again performed brilliantly as a wax tech - his efforts were a big reason that we were able to get good skis today. Thanks also to the many parents who helped make this a great weekend!
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