Silver Star, BRITISH COLUMBIA: While Holly Brooks knew she was ahead the whole time in Sunday’s 10 k freestyle Nor-Am, she had no idea by how much, or if it was going to last.
“I was getting good splits, but I didn’t know where anyone was, really,” Brooks told FasterSkier. “I felt like I had a good race, but knowing that Caitlin [Compton] and Brooke Gosling was right behind me definitely provided motivation for the fire,” Brooks explained.
“I never looked back, but every time I came to a hill and heard people cheering, I was listening closely to hear of they were cheering for Holly or cheering for Holly and Caitlin. I didn’t hear Caitlin, so that was good,” Brooks said, adding that she likes the course at Sovereign Lake.
“I had good races here last year, and I like these courses. They seem to suit my style of skiing,” she said.
Even with almost a foot of new snow falling overnight and into the morning, Brooks said that the trails were amazing.
“I can’t believe how good shape the trails were. The trails were fantastic. I’m really impressed. The groomers must have been out there pretty much all night long, so a big ‘thank you’ to all of those guys,” she said.
But while the skiing was sweet and the victory tasted great, especially after what Brooks didn’t consider her best sprint Saturday, coming back to the team house after the race was anything but a celebration. In fact, it was more like a second race, Brooks said.
“We had less than an hour to move out of our unit before the next occupants were moving in,” Brooks said, explaining that there was a snafu with the team’s reservation.
But packing up camp after spending 10 days in the house is not easily done in an hour. Let alone just after finishing on a hard race course. “All I wanted to do was come back, have a shower, eat, and lay on my back for a while, and then we find out we have less than an hour to entirely move out. It was crazy,” Brooks said, noting that four hours after her race, she was still wearing her spandex.
However, her group got relocated and reunited with the rest of the APU team members, and spent the night in Silver Star. The team moves on to Rossland, BC, to prepare for the upcoming Nor-Am mini-tour there next weekend. Brooks is already excited for the race.
“I’m pretty excited to be racing right now. I’ve been training for a long time and I’m mentally ready to race,” she said.
Inge Scheve
Inge is FasterSkier's international reporter, born and bred in Norway. A cross-country ski racer and mountain runner, she also dabbles on two wheels in the offseason. If it's steep and long, she loves it. Follow her on Twitter: @IngeScheve.
