B-Tour News: BC Ski Team in Europe 2019 - Final Report & Photo Gallery

B-Tour News: BC Ski Team in Europe 2019

Sparenmoos

January 15-18th
Our first couple of days in Zwiesseman, Switzerland were spent relaxing after a long weekend of racing in Bessans, France. We spent the start of the week training in Sparenmoos, which had some of the most beautiful skiing we have experienced. The skiing site consisted of 24km of fresh tracks with a 360 degree view of the Swiss Alps. During our last week in Europe, we were faced with a challenge, we had to cook for ourselves! Some of us decided to ditch the bread and cheese while others remained on the French diet.

Sparenmoos

January 19th
Our first day of racing started off with an adventure. While coaches got up early to prepare athletes skis, we were left to make our way up to the ski venue on the bus. Unfortunately the bus never showed up, but due to the kindness of a friendly Swiss couple, we made their way up to the ski venue squished in the back of a tiny French car! With that adventure behind us, the rest of the day went very smoothly. All athletes performed quite well against the Swiss competition and made some podiums. We were quite surprised by our podium prizes which consisted of cheese, meat, and flower seeds!

Sparenmoos

January 20th
After packing up our luggage, we headed up the narrow road for our final race of the trip. Both men and women headed out of the gate, three minutes apart, for a 10km skate race. Some of us had a more challenging race than others with difficulties making our way to the front of the pack. After another successful day for our athletes, we packed our bags, and headed for our final destination, Geneva. The trip was an eventful one with one of our two cars breaking down, but eventually making it. We ended our night with a trip into the town centre. Our last meal was at a pizzeria served by a lovely gentlemen who we have found to be the nicest man in Europe.

Results from SUI, Jan 19-20th: https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/event-details.html?sectorcode=CC&eventid=44436&seasoncode=2019

Stadium on race day in Sparenmoos, Switzerland.

Michael Murdoch, 15 km Classic race.

Benita Peiffer, 5 km Classic race.

Additional Photos:

Michael Murdoch cutting some turns.

Schedule Overview:
January 1             Arrive in Geneva (Switzerland) and drive to Les Rousses (France)
January 2 – 4       Training at Prémanom and Les Rousses
January 5 – 6       U17 Championnats de France and Tour de Ski at Prémanom
January 7 – 9       Training in Riale, Val di Formazza (Italy)
January 10 – 11   Training in Bessans (France)
January 12 – 13   Bessans Marathon du Ski
January 15 – 18   Training in Sparenmoos (Switzerland)
January 19 – 20   FIS race in Sparenmoos (Switzerland)
January 21           Travel to Geneva to fly back home

Athletes:
Benita Peiffer (Whistler Nordic Ski Club)
Joe Davies (Whistler Nordic Ski Club)
Marielle Ackermann (Kimberly Nordic Ski Club)
Michael Murdoch (Whistler Nordic Ski Club)
Mila Wittenberg (Whistler Nordic Ski Club)
Paige Latta (Sovereign Lake Nordic Club, Vernon)

Coaches:
Chris Manhard (Cross Country BC)
Paul Shipley (Telemark Nordic Club, Kelowna)

Men’s mass start race, January 20th.

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