Visions of Glory in U23 Pursuit race.

Sverre CaldwellJanuary 30, 2010

Today was the U23 15/30 km pursuit day. We woke up to 10-12 inches of fresh, damp snow and an unplowed driveway. The morning got a quick jolt when the bread delivery man got stuck and the wax coaches had to help push him out. This turned out to be just a good warm up for us. It took us 15 minutes to get our car out to the main road and then the mountain road was nearly impassable. We ended up having to back our car 2 kms up the slipery road because it was the only way to get traction /weight on the front wheel drive car. At one point we pulled alongside a car driving up forwards..it was quite the experience…but somehow we made it up (45 minutes behind schedule, but in time for the races).br /The weather at the race site was cooler so the waxing wasn’t too tough and the girls got their skis in plenty of time for testing and touch up. The races started on time and there were some great competitions. You’ll have to check out the fis-ski.com site for results, I don’t have them yet.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RMWDdPsRI/AAAAAAAACOo/ueCWZNADmpA/s1600-h/IMG_2610.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RMWDdPsRI/AAAAAAAACOo/ueCWZNADmpA/s400/IMG_2610.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432550992284463378″ //aThe womens lead pack at 3km. There is a small downhill leading into a sharp corner and this steep uphill so the group gets pretty well bunched here.br /Our girls had another solid day with Sadie taking top honors in 26th. br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RLoDXP8BI/AAAAAAAACOg/7w8cB2DgFKo/s1600-h/IMG_2611.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RLoDXP8BI/AAAAAAAACOg/7w8cB2DgFKo/s400/IMG_2611.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432550201985331218″ //aIda, striding up the hill in the midst of the pack. Ida did not have a great race today, she is just a bit tired and feeling flat. To do well here, you need to feel great and have great skis. If anything is off, you drop back in a hurry. No sweat, she had a great day in the sprint and she’ll be back!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RKYkeANCI/AAAAAAAACOY/PlBsWKe2bmE/s1600-h/IMG_2616.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RKYkeANCI/AAAAAAAACOY/PlBsWKe2bmE/s400/IMG_2616.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432548836482495522″ //aMens start. br /This was another exciting pursuit race. Our boys skied really well and had us jumping up and down when Tad Elliot and Noah Hoffman entered the exchange zone at 15 km in 1st and 11th place. Reese and Pete were a bit back, but skiing well. They faded a bit during the 15km skate, but still posted solid results. They have a lapping rule that says that skiers who are lapped must DNF. Reese and Pete clearly beat the race leader through for the start of their last lap, but a race official mistakenly pulled them off course and so they were DNF’s.br /When our skiers mix it up with the top guns, it shows me that we are close to being right in the hunt. Our end results were not spectacular, but we showed that we could ski with the best in the world for a good portion of the race. br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RKMmJCrlI/AAAAAAAACOQ/yJVe-v-VTb0/s1600-h/IMG_2617.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RKMmJCrlI/AAAAAAAACOQ/yJVe-v-VTb0/s400/IMG_2617.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432548630773018194″ //abr /The picture above and the two below are taken at about 3 km into the boys race. This is the steepest hill and it is near our wax room, so I go to cheer and make sure that their wax is working. The lead pack stayed tight for the first 4 laps (of eight) so it was tough feeding and I went to help with that (so there are not too many action shots).a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RIlpdTNGI/AAAAAAAACOI/b_YYruPhdT8/s1600-h/IMG_2618.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RIlpdTNGI/AAAAAAAACOI/b_YYruPhdT8/s400/IMG_2618.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432546862136767586″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RIYpxUwmI/AAAAAAAACOA/XKfRo0YPqvo/s1600-h/IMG_2619.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RIYpxUwmI/AAAAAAAACOA/XKfRo0YPqvo/s400/IMG_2619.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432546638882456162″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RH5mQX2MI/AAAAAAAACN4/p-oCs-CW06s/s1600-h/IMG_2620.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RH5mQX2MI/AAAAAAAACN4/p-oCs-CW06s/s400/IMG_2620.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432546105362995394″ //aHere is Tad, hanging on at 29 kms.. he gave a tremendous effort and had us dreaming of a podium for 20 kms!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RHk1j7DBI/AAAAAAAACNw/fUAEkthDy9E/s1600-h/IMG_2622.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RHk1j7DBI/AAAAAAAACNw/fUAEkthDy9E/s400/IMG_2622.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432545748694273042″ //a”I know my skis are here somewhere.”br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RHSNRTr1I/AAAAAAAACNo/GfjAJ-ePtg8/s1600-h/IMG_2625.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RHSNRTr1I/AAAAAAAACNo/GfjAJ-ePtg8/s400/IMG_2625.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432545428641132370″ //aAdele, half girl, half smile :)br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RG3xu2UzI/AAAAAAAACNg/yUpXkgGjpRo/s1600-h/IMG_2623.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 297px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S2RG3xu2UzI/AAAAAAAACNg/yUpXkgGjpRo/s400/IMG_2623.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432544974572245810″ //abr /Our bosses, Matt and Pat confer in the wax room. They are doing a great job organizing everyone and keeping everyone focused and upbeat.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-3879066570984057690?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

Sverre Caldwell




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