There’s nothing like a little home cooking to kick a skier into high gear.
Racing in front of the hometown crowd is a rare feat these days for Michael Somppi and Andy Shields and they made the most of it Saturday, cruising to victory in the team sprint competition to open the 2015 Haywood Ski Nationals at Lappe Nordic Ski Centre.
Somppi, a member of Canada’s senior national team, said winning on their home course was a goal for he and Shields since the start of the season.
“We’ve been talking about it a lot. We came here to win at home and it feels amazing to accomplish that,” said Somppi, who anchored the team and crossed the finish line 2.53 seconds ahead of Foothills Nordic’s Kevin Sandau and Jesse Cockney in a time of 14:04.49.
“I grew up on these trails and I know them really well. They’re always making new race courses, but it’s not that different and I know the finish really well. So it’s a bit of an advantage.”
For Shields, a fifth-year member of the National Development Centre-Thunder Bay squad with plenty of international experience under his belt, winning at home can’t be beat.
“I was feeling strong and Mike was feeling strong and we were able to break away,” said Shields.
Somppi said the goal was to create separation from the pack, especially with Foothill Nordic’s Jesse Cockney hot in pursuit.
“The guy that came in second behind me is a really strong finisher,” Somppi said. “So we had planned to keep the pace be quick throughout and not let them be close at the finish. And it worked out,” he said.
Lappe Nordic’s Evan Palmer-Charrette and Gavin Shields, Andy’s younger brother, were fifth, while Team Hardwood’s Harry Seaton, a former member of the NDC-Thunder Bay team, and Bob Thompson wound up six.
Big Thunder’s Adam Kates and Greg Kilroy rounded out the local contingent with a ninth-place result.
On the women’s side it was the Rocky Mountain Racers team of Maya MacIsaac-Jones and Andrea Dupont who ruled the trails.
The duo edged out Nakkertok’s Katherine Stewart Jones and Perianne Jones by 2.55 seconds, circling the course six times in 16:29.55.
“I guess on the first couple of laps I was just trying to focus on drafting behind the other girls and not spending that much energy. On the last lap I just went as hard as I could to catch the girl in front of me and just pushed as hard as I could to give Andrea a good position,” MacIsaac-Jones said.
Lappe Nordic’s Katherine Hall and Rebecca Puiras were the top local racers, completing the course in eighth place. Big Thunder’s Camille Hamm and Mia Serratore crossed in 10th, while Lappe Nordic’s Lindsay Inkila and Britt Bailey were 15th.
Earlier in the day Lakehead University grabbed the top two spots in the men’s team sprint race, kicking off the Canadian Colleges and University Championships.
Benjamin Wilkinson-Zan and Scott Hill topped the pack in a time of 15:20.9, edging out teammates Harry Seaton and Angus Foster by 1.47 seconds.
Lakehead skiers also placed seventh and ninth in the race.
Sadie White and Alannah MacLean led the Wolves to a win in the women’s race in 18:06.3, nine seconds better than Carleton’s Kyla Vanderzwet and Kendra Murray. Lakehead’s Erin Tribe and Holly Brown placed fifth, while Bryana van Leeuwen and Moira Haggarty were sixth.
Nakkertok's Alison Pouw and Zoe Williams took the challenge girl's race, while Skibec's Antoine Blais and Phillippe Boucher won the challenge boys final.
