Scando Wrap-Up

Since I have a free afternoon in Turkey, and this is what it looks like outside (the wind is whistling on my window, snow is coming down sideways):

I think I’ll do a Scando cup update before dinner.

Estonia was fun as usual. We stayed in a hostel near a lake, with ski trails that led to the venue. The food was typically simple and yummy, but very fishy, potato-ey, and fatty. I was happy about the soup that came with every lunch because the weather was pretty cold and grey, so I needed the warmth. The Norwegians were also staying in our hostel, two whole tour-busses of them. It’s incredible how many of them there are on the Scando Cup circuit. I roomed with Emily Hannah and Mary O’Connell, both from Steamboat. It was fun to get to know them a little better, and we had lots of visitors as the boys next door wanted to hang out in our larger and much better smelling room.

The classic sprint was a pretty good race for me. I think that I did a better job of skiing the steep sections and herringboned the best I ever have. However, those parts were still the places that I got dropped in my heat. I qualified 22nd and finished the same. It was not bad, but not where I would like to be. There is some kind of gluteal spring that crazy little norwegians have, and I am working on developing. It was incredible to watch the women’s Final- they were like geckos running up a wall! The men’s race was also a good show for spectators. Jan Christian Dahl was there, a world cup winner, and he controlled the mens field for the most part. He liked to ‘putz around’ as Jessie would call it, and played games in most of his heats. On the last hill though, they were all going all-out.

The next day was a classic 10k, something that I had been looking forward to for a while. I consider classic 10k individual starts to be my best distance, so I was excited to throw down agains these crazy scando ladies! On race day however, I just never got into the zone like that. It was weird. my body was going alright, I didn’t feel terrible, I just felt stuck in 4th gear. I got to learn a lot though! As a Norwegian passed me on the last lap, I hung for a little while. It wasn’t in the double pole that she was getting me, but the funny little kick-double pole sections at the bottom of transitions. The course was typical Estonia- they have one hill so they use it three times in the same lap. The rest of it was rolling and flattish, and it was fun to ski. The men’s race was fun to watch, and you could see some of that scando-skill in transitions.

After the races, we had a couple of days to hang out in Estonia before heading to Turkey for World Juniors and U23 Worlds. It was relaxing and fun- we got to ski the trails from the venue to the Hostel, do some laundry, and go visit Tallinn. I feel like I got to know Estonia a little better, that’s for sure! Last time I visited Tallinn it was dark out on a Sunday evening, so not a lot was happening. For all the photos from these few days, check out my album.

Here are a few key photos from the Tallinn expedition-