Men's 50km - finale at Whistler Olympic Park

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My emotions got the better of me up on the red course where I was marshaling today... when coach Eric De Nys ran past me on his way down from the red to the blue final 5km lap of this 50km - he said "we're sitting in fourth" . I knew he meant Devon Kershaw !

Watching the four Canadians ski by me and zoom down the icy 'elevator-straight' five times, I was very aware how the 50km race was unfolding. Did you know that the 50km classic race climbs 1750m, which is more than the height of Whistler/Blackcomb mountain. All four Canucks stuck with the huge lead pack for 3 of 5 laps. Then wax and an intense pace seemed to hinder both Alex and Ivan on lap 3. Next time around the lead pack had shrunk by half, with Devon and George hanging on to the end of it. You could see how hard they were working to close this gap and bingo, they did on lap # 5 - Devon near the front, with George at the end of the 20some skiers. Devon especially looked relaxed, focused and flaw-less as he skied by the feed zone on the top of the blue entering his final 5km.
Alex must have changed skis as he was kicking stronger with his trade mark classic technique that seems to perfect the weight shift. Skiers are allowed for the first time in the Olympics - to change their skis three times in the stadium. This was explained to me by the Swedish wax tech "Lasse", that three top skis per athlete will be chosen by their wax tech. The skier starts with the top pair, and exchanges to second-best on lap 2 or 3, as the glide wax slows down and grip diminishes. Then ideally the top pair gets re-waxed and returned to the skier on lap 3/4. Depending on the changing conditions, a 3rd pair can be used or not.

Ivan's perseverance was heartbreaking to watch as he gave everything he had in him...the determination in his whole body was evident in the power exerted on every kick, and the exhaustion on his face. He managed to move up positions, catching Alex and they skied into a foto-finish for a 32/33 result.

After all the skiers passed my position I too ran down to just catch a glimpse of the lead pack cross the top blue/red above the stadium. Devon was in the lead pack of six. The crowds roared and flags were waving down below in the pit...or stadium as the skiers were caught gliding across the top. Never in Canadian ski history have we managed to be in a medal contention after skiing full out for more than 2 hours in this grueling 50km race. Devon Kershaw changed this today - giving it all, entering the stadium the gap did not increase as the six-strong skiers rounded the final corner. All six skiers wanted the podium as much as Devon. Sprinting too early is Dario Cologna's explanation for the tangle with Johan Olsson, which had Dario fall at the end of the stadium finish corner. This left five skiers sprinting for the medals. Norwegian, Petter Northug was able to change the final order, gliding past Germany's Axel Teichmann for a foto-finish Gold, with bronze being split by a micro second. Sweden's Johan Olsson's attack got the bronze, and a foto-finish fourth to Tobias Angerer and fifth place going to Canada's Devon Kershaw.

You have all seen Devon's heaving body as he bent over in tears at the finish line and his post-race interview where he couldn't hold back the emotion of being so close - only .6 of a second - to a medal...for himself and a first for Canada. Yet in our hearts he is the CHAMPION !

As are all four Canadian skiers who worked so hard to put our country on top of the world in men's cross country skiing. Pierre Harvey pointed this out at the end of the day when he spoke with Dirk, "As a group, Canada has one of the world's strongest men's teams ! "

CBC online summarized Canada's xc skiing performance at these Games best:
http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/crosscountryskiing/story/2010/02/28/sp-xc-ski-rdp.html

Here is CTV's summary and interview with Devon: http://www.ctvolympics.ca/cross-country-skiing/results-and-schedules/event=ccm750000/phase=ccm750101/highlights.html

Waxing was not easy during these Olympic Games. The salting of the tracks added a layer of complication. With the tracks harder, a more elasticized klister is needed - one that doesn't slide off the back of the grip zone. Sometimes more than one brand is used, mixed to create the 'perfect' combination. In the Team Canada trailer, wax guru - Ives Bilodeau had it dialed. Here an exhausted man, he shares the success at the end of the day.

Forerunner, Stefan Lloyd shows off his bib covered in names he has collected from the greats....which includes many Canadians. Inspired, Stefan is part of the future Canadian xc skiers that brings home memories that will be the fuel of summer training sessions.

Father Wil Kershaw is proud of the whole team, and feels for his son whom he said " knocked on the world's door to cross country skiing...this door will open wide for Canada !".

The Grooming team celebrated at Nita Lake Lodge, in the late hours of Saturday night after grooming for the 50km red/blue combined course. Only three hours later back to work to salt the snow.

Dirk gets two days off...before the second shift - the Para-Olympics, that start next week here in Whistler. And evening with the Jury and chiefs of Cross Country allows Dirk and I a chance at a Bente Skari photo op. Not only grace on skis, this celebrated xc skier from Norway exudes passion, professionalism and positive action for the future of nordic sports. She will be the chief of competition at the next World championships in Oslo, Norway.

Cheers to a great journey.
Dirk and I are skiing back up to Callaghan Backcountry Lodge for a much needed recharging of batteries with wonderful moments to share together.

Thank you for reading our journey and I hope it has helped you connect to xc skiing during these games in Canada !

Claudia and Dirk