Latvian Nationals
Photo Cred: Pav Sudrich - Classic sprint in Vietalva Saturday. Felt good to wear the Canada suit again!
I very recently qualified for a European racing experience offered by Cross Country Canada called the B-tour. Every year, Canada sends a team of skiers on the verge of world-cup level overseas to gain experience in very competitive European fields. Based off my good results racing in Canada on the NorAm, I was selected to this tour very recently and immediately got on a plane to Europe. It was a pretty quick change of plans! I spent last week adjusting to the time difference and training in Latvia.
Our first races of the trip were last weekend at Latvian National Championships in Vietalva. We used Latvian Nationals as a "training race" because the competition wasn't very strong, and some of us had some different training objectives over the last week and a bit. We raced a classic sprint on Saturday and a 15km skate on Sunday. I was really happy with how my form was looking during the races, especially since I usually struggle with racing in Europe. I was 2nd in both races. Latvia has been treating me very well, our accommodations are super nice, and I was over the jet lag pretty quick. I’m excited for the important races next week on the Scandinavian Cup!
Links from the weekend:
Classic Sprint:
Classic Sprint Photos:
Skate race:
Athletes have no option but to pay their own way on European racing experiences such as this. My costs for this trip are $3,300 plus another $800 if I continue on to the World Cup in Finland. I am looking for contributors to help me foot the bill for this really exciting trip which is very important for my long-term goal of developing into a World Cup skier. If you would like to contribute, you can do so through my website or by getting in touch with me.
