麻豆社区

Racing on a thin ribbon of snow laced around a dry brown French field, Dahria Beatty picks off one racer after another.

The cross-country ski course, built on top of ice blocks mined from a nearby lake was just over three skiers wide, making passing a fine art.

鈥淚 tried not to rush too much at the start and work my way through,鈥� said Beatty from Whitehorse this morning, where she鈥檚 visiting family for the holidays.

With her body feeling good, she said she was able to push over the tops of hills and accelerate over the other sides.

By lap four or five of the 10K course, Beatty said the pack was mostly strung out and she skied with a small group to the finish where she collapsed on the snow.

鈥淚 was so excited I just had to sit down and breathe,鈥� she said.

She didn鈥檛 know her exact placing, but she did know she was somewhere between 25th and 28th. Her actual result of 26th in the 10K skate race was good enough to land her in the points for the second weekend in a row, helping her case for qualifying for the 2018 Winter Olympic team.

鈥淚 always knew I could be strong too at distance at that level,鈥� said the 22-year-old, who has been known as a sprinter on the international circuit, despite her equally strong distance results domestically. 鈥淚 was kind of hoping to be able to prove that I wasn鈥檛 just a sprinter.

鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to be an all-round skier.鈥圛t鈥檚 good progress.鈥�

Beatty followed up her top 30 performance with a lightning fast leg two of the 4x5-kilometre relay on Sunday.

It was the first time this season that the Canadian woman were able to field a team. Emily Nishikawa, also a Yukoner, Cendrine Browne and Sophie Carrier-Laforte were the other members of the team that finished 12th out of 14.

鈥淚t was great to end the race period with a team event,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淚 was really proud of how everyone skied.鈥�

For Nishikawa, 27, who was the lone female on the pre-Christmas world cup circuit last year, having more Canadian women around for those races meant being able to share her knowledge as a veteran of the European race circuit.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been great,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been lots of fun just to have teammates there.

鈥淚t was nice to see them progress through the four weeks.鈥�

Nishikawa saw her best result in the world cups come in Davos, Switzerland, with a 34th in the 15K distance race.

She said that being in the top 30 is always the goal, but she was happy with how she skied that race.

鈥淚t skis differently than some of the other race courses,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e working all the time even on the downhills. ... I just had a good day. It鈥檚 all about pacing there so I think I did that really well.鈥�

The other Yukoner on the World Cup circuit was 24-year-old Knute Johnsgaard. He had a tougher go than his female teammates.

鈥淚t was a bit of a shock,鈥� he said of the European world cup race scene. 鈥淵ou always go into the season with a lot of confidence and it鈥檚 hard to keep your confidence high when you鈥檙e finishing in the 50s and 60s, but it鈥檚 the 50 best skiers in the world you鈥檙e up against.鈥圛t鈥檚 a good experience.鈥�

Johnsgaard hopes his racing experience will help him be more prepared for future races.

For now, he, Nishikawa and Beatty are enjoying some well-deserved time at home in Whitehorse before turning their attention to the U.S. Cross-Country Skiing Nationals in Soldier Hollow, Utah, the same location as the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The race serves as a trial for Canadians hoping to attend their respective age group world championships. Johnsgaard will be trying to qualify a spot on the Canadian world championships team. Nishikawa will be racing as well and will decide where she goes next following that competition.

Beatty will use the race for experience as she prepares for her final turn at the U23 World Championships, which will be held at the same location at the end of January.