In Whistler, cross-country skiing is a summer sport.
Temperatures soar to 18 degrees, tank tops and shorts are the norm, trail crews salt the snow while biathletes and retiring skiers win the Haywood Ski National crowns.
Such was the case on Saturday (March 30), when Brent McMurtry and biathlete Zina Kocher won the distance races to close out the 2013 Canadian championships.
McMurtry closed out his career with a Canadian title, finishing the icy 50-kilometre race in a time of 2:04:55.2, half a second behind American Torin Koos. Only Canadians can win national titles.
“It’s a little bittersweet. Obviously I would have liked to win outright,” McMurtry said.
With nothing left to lose, McMurtry pegged Koos as the guy to beat and tried to stay closed to the big, strong sprinter.
“The first couple of laps my shins were bothering me so I was controlling the pace a little bit, staying further back,” McMurtry said. “There’s lots of climbing at the start but then there is a massive rest, so everything would come back together. I just had a feeling it would come down to a sprint. I just didn’t quite have the gas to get around him.”
Kevin Sandau was the second fastest Canadian, finishing with a time of 2:04:57. Brian McKeever took the bronze – his second medal of the week.
“That’s how I wanted to end the year. My PB (personal best) at Canadian Nationals was a bronze, so I get to one up it with a silver, and hopefully a gold next year,” Sandau said. “It’s unfortunate Brent beat me, especially in a skate race. It’s his last race. Now he’ll just make fun of me.”
Even though he pushed the pace, he had a hard time dropping skiers, speaking to the strength of the field.
“It was hard for me so hopefully it was hard for them. I was worried my hurt was their easiness,” Sandau said. “I’m happy with the medal and happy to be top three, so it’s mission accomplished.”
He’ll now focus on qualifying for the 2014 Olympics.
“I know it’s going to be a dogfight, so it will be on whoever turns out a great summer of training,” Sandau said.
Kocher was strong from start to finish to win the Canadian 30 km skate title. Bettina Gruber of Switzerland won the overall, but Kocher was clearly the fastest Canadian on the day. Kocher has several national biathlon titles, but this was her first Canadian cross-country gold medal. Heidi Widmer was the second fastest Canadian, followed by Brittany Webster.
“It’s pretty awesome. I always wanted to do a long distance sometime in my career and I had some time after the World Cups,” Kocher said.
She made a move in the last five kilometres, which allowed her to pull away from Gruber, but the Swiss skier caught her in the woods and didn’t look back.
“I had to dump water on my head every time I could. I seem to have lots of problems racing in the heat so I had to manage it by not wearing many clothes and drinking water. I was worried I wouldn’t make it,” Kocher said.
Kocher also raced a World Cup cross-country race earlier in the season.
“It’s definitely a different type of racing than biathlon, but it’s a lot of fun. I think I prefer biathlon, but this is good training, especially the mass starts.”
Heidi Widmer surprised herself with a silver medal in the 30 km skate. Considered a sprinter, she’d proven at nationals she’s also a threat in middle and long distance races.
“I definitely exceeded expectations today. I knew I was strong in the skate earlier in the week. I was excited to see how it would play out today. Everyone counts me out for distance, but I train hard and put in a lot of hours, so there’s no reason I can’t be competitive,” Widmer said.
She handled the heat with a good hydration plan beforehand.
“If there’s no ocean near by, I just melt in the heat. Hydration beforehand was key.”
