Eventual men’s winner, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) qualified for the heats with the fourth-fastest qualifying time
CANMORE, Alberta — Frozen Thunder, the 2.2-kilometer snow-covered course at the Canmore Nordic Centre, has been buzzing with activity for the last week and headlined by a classic-sprint showdown between some of the top Canadian and U.S. nordic skiers on Thursday. Here’s what you may have missed:
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess topped two U.S. Ski Team members en route to the men’s victory, winning the unofficial first race of the season by a bit of a landslide. Under warming skies, he stuck with his classic skis on the two-lap course, while eventual runner-up Andy Newell (who won the qualifier by 3 seconds) and third-place finisher Simi Hamilton slipped behind on skate skis.
“Andy made a great jump at the start of the second lap, but I was able to use the advantage of kick to accelerate away over the top of the big climb and again on the second hill to keep the advantage,” Blackhorse-von Jess, of the Bend Endurance Academy in Oregon, wrote in an email. “It may have helped that the sun came out and started NUKING right at the start of the A-final as it slowed the snow down and probably made it much more difficult to double pole up the first hill. And I had good skis, which is no small thing.”
“[Thursday] was a great tune-up,” he added. “We’ve really been focusing the last 4 years on systematically building my aerobic fitness. … Racing is so much fun, being back on the road and seeing all my friends and getting back in the wax room with Scott Johnston and Sam Naney of MOD, and for sure being in the mix with Andy and Sim who set the bar for the rest of us was awesome. And let’s be honest – winning a race against those two, even in a tune up event, even with a relatively small field, even in October, it still makes a good time even better.”
For more about the men’s and women’s sprints, check out our race recap and other photos.
The start area of Thursday’s classic sprint race between several members of the Canadian and U.S. nordic teams on Frozen Thunder, a manmade loop at the Canmore Nordic Centre in Canmore, Alberta.
Sophie Caldwell of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) and Stratton Mountain School T2 Team (SMST2) on her way to winning Thursday’s qualifier. The USST rookie placed third in the A-final.
Annie Pokorny (SMST2) in qualification at Thursday’s Frozen Thunder classic sprint in Canmore, Alberta.
Erika Flowers (SMST2) in qualification
U.S. Ski Team A-teamer Andy Newell on his way to winning Thursday’s classic sprint qualifier by 3 seconds over Stratton Mountain School T2 teammate Skyler Davis (not shown). Newell went on to place second in the A-final.
Skyler Davis (SMST2) in the qualifier
Eric Packer (SMST2) in qualification
Ida Sargent of the U.S. Ski Team and Craftsbury Green Racing Project, who qualified in third and went on to place second overall in Thursday’s classic sprint at Frozen Thunder.
Up the hill at Frozen Thunder
Simi Hamilton (USST/SMST2), who had the third fastest qualifying time and went on to place third overall.
Eventual men’s winner, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) qualified for the heats with the fourth-fastest qualifying time
From left to right: Amanda Ammar (Team Ninja), Ida Sargent (USST/CGRP), Andrea Dupont (Rocky Mountain Racers), Marlis Kromm (AWCA) in the quarterfinals
From left to right: Andy Newell (USST/SMST2), Eric Packer (SMST2), and an AWCA skier in the quarterfinals
Sophie Caldwell (USST/SMS T2), Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt, and Maya MacIsaac Jones in quarterfinals
Liz Stephen (USST) handily winning the women’s B-final
Finishing stretch of one of the men’s semifinals. From left to right: Simi Hamilton, Sam Naney (MOD), Skyler Davis, Michael Somppi (AWCA/NST).
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess, who ultimately won the men’s A-final
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