The Bulkley Valley Cross Country Ski Club sent a crew of racers through questionable driving conditions to Prince George on January 15 and 16 to compete in the first B.C. Cup of the season. On the first day, officials changed the race format from an individual sprint to a short distance freestyle race due to cold weather. The last minute change didn’t faze the B.V. Racers at all, as one by one they crossed the finish line and made their impression on the results board.
Top finishers from Day One include Robin Price, second in the Midget Girls 1 – 2.5 km; Gabriel Price, first place in the Midget Boys 2 – 2.5 km; David Walker, first place in the Midget Boys 1 – 2.5 km; Kate Woods, first place in Juvenile Girls 1 – 3.5 km; Kaileen McCulloch, first place in Junior Girls 2 – 5 km; Kayleigh Cuell, third place in Junior Girls 2 – 5 km; and Larry McCulloch, second place in the Masters Men 50-59 5 km race.
The next day racers woke up to almost 30 cm of new snow, racing Classic style in soft tracks.
“All the athletes had to adjust their technique to be able to ski the conditions effectively,” said BV Head Coach Chris Werrell.
The challenging conditions didn’t stop the B.V. team from a number of solid results, including Hamish Woods, first in the Pee Wee Boys 2.5 km; Robin Price, second in the Midget Girls 1 – 3.5 km; Gabriel Price, first in the Midget Boys 2 – 3.5 km; David Walker, first in the Midget Boys 1 – 3.5 km; Cody Askew, third in the Midget Boys 2 – 3.5 km; Kate Woods, first in the Juvenile Girls 1 – 5 km; Kaileen McCulloch, first in the Junior Girls 2 – 5 km; Kayleigh Cuell, third in the Junior Girls 2 – 5 km; Craig Osborn, third in the Junior Boys 7.5 km; Anne-Marie Findlay, third in the Masters Female 7.5 km; and Larry McCulloch, first in the Masters Male 50-59 10 km.
“Each and every athlete put the weather aside and were able to focus on the race, which is a tough feat to accomplish,” said Werrell.