Super Tour Weekend Recap

Thanks to the efforts of NYSEF and ORDA New York ski racers were offered the opportunity to race the nations best skiers in a very familiar setting. To say that NY'ers had an unfair advantage may be true but with the level of talent in Lake Placid any advantage was welcome.

(Reed getting after it!)

Their were 4 athletes racing this weekend that will be representing the U.S.A at the World Championships. The opportunity for our juniors to see these athletes up close and personal is priceless.

(Waxing up our boards for the classic race! Toko Green Binder with some White over it worked all day for most of us some liked a little Mint mixed in)

All of the our athletes experienced the high's and low's of racing this weekend. There was not time to waste though as all of the juniors had a high school race back in Rochester Monday morning! The results this winter have proved one thing that many already know. If you want to become a better skier you better be doing something over the summer!

(Happy to be racing)

In the high school race on Monday the boys took 6 of the top 10 spots! The girls were not to be outdone and took 5 of the top 7 sports including going 1st-4th !! Congratulations to all of the R.N.R Juniors this weekend ! One thing about NY is that it is dominated by high school skiing, without the cooperation of the local high school coached the junior program would not exist! To become a better ski nation we need cooperation and I'm glad to know that the Rochester area can see past the lines that divide most and move forward in developing the best student athletes possible

(The old man of the group)

The senior team stuck around Saturday and went out Sunday morning to preview to Loppet course. The skiing was great and we were all sad to leave. I don't think you can beat the Porter Mnt Loop to East Mnt and High Notch anywhere in the country, lots of climbing and absolutely beautiful scenery.

(at the top of high notch)

We revealed our new suits this weekend, so the secret is out now who is racing for R.N.R ! After a great weekend of racing we are happy to welcome our newest member! We are not in to signing out of area skiers in hopes to win point races, as we are more interested in winning THE RACE! But we decided to make an exception for the G.O.A.T !!

(The G.O.A.T)

Great racing by everyone this weekend a big shout out to all of the skiers and clubs from NY who took advantage of the SUPER TOUR on our home turf! As I have always believed if you want to be the best you need to race the best because you will have a choice to make when you are done.

Are you in or are you out ?

U.S XC Nationals Recap

When it comes to skiing, there's a difference between what you think it's going to be like, what it's really like, and what you tell your friends it was like.

When Reed, Adam, and I headed off to Rumford I think we all had different expectations, thoughts, and ideas of what it was going to be like when we arrived. When we returned to Rochester the three of us knew what it WAS like to race against past and future Olympians, Junior National Champions, and if for only one week we were ski racers at the biggest show on snow and dirt !

Adam, and Reed raced in the classic sprint, 15k classic, and 10k skate races while I raced in the 15k classic, and 30k skate. As many of you already know the heat wave that hit New Years weekend greatly effected the courses in Rumford, but like any championship event it did not effect the competition. The negative of the lack of snow was that the volunteers, athletes, and coaches all had to do some shoveling, the positive about skiing 15k, or 30k on a 2.5k loop was that you had a lot of fast skiers to ski behind, ski past, and watch ski away! The opportunity to ski a lap or two or three behind a national champion gives you hope and knowledge that you can do it if only for a minute, you know if you work hard enough you can do it for 1 min, then 2min, 3min, 4min, and then hopefully for 30 minuets.

Here are some pictures and video from the past week. Enjoy and hope to see you all at the Super Tour this weekend in Lake Placid !!

To watch the video in a full size window click here: Nationals Skate Race

Ready to race !

After waiting around for another day the boys and I are ready to race. It looks as though postponing the classic race for a day will enable the organizers to patch together a 2.5k loop for tomorrows 15k. Hopefully I will be able to draw on my past experience running indoor track while at Virginia Tech so that I do not lose track of what lap i'm on. It will be a hamster wheel with skiers going round and round and with somewhere around 120 races it should prove interesting. It should also be a great opportunity to jump on the tails of some world class skiers and hitch a ride for a lap or two!

Yesterday we went to Great Glen trails in New Hampshire to seek out some snow. The trails were in great shape despite the recent thaw. Thanks to Eli Walker and the rest of the staff at Great Glen for getting the trails in shape for everyone. It was also great to see that they only charged each skier $5.oo to ski when they could of charged whatever they wanted ! You don't often see that kind of inhospitality or common sense when it comes to things of that nature and it was a huge relief for many! Thanks Again

Here a some pictures from yesterday and today. Enjoy !

(Waxing the boards up for tomorrow)

(Hanging out at the races)

(Adam racing in the qualification)

(Reed racing in his qualification)

(Our home for the week)

Nor-Am Biathlon

Last week Marty and I left Rochester and headed to our home away from home the Bradley's in Barrie Vermont. The Bradley's have been awesome letting us stay at their home for many different reasons the last few years. It makes everything a lot easier having a place to stay where you can get a good home cooked meal, enjoy great accommodations and most importantly great conversation.

(Our waxing facility at the Bradleys ! World Class)

The reason for our trip last week was to race in the Nor-Am Cup Biathlon races in Jericho Vermont. Well the report from home was that the temps were rising and the snow melting we were greeted with -6 deg on the first morning of competition. The sun came out and all three days of competition were as good as it gets with nice firm tracks and lots of snow. These races also acted as the world junior trials so their were a lot of teams, parents, and coaches making the atmosphere at the range pretty electric.

(Standing Shotting at Jericho)

It was great to see all of the New York juniors at the races. NY has a long tradition of producing some of the top biathletes in the country and it looks like we have a few more on the way!!!! The races went well for both Marty and I as we were able to go 1-2 in all 3 races. Since just about everyone who is front of us on the national rankings list is in Europe racing the podium was left wide open for the taking, and neither of us were complaining. The juniors also had a great week with Carly Wynn leading the way and qualifying for World Juniors !! Also qualifying for World Juniors was Silky Hynes a transplanted NY'er. Also competing and doing very well were NY'ers Alex Goff, Patrick Detraglia, Brian Halligan, Will Fieroh, Elizabeth Izzo, Hilary Saucy, and Maddie Phanuef

.

(My helpers for the week, Toko Cold Powder mixed with HF Blue says the kitten)

I would also like to thank Art Stegen, and Sean Halligan for all of their help on the range. Sean also had a great race on Thursday, showing his son that he still has it!

Results are posted here. http://www.eabiathlon.org/

All in all it was a great week. I'm now in Rumford Maine for U.S Nationals with Reed and Adam ! Update to be posted SOON

!!

(Also my entertainment)