St. Jakob im Rosental, Austria
Sunday, February 23rd
Austrian National Championships/FIS Race
Results: https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/event-details.html?sectorcode=CC&eventid=46281&seasoncode=2020
Sunday marked the second day of the pursuit on the seemingly endless 2.5-kilometre loop. For the guys, this race was a 10km skate race, and for the girls, 5km. The jury decided to cut out the upper portion of the course; a steep climb and then a one hundred and eighty degree turn into an immediate downhill that contained several sharp S-shaped turns. This was due to the course casualties from the day before, which had created a line-up of injuries for the paramedics to tend to, and dozens of other falls. All of us boys (except for Cole Turner) fell on those corners; likely he wasn’t taking it as hard or as fast as the rest of us. Racing conditions were much like the day before – a thin layer of slush over hard ice, and warm. All of the BC team raced extremely well, especially Emma, who pulled off a third and got to represent Canada up on the podium (this time making sure she got to actually step onto the podium with the others). As Gregory was not able to finish the day before, due to his huge crash, he was not allowed to participate on the second day of the pursuit race, despite the begs and pleads from our coaches.
I started roughly 45 seconds behind Cole, and that’s pretty much how we finished, except Cole underwent a catastrophic pole-basket failure and had to race with it sideways, or something. This gave me the chance to gain some time on him, and I beat him by a whopping six seconds.
Slovenia was only a stones-throw away from Rosental, and so after packing up all of our ski gear, we trekked down into this foreign country to visit Bled Castle, a castle atop a mountain overlooking a lake, that was half-blanketed by an algae-stricken, reddish blanket. Ironically enough, the lake is named Bled Lake. The town of Bled itself was a tourist hub decades ago, and still remains so now. The beautiful backdrop of the Julian Alps makes the scenery stunning. We had an excellent tour around the castle and got a glimpse of life hundreds of years ago. The castle was also a reminder of how short people used to be, with door-heights being low even for me. Fleeing back into Austria after the touristic visit was easy, at least for most of us. The main portion of the team in Frank’s van made it across the border no problem, but Chris was not so successful. He was pulled aside because we had not bought passes for the Slovenian highway as we were only driving 8km on that highway anyways. Lucky for him, although we will never know how he did it, he was able to sweet talk and woo the male border officer out of a 300 Euro fine. I suspect he has had some experience in those situations from his past. Upon arrival back in Rosental, we departed for an excellent Italian dinner, mainly consisting of pizza, weirdly enough.
Emma Wong (3rd from left)
St. Jakob im Rosental, Austria, Monday, February 24th
We departed Rosental in search of better snow conditions and foreign cheese, after first visiting a nearby farm with the largest pig in Austria! It stood at a staggering four and a half feet tall and weighed over three hundred pounds (it’s been named Schnitzel). After witnessing such a husbandry achievement, the team had to stop at McDonald’s along the way to compare the menu to our Canadian counterpart, and it turns out the Austrians do it better.
Upon arrival in Toblach, Italy, amidst the sweltering heat (+10 degrees Celsius and sunny), the team made it out for a short skate ski. The trails would have been great except they were all heavily covered in pine needles, moss, twigs, and any other debris that would have fallen from the trees and the sky in the previous month, making the workout much harder than intended. The world-famous Toblach stadium, with the trails curving over the race office, was partly green and also covered in debris. It was somewhat sad to see this amazing venue in such a state.
After a relaxing visit to the spa, we settled in for a delicious five course meal that made us all question the amount of training needed just to burn off dessert.
By Fred Albrechtson et al
Previous Reports & Photos:
1. http://www.crosscountrybc.ca/bc-ski-team-europe-2020-b-tour
2. http://www.crosscountrybc.ca/bc-ski-team-europe-2020-b-tour-feb-22
Schedule Overview:
February 12 Depart Canada
February 13 Arrive in Frankfurt (Germany) and drive to Seefeld (Austria)
February 13-16 Training in Seefeld (Austria)
February 16 Competition in Saltzburg (Austria)
February 16-21 Training in Ramsau (Austria)
February 21-24 FIS race in St Jakob/Rosental (Austria)
February 24-27 Training in Toblach (Italy)
February 27-March 1 FIS race in Klosters/Davos (Switzerland)
March 1-2 Travel to Frankfurt (Germany); fly back home
Athletes:
Beth Granstrom (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, Revelstoke)
Cole Turner (Telemark Nordic Club, Williams Lake)
Emma Wong (Strathcona Nordic Ski Club, Courtenay)
Fred Albrechtson (Nickel Plate Cross Country Ski Club, Penticton)
Gabe Gledhill (Strathcona Nordic Ski Club, Cumberland)
Gregory Baxter (Bulkley Valley Cross Country Ski Club, Smithers)
Marielle Ackermann (Kimberley Nordic Club, Kimberley)
Torin Andrews (Sovereign Lake Nordic Club, Vernon)
Coaches:
Chris Manhard (Cross Country BC)
Frank Ackermann (Kimberley Nordic Club)