Greetings fans for Nordic Combined from the US Continental Cup Team,

We are at the mid point of the second period of Nordic Combined Continental Cup competitions that concluded this past weekend in Erzurum, Turkey.  I apologize for the tardiness of the news.  Getting online was a challenge from the hotel.

The US Team consisted of 5 juniors; Adam Loomis, Erik Lynch, Michael Ward, Tyler Smith and Cliff Field, with two coaches, Martin Bayer & Kerry Lynch.  The US Team has 4 “earned” spots in the second COC period currently, so we could only enter 4 athletes in each competition each day.  It will be up to the guys to score more points and earn more qualified spots.  There were 14 nations represented in the competitions and a total of 50 athletes.  It was not going to be an easy task for all of our athletes to place in the top 30 to score points.

The trip from the US to Erzurum was tedious.  It took 3 days and 6 airplanes with an overnight in Prague, CZE.  After leaving on New Year’s Eve, we arrived in Erzurum, Turkey at 8:00pm Monday night, January 2 of the new year.  The first few days were spent getting adjusted to the time change, the surroundings, transportation system and the program that was set up for us.    The ski jumping complex is amazing.  It is one of the most modern venues in existence at the cost of 600 million Euros.  It is a year round complex with plastic on the landings and an ice rail for in runs on all hills, including the HS 140, HS 110, HS 75 & HS 40.  The smaller hills also had plastic.  Unfortunately, the facility managers are having a challenge getting water to the complex and the only time they have been able to use the jumps in the “summer” months is when it is raining, which is a rare occurrence.  The competitions for the COC’s were on the HS110.  The altitude in Erzurum is similar to Steamboat Springs, CO at 6,700 feet.

The cross country venue was in the Kandilli region, 50 kilometers west of Erzurum and a drop in altitude of about 1,000 feet, similar to Soldier Hollow near Midway & Heber in Utah.  Ironically, it looked very similar in appearance as well.  The cross country venue was also impressive with wide open trails, difficult terrain, a modern snow making system, a new base lodge and 60 wax cabins.  However, there was little snow cover, it was all natural, as the snow guns that line the trail system had not yet been turned on.  Sadly, the cover was thin and the trails were covered in rocks, dirt and weeds.  Another challenge was that there was no electricity supplied to the wax cabin and power was obtained via a large diesel powered generator.  It didn’t always work properly so we were not able to wax skis until the afternoon before comp days.  And, it was also a challenge to find someone to turn the generator on when teams were on sight to do ski work.  As the competitions neared, organizers rallied to shovel as little snow on the worst patches of the race course which helped a little and fired up the generator for longer durations each day.

All teams stayed at the Dedeman Hotel half way up the Palandoken Ski Resort.  The hotel was nice, but far from town, 15 minutes drive to the ski jumps and nearly an hour drive to the cross country venue. The price of fuel is over $10 per gallon so we depended on organizers to provide transportation, versus renting a vehicle, which was also a challenge at times.  The hotel had many amenities, including a spa with a sauna and Turkish style bath which is like a steam sauna and the boys were able to partake in the spa to help with recovery after training. The food was great, buffet style with a lot of variety.  It wasn’t possible to sample everything without being stuffed.  The Turkish hospital was top notch.  They are lacking in the ski culture “know how”, but are eager to learn and cater to team needs. 

Comp day # 1 arrived with temperatures at -10C and bouts of changing wind direction which can be challenging on the ski jump.  The 4 athletes competing were Adam, Erik, Michael and Tyler.  Coach Bayer managed the boys at the ski jump events while Coach Lynch was at the cross country venue getting skis ready for racing.  Coach Bayer said about the jump comp, “Adam & Michael put down some “solid” jumps in varying winds.  Erik had much better training jumps but his timing was a little off for the comp jump. Tyler didn’t have good wind and it was difficult to jump far”.  A headwind gives an advantage and a tail wind is a disadvantage.  There was a little of both kinds of winds and some athletes did well with head wind and some flew shorter in the tails winds.

After the jump comp, our top athlete was Adam Loomis with a jump of 91 meters, good for 23^rdplace.  The jump comp winner was Espen Andersen of NOR with a jump of 102.5.  In jumping, it is not so much about the place, but it is more about how close the athletes are in points.  Adams start time was 1:48 back.  Our next best was Michael Ward in 28^th, staring 2:06 back, then Erik Lynch was in a 5 way tie for 32^nd, starting 2:14 back.  Tyler Smith placed 41^stand started 3:00back.  So, Adam & Michael placed “well” while Erik & Tyler were a bit behind the jumps they knocked down in training.  Still, the guys are typically faster in cross country so we were looking for them to move up.

After a quick lunch and bus ride, the teams arrived at the cross country venue at 12:45 for a 2:00pm race start.  While the air temperature was -9C to start the day and snow temps were -11C, the sun popped out and started to heat things up which started to change the conditions rapidly, in total contradiction to the forecast.  All of the teams were scrambling to make last minute adjustments to the skis just before the start as the air temp had moved to +4C and the snow was getting moist.  Also, the snow on the race course was pocked with rocks and strips of dirt.  So, the athletes had to be cautious where they put their skis.  Dirt on a ski base will slow the skis dramatically.

The cross country course consisted of four 2.5 km loops for 10KM.  Adam left the start gate like a man possessed and started to pass racers right away.  From the start in the stadium, the terrain was flat for about 70 meters before a slight right hand turn and into the first climb of around 250 meters, then into a slight downhill, across a flat section near the wax cabins and into the biggest climb of 650 meters to the high point of the course.  At the top of the climb, Adam had already passed 5 races and was in 18^th!  Michael Ward also started fast and improved to 25^thby the top of the big climb.  Erik was in a very long train of athletes that stretched from 28^ththru 39 racers.  Then there was a 15 second gap to the group that Tyler was in.  All of the guys started well and were moving up.  From the top of the big climb, there was a long downhill that dropped all the way back to the stadium level, then turned back up a shorter hill of about 100 meters, made a u-turn and dropped back to the stadium to lap through and start the next lap.

Adam continued to ski strong.  He was racing with 2 other fast guys who were really moving up.  Michael maintained his pace and his spot around 25^th.  Erik was still in the train and didn’t look like had had the zip to move past the group.  Tyler started to fade a little.  At the top of the big climb on the 3^rdlap, Adam had moved into the top 10 with another group of 6 races just ahead.  Michael started to make a move as well.  Erik was still hanging in the big train but he was near the back outside 35^th.  Tyler was skiing on his own in 42^nd.

The final lap was dramatic.  Some of the athletes from other nations that jumped well started to fall out of the top 30, suffering from the high altitude and slow skis and simply pulled it over to save energy for the next day.  Adam kept charging hard and crested the big hill in 4^thplace!  He was still in a group of 5 so he had to keep the pressure on with the final kilometer to go and hung on for 5^th and had the 2^ndfastest race time, another great finish.  Michael had moved into 23^rdand maintained that spot to the finish line.  Erik put in a strong kick passed the train of guys he was with and moved into 31^st.  He just didn’t quite have the legs to pass one more racer and just miss scoring points.  Tyler cruised in 42^nd.  It was a great day for Adam, a solid day for Michael, and a disappointing comp Erik & Tyler.  That is how ski racing goes some day.

Day 2, similar format, different day.  The weather was warmer in the morning and would get warmer during the day.  The wind was volatile at the jump hill.  The Chief of Competition is responsible to attempt to deliver as fair of a competition as possible.  There is a traffic light system used to delay athletes if wind conditions are unfair.  The COF, however, ran the clock at exact intervals without regard to wind conditions and once again, some athletes had great air conditions and some didn’t.  Many coaches put in formal complaints to the FIS about how the jump comp was conducted.

The athletes in the comp on day 2 were Adam, Michael, Erik & Cliff Field.  These competitions were also serving as a qualification for the World Junior Team.  In short, athletes that score COC points qualify.  (If we have more than 5 athletes that score points, then the top 5 qualify).  Cliff Field had not yet scored any points so he was really motivated to have a big day.

Cliff took advantage of favorable winds to put down a jump of 97.5 meters, one of the longest of all of his training jumps and that was good for 17^thplace, starting 1:08 back.  Michael placed 29^thsoaring 94.5, also in head wind conditions to start the race 1:38 back.  Adam Loomis placed 33^rdwith a jump of 93.5 meters and a start time of 1:48 back.  Sadly, Erik was in a group of guys that had a strong trail wind and could only manage of jump of 89 meters, 42^nd place and started 2:28 behind.

At the cross country course, the snow was trending to moist conditions and it was melting exposing more rocks, dirt & mud.  Adam put down another spectacular race and place 11^th with the 2^ndfastest time once again.  Michael had a better day racing and placed 13^th, with the 5^thfastest time.  Cliff, recovering from a severely sprained ankle and missed most of October & November training, hung on for 29^th place, scoring his first COC points of the year and is our 4^thathlete to qualify for the World Junior Team.  Erik raced on his own most of the day, just couldn’t move up and finished 41^st.

It was great to come to Erzurum, Turkey for the COC comps and we now have four athletes that have scored COC points this year to qualify for World Juniors, Adam Loomis, Erik Lynch, Michael Ward and Cliff Field.  Aleck Gantick is in the 5^thqualifying spot as the top American at the North American Championships Jan 1-3, but there is still two COC events left coming up this weekend in Szczyrk, Poland.  Stay tuned to see how it all turns out.

Thank you all for continued interest and support of Nordic Combined!