HomeTag

Brent McMurtry

Cockney Trusts in Tactics, Skis to Secure Sprint Win

The fifth man at the top of the last hill leading down into the stadium, Jesse Cockney was fairly confident he’d win the final. The 22-year-old Canadian Senior Development Team member had a few things going for him – knowledge of the course, confidence in himself and confidence in his skis. Cockney’s calculations played out, as the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) skier slingshot past his competitors and kept the lead to the finish of...

It’s not as if one of the top two men on this year’s NorAm circuit really had an advantage. While Kevin Sandau had more recently heaved himself up the grinding hills at the Canmore Nordic Centre with his Alberta World Cup Academy teammates, both he and Brent McMurtry (Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre) spent plenty of time training there with the Canadian National Ski Team. Both Senior Development Team members, Sandau and McMurtry also grew up...

Standing at the starting gate in bib No. 107 on Sunday, Brent McMurtry of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) looked out and saw only space in front of him. Numbers 106 and 105 weren’t present, leaving empty race spots and more time waiting for the countdown. While some would view not having someone to chase in an interval start as a disadvantage, McMurtry liked it. On the last day of NorAm competition in Whistler,...

Despite not feeling it in the beginning, Kevin Sandau had time to figure his body out in the Haywood NorAm men’s 30 k skiathlon on Thursday at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia. For the first half of the eight-lap race, Sandau, a member of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Canadian National Ski Team, decided to let others lead. By others, that mostly meant Brent McMurtry of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH)....

Sandau Keeps NorAm Streak Going

ROSSLAND, British Columbia — It’s not that Kevin Sandau’s not a team player. He just puts the pedal down when he feels like it. One of four Alberta World Cup Academy skiers seeded in the top eight of Sunday’s NorAm 15 k freestyle mass start, Sandau pushed the pace early as he tried to break free of the 73-man field. It didn’t exactly work at first, but the man in the green leader’s jersey kept...

Cockney Keeps Momentum Going, Wins NorAm Sprint in Rossland

ROSSLAND, British Columbia — Anyone who caught a glimpse of Jesse Cockney on Saturday probably saw him smiling — except for when he was racing, in which case he was concentrating. The first day of NorAm freestyle competition at Black Jack Ski Club started out well enough for the 22-year-old Alberta World Cup Academy skier, as Cockney won a sprint qualifier for the first time in his life. The fifth to start on a 1.6...

NorAm Racers Roll with Punches, Ready for Rossland

ROSSLAND, British Columbia — The thing about competitive ski racing is, one has to be prepared for the unexpected. It’s not as if Jack Carlyle, a junior racer for Thunder Bay’s national development center (NDC), could have anticipated his bags would be stolen in the 15 minutes they were outside his house, but he dealt with it. NDC head coach Eric Bailey, who was supposed to drive him to the airport, told Carlyle to sit...

McMurtry, Greer ‘Fine’ After Car Accident

Brent McMurtry of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre and Foothills Nordic Ski Club said he and teammate David Greer were unhurt after his car slid off the road while driving from Silver Star to Rossland, British Columbia. The accident happened near the town of Midway, slightly more than halfway into the 370-kilometer (230-mile) trip. Several cross-country skiers and teams traveled the same route to prepare for the second set of NorAm races in Rossland this...

VERNON, British Columbia — After five years on the NorAm Cup circuit, all Kevin Sandau needed was a little verification. Seeded first and the last to start in the men’s 15 k classic individual start on Sunday at Sovereign Lake, that meant something. The 23-year-old, who recently returned from several weeks of racing in World Cup and FIS races, had never started last in a Continental Cup race before. He had also never won one....

Sinnott Wins NorAm Classic Sprint

VERNON, British Columbia — As six men threaded the underpass and burst into the stadium at Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, Canadian Brent McMurtry and American Mike Sinnott sent spectators running toward the finish. The men’s ‘A’ final of the 1.4-k classic Teck Sprints at the NorAm Cup opener Saturday was shaping up to be a close one, and who wanted to miss that? As he crossed the line just ahead of McMurtry, Sinnott knew he...

Sun Valley Notes: Hamilton’s Break, Elliott’s Classic Breakthrough, and $$$

Off days are good for any number of things: big breakfasts, easy ski sessions, and watching NASCAR on TV. (Yeah, it’s been a slow afternoon at the FasterSkier regional headquarters). But they’re also good for catching up on all the things we missed from the last few days. Below is a brief selection. –Simi Hamilton’s dominating performance in the men’s prologue on Tuesday was a demonstration of what a well-trained athlete can do in a...

Preview: Freeman Headlines U.S. 50 K Champs., But Others Lurk

Kris Freeman (USST) will be the odds-on favorite to win Saturday’s U.S. national championship in the 50 k classic. But the way his last two seasons wrapped up, just making it to the start line in Sun Valley, ID, is a victory in and of itself. In late March, 2009, Freeman was recuperating from surgery on his legs to relieve the debilitating symptoms of exertional compartment syndrome; he had been forced to end his season...

The 2011 Haywood Canadian National Championships began Saturday, and the drive to crown the next Canadian national champion starts now! Held in the Canadian ski mecca of Canmore, Alberta, the premiere event in Canadian skiing features seven days of intense junior and senior racing action. The racing opens with a Team Sprint on Saturday, March 12, followed by a middle-distance freestyle on Sunday, March 13. The athletes then enjoy a day of rest, and the...

There is no doubt that when Canadian Brent McMurtry trained this summer, he was motivated by the thought of standing on the start line in the stadium in Oslo, Norway, in February. But for McMurtry, a member of the Pierre Harvey National Development Center (CNEPH) and one of Canada’s most promising young skiers, had a self-described “disappointing” start to the season. During the first World Cup period, he fell flat, cracking the top 50 just...

Dusseldorf City Sprint Preview – Get Yer Popcorn Ready!

Since 2002, the city sprint in Dusseldorf, Germany, has become a fixture on the International Ski Federation’s (FIS’s) World Cup calendar. One of three regular city sprints on the circuit, Dusseldorf features a flat, extremely fast, and almost dangerously narrow and twisty sprint course. Over the last eight seasons, the German city has become renown for carnage and upsets, almost as much as for cross-country skiing in a unique location and with a great crowd...

U.S., Canadian Teams Disperse; Sprinters Head to D-Dorf, Slowly

This weekend’s World Cup city sprints in Dusseldorf aren’t supposed to start in the airport. But the American and Canadian ski teams will be cutting it pretty close. Thanks to a strike by Finnair’s flight attendants, the two squads’ sprinters are spending Thursday night in Finland and departing for Germany on Friday—giving the teams a buffer of roughly 24 hours before the start of the races on Saturday. American Andy Newell’s schedule will be even...

The Canadian National Ski Team (CNST), despite fielding five men with Olympic experience, started the 2010-2011 World Cup season slowly on Saturday. In the 15 k freestyle in Gallivaere, Sweden, Alex Harvey led the team, placing in 34th, while Ivan Babikov finished 54th, Devon Kershaw 58th, George Grey 78th, and Brent McMurtry 94th. “It was definitely a bit of a letdown,” said Head Coach Justin Wadsworth in a phone interview with FasterSkier. “I was obviously...

With the top Americans starting their race season yesterday in Munio, Finland with a skate sprint, the Canadians attempted to keep pace, taking part in a 1.6 k skate sprint in Bruksvallarna, Sweden. There were several top finishes by the Americans in Munio, including a win by Kikkan Randall, and  the Canadians kept the ball rolling in Scandinavia with more early-season North American success. The day started out extremely promising. Dasha Gaiazova tore up the...

While the Americans started their European campaign Friday with much fanfare in Muonio, Finland, news from the Canadian National Ski Team (CNST) has been more sparse this past week. Nonetheless, the Canucks will kick off their own competition season on Saturday and Sunday with two races in Bruksvallarna, Sweden—albeit a little more quietly. Most of the athletes on the team’s World Cup squad, along with a few up-and-comers, are scheduled to start Saturday’s sprint and...