It felt like winter today in Rumford, ME as snow finally came for day 2 of the Bates Carnival. It was warmer than yesterday and the wind calmed down. The race was changed from 15k to about 9k due to thin snow cover. Skiers completed seven laps of yesterday’s sprint course in reverse. With this change, the uphill section was steeper but skiers seemed to enjoy switching up the course for the race today. This course also required a lot more tuck skate than most races, though it was noted that tucking was just as fast if you were drafting. With a 30-second start interval, the course got pretty busy, especially on the long uphill. However, because it was an individual start race, skiers were allowed to call “track” to the racer in front of them.
Men
The race kicked off at 11:00am, one hour later than originally scheduled to allow time for additional course maintenance. Dartmouth secured the top two spots on the podium with John Steel Hagenbuch on top and Luke Allan coming in 2nd. Allan commented, “it turned out to be a great race for catching rides with other competitors and working with teammates when lapping through. It was really fun to watch the women’s race and see lots of trains working together. All around really impressed that Bates put together a good race with minimal snow.” Middlebury senior Logan Moore came in 3rd and earned his first EISA podium. When asked about his race, Moore commented, “I was going to go out guns blazing from the beginning. I felt okay but I was really fired up, so I knew today was going to be a good day! I’m really happy with my first EISA podium.” Making his carnival debut was UVM first-year Luke Rizio. He was “really happy with my result and I’m excited for the rest of the carnival season.” He commented on the uniqueness of the race saying, “It’s always interesting when a race is getting changed the morning of. It’s also a unique race when it’s so many laps on a short race loop.” He was also “lucky to not get caught up too much in the business of the course” and said he “stuck to my game plan of skiing smooth and controlled.” After a top 15 result yesterday, UNH senior Roger Anderson came in 5th today. After a more conservative start, Anderson picked it up jumping from 18th in his 3rd lap to 6th by his 6th lap. The UNH team gave props to their wax techs for the speedy skis. (photo courtesy of Dave Brams)
Women
The women got started at 1:00pm and provided a very exciting race. Fans joined by the men who were done racing for the weekend lined the course creating a tunnel on the main climb. The energy was electric as skiers played music and cheered their loudest for the women. Coming in first was Dartmouth skier Ava Thurston. When asked about her strategy for success today, Thurston said, “I tried to work the downhill and flat sections as much as I could, and I hopped in behind other skiers for a bit when it made sense.” Second place was claimed by UNH skier Clara Hegan, a first-year making her carnival debut. She “really took advantage of working with people on course and catching a draft.” Rounding off the podium was Shea Brams from Middlebury. When asked about the course today, she commented that “you had to be creative about where you got rest” because the downhills weren’t very steep. Emma Strack placed 4th today after a week of racing at Senior Nationals. When asked about her race today, Strack commented that she “went in super tired but had so much fun reuniting with my team and getting to talk our five freshman girls through their first carnival because it felt so full circle!” Strack and the other skiers returning from Senior Nationals are proof that you can race well on tired legs. UVM skier Annie McColgan had an impressive race today placing 6th. With the seven-lap race, she “had girls to go chase.” McColgan also said “it was great to have all of the cheering on the climb to set you up for a grindy downhill. Top tier EISA vibes out there.” Coming off sickness last year, St. Michael’s sophomore Zoe Devine is having a great start to her season. She placed 12th today and said, “today was super fun! I went into the race with an open mind and a goal to leave everything out on the trail.” She also “enjoyed skiing with people the whole time.” (photos courtesy of Dave Brams)
Team Scores
Thank you to all the volunteers, Black Mountain, bullitttiming and everyone who worked hard to pull off this race weekend! Today was a fun one and I think St. Michael's Zoe Devine put it well saying, “The atmosphere of the first carni weekend is so exciting, and with the fresh snow on the trail I was just stoked to go out there and put it down for seven quick laps.”
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