I'll get back to this photo in a moment...
I'm stuck in Golden, BC...the highway is closed off westbound and southbound due to avalanches...gotta love the mountain! So figured it was good time to fire off an update...
First off - A great big shout out to my boy Ivan Babikov (see photo) for winning the last stage of the FIS Tour de Ski!! As Spock would say..."This boy love that left over roast beef!' After getting sick on stage 5, Babikov and the rest of the canucks suffered the consequences on stage 6 taking them out of contention and a potential top 15 finish. But on the last day, Ivan (starting in 48th position overall due to his poor performance in Stage 6) raced up the 11km track to the top of the mountain, claiming the fastest time and the title of 'King of the Mountain' - His first World Cup victory!
Happy New Year!
Life has been a bit of a blur ever since the counter rolled over to 2009 but it's self inflicted...so I guess I only have myself to blame. Last year, I remember celebrating the new year in style with the company of great friends...unfortunately, I was unceremoniously whisked away at 4am to catch an early flight out of Calgary to support my team at selection races in Ontario. Now that I think about it, it's been the same story for as long as I can remember...As a racer, I barely celebrated New Years...or Christmas for that matter...and if you did, you were so paranoid of hugging, kissing or shaking hands with someone for the fear of getting sick...lame.
Here are a few pics to kick off the New Year:
This photo isn't very clear, but it's my trailer in the storage parking lot in Exshaw. When I arrived to pick it up a few days before the selection races, I found it buried in 4ft of windblown snow...fun. I shovelled my brains out for 2hrs and finally got it out! Then I got stuck trying to get out of the parking lot and had to dig for another hour...I was sore for 3 days.
Nothing like being a race secretary at a major selection race...The postponement of the first race due to cold resulted in 4 races in 4 days...a tough schedule for all parties involved.
An early morning photo waiting for my wax trailer to warm up, hot coffee in hand - hmmm
Another x-c.com alumni skier...Stefan Kuhn, now member of the National Ski Team. He rocked the classic sprint qualifier, winning by almost 4sec. (over 1.7km). Stef is coming off a season's best 15th place on World Cup - a definite contender for the 2010 Podium!
The worst thing about tech support...you spend 12hrs long days working on/off, all dressed up for skiing and come home exhausted with a grand total of 4.75km skied. After the last race, I forced myself to get out with D-rail (seen above)...We burned around the big loop with our headlamps - I loved it!
Comic Relief: If you liked the Spock, you MAY like this. It's the kind of video you have to watch about 50 times before it gets funny..."Lighthouses rule...If you don't like lighthouses, you suck!" You Tube: "Drinking out of Cups" to find the link...Looks like the road will stay closed until 1am...wonderful.
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