Day 1:
Saturday morning greeted skiers with still air and a crisp -18C temperature, which rose slightly through the day. It really felt several degrees warmer and the day proceeded smoothly. 389 racers toed the line for Sprint Qualifying in the morning. The afternoon was quite busy with over four hours of Open, U18/U20 & U16 heats. The final climb “Grindhouse Hill” proved to be the decisive moment in many of the heats. However, we saw some of the tightest sprint finishes in an Eastern Cup in recent memory with many groups of four to six athletes battling in the final 150m.
Classic Sprint
Open Women:
1. Renae Anderson – APU
2. Michaela Keller Miller – GRP
3. Margie Freed – GRP
Open Men:
1. Luke Jager – APU
2. Michael Earnhart – APU
3. Julian Smith – Georgian Bay Nordic
Full Results
Rankings
Sam Geissinger Photos
Phil Belena Photos
Day 2:
Sunday proved to be another chilly but wonderful day, with blue sky and lots of sun. Skiers contested the 3.3km loop for the 10km and 2.5km loop for the 5km Mass Start races. To say these are hard is an understatement – these really are grueling World Cup courses with fast downhills. Skiers should be proud that they performed well on them! One of the themes of the day was the strength and depth of the Canadian skiers. Many of them crossed the border to join the weekend’s racing. They proved to be very good classic skiers, providing a good challenge for our New England and New York athletes – which brings to mind our hashtag #SkiingBetterTogether.
Classic 10km Mass Start
Open Women:
1. Alayna Sonnesyn – SMST2
2. Alex Lawson – GRP
3. Margie Freed – GRP
Open Men:
1. Luke Jager – APU
2. Michael Earnhart – APU
3. Hunter Wonders – APU
Classic 5km Mass Start
U16 Girls:
1. Evelyn Davies – Nakkertok Nordic
2. Summer Bentley – Dublin XC
3. Brooke Greenberg – Mansfield Nordic Club
U16 Boys:
1. Owen Siderius – Nakkertok Nordic
2. Evan Rebane – Nakkertok Nordic
3. Lluc Bou – Nakkertok Nordic
NENSA IG (Including full podiums.)
NENSA YouTube
