The second day of the Ski Tour Canada in Canmore challenged Canadian women as they took to the hilly and lengthy skiathlon course, Wednesday (March 9).
Smooth conditions aided the cross-country skiers in their long journey from start to finish as Emily Nishikawa ended up 37th (43:57.6) and was the top Canadian in the taxing race at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
Cendrine Browne crossed the line right behind Nishikawa in 38th (44:0.9), Dahria Beatty checked in at 41st (44:40.0) and finishing behind her was Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt in 42nd (44:45.2).
Nishikawa, 26, wishes she had been a bit snappier on the course, but was “inspired” by the gutsy top-15 sprint performance a day earlier by teammate Beatty.
“The course was amazing, I just love racing here in Canmore,” said Nishikawa. “I wanted more for myself today, but I had to tough it out on a hard day … my body is definitely starting to feel the fatigue and I was tired today.”
Just like in Tuesday’s (March 8) female sprint, Norwegians swept the podium.
Heidi Weng had a golden performance, coming in at 39.41.0. Therese Johaug took silver (39:41.8) after a wipeout in the sprint knocked her out of podium contention, and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen claimed bronze (39:50.8), to go with a silver medal in the sprint.
Rounding out the top 50 for Canada were Katherine Stewart-Jones (48th) and Annika Hicks (49th).
The Outlook was unable to publish the men’s results from Wednesday due to publication deadlines. For story and results, please see www.rmoutlook.com.
The 15-kilometre track switched between classic and free and was just about as fun as a hard race can get, said Bouffard-Nesbitt.
Fatigue settling in on the skiers is becoming a factor, due to sprints the previous day, and the ongoing weeks of the national tour grind. The Nordic Centre’s steep inclines gave skiers a tough uphill battle, leaving them sucking wind as they reached the top.
Browne stuck close to Nishikawa throughout the course of the race and managed to pull off her best world cup result.
“The classic course was really hard, but I managed to stay with Emily … I’m happy with the result, I’m getting closer to 30th, so that’s nice,” said Browne, 22.
Bouffard-Nesbitt, 23, had mixed feelings following her performance. On one hand, it was her best world cup result, she said, but it wasn’t a personal best for her.
“My body felt not bad, I felt I just had trouble getting the most out of it. I just had trouble really pushing it; but I can’t be mad at another sweet opportunity to race world cup,” said Bouffard-Nesbitt.
“Not to make excuses at all, but the first day back here, coming back from Quebec, I felt like I had never been at altitude before. Every hill you climb, it just feels like you’re sucking in air, (but) I think I’m back to normal.
“I’m really looking forward to my next race. I have a stress fracture in my toe, so I’ve hardly classic skied this winter, but my skate skiing has been stronger and it’s another opportunity to have a good race.”
After a day off Thursday (March 10), Ski Tour Canada starts up again Friday (March 11) at 9:45 a.m. at the Nordic Centre with the women’s interval start free technique, followed by the men’s.
On Saturday, the women’s 10 k and men’s 15 k pursuit gets underway at 1 p.m.
