Cross Country Ski Headquarters wins another Michigan Cup! Good job getting your skiers out, Headquarters!
Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) skied a strong freestyle leg on New Year's Day to take seventh in a mixed technique skiathlon, moving up to fourth in the Tour de Ski standings after four stages.
A fall on the final climb in the classic sprint semifinals cost Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) a spot in the finals as she finished ninth in stage three of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf.
Action in the Tour de Ski heated up on day two, with Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk taking her second straight win and American Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) moving into sixth in the 11-day, nine-stage Tour.
Races begin at 6:00 with registration from 5:15 – 5:45. Race will be held at Hickory Hills and Timber Ridge on Tuesday nights.
Storm total accumulations across much of northwest Lower and the eastern U.P. will likely exceed one foot by Tuesdsay morning, with much less amounts heading toward Saginaw Bay. Snowfall rates will occasionally exceed 1 to 2 inches per hour.
Up to two feet of snow forecast by Tuesday in Traverse City area; 4 to 15 inches along rest of Michigan's west side.
The Vasa board will launch an instructional program for area Nordic skiers called “MeSki” starting January 2 at 6:30 p.m. under the lights of groomed trails at Timber Ridge Resort in Traverse City. The program is free to skiers who have pre-register.
OCCUPY WINTER was number three in the up-north series of Flash Races. This one was held at Timber Ridge Nordic Resort in Traverse City and kept low-key like the others.
Photo of Timber Ridge cross country ski trails from last night (Thursday, Dec 29). Occupy Winter will be held here tomorrow (Saturday, New Years Eve) at 10:30am.
The temperature dropped 25 degrees overnight - it is the coldest day so far this winter. Lots of hill climbing, lots of skating without poles, and then some classic technique work in the afternoon.
The U.S. Ski Team's Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) set the pace for the USA in the opening leg of the 11-day Tour de Ski. Randall was tenth in the 2.5k freestyle prologue.
With Christmas over, and so many kindles under the tree, I want to let the xc ski community know that at amazon kindle, Kickland is now available as an ebook for just 99 cents.