Day 2 – An Epic

After turning in several thoroughly dominating performances on Day One, it was time to sustain the success on Day Two. Some sore muscles suggested otherwise, but it was time to throw down in the mass start skate race, 10 km for women and 15 for the men. The course in Orangeville is considered fairly narrow for a skate race, but that was not going to stop the UW team and just meant a more interesting and exciting start. Again the coaching staff had worked long and laborious hours to get the wax right. Based on the skis provided the day before in the relay, expectations were high. The coaches kept the wax a closely guarded secret, under constant harassment and torture from rival coaches (Rumour has it they were using EPO as glide wax, however it is still a rumour at this point, as torture has not unveiled the answer as of yet…)

The women were the first to go and give the beat down to the course. The mass start went off without any major issues, a pair of sunglasses being the only casualty. After two quick laps of the course, the women were in. Alison Stephenson was Waterloo’s only representation in this race and had a solid race. She managed to do the all important beating your bib number and came in 22^nd.

Then it was on to the men’s race, where utter dominance was anticipated by superstar Henry Reich, Andrew Jeffrey and the rest of the Waterloo team. Reich and Jeffrey had set themselves up nicely to All-Star at the championship based on their Day One results, and were looking to improve their positions. Tim Rhodes was able to find his way to the start line on time for this race, which perhaps signified good things to come. Ryan McNamara was looking to use the fact that he is a skate specialist to move up in the standings. Derek Hartman decided that perhaps the press box was a better place for him, after coming off the IR for the classic race.

Therefore the team and the rest of the men’s field were ready and raring to go. Again, the race was off without much of a hitch. Unlike the previous day in the relay, there were no epic crashes.

After a fair bit of jostling for position on the first lap, the men settled into the race focused on getting through the remainder. Henry Reich used fast skis and perseverance to outpace those who had skied around him the entire race and finish in 4^th place. Andrew Jeffrey also used fast skis to beat some other skiers of a close rival, whose team is not to be named, down the hill and into the finish in 10^th. Tim Rhodes used determination to pass a large portion of the field into 22^nd place. Ryan McNamara blew by many classic specialists to finish in 31^st.

With those solid finishing positions, Henry was the 3^rd overall male and an All-Star. He was joined by Andrew Jeffrey who turned in a solid 7^th overall place, to go with their relay gold from the previous day. With those results, the two are off to Nationals, which will be held in Whitehorse in early March.

Stay tuned and stay classy San Diego…