Eastern Cup #2 - Lake Placid
January 25, 2025
After a solid chunk of training in Canada and a few weeks at home, EMXC skiers traveled to Lake Placid, NY for the team’s second Eastern Cup weekend of the season. It was well worth the long drive to ski on some of the most challenging terrain we race on, and on a course that will be part of the World Cup circuit next year. The Lake Placid trails have some sustained, steep uphills, and some fun, fast, winding downhills. The course was set up with a thick base of manmade snow and a coating of fresh, natural snow on top. The cherry on top was that we got to race in above-zero temperatures; unlike last year’s freeze-fest.
Saturday, classic 5k/7.5k individual start.
Heading into the day, we assumed there’d be some tricky kick waxing with the fresh snow and the midday sun. We were correct! Despite the tricky conditions, the wax team landed on a kick choice that was solid for the day, and skiers had skis that were competitive with the rest of the field in conditions where 10/10 kick is hard to get. Saturday was also combined with an EISA carnival race, so our junior skiers were skiing against college skiers.
The U18/20 girls went first on the day and our seven skiers in this race did a great job of warming up well, allowing time to test their skis, and getting to their starts ready to race! Some skiers returned happy about their races, while others felt a little tired or low on kick. Definitely an opportunity for everyone to take note about how their skis or bodies felt to ponder and learn for future races. Charlotte, Anneka, Hannah L, Iris, Polina, Leigh and Fran all raced with great determination! Former EMXC coach Cate said to Fran sincerely after her race, “you tried so hard,” which definitely applies to all the gals in this race. Once again, Iris could be quoted saying “it was fun!”
The U18/20 boys were next, and we had our largest group yet, with sixteen EMXC starters in a group of over two hundred and fifty racers. Because of the temperature changes, the boys had a bit less time to test their skis, but they all managed to get a lap in on their race skis and come back for touch ups. As Adam put it - “as long as I have poles, I can kick the kick” (or something like that) - a great attitude going into a race where the kick was bound to slip at points. Adam had a really strong race and pulled out a great result amongst the junior category. Jared raced to place amongst college skiers and had one of his strongest races this season. Jasper had a really strong first lap, and because he started just as Calvin was lapping through for his second and last lap, he was able to give Calvin motivation to finish strong. Awesome to see teammates working together on the race course! Among many other exciting parts of the day, Eddie finished his first EC distance race as a U18, Brendan crushed his race despite losing a binding at the start, and Sid had an impressively hard effort with a side of throw-up.
The U16s, per usual, capped off the day with one lap on a 5k course. Keira was the only U16 girl, and she represented like a boss. This was Keira’s first EC after breaking her thumb and recovering from surgery. She missed racing at the Craftsbury EC, but consistently cheered on her teammates throughout the weekend. We are so happy that she had her time to shine and return to the racecourse at Lake Placid. She raced a tactically smooth race and could be seen striding powerfully and smoothly over the last hill and into the finish area.
The boys went next, and did not disappoint! They all looked technically strong through the last climb on the course, and the cheering on the last hill was thrilling. Kay, Matthew, Benjamin, Tor, Lukas, Benjamin, Nolan and Zach all skied with some fantastic striding straight into the pain cave. Nolan and Zach demonstrated that their friendship carries over to racing, and they finished within a few seconds of each other. Thomas, a first year U16, had a great first Eastern Cup race, finishing 16th! Matthew and Benjamin also raced their first Eastern Cup races, and landed right next to each other on the results list.
Several EMXC guys and gals all made the tough decision not to race due to illness/injury. We missed them at the races, but they should all be proud of prioritizing their wellbeing and recovering quickly.
Sunday, skate sprint
Everyone was, once again, very excited for the skate sprint day. The race worked the same at the Craftsbury Eastern cup, so that there were thirty open qualifiers, thirty U18/20 qualifiers, and eighteen U16 qualifiers.
EMXC had athletes qualify in the open women's heats, the mens and womens junior heats, and the U16 boys heats. Since everything happens so quickly on sprint days, it’s hard to keep up with each person’s experience. To help give perspective on how the athletes experience a sprint day, they provided some helpful quotes below!
Matthew B. did his first Eastern Cup this weekend and had lots to say about the entire thing: “It was my first eastern cup that I have done. The atmosphere that the team provided was amazing, and I felt like I could ask anyone a question and they would give me a thoughtful answer. I felt very included at the team dinner. The snacks provided were really good, and it was really nice that those parents donated their time to provide lunch for the whole team.”
Iris stayed through the entire day to cheer on every last teammate, and always has positive things to say about her race-days. This time, she said “The race was so fun! While the uphills felt like they never ended, it made for an exciting and challenging race! After my race I had a great time cheering people on and everyone looked strong!” Coaches couldn’t agree more; everyone looked strong and gave it their all out there.
Leigh reflected on some of her takeaways, and I’m sure every skier out there can relate to her thoughts: “Every Eastern Cup has its highlights and lessons. For me, the biggest lesson—or rather, a reminder—from all my times at Lake Placid is just how challenging the course is. Climbing a consecutive two-minute hill is brutal, but it helps to remember that everyone else is struggling too: never count yourself out.
The highlight of this Eastern Cup was realizing, "Hey, I did better than I thought I did" after my races. With all the college and Canadian skiers in the mix, it felt tough to even consider achieving good results. But through resilience—and with Tyler the Creator’s music playing in my head during the sprint—it all came together.
Oh, and I can’t forget the cheering: Family members, teammates, and coaches screaming and cheering around the courses is always an incredible feeling. Along with the post-race cheering adrenaline with friends from all over New England getting drowned out by the blasting MNC speaker music. Lastly, having fast skis and post-race fuel made everything even better. Huge thanks to the EMXC coaches and parents for all the time and effort they put into supporting our passion for skiing.”
Benjamin also had the big hill front and center in his mind. He said “There was a really tough hill on the skate course. On the sideline of the hill, everyone was cheering on the racers, and a few people brought speakers to play music. It created a really fun, exciting energy!”
