CBNT wraps up Junior Nordic Qualifiers in Aspen

Truettner and Martineau headed to Nationals

The Crested Butte Nordic Team (CBNT) finished up the Junior Nordic Qualifier (JNQ) race series in Aspen February 14-15 with Aiden Truettner and Woody Martineau punching their respective tickets to the Nordic Junior Nationals in March in Truckee, Calif.
Both Truettner and Martineau had some breathing room in the overall standings heading into the final JNQ races in Aspen but anything can happen, and both skiers needed to lay down solid results to seal the deal and possibly climb a few places in the Rocky Mountain Nordic division standings.
“It was the last JNQ so there were some important things at stake,” says coach Austin Ross.
Nine CBNT team members made the trip to Aspen only to face another weekend of tricky conditions. While snow coverage on the courses was intact, quality was a mixed bag for skiers on the first day of classic races.
“It was Klister conditions,” says Ross.
Truettner may have had the toughest time dealing with rising temperatures in the U-18 age class as the heat of the day turned the snow on skiers midway through the race, rendering initial waxes almost useless. While things were clicking for Truettner at the start, they started to deteriorate over the course of the 10-kilometer race and he finished the race in 10th place overall.
“He was going for it and had good kick at the start but lost his kick about halfway through,” says Ross.
Sam Crossett finished the day placing 18th in her U-18 class.
Martineau had the race of the day for the CBNT, posting a sixth-place finish among U-16 racers, which was one of his top results for him in classic-style race.
“That was a good showing for him in a classic race for sure,” says Ross.
First year U-16 racers Ian Eldridge and Vincent Michel placed 18th and 26th, respectively, on the day in a field that has been tough all season long.
“It’s been a hard age group—there’s a lot of second-year racers packed in there,” says Ross.
The CBNT U-14 crew all had solid showings on Saturday as Tabor Dussault placed sixth, Robbie Oberling placed 11th and Seve Petersen placed 13th.
“We don’t get to race on Klister that often, so it’s a learning experience,” says Ross.
The team lined back up on Sunday, February 15 for a series of mass-start freestyle races, with most of the team rallying to improve upon their efforts on Saturday.
Truettner climbed the board in his 10-kilometer race to finish in seventh place. Benjamin Swift shook off an illness to make the race Sunday and place 14th. Meanwhile, Crossett had her best race of the season in a field packed with Junior National qualifier skiers, finishing in 19th place.
“That was as good as she has skied all year,” says Ross. “For her to be in the mix was awesome to see and she made so much improvement over the season.”
Martineau dropped off a little in his race on Sunday. He, too, was battling an illness and that, combined with his effort the day before, eventually took its toll on Martineau. Nevertheless, he still cracked the top-10 to finish in ninth place.
Eldridge put his best effort of the season together to finish in 13th place and Michel crossed in 26th place.
Dussault crashed near the start of his race but managed to charge back into the mix to place sixth, though without that crash Ross feels Dussault probably would have cracked a podium finish. Petersen joined Dussault in the top 10 with a ninth-place finish and Oberling posted a 13th-place finish.
Once the final results of the weekend were tallied, Martineau and Truettner hit their preseason goals and sealed their bids for Junior Nationals with Martineau finishing the season in seventh among all Rocky Mountain Nordic U-16 skiers and Truettner placing 13th overall.
“For Woody I think the goal was not just to qualify but to be skiing well enough to have some good results at Junior Nationals, and our training for him has been based around skiing his fastest in March,” explains Ross. “For Aiden, being a first-year U-18, the goal was just to get there.”
The team will finish the regular season with a weekend of Rocky Mountain Nordic races here in Crested Butte February 27-28. The weekend gives the team one more race weekend and allows the Junior Nationals qualifiers one last tune-up before they head to Truckee, Calif. on March 6.