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Meredith Edwards

April 1-12 Skimo Racing News Shorts: Tour du Rutor, Shedhorn SkiMo, Ski Ecrins

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Our skimo racing recap from last two weekends here in North America and Europe!

USA

Shedhorn Race at Big Sky, Montana – April 9:

Over the last weekend, and for second year in a row, the Big Sky Resort in Montana hosted the Shedhorn SkiMo Race which is now arguably the most technical race in North America. Boasting serious steep descents, plenty of boot-packs and close to 3000m of vertical gain spread over 6 climbs it is shaping up to become a beast of an event going into the future.

High consequence boot-pack. Photo by Myke M
High consequence boot-pack. Photo by Myke Hermsmeyer.
In the men’s race, it was Eric Carter and Tom Goth who took it by the horns during the first big climb. Unfortunately, not long after Tom broke his boot and abandoned the race. From there on, Eric, was pretty much unchallenged and was able to enjoy the beautiful course set by the local ski patrol team and COSMIC series team. He won in 3h 52min with Teague Holmes and Ellio Barcikowski completing the podium.
In the women’s race, we are not sure how it exactly went down as we don’t have regular (or even occasional) correspondent, but overall everyone enjoyed the raced as well! Meredith Edwards took the win in 4h 58min and was followed home by Inge Perkins and Michela Adrian.
Here is what Eric Carter had to say after returning home from Big Sky and as he was just literally changing bags to jump on a flight to Europe to do Patrouille des Glaciers later this month:

It was definitely a super fun race over big terrain! The skiing was full on. I even stopped to pull out my ice axe after I dropped into the first descent. It was steep and long ways down should you fall… Now, over to Euroland for PDG. We have a good team and some goals! Will see how it goes, will be in touch!

» Full results for Shedhorn Skimo race

Europe

Tour du Rutor stage race – Long Distance World Cup – April 1-3:

Just like the more famous Pierra Menta in France, Tour du Rutor is a cool multi-day skimo stage teams race. It takes place over three days every second year at the well-known Valle d’Aosta, a region in northwest Italy.

Matteo Eydallin during the second stage. Photo by Stefano Jeantet.
Matteo Eydallin during the second stage. Photo by Stefano Jeantet.
There were no surprises in the women’s race as the very strong French team of Laetitia Roux and Axelle Mollaret confirmed their domination by winning every stage. Overall, second place went to a Swiss team of Jennifer Fiechter and Severinne Pont Combe and third, after a bit of a rough first day, went to Italians Elena Nicolini with Laura Besseghini.
In the men’s race, there were multiple favourites but no team was really standing out as they were a mix of strong upcoming generation matched by experienced partners. In the end, the Italian team of Matteo Eydallin and Michele Boscacci delivered a flawless performance to win overall after winning first two days and finishing third on the last day. Our SkinTrack chips were on the “dark horse” Swiss duo as the well experienced Martin Athamatten teamed up with strong but still very young Remy Bonnet. They finished second but watch out for Bonnet to start winning World Cups by next year! Third place went to a team of great French skiers, a cheese maker William Bon Mardion and ski lifts electrician Xavier Gachet who’s father won the 3rd Pierra Menta.
» Overall and single day results can be found HERE
» Here you can watch couple of videos from the race.

Ski Ecrins stage race – ISMF series – April 9-10:

This is a two day French skimo stage teams race that Eric Carter and Pascal Egli (SWI) managed to win last year.
This year’s Ski Ecrins race saw wins of Gary Ozeray and Steven Blanc in men’s category and Laetitia  Roux and Tania Naville.

Racer Profile – Meredith Edwards (USA)

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mere raceMeredith Edwards is a fellow Dynafit USA athlete based out of Jackson Hole but currently spending a season racing in Europe. She is the lone athlete representing Team USA on the World Cup so far this season and has performed admirably despite that. We tracked her down coming off the most recent World Cup in Italy for a quick racer profile so we all know who is standing up for North America in Europe. Read on…

In her own words:

My background and favorites

I am originally from Pennsylvania but based out of Jackson, WY. For the 2013/14 winter I am splitting my time between Chamonix and Beaufort, France.
My Favorite place to ski in the US is Grand Teton National Park – Teton Canyon, Table Mtn to be exact. In Europe, I have really enjoyed my time in Beaufort. It’s everything you would hope France would be. Beautiful town, great mountainscapes and wonderful people.
For the past 5 years I have worked with mental and behavior kids at a school in Jackson. Basically, I teach life skills. I have a degree in Exercise Physiology from University of Louisville. I was a two time Division 1 athlete in Field Hockey and Track & Field.
I started skiing at the age of two and started racing around 8. My father was my coach when I was in my teens and I raced till I was 18. When I moved to Jackson in ’07 everyone told me I need to do the skimo race at the village. It took me a couple of years to get the gear but my first skimo race was at Grand Targhee with powder skis mounted with race bindings and second hand race boots 🙂 Pretty much after that I was hooked.

mere beaufort

I had some injuries a couple of the years but as of last year I started to take it seriously. I’m an ultra-runner during the summer and skimo is the perfect sport to stay in shape in the winter and easy on the body. I feel it’s a perfect fit for me.
My favorite race in the US is a hard choice between Jackson Hole and  the Wasatch Powder Keg in Utah. I think Chad Brackelsberg puts on a hard but fun race. The course is a lot of fun with different terrain and technical climbs. It’s also great to have three days of racing – sprint, individual, and teams. As for Jackson, climbing out of Corbets Couloir is always fun and Alta Chute and Tower Three are always a great ski. In Europe, the Verbier World Cup (next year’s Worlds course) is great. It’s steep right from the start to a gliding section to a beautiful peak. It’s long and technical. I think its going to be a great course for Worlds.

This season and racing in Europe

mere rope skiI am currently a Dynafit summer athlete and sponsored by my home gym: Mountain Athlete. They have been great at making me strong and getting me back into shape. I was unable to run this summer due to ankle surgery and they really worked hard with me to keep me strong and going. You can check them out on Facebook. I ride on all Dynafit equipment and really love how they perform. I race on Dy.N.A. and train on PDG. I love my PDG’s – I literally take them down everything and anything.
I find the courses in Europe are very technical for me. I have worked very hard this season to change my stride. I don’t glide well and when you have a course like this past weekend where it is very flat you need to glide.
The Pitturina World Cup went ok for me. The sprint is not my race but I am definitely improving. I missed the semi-final by a couple of seconds and I just need to get faster at my transitions. In the individual race, I had a great start and was in a small pack of women but on the start of the second ascent I broke my pole. I didn’t receive one till the top transition. I find for me, coming from the US, it’s hard to compare myself to the top women but if I look at the gap between me and them and focus on closing the gap, I see that I’m improving a lot and closing in on time. I was 16th in the  sprint and 15th in the individual.
Overall, it has been my hardest season but also a great learning experience. I have never had gear issues before racing in Europe but this year I have broken three poles and a binding! It’s a huge part of racing. Every race is filled with new experiences and things to learn and it has helped my overall ability.
Up next, I will be coming back to the States to race the North American Championships (Wasatch Powder Keg) and US Nationals (Crested Butte). I thought I would do only three World Cups but looking at my overall ranking there are four  women with the same amount of points and I think if I finish out the next two races, I will definitely be in the top 20 (currently I am 22). I would love to do Pierra Menta but I am looking for a partner, and the week after I will be doing Tour du Rutor.
Thanks Meredith and good luck!

World Cup skimo racing tour 2014: Recap from Melanie Bernier

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The following is a recap of the first 3 weeks from Melanie’s trip to Europe in pursuit of further progress that keeps nudging her ever closer to a skimo World Cup podium. And here’s a link to my podcast interview with Mel just before she left.
I left beautiful BC shortly after New Years to fly to Lyon, France. My last workout before going away was in Lake Louise at -20 C with sunshine. You can imagine my shock when I arrived in France, bare of now, to run in a t-shirt the following day in Albertville!

Skiing with my friend Andre.
Skiing with my friend Andre.
Note: Albertville is a small town in Rhone-Alpes region, close to Italian-Swiss-French border, that hosted the 1992 Winter Olympics and is not far from where the famous Pierra Menta takes place each year.

French Nationals – Jan 11-12, 2014

With Meredith Edwards at French Nationals.
With Meredith Edwards at French Nationals.
In order to get some race mileage before the World Cup races I decided to enter the French Skimo National Championships held in Oz-En-Oisans the weekend after I arrived. Still a bit jet-lagged, I managed to have a great individual race placing 4th and even better the following day placing 2nd in the sprint, right behind Laetitia Roux. These couple of events was what I needed to get my race mind and confidence back for the start of the World Cup season.
After that first weekend, I skied and trained around Albertville, place I would call home for the next month. Staying with friends here has been a true gift as my hosts are so kind and supportive. It makes things so much easier to have a base where you can reset in between events.

Verbier World Cup – Jan 18-19, 2014

After the French Championships, I think I got a bit too excited with training in between races and was not fully rested or maybe it was the jet-lag catching up to me. I got to Verbier at the end of a small snow storm the day before the individual race. That day, between checking out the course, attending the coach meeting, opening ceremony and race briefing, I finally put my bags down at 8 pm.
The following day I was not feeling 100% on my skis. It was a super nice course and really challenging but I had a hard time finding the usual rhythm. I still managed to finish top 10 but I was a bit disappointed knowing I could do better.
The vertical race the following day, in my mind, went way better. I took 14th but I fought till the end and felt much more fluid on my skis. It was simply great to check out the venue of the 2015 Skimo World Championships since the race courses will be the same. It was also great to hangout with fellow racer Meredith Edwards and Chad Brackelsberg from the States. Chad could not race due to injury but Meredith had her first World Cup race experience which was awesome to witness.
melanie-bernier-vertical-racing

Courchevel World Cup – Jan 25-26, 2014

After that Verbier weekend, I took the positive from both races and went with it. I also trusted that what I needed was a bit more rest before the following World Cup in Courchevel.
I went skiing in Chamonix with a friend, went skiing in the fog in La Lauziere and went to check out the Courchevel venue under the sun the Wednesday before the race to give more time to fully reload.
The Friday before the event, this time, I did only a small workout with some accelerations, then rested all day. On Saturday, it was time to race the individual. The course was super fun, taking advantage of a nice part of the world famous ski resort with many couloir options both up and down.
The individual went well for me as I kept consistent throughout and tried to stay in the same position finishing 6th. It felt great this time and I also closed the gap on ladies in front of me.
The vertical race also went quite well. I shaved 30 seconds from that same climb from last year (vertical race at the 2013 French Championships) so I was happy to take 9th.
Meredith also raced the individual but had to pull out of the race due to illness.

Back in my French home

Back in Albertville, I have now couple of days for recovering as I am leaving for Italy for the 3rd race of the World Cup season. The sprint is on Friday night and individual on Sunday.

Loving this view from my French home.
Loving this view from my French home.
pitturina-ski-race-2014-logo
So far, I am having a great time, enjoying every second or every day in this very special place to me. Let’s hope I manage to finish the trip on a high note with great results at the Pitturina!
Note: Pitturina Ski Race had to be postponed due to 1.5 m of new snow in the forecast and will be held on Feb 8th and 9th.

Jan 18-19 Weekend Skimo Racing Roundup and next weekend's teaser

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Start of the individual World Cup Race. (ISMF Photo)
Start of the individual World Cup Race in Verbier. (ISMF Photo)

WORLD CUP

This last weekend (Jan 18-19) marked the first World Cup skimo race of the 2014 season. The race was held in Verbier, Switzerland, the site of next year’s World Championships. On Saturday, in the individual race, Killian Jornet (ESP) took to the front early on and by the end of the first climb, already had the lead that he would hold to the finish. Laetitia Roux (FRA) dominated the women’s field and Canada’s Melanie Bernier finished 7th overall. Mel gave us some insight on the race courses to keep in mind for next season.  The only other North American in attendance, Meredith Edwards (USA) finished 17th.

1700 m, 4 climbs and 2 bootpacks. We all did agree that the skin tracks were way too steep and the steps for the bootpacks were way to high one from the other. Besides from that the terrain and course is pretty nice. We go twice at the top of 6 Blancs so it’s super spectator friendly.
-Melanie Bernier

Killian and Matheo racing to the finish of the World Cup Vertical Race in Verbier. (ISMF Photo)
Killian and Matheo racing to the finish of the World Cup Vertical Race in Verbier. (ISMF Photo)
The vertical race ascended 755 meters of ascent passing at one point through a village. The big story of the day was a sprint finish to the line between Killian Jornet and Matheo Jaquemond (FRA). Jornet, having skin issues, removed his skis and ran to the finish, lunging ahead of Jaquemond. Despite crossing first, he was relegated to third place after a 15sec time penalty for crossing the finish line on foot. In the Women’s race, Laetitia Roux continued to perform well, finishing 47 seconds ahead of the next racer. Melanie Bernier finished in 14th. Meredith Edwards finished 28th.

Really long for a vert (848m) but the race goes through verbier which is awesome! There’s a lot of flat sections that allows for good glide but the end is pretty steep so you need to keep some gas in the tank to finish things off..!
-Melanie Bernier

Melanie Bernier during the Vertical World Cup Race in Verbier. (Melanie Bernier Twitter)
Melanie Bernier during the Vertical World Cup Race in Verbier. (Melanie Bernier Twitter)
Melanie was coming off racing the French Ntnl. Champs and had the following to say about her races this weekend:

The French Championships were great. I really wanted to get at least a couple of races under my belt before the World Cup. The second day (sprint) was great and it went super well. I had built the confidence I needed for the 1st World Cup. I was quite tired going into the Individual race in Verbier this weekend but still managed to do well. The following day, I knew the vertical race was going to be a little hard. It’s not my specialty but it was still an amazing and excruciating experience!
I am excited to race in Courchevel next weekend. It’s going to be fun to race near a really nice resort. I raced on the vertical course last Wednesday night at the Courchevel Dynafit Climb. It’s going to be a great race but fast compared to last weekend.  I am getting a bit more rest this week, recovering from the weekend and getting ready for the next so I hope to feel recharged on my skis for both events!

NORTH AMERICA

A quiet weekend on the North American Circuit with only one race, the Divine Incline at Powderhorn in Colorado. Primarily a battle between Coloradoans, the Incline featured 4346 ft vertical ascent with two climbs and two descents. On the men’s side, Brian Smith finished with 19 seconds over Marshall Thompson. Scott Simons rounded out the podium. For the women, Stevie Kremer put in a solid effort, besting Sari Anderson by  almost four minutes!

UPCOMING RACES – Jan 25-26 weekend

World Cup action continues this weekend with races in Courchevel France. January 25th will feature a vertical race with an individual race on the 26th. In North America on Saturday, the pressure will be on the locals at the Whitefish Whiteout in Montana, with visiting Canadians hoping put the heat on. Hopefully some of the Colorado/Utah crowd will be making there way up to stir the pot as well. With a $50 prize on the line for the first racer to the top of the first climb, nothing less than a drag race should be expected. Last year featured a battle between local Ben Parsons and Stano Faban (CAN) with Parsons out-sprinting Faban in the final 2 min as the race finishes with an ascent rather than a downhill.
On the East Coast, the Berkshire East Race will be held Jan 26th. A major effort by Jonathan Shefftz was put in to polish up the course. Pending details, the latest announcement was the course would be a “Vert 120” event with athletes trying to complete as many  laps as possible in two hours. Up the Exhibition under the quad chair, and down Hemlock. Laps will be approx ~600′ vertical ascent. Latest note from Shefftz’s Facebook is below. Sounds like as much as we are complaining about a lack of snow on the West Coast, these guys really know how to work with not much white stuff.

The race is definitely on! After the work session this afternoon, the backcountry skintrack is already in race condition, with more snowfall on the way, and temperatures won’t even get out of the teens until Saturday.
-Jonathan Shefftz