I decided to sit out the 30km pursuit and was helping my Canadian team mates with some ski testing and with feeds. My legs where a bit tired the day before so I thought it would be smarter to save some energy to try for the win in the 50km classic which is a much better event for me then the 30km pursuit. We where all excited it was the last race of the season and that we got to start on Sunday morning at a normal time , compared to the last 3 races which all started roughly around 5:30-6:30pm which is pretty strange racing that late. The weather was suppose to warm up a lot during the 2 1/2 hour race time so we had some nervous energy to make sure to hit the wax right because 50km with out kick is long way to go. We had done a good job with the skis and at about 25km the race started had thinned out to only 3 racers in the lead group Ivan Babikov and Noah Hoffman and me. Noah being a junior was very impressive and held his on and some more but his lack of 50km came into play at around 35-40km it was just Ivan and I.
The battle for me was to hang to Ivan because he is one of the strongest distance skiers in the world all I had to do is hang on to his attacks which I successfully did. I knew if we came into the last 100meters together I would win because Ivan not known for his sprint and me known for my sprint I would be able to hold him off for the win. In the end it did come down to the last 100meters Ivan tried to attack on the last hill but I had just enough juice to fend him off and barely glide across the line for the win.
It was one of the toughest races for me, I had started cramping in the last 5km and could feel the where and tear of the course. I was extremely happy with the result and it’s a great way to end the season with a win. So now it is time to enjoy a few last ski’s in Canmore and then I am off to Thailand with my wife to enjoy the sunshine and beach life.
