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Skiing success

Michael Somppi managed to stay with the lead pack most of the way, but a final climb proved too much for the Thunder Bay skier, who had to settle for a seventh-place finish at the national senior men’s ski trials at Lappe Nordic Centre.
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Quebec's Michelle Workun-Hill finished seventh in the junior girls 10-kilometre classic/free mass start race at the Haywood Noram World Junior/Under 23 Trials at Lappe Nordic Ski Centre on Thursday. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)
Michael Somppi managed to stay with the lead pack most of the way, but a final climb proved too much for the Thunder Bay skier, who had to settle for a seventh-place finish at the national senior men’s ski trials at Lappe Nordic Centre.

It marked the beginning of a successful day for the National Development Centre-Thunder Bay squad. About an hour after Somppi’s race was over, teammate Andy Shields easily captured the junior race, earning the Kitchener resident a berth on the Canadian world junior team that will compete in Estonia at the Nordic Junior and U23 World Ski Championships in Otepaa, Estonia later this month.

“I have been dreaming of this for months.  I am so happy that I will be representing Canada on the world stage,”  said Shields, who will make his second trek to the world juniors.

“My coach and the wax techs provided me with such great skis today.  My skis were amazing and the best I have ever had in my racing career.” 

Twenty-two-year-old Somppi, in contention for one of four spots on the national under-23 squad, finished third in that category, crossing the line about 45 seconds behind national senior team members Kevin Sandau of Canmore, Alta. and Fort McMurray, Alta.’s Graeme Killick in the senior men's 30-kilometre classic/free mass start race.

Sandau gets an automatic spot on the Canadian under 23 team, while Somppi must either win one of two remaining races this weekend or be the top remaining skier not earning a berth when all is said and done on Sunday.

All in all, Somppi was pretty pleased with his effort Thursday.

“It was a solid race for me. It was nice to be able to stay with the lead pack for so long. At the end my legs just lactated too much and I couldn’t climb with them when they accelerated,” said Somppi, who completed the dual-style race in 1:19:36, 55 seconds behind overall winner George Grey of the Canadian national senior team.

“Other than that I’m happy with it. I finished third in the under-23 today.”
The result leaves him in relatively good shape to nab one of the other three available spots, Somppi said.

“The sprint will be challenging. I’m OK at sprinting, but it’s not my best. But I’m looking forward to the 15-kilometre skate and hopefully I can be in the top three again and get that fourth spot,” he said.

Thunder Bay’s Chris Butler, a member of the Alberta World Cup Academy, finished one spot behind in eighth. Somppi’s NDC-Thunder Bay teammates Harry Seaton and Chris Hamilton finished 19th and 20th respectively, in a field of 42 skiers.

Grey’s win, which earns him a trip to Oslo, Norway in February for the senior world championships, couldn’t have been any closer, the winning margin no more than the length of a toe.

Grey’s final push gave him a 0.04-second victory over Whitehorse’s Graeme Nishikawa, a last second stretch at the finish line the difference between winning and losing.

“It was a tactical race because of the cold snow conditions,” said Grey, a native of Rossland, B.C. native who will be making his fifth trip to the senior worlds.

“Being up front was a lot harder than sitting in the back. So if you tried to charge early and get away, it didn’t prove to be a good idea because the guys behind you could rest and stay with you.”

Grey, 31, said experience was likely the difference in the end.

“I’ve been doing this for over a decade on the World Cup and I sort of know how these races are going to shake down. I knew it was going to come down to the last kilometer and that’s what I waited for.”

On the junior women’s side, Banff, Alta.’s Heidi Widmer, a two-time member of the junior national ski team, will also be heading to Estonia later this month, grabbing the first of four national team spots up for grabs with a five-second win over B.C.’s Heather Mehain, nine seconds faster than teammate Annika Hicks.

Though chilled by temperatures hovering near -16 C, the 19-year-old Widmer finished the classic portion of the 10-kilometre classic/free mass start race in a dead heat with Mehain and made her separation during the skate.

“The last two kilometres you really have to dig. The last two big uphills are seemingly never-ending. I was really stoked to come away with the win today,” she said.

Big Thunder’s Moira Haggerty was the top local skier, coming in 18th.

In the senior women’s category, Russian-born Dasha Gaiazova took top spot and a senior world championship berth, beating Brooke Gosling by nine seconds in a time of 48:31.6 in the 15-kilometre classic/free mass start competition.

Thunder Bay’s Erin Tribe was the top local finisher, completing the course in 52:42.9, good for 14th place. Teammate Andrea Lee was 15th, 15 seconds behind Tribe.

Friday is a day of practice. Racing begins again on Saturday and Sunday, and is open to the public. Admission is free.


Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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