Katherine Stewart-Jones achieved her best result of the season on Sunday when she finished 18th in the 10 kilometer individual start classic style event at the World Cup in Trondheim, Norway.
“I’ve been a little disappointed with my start to the season so far, so it felt good to have a race where I felt in good shape. I knew it was close, but something was still missing. Sometimes everything has to be aligned for it to work and that was the case today (Sunday),” said Stewart-Jones in an interview with Sportcom.
Before Sunday’s race, the Chelsea athlete achieved his best result of the campaign in Ruka, in the second race of the season with a 22nd place in the 20 kilometer freestyle.
She also took 25th place in the first classic style 10 kilometer of the season, also in Ruka.
“In classic, in general, it goes well, so it was a good race for me today. It was a good course with several climbs. In the last few weeks it was mostly 10km freestyle, which I find more difficult personally. I had good skis and a good feeling,” Stewart-Jones continued.
The Quebecer crossed the finish line 1 minute and 32 seconds behind the winner, Victoria Carl. The German was accompanied on the podium by the American Rosie Brennan (19.6 seconds) and the Swede Ebba Andersson (21.6 seconds), victorious the day before in the skiathlon.
On the men’s side, Antoine Cyr obtained the best result among the athletes from La Belle Province with his 38th place. Olivier Léveillé and Léo Grandbois finished 43rd and 69th respectively in this race won by the Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who won everything in his path this weekend in Trondheim.
Stewart-Jones will now enjoy a few days of rest before returning to training for the legendary Tour de Ski which will begin in Dobbiaco, Italy, on December 30.
The 28-year-old cross-country skier distinguished herself last year at the Tour de Ski, notably breaking into the top 10 in the 15 kilometer classic style race in Val di Fiemme, in addition to finishing 18th in the general ranking of the event.
“It will be seven big races in nine days for the Tour de Ski! I want to be strong until the end of the year, I don’t want to lose energy mid-season and I think my plan is working. I did a lot of training hours in October and November with this in mind. I feel good and I want to build on my 18th place today for the future,” concluded Stewart-Jones.
