Marit Rjabov and Colin Abbott are off to an early lead in the race for the Don Sumanik Memorial Trophies.

Rjabov, who competed in the open women 7.5-kilometre free technique at last Saturday’s race holds a 14.7-second lead over Amanda Thomson, 16, who competed in the junior girls division.

Abbott’s lead is just over a minute ahead of David Greer. Both men competed in the open class.

Temperatures veered towards the cold side and when the race began at noon on Saturday, the mercury hit -15 C.

In the first official race of the season, there were 82 finishers.

Thomson said the racing was tough.

“Really hilly. Steep hills. It was just straight up, straight down and pretty long for Don Sumaniks,” she said. “It was pretty cold, pretty windy, but it was good once you got into the trees.”

As racers crossed the finish line in the stadium at Mount McIntyre, they were welcomed with down jackets. Some collapsed to the snow, unable to move for several minutes.

The classic race was rescheduled for this Saturday, with a decision coming soon on whether or not it will run. The decision will be dependent on the temperature, with the cut-off being -20 C.

The Don Sumanik Memorial trophies are awarded to the top female and male skiers with the lowest combined times from the free and classic races.

Wax and Wine

The Coast Mountain Sports Wax and Wine is back at the wax room at 7 p.m. tonight. In the free event, John and Bill Parry will help you learn how to wax your skis.

On Dec. 18 Coast Mountain Sports will also host a “Free Day on the Trails” when a day pass to use the trails will be complimentary.

Yukoners at the World Cup

There was more action for Whitehorse cross-country skiers on the world cup tour in Europe last weekend.

In the sprint race Knute Johnsgaard was 51st, while Emily Nishikawa was 62nd, and Dahria Beatty was 66th.

In Sunday’s ski pursuit, Johnsgaard was 72nd.

Nishikawa posted the fastest Canadian time, coming in 46th.

“I was happy with today, and have been feeling better and better with each race I do,” said Nishikawa in a Cross-country Canada press release. “Today I was happy with how my body felt, and how I was able to ski this really hard course.

“We had amazing skis that were super fast with perfect grip, so that was really fun. I'm already really looking forward to racing in Davos next weekend!”

Beatty was 59th.

The world cup now travels to Davos, Switzerland.

Biathlete to take on world’s best

Nadia Moser will race in maple leaf spandex once again. The 19-year-old will compete at the second International Biathlon Union Cup in Italy this weekend, the first IBU Cup start of her career.

Moser is one of eight Canadian athletes competing at the race.

Last season, Moser posted two top 25 individual performances – 19th in the sprint and 24th in pursuit – while also finishing 10th in the team race as a youth at the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships in Romania last January.

She will also suit up for IBU Cup 3 in Austria Dec. 16-17.

More snow in the future

Cross-country Yukon is putting together an application for funding to purchase snowmaking equipment.

According to a CCY press release, this year, the organization has already had to postpone three events and races in November and December due to lack of snow.

“Early season snowmaking will address this issue, by providing consistency for programming and provide athletes the opportunity to race in November on quality snow in warmer temperatures,” said the release.

The snowmaking initiative is also part of CCY’s goal of working with nordic clubs outside the Yukon and the three local skiers currently racing the world cup circuit to provide pre-season training in preparation for Olympic trials next season.

CCY doesn’t currently have its own snowmaking equipment. They partnered with Mt. Sima in the spring to make snow for the Haywood Nationals.

With lower temperatures in November, CCY hopes that they could offer pre-season training to Outside clubs and national-level athletes similar to Mt. Sima’s pre-season training.

They should know if the funding is approved by spring 2017.