2007 US National Championships
Houghton, MI
1.4km Classic Sprint

With two second places finishes in the 5km and 10km, people were starting to call me the Second Place Queen. So, as you can imagine, I was very excited to get to the sprint event for a chance at victory and a new nickname! We got a day off between the distance and sprint races. Taz and I went for a recovery ski that was supposed to be at "walk the dog" pace. However, after fifteen minutes we determined our "dog" to be hyperactive and had to slow down the pace. Excitement was building. The recovery day flew by.

Weather forecasts for the sprint day were calling for possible snow flurries and cooling temperatures, which meant that waxing could be tricky. Erik, Frode and Holly (the APU coaches) headed out to the venue at the crack of dawn to a head start on wax testing. So, by the time we arrived an hour and a half before start, everything was under control. I took a quick lap around the course to check the trail conditions. The track had frozen over night and as long as the 300+ starters didn't destroy it too much, the skiing would be excellent.

The men started the qualifying round first, so I had a few minutes to hang out in the van before warming up. The other APU girls and I were in high spirits and jamming out to our favorite tunes. The course was closed while the men were racing so there wasn't much opportunity to test the race wax on my skis. I had to put my faith in the coaches that they had the right amount of the right wax. My warm up went smooth, starting off easy to get the body warm and then finishing off with sprint pace accelerations. By the time I made it to the start pen I was warm and ready!

I was the first starter for the women's field. The wind was picking up, creating a slight headwind going out of the start. I took a couple quick strides to build momentum and then switched to a quick double-pole rhythm. The course went straight for a 150m and then took a big 180 degree turn to the left. The turn was icy, so I took careful steps, and accelerated out the other side. Now, with the wind at my back, I opened up my double-pole and powered into the downhill section of the course. I held a tight inside line down through the s-turns and came flying around a sharp left hand turn at the bottom of the course. The next 500m was uphill and I focused on quick, meaningful movements. I crested the hill still feeling fresh and powered in the rest of the way, mixing double-pole kick and double-pole to make it to the line. Then I slid my foot across. One down!

After all the womenÕs field had finished, I led the qualifying round by 2 seconds. I did a short cool down ski and then headed over to the Michigan Tech University campus with my APU teammates to find a couch to pass the three hour wait before the heats started. We found a nice corner lounge to commandeer. I changed into dry clothes, choked down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and Powerbar (food is never very appealing on race day) and dozed off. ItÕs a bit weird to take a nap between races on the same day, but pleasant none the less!

When it was finally time to warm up, I cruised back over to the venue and started revving up the engine. The menÕs quarterfinals went first, so again, no chance to test race wax, going on faith once again! I began my afternoon starting in the first womenÕs quarterfinal, taking the lead right from the gun. I skied a hard but controlled pace, unchallenged, and moved on to the semifinals. Between heats I skied a little and jogged a little to stay loose.

Competition would be more challenging in the semifinal. I picked the middle lane and readied for the start. Off went the gun and out we went. I took the lead once more and skied out front the whole way. I wanted to ski a hard pace in this round to prepare myself for the final. Breathing hard, I crossed the line in first and advanced to the A-final.

The A-final would be a much anticipated match up between myself and CXC skier Laura Valaas, who had gone undefeated in North American sprints this season. I was excited for a good challenge! The menÕs A & B finals and the womenÕs B final were held first, and then our final would be the last race. My skis had been working well in every round so the coaches just touched up the wax job and wished me good luck.

As the top qualifier I got first lane choice, I picked lane three right in the middle. I set my skis down in the track as the other skiers chose their lanes. Then I clicked into my bindings, double-checked my pole straps, and adjusted my glasses. The starter was positioned behind us so there would be no advantage of reading his reaction before the gun. I waited patiently sliding my skis back and forth until we were given the set command. Then I planted my poles, crouched down and readied to pounce.....BANG!

I lunged out of the start, slipping once, but quickly recovered and strided hard down the lanes. Six lanes changed to four lanes, and I took the lead, double-poling with a fast tempo. Approaching the turn however, I slowed slightly, made a couple relaxed strokes, and then accelerated hard out the other side. This broke the train of skiers apart and I went flying into the next stretch with just Laura in tow. I opened up my double-pole, throwing my hips forward down the trail and bringing my body weight down over the poles with quick impulses.

As we entered the downhill I could hear Laura on my tails. I stayed low and took tight inside lines. On the bottom corner, I stayed wide and then cut in at the last second to get a slightly surge into the first steep.

Over the first gradual section of the uphill I settled into a quick, relaxed stride. But as the trail steepened again, I kicked it into sprint mode and jammed as fast as I could. I used quick, short strides to get up and over the steep and then lengthened out my stride as the speed increased. The track was icy and washed out in places so it took finesse and power, all at the same time, to keep momentum. I strided as fast as I could and then threw in a few double pole kicks as I approached the final 100m.

The wind was blowing in my face down the final stretch and it would have been impossible to hear any encroaching competition. So I continued to push the pace all the way down the lane until the final meter, where I cracked a smile as I slid across the line. I took a quick look back and was amazed to see a huge gap. Laura Valaas was coming in for second place and then a few meters behind her, Lindsey Weier. We exchanged congratulations.

Upon leaving the finish area I got a big hug from my Dad and a bunch of congratulations from spectators, athletes and coaches. The best one was USST coach Matt Whitcomb, ÒYeah Kikkan, you just won me some money!Ó I guess the stakes were higher than I thought, hee hee! With all the races of the day concluded, it was time for the flower ceremony. After standing on step two all week, I finally got to be on top of the podium, celebrating my first classic sprint national title.

Later in the evening, I got to share a champagne toast with my APU team. It was great to celebrate a great day, not just for me, but for the whole team. After a few cheers, and many laughs, we all headed to bed to prepare for the final race of the 2007 US National Championships, a freestyle team sprint.

One more race to go!

Cheers,
Kikkan :)

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