Hicks caps Ski Nationals with distance gold medal

Canmore’s Annika Hicks topped off a dream week with a gold medal in the 20 kilometre skate ski during the Ski Nationals event at the Canmore Nordic Centre, Saturday, March 19.

The swift-skating junior laid low through the first lap before making a remarkable move four kilomtres from the finish to obliterate her competition and take the race a minute ahead of second-place Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (1:01:32.9) and Dahria Beatty (1:01:42.9)

“I had a very specific plan. I wanted to take it easy on the first lap, hang out, take some feeds. On the second lap, the hardest part is at the start and that’s where I started to push and wear the other girls down. After that, I really started pushing,” Hicks said, noting she worked out a plan with Alberta World Cup Academy coach Mike Cavaliere.

As the favourite going in, she appeared to control the pace of the race to suit her style. Hicks had a massive lead, but didn’t realize how far ahead she had broken away until the final 500 metres. She said the pack made her work hard for the win.

“At the end, when I got to the top of the course, there is a flat, gradual section. Then, I knew I had broken away,” Hicks said. “I had amazing skis that were super fast too.”

The gold was Hicks’ first of the ski nationals and her third medal of the week. It’s the perfect ending for her junior career and Hicks said she’ll continue to work so she can wear the Team Canada suit in the near future.

“I’m glad it went so well. I had a great season and this was the icing on the cake,” Hicks said.

Bouffard-Nesbitt of Quebec stuck with Hicks for much of the race and finished a solid second.

“Annika took off and I tried to stay with her as long as I could and I just went for it. That boosted my confidence,” Bouffard-Nesbitt said. “It was tight for the whole race but we made enough of a gap to fend them off.”

Beatty, of Whitehorse, was competing in her first 20 km race and faired quite well. The 17-year-old kept enough fuel in the tank to survive the final kick.

“I was really happy with my race. The whole race started slow. It was basically a second lap race. I lost the pack a bit, but I was able to catch up and had a really strong final two kilometres. I tried to save a bit for the end because I knew it would come to that,” Beatty said.

Hicks is now off to a series of races in the U.S. to finish the season and will return to Canmore to train this summer.

Alain Parent, director of the Canmore Nordic Ski Club said he was proud of Hicks’ performance.

“Annika felt a bit of nervousness in the morning, as she knew she could do very well in this race. In the race she was patient and made her move with just a few kilometres to go. She put the pedal down and by the end had the win,” Parent said.