Race Report: Duluth SuperTour
At the Grand Avenue Nordic Center in Duluth, Minnesota.
I just finished my first “real” races of the season this past weekend (12/4—12/5) at the SuperTour races in Duluth. It was a very fun weekend and my aim with this blog is to provide a behind-the-scenes look at my thoughts and actions during the race days, as well as the days leading up to the races.
To provide a brief background for those who may not know, the SuperTour is the top race series for professional skiers in the United States. The locations for these early season races generally bounce around the US, but it is really rare for these early ones to be in the Midwest. They’re almost always out West or in Canada where the higher altitudes provide reliable snow conditions. However, with the recent advancements in the snowmaking capabilities of venues like Duluth and Cable, we are finally able to host them here locally! This is a huge win for Team Birkie and the future of Midwest skiing as a whole.
My girlfriend, Julie, and I arrived in Duluth on Tuesday afternoon. I always try to get to the race destination as early as is reasonably possible. It helps me a lot personally to spend time in a place before the races because I can get in a good rhythm with sleep, eating, and training. I also find it really beneficial to train on the race course in the days leading up to the races.
Negative tests prior to Duluth. You can never be too safe, right?
The next day (Wed.) I did an interval session that I usually like to do on the Wednesday before a Saturday-Sunday race weekend. It is one that I started doing when I was at NMU. The workout is 1x5 min L3, 3x3 min L3-4, 3x1 min L4, and then another 1x5 min L3 at the end. I think it’s a good workout to wake up your body, but not too hard that you get really tired from it. I also did some light strength in our AirBnB in the afternoon — core, etc.
Making good use of our lofted AirBnB for some pull-ups :-)
On race weeks, Thursday is traditionally a really easy day for me. Its generally either two super short/easy workouts or even an off day if I am traveling. Everyone has their own way of doing things during a race week, but this is just what I have been doing for the past few years. I skied short and easy in the morning and then did a short afternoon jog.
Jogging on the Duluth shopping streets with Julie. Christmas is definitely in the air!
Friday was pre-race day, meaning I did some more short intervals on the race course to try to get my body ready to go for the sprint race on Saturday. I also did some ski testing to try to find the best pair of skis for the conditions.
Lots of Madshus skis to test! A fun “problem” to have.
Saturday: Skate Sprint
I was really looking forward to Saturday’s sprint race because it was our first sprint race of the year. I really enjoy skiing as fast as I can, as well as all of the tactics that go into sprint heats.
The day started off with the qualifier, a 1.5K solo effort to determine placement in the heats. I had a decent race, ending up in 10th and about 4 seconds behind 1st place Tyler Kornfield. Tyler is a 2018 Olympian and has been a very strong skier for many years.
After the qualifier, I sat in my car for a couple of hours waiting for the heats to begin. I was scheduled to race at 12:15 in Heat #4, so I planned my warmup accordingly. Unfortunately, there was a last minute change that moved me into Heat #1 at 12:00. I didn’t figure this out until about 8 minutes before the heat started and I had barely warmed up. I tried to stay focused and adapt to the situation, as I know that things are often unpredictable in skiing. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a good rhythm in my heat and finished in 4th, eliminating me for the day. I was really disappointed but had to move on to focusing on the next race.
Final place: 17th
Sunday: 10K Skate Interval Start
Though I typically consider myself an all-rounder when it comes to sprinting and distance skiing, I definitely had a bigger focus on distance racing in the past 5 seasons as a result of being an NCAA skier. I am constantly working on sprinting but it can be very hit or miss, especially so early in the winter. That being said, I was very excited for Sunday’s distance race. I was very eager for the opportunity to bounce back after a disappointing race on Saturday.
The conditions were very tricky with a good amount of fresh snow from the morning in addition to the fact that it was actively pouring down freezing rain. I ended up feeling really solid during the race — I took it out very hard and ended up holding on just enough to win. Distance races, especially 10Ks, are always a balance between going too fast and not going fast enough. I was really happy to see my former teammates Kjetil and Adam in 2nd and 3rd.
It also really helps that Madshus makes a ski that is super fast in fresh snow conditions. The Redline 3.0 F3 Skate ski has no groove on the front half of the ski and this allows them to “float” better in the fresh snow than anything I have ever used before. It’s the truth!
Final place: 1st
Podium picture after Sunday’s distance race.
I am incredibly honored to be able to represent Team Birkie and the Midwest region at these SuperTour races. It meant the world to me to be able to win in front of so many of my friends and supporters. People are so nice. I am blown away by all of the kind words I received over the weekend. Also, a huge thank you to Jeremy, Max, Caitlin, and Leo for all of their hard work on our skis this weekend. They seriously worked their asses off.
Caitlin, me, Leo, and Jeremy happy despite the shitty weather.
Looking forward…
Up next are more SuperTour races, this time in Cable, Wisconsin on the Birkie Trails!
Friday, Dec. 10: Skate Mass Start 20K
Saturday, Dec. 11: Classic Sprint
Sunday, Dec. 12: Classic 15K
At the end of the day, I am so happy and grateful to be able to race people from around the US and Canada again after such a strange season last year. Fingers crossed things don’t get too messed up again this year too…
Thank you for reading!
