For a guy who’s usually found throwing himself off the end of ski jumps, Wesley Savill looked pretty comfortable powering through the historic ski trails between Lake Louise and Banff.
Even sans ski jump, Savill, one of Canada’s rare nordic combined athletes, still managed to secure the win Sunday (Jan. 21) at the Lake Louise to Banff Loppet.
Double poling through a dusting of snow, Savill finished the race in 3:25:48, a minute ahead of Ian Daffern. Lincoln Smith finished third (3:30:58).
Savill had a good strategy leading into the race, but it fell to pieces under a blanket of fresh snow.
“Initially, my strategy was to get a gap, but with the fresh snow, I couldn’t get away. I decided it was going to be a war of attrition out there, and it worked out well,” Savill said.
He and Daffern skied together for much of the race, working together over the 50 kilometre course, which was cut short again this year, stopping at the Sawback picnic area.
Flood mitigation work meant the race couldn’t reach Banff for the second year in a row.
While he’s accustomed to skiing 10 km skate races, this was out of his comfort zone.
“Fifty kilometres of double pole was pretty tough. I double poled most of it, but it was fun.”
He’s still racing periodically, and has shifted much of his energy to coaching.
It was Savill’s first time skiing the historic course and the Calgary native was blown away.
“It’s the most beautiful course I’ve ever skied. I’ve been a lot of places and this is by far the best,” Savill said.
He’s now off to race the American Birkebeiner, where he’ll be happy to be on his skate skis again.
Mary Young of Canmore was the women’s winner with a time of 3:34:31, where she edged out Elizabeth Paddock. Young has raced the loppet for many years with her family, but this was only her second time taking the solo challenge.
“It was excellent out there. It was a little tough going. There was a group ahead of me breaking trail, so I felt like a little bit of a wheel suck,” said Young with a chuckle. “This is such a phenomenal event. Who couldn’t be happy skiing it?”
Young said having a strong double pole is key in the race, and she won’t hesitate to race it again by herself.
“I’ve done the race 10 to 12 times with family members. I love my siblings, but it’s nice to have a little space,” Young joked.
Canmore’s Jana Jurackova finished third overall, and was the second fastest under-50 racer. Ivana Novosel was the third fastest under-50 female on the day.
Daffern topped the men’s 50-plus category, followed by Lester Berezowski and Mark Dantzer. Young was the fastest 50-plus female skier, finishing ahead of Roberta Hyland and Laurie Harvey.
