Over 100 Nordic skiers raced in the Pine Needle Langlauf on Saturday at the Durango Nordic Center, in the fourth and final event of the 2023 Rossignol Southwest Series.
The event featured a 2K, 4K, 10K and 20K in addition to the Langlauf 30K, giving skiers of all ages and abilities a suitable distance to slide.
“I think the series is a great way to bring together Nordic enthusiasts from Southwest Colorado and northern New Mexico and really build the regional Nordic community,” said Lydia Lawhon, executive director of the Durango Nordic Ski Club. “Each event offers an opportunity for local clubs to show off their trails, and they offer distances for everyone, from little kids to recreational enthusiasts and competitive racers. And for non-skiers, the spectating is fun too.”
Brett Wilson of Durango and Laura Spector of Los Alamos, New Mexico, won the Langlauf 30K race to solidify their titles as king and queen of the Rossignol Southwest Series.
Wilson won Saturday’s race by over six minutes in 1 hour, 27 minutes, 55.01 seconds. Travis Brown finished second (1:44:16.71) followed by Caley Fretz (1:45:14.09) and Todd Wells (1:45:26.60).
Spector finished almost eight minutes ahead of the next woman, crossing fifth overall out of 38 competitors in 1:45:54.97. Jenya Berino finished second (1:53:40.76) and Michelle Wilson took third (1:55:22.08).
With three of the four races counting toward the series title, Brett Wilson finished as the king and Spector the queen of the series. The series also includes the Pagosa Nordic Season Opener, the Chama Chili Classic and the Butch Cassidy Ski Chase in Telluride.
Finishing after Wilson in the series standings were Ross Delaplane of Dolores in second, followed by Wade Mitchell of Durango, Kyle Beling of Los Alamos, Buck Farley of Durango, Nick Preston of Durango, Clay Moseley of Los Alamos, Ben Mitchell of Durango, Keith Nicovich of Durango, Tom Kirchgessner of Albuquerque and Rene Garcia Reyes of Durango in 11th.
Michelle Wilson of Durango finished second behind Spector in the series, while Gina Basse of Pagosa Springs took third.
Winning other distances on Saturday were Ben Southworth (1:10:38.08) and Connie Gordon (1:29:52.50) in the 20K, Dewachen Ilg (38:15.96) and David Warlop (44:14.84) in the 10K, Jack Purcell (13:24.93) and Mila Moseley (14:06.53) in the 4K and M. Preston (11:24.53) and N. Dingler (14:07.97) in the 2K.
“This was one of the best years for snow that I can remember,” said Ben Mitchell, a Durango Nordic board member. “Additionally, the sun was out and temperatures were nice at all four of the races. All the venues accommodated the needs of the racers, and the overall feeling at each location was friendly and welcoming. In the week leading up to each race, there was talk about who was going to show up to race and plans made by competitors to try to hang with faster skiers. Families congregated and kids played all over the place. I would say that highlights would be seeing friendships made alongside a good dose of competition.”
