Notes
The last time Andrea Dupont and Heidi Widmer battled head to head in a skate sprint at the Canmore Nordic Centre, it was for a trip to Sochi.
On a tense, snowy day, Widmer dominated the field to clinch a trip to her first Olympics, while Dupont was left pondering her future after finishing fourth in the A final.
A year later on the same course, Dupont rewrote the script, defeating Widmer to win the Western Canadian Championships open women’s sprint title on Saturday (Jan. 17). Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt was third.
“A year ago, Heidi took it on the climb. Since then, you rehearse the race in your mind and I know I have to hang onto the finishing stretch. I know I’m strong at the finish and today I was able to hang on,” Dupont said.
The 34-year-old Dupont had to be tactical to take the win in the A final, as the course included a large climb and several technical sections. She and Widmer opened up a small gap on the field after the climb, and crested the top of the final downhill neck-and-neck. In all speed sports, such moments usually define the race. On the Nordic Centre sprint course, the racer leading on the last downhill is usually at a disadvantage, as the second racer is usually able to tuck in behind, riding the slipstream to conserve energy and use a slingshot maneuver to take the lead on the final stretch. This time, Dupont ended up with the advantage.
“At the downhill, Heidi went wide to force me to go first. We went in together and I tucked in,” Dupont said.
The two barreled into the stadium, where Dupont found an extra gear to secure the win. It was her first skate sprint victory of the season and a huge relief for Dupont, who wants a spot on Canada’s world championship team.
“I’ve had some good races in qualifying, but I haven’t really pieced it together in the final yet, so it feels good to finally do it,” Dupont said.
Dupont said conditions were much different than the 2014 Olympics trials, as the speed of the course surprised the skate sprint specialist.
“It was a bit of a surprise. I haven’t done much on this course since last year,” Dupont said.
Canada isn’t publishing criteria for the world championship team, as coaches’ discretion will be used heavily to determine the selections. Dupont said she’s doing her best to make sure she’s in that discussion.
“On the world championships side, the girl’s side is undetermined, so we’ll see what happens,” Dupont said.
Michael Somppi, 26, also used the Western Championships to reach the elusive top podium step. After a year of near misses, Somppi finally won gold in the open men’s sprint race in decisive fashion. Julien Locke finished second, while Knute Johnsgaard of Whitehorse was third.
“I’ve been trying so hard to get a win all year. I’ve come third a lot and second once. It’s just nice to be on the top step,” Somppi said.
“I actually thought about not racing as I felt tired after travelling from the races in Duntroon, but the coaches said ‘just be mentally strong and go for it.’ That’s what I did and I’m glad I raced.”
Locke tried to end the race early with a big push right off the start, but Somppi was able to latch onto him right away, matching him stride for stride up the climbs.
By the time they reached the top, Locke stopped so he could catch a draft off Somppi on the downhill. The strategy backfired.
“He stopped skiing at the top. I looked back and everyone was catching us again. I said, ‘I’m going.’ I guess his legs were blown out, so he couldn’t follow me,” Somppi said.
Somppi is now the overall NorAm leader, and he’ll head overseas on a ‘B’ team tour in February. He said the race schedule has kept him in great shape, and he’s ready to make the next step.
“I want to perform (overseas). I’ve had a lot of opportunities and on average I haven’t performed my best. I have to keep progressing as the season goes forward,” Somppi said.
