Para Nordic Skiers Hit the Trails in Bend for Early-Season Training Camp
While much of the country enjoyed warm weather earlier this month, nearly a dozen Para Nordic skiers took advantage of the lingering snow near Bend, Oregon. They tested their ski equipment, navigated the trails at Mount Bachelor, honed their fundamentals, and bonded as a group.
Nine Paralympians, Paralympic hopefuls, and newcomers to cross-country skiing, along with a personal guide, gathered for a training camp hosted by U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing in mid-May. For many, this was likely their last chance to train on snow this summer.
“It’s a good time for everybody to connect as a team, and it’s early season. People aren’t really thinking about racing yet. They’re just thinking about kicking it off, so it’s a little lighter,” said BethAnn Chamberlain, a development coach with U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing.
During a typical year, cross-country skiers take off April after wrapping up their seasons in March. They usually start their offseason training programs on May 1, and it has become an annual tradition for U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing to host a training camp at Mount Bachelor in May.
The small group of sit skiers, standing skiers, and visually impaired skiers started this year’s camp on May 12. It included athletes of all levels, from those new to the sport to Paralympians Dani Aravich, Erin Martin, Max Nelson, and Jake Adicoff.
Adicoff, a four-time Paralympic medalist, was the most decorated of the skiers who trained just outside Bend for up to 10 days.
“We ski in the morning because the snow softens up and it wouldn’t be worth going in the afternoon,” Chamberlain said. “It’s really awesome, especially for our sit skiers and our more experienced athletes that just need more volume, more on-snow time.”
Ty Wiberg and Nicole Zaino, two promising sit skiers who train together in Bozeman, Montana, joined Martin and three newcomers to sit skiing for almost a week of training at Mount Bachelor. Several members of the Canadian Para Nordic skiing national team also trained with the Americans.
Chamberlain said the camp gave experienced sit skiers like Martin the chance to try new things with their sit skis and refine their skills for dryland training this summer. The camp was also productive for newcomers, who worked on fundamentals and learned to maneuver around curves and ski up and down hills.
“It’s always super fun working with new athletes. We want to give them a good experience and a good taste of what Nordic skiing is all about,” Chamberlain said.
Aravich, a standing skier, and visually impaired skiers Adicoff and Nelson, all members of the U.S. Paralympics Nordic skiing national team, spent extra days at the camp to maximize their on-snow time. They’ll spend the rest of the summer roller skiing to stay in shape for the upcoming season.
“It’s a great time of year to bring a diverse group together because it’s early season training,” Chamberlain said. “It’s basics. It’s fundamentals. It’s bringing it back.
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Ascending Heights: Pietro Vidi Conquers 8C+ ‘Fuck the System’ and Defines a New Era in Bouldering
Pietro Vidi, a 21-year-old prodigy from Italy, has firmly established himself among the upper echelons of the bouldering world with his latest ascent of “Fuck the System,” an imposing 8C+ grade problem. This achievement comes on the heels of an impressive streak where Vidi conquered six 8Cs, five of them accomplished in the past year alone, showcasing his rapid ascent to prominence in the climbing community.
Located in Fionnay, Switzerland, “Fuck the System” is a significant challenge that represents the sit start to Dave Graham’s renowned “Foundation’s Edge” (8C), which was first completed by Shawn Raboutou in 2021. Vidi had previously attempted “Foundation’s Edge” last summer but struggled with the intricate kneebar crux. Undeterred, he dedicated a season in Bavona under the mentorship of Dave Graham himself, focusing on refining his technical skills and mental fortitude.
Upon returning to Fionnay, Vidi quickly unlocked the crucial knee sequence, despite the added difficulty caused by a slightly crumbling foothold. Overcoming multiple setbacks during the ascent, including challenging weather conditions, Vidi described the climb as a “real battle,” pushing himself to the limit. At one point, he found himself on the verge of giving up, only to summon the resolve to envision success and persevere through sheer determination.
Reflecting on his accomplishment, Vidi acknowledges that his first 8C+ ascent marks a significant milestone in his climbing career, yet he remains hungry for more challenges ahead. His journey underscores not only his technical prowess but also his unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries in the sport of bouldering. As he continues to evolve as a climber, Pietro Vidi’s ascent of “Fuck the System” is not just a triumph but a testament to the endless possibilities in the world of climbing.
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TrialGP Italy: Bou Dominates, Busto Triumphs in Slippery Showdown
Repsol Honda’s Toni Bou and GasGas Factory rider Jaime Busto showcased their skills at the TrialGP of Italy in Valsassina on June 15-16. Despite challenging early rain that intensified the difficulty, Bou took an early lead after the first lap with 22 points riding the Montesa Cota 4RT. By the second lap, with improved weather conditions, Bou delivered a near-flawless performance, securing his fifth consecutive victory of the season. Following closely behind were Matteo Grattarola on the factory Beta in second place, Bou’s teammate Gabriel Marcelli in third, with Sherco’s Adam Raga and Jaime Busto also delivering strong performances.
Sunday marked the emergence of a new winner as Jaime Busto excelled in slippery conditions, clinching the day’s victory over Toni Bou by four points. Matteo Grattarola secured third place, followed by Adam Raga and Gabriel Marcelli.
“It’s an incredible feeling being back on the top of the podium,” Busto remarked after Sunday’s win. “I made some mistakes, but I focused on minimizing errors and it paid off.”
Despite the setback, Bou remained optimistic, saying, “Today was not our day…but the best thing is to finish second when things are not going well.”
With three rounds completed, Bou maintains a comfortable lead in the Championship standings with 117 points, ahead of Busto with 90 points in second place. Adam Raga holds third place with 81 points.
Source:
https://www.cyclenews.com/2024/06/article/2024-fim-trialgp-of-italy-round-3-results/
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La Ronge Off-Road Enthusiasts Compete at Prestigious Mountain Havoc Racing Event
Two men from La Ronge have returned after attending Mountain Havoc, a premier off-road racing event in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Jeff Ede and Derek Wrightson brought a 2013 Jimmy Smith tube chassis with a six-liter V8 engine, automatic transmission, one-ton 14-bolt rear axles, and 47-inch tires to the three-day competition, known as the Superbowl of havoc-style racing. Ede drove the vehicle while Wrightson provided support. Both are members of the La Ronge Off-Road group. “It’s a qualifier race, so you have to place well in another race to qualify for this race,” Ede explained of the event held June 14-16.
“This was a four-race series throughout the weekend. We tackled four different courses: one race on Friday, two on Saturday, and one on Sunday. It was a point system, so based on your performance in each race, you earned points. The highest point earners placed first, second, or third.”
To qualify for Mountain Havoc, Ede performed well at Mountain Top Madness over the May long weekend in Kelowna, B.C. At Mountain Havoc, Ede placed 12th out of 21 teams with 284 points, while the top driver scored 487 points.
“It’s pretty nerve-racking, showing up and racing against the best drivers from Canada and the United States,” Ede noted. “There were really well-put-together rigs, the best drivers, and the tracks were absolutely insane and very difficult race courses.”
The race courses featured a mix of natural and manmade obstacles through mountains, sand, and forest terrain. Ede had to navigate big fan jumps, rock piles, mudholes, and pits.
Ede purchased the buggy in the fall of 2023, and he and Wrightson worked on it over the winter, as it was in rough shape when Ede bought it. The races in Kelowna and Bonners Ferry were the first where they used the buggy, marking their first competition south of the border.
Ede has been off-roading since he got his license at 16, making this experience in the United States particularly exhilarating. “We have a few trails local to us in La Ronge,” he added. “I’ve had a lot of practice trail riding, but racing these kinds of tracks against these kinds of competitors is a totally different story.”
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Australian Female Surfers Making Waves and Driving Change
Even without a clear view,the Australian female surfers cheer enthusiastically. With whoops and supportive hollers, they watch the surfer from the waist up: a glistening black wetsuit, soaked hair fluttering as she rides a nine-foot longboard.
Admiring a surfer isn’t new, but these aren’t teens on sandy towels watching from the beach. Instead, the rider is zooming away from them, heading towards shore. From their own boards, the swelling wave gradually conceals the surfer until only her head is visible. It’s unclear how her ride ends—perhaps a wobble and a splash, or a triumphant finish with fists pumping in victory. This is the perspective from the lineup, and this lineup is all women.
Riding a long, pine plank, Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku introduced the ancient Polynesian pastime of surfing to Australia’s shores in the summer of 1914/15. Aussies eagerly embraced it as part of an emerging beach culture that valued active men and decorative women. As the sport’s popularity grew, more riders competing for fewer waves led to an increasingly aggressive surf culture. Women largely faded from the scene, with only the most determined enduring decades of thin tolerance for ‘chicks and sticks’ (the ‘sticks’ referring to the boards) and overt misogyny, as depicted in the fictional 1979 novel “Puberty Blues” by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette, and the eye-opening 2022 documentary “Girls Can’t Surf.”
There’s a direct line of inspiration from Duke’s century-old surfing exhibitions at Sydney’s Freshwater and Dee Why beaches to the women surfing near Mollymook, three hours south of Sydney. This legacy began with Isabel Letham, the 15-year-old “Freshie” local whom Duke pulled from a crowd of sightseers to demonstrate tandem riding. This act cemented Isabel’s place in Australia’s surfing history and started a chain of ‘If she can…’.
The next link in this chain is another former Freshwater local and the reason this group of eight women woke before dawn to squirm into wetsuits and paddle out: Pam Burridge, the 1990 world surfing champion and six-time runner-up. Pam is a recognizable figure to a generation of women who loved the ocean, even if they weren’t surfing themselves.
Source
https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/real-life/australian-female-surfers/
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