The Ontario Cup race series kicks off this Thursday and Friday in Southern Ontario. Team members Erika, Gavin, Linnea, Craig and Wayne who all travelled from Ottawa to spend Christmas with family will be squeezing in the races before the year is over.
The races are being held at Hardwood Hills which is between Orillia and Barrie. This will be the first time in over 10 years that the Ontario Cup has stopped at Hardwood Hills. The trails, which are privately owned by Kim and Dave Vinny, often play host to OFSAA and other Ontario high school races, so many skiers will be feeling nostalgic about their high school racing days.
As with the rest of Ontario right now the weather is warm and wet. The rain started this evening, and has been heavy at times. There are vehichles in the ditch near the race course, so there is a mix of freezing rain and rain as the temperature hovers around zero. It's expected to be about +2°C, so we'll see what the track conditions are like for the races. The Hardwood Hills trail report will be checked frequently. There was 10cm of base, we'll see if that's enough! Currently the tracks are hard and in good shape.
Up first are the sprints, then Friday is a mass start classic race. Should be interesting waxing and racing both days. We'll keep you posted!
"Jessica Spring - Illustration + Design"