NYSSRA’s Second and Third races were held at the Gore ski Bowl This weekend. In the middle of a 2 year Pandemic, and a substantial snow drought, this was no small feat. A big thank you to Paul Allison, His Gore Staff, Shens: Coach Flaherty, Eric Hamilton, Darryl Caron, GHN-ADK’s Pat Jansen, and anyone I forgot.
Update 1-12-22: Results and Points are posted in the “Points” and “Results” sections on our site.
Results are also available on Webscorer right now!
Racing kicked off on Saturday. Nearly 40 Competotors braved the single digit air temps, and the steep KMs of much much colder abrasive snow- to race the (9 KM) Skiathlon. For Those unfamiliar with Skiathlon, it combines the technical aspects of Classic skiing, followed by the raw power of skate skiing. – Watch for it in the Olympics.
There were 3 classic loops, an orderly ski exchange near the timing building, and 3 laps of skating. The women led off to “ski-in” the tracks. Shortly after all racers were on course. Casleton and NYSEF took the pace out hard. Plenty of lactic acid built up an by the third lap the front pack had begun to string out.
NYSEF’s Alex Fragomeni powers through to the finish.
The snow was extremely abrasive. Even with binder, kick began to wear off, forcing competitors to dig deep, and force every step. Skating presented a new challenge. The Polished tracks had become fast, and some masters stayed in them on the skate lap. Determined Junior racers put in solid efforts- but several skated slower than their prior classic legs!
The squeeky snow was audible as they slogged on. The leaders panted and groaned with effort.
When the dust settled the victories were decisive. Quinn McDermott (U16) and Bella Wissler (U18) came out on top. It looked just like a world cup finish zone. Complete carnage, tanks completely empty.
Note if you check the bibs and the results these guys were down for minutes!
Overall podium Men
Overall podium Women
U20
It feels normal to see a winner check if their medal is really gold.
Sundays Shen Classic was a warmer affair. The weather was higly appropriate for 2022: 24′ and raining. Kick was tricky- Violet hardwax or various thin hard klisters helped. Glide required real Hard wax.
BKYSL racers took on the course with skill and smiles.
Caselton came back to top the podium this time with Manino in second by 1 second to teamate: Andrew Doherty. Jessica Northan bounce back from Saturday aswell and took the win by a solid margin.
Old Forge polar bears braved the slick roads and skied into first place for the NYSSRA Club Champions Series on Sunday. Sadly they were absent Saturday (as some PBSC Alumni have joined other clubs). Combined with their results before the melt down, GHN-ADK Vauhti rose to 1st, wtih the Polar bears close behind.
Keep your eye on the calendar. More events to follow as the 21-22 season is just warming up. (Skireg links below)