DU Invite!

We just returned from our final NCAA Division I race of the season and it was amazing!

The weekend started out a little rough when the temperature dropped more than 15 degrees, necessitating re-glide waxing 17 pairs of skis on Friday morning. This was in addition to kick waxing the skis as well. Rachel worked on the kick while Ashley and I blasted through the glide as quickly as possible. The race was a 5km (women) or 1okm (men) classic inverval start race.

he women started at 9am and the temperature hadn't warmed up 2 degrees in the last 3 hours we had been at the venue and watching the thermometer. This made the kick for the women really easy and we ended up going with an extremely old Swix Special Blue that had bomber kick and was rocking fast. You can't even buy that kick anymore so hopefully we don't face this scenario often! The glide was also pretty easy, Fast Wax Tan. We love it when the temperature is in the Fast Wax Tan range because despite tons of testing we've not found anything better between 12-18F. We know most of the teams won't have Fast Wax so we know our skis will be good on those days!

Anyway, the women went out and had a great day, with Gracey busting into the top 30 in 28th and Kari (33) and Gwynn (36) solidly in the top 40. Morgan had a slightly off day but still managed 41. Marie didn't have a great day but thanks to new skis from the Snow Mountain Nordic Center we'll be looking for some better finishes next time! The women beat Whitman by 5 points and Gracey was within 7 seconds of Whitman's top girl, the closest any Cowgirl has been all year!

The men arrived to the frantic activity of re-waxing. While there were only 5 women to rewax there were 9 men and that takes some time. The coaches were unable to get out to cheer the women because the men had too many skis! We managed to get through the glide waxing, once again Fast Wax Tan, and on to the kick. The course was crazy because the snow varied from windblown, dry, cold snow in the valley to warm, wet, corn snow up on the top of the course. It was a kick waxing nightmare. Luckily for the men Rachel was up to the task. Not only was the course variable but it started warming up fast, 10 degrees between 10-11am!

The combination was crazy with the first starters on 3 layers of Rode Multigrade blue, 2 of Star Top Blue and 1 of Start Black Magic. The men did not start all at once so the men who started further back needed different wax and gradually it went from 3 layers of Rode Multigrade Blue and Rode Weiss mixed, 2 of Start Top Blue and 1 of Start Black Magic to 3 layers of Rode Multigrade Purple, 2 of Start Top Violet and 1 of Start Black Magic. It was a crazy time but we got everone waxed and started on the course for another great race.

The men were lead by Evgeniy in 25 who had a great day despite the fact that his skis were soft and the wax wore off before the hills on the second lap. He was followed by Eliah (31), Daniel (33), John (38) and Matt (40) in the top 40. Jacob had another impressive finish, after being out all fall recovering from ACL surgery, in 43 and was followed by Grigory (47), Justin (49) and Willie (50).

The men beat Whitman by 14 points and were huting bigger game being only 16 points behind University of Denver and 18 behind University of New Mexico. All the teams at this race are fully funded, varsity teams and our athletes love getting in there and being the underdog.

Saturday's waxing went a little better, with our knowledge of the local weather paterns at Devil's Thumb. Although the forcast was for warmer temperatures we went with Fast Wax Tan again for glide and it paid off. Although we arrived early, in case we had to rewax or put on fluoro's, we tested wax after wax as well as fluoro's and structure only to find that what we had on was the best we could do. Yay! No rewax for the 10 men in the race!

Saturday's races were exciting mass start skate races, the men doing 15km and the women 10km. With the men ready to go and only 5 women to glide wax we had a chance to see a little of men's race and it was so exciting! Zhenya got a great start and was with the lead pack at the start and by the end of the first 5km lap he was sitting in 21st! A great race! Eliah was having a bit of a tough race but the beauty of having such a strong men's team is that John chose this day to have his best race of the season. Dan & Joe were also skiing well followed closely by Justin, Jacob, Matt, Grigory and Willie. For the second lap we weren't able to see much of what was going on but when the men started finishing it was amazing! Zhenya had pulled up and finished in 17th! John had held on for a solid 31st, Eliah and Dan in 35 & 36, Joe in 38, Justin, Jacob and Matt 39, 40 and 41. Grigory and Willie rounded out the Cowboy attack in 44 and 45. Zhenya's 17th was the best UW men's finish since the NCAA team was cut in 1993 and he was only 1:25 back from the leader (3%)! He lead the men's team to the best team day since 1993 as well!

The amazing and exciting day only got better when the women took to the course. We had been testing glide consistently since 6:30am and Fast Wax Tan with HWK HFW 2 mixed on the back 1/2 of the ski and no fluoros was rocking but 25 minutes before the women's start the fluoros started running and panic was on! We got all the skis waxed with just 4 minutes to go but it was well worth the effort as the women matched the men's effort! Gracey's skis were so fast that she was passing other racers in a tuck as they were skating! Since there were no more skis to wax for the day the coaches were able to get out on the course and it was wonderful!

The first lap Gracey cruised by us smiling and looking strong in 22nd place, the best place by a woman to date! She was followed by Kari in 28th and Gwynn 28 who had Marie hot on her heals! All four women who started were in the top 32! We'd never had that before! The second lap went even better with Gracey moving up to take the first ever top 20 place since 1993 with 19th. Kari also moved up 26, Marie into 28th and Gwynn 29! Four women in the top 30 and 1 in the top 30!

It was an amazing race and an amazing weekend! Everyone is now pumped for the Cowboy Chase, February 21 & 22, and USCSA Nationals, March 3-7. USCSA Nationals will be on those same trails and the athletes have a huge advantage having raced them this weekend.

We hope this is the first of many such races!