Glacier City Gazette

By Marc Donadieu
Glacier City Gazette

Chelsea Holmes won her first gold medal at the U.S. Cross Country Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah.

She held first place by 45 seconds to win the Women’s 20K Mass Classic.

Two days before her gold, Chelsea also won silver in the Women’s 10K Freestyle by finishing only 2.2 seconds behind the leader. As a result of her finishes at the U.S. Nationals, she was chosen for the 2017 U.S.A. Nordic World Championships Cross Country Team to compete in the World Cup.

As satisfying as these finishes are for Chelsea, they meant even more to her because her mother Cathy Holmes was present to cheer her on during both races and share the exciting experience.

The Gazette spoke with Chelsea and Cathy about the races and what it was like to be there from both of their perspectives.

Chelsea has been skiing with Alaska Pacific University for three years, after skiing for Sun Valley for a prior three years. She is at the age where a Nordic skier reaches her peak, and is having her most successful season to date. Now she is seeing the rewards for her efforts.

Chelsea faced less than ideal course conditions as she skied her way to gold. She said that some of the conditions reminded her of training with the APU Ski Team on Eagle Glacier above Girdwood.

“It was a 20K mass start,” Chelsea said, “so all the women start together. Utah had some uncharacteristically variable weather. It was pretty slick. It was warm and kind of wet. The men had raced before us, so there were definitely some soft spots.”

“Usually in a classic race, there are tracks all around,” Chelsea said. “Some of the tracks were washed out, which made it extra kind of fun and interesting. You know, it’s funny, there are parts that were similar to Eagle Glacier right above Girdwood where the APU team trains a lot.”

During the 20K race, Chelsea went with the lead pack for the first lap as the pace started whittling skiers away. Eventually she noticed she was alone in front. She wasn’t looking to drop other racers and lead far ahead, but that’s the way her race went.

The course’s condition did not prevent Chelsea at race’s end from churning out a 45-second lead over her nearest competitor. Her main concern was staying focused on a strong finish.

“It was absolutely one of my goals to win,” Chelsea said. “I’m not someone whose sprinting is my weakness. Finishes are. It’s definitely a thing I struggle with. The way I race, I go out hard and lay down everything I have and let the chips fall where they may. I put my head down and use my heart and my grit and hope for the best. I’m not necessarily the most tactical individual, even though that’s super important sometimes in racing.”

Chelsea described the combination of confidence, persistence and mental toughness needed to win gold in a Nordic ski race. She acknowledged that moments of doubt creep into her mind as the race grows long and her body fatigues from relentless exertion.

“Just starting on the line, you’re like, “OK. I really want this and I know I can do this,” Chelsea said. “Of course there are always moments in the race where it’s like, ‘I can’t do this.’ On the climbs, I could tell I was feeling strong, but that’s only a part of the race. In the first couple of laps, I could tell that was a very important part and that could be the difference.”

It was half way through the race that Chelsea recognized she could finish well. However, racing is unpredictable, and a number of factors could have prevented her from medaling. Sometimes racers have a great second half of a race and unexpectedly sneak up from behind. Having lost leads in past races, Chelsea knows she has to maintain focus to succeed.

“You can’t let your mind leave that moment,” Holmes said. “That’s where you falter, and so much can happen. I can only control what I do, so if someone ends up having a spectacular second half of the race. You never know. You still want to be going your hardest, only until the last couple hundred meters was I sure that I would win.”

When Chelsea crossed the finish line first, it was the realization of years of training and sacrifice.

“I was extremely happy, and, this may sound strange, I felt a little bit of release. That’s something I’ve wanted and worked for it a long time. I’ve been close before. There are often times when you’re racing, you know it’s something that’s possible, but it often doesn’t pan out. It was a fantastic thing to be able to prove to myself that I could do that. It washed away a little bit of doubt that you always carry.”

When describing her win, Chelsea was quick to acknowledge her APU teammates, her coaches and the technicians who maintain gear. She was also proud of winning in front of her mother.

“She’s adorable, and she’s such a wonderful little cheerleader,” Chelsea said. “In the second half when I had break and I was in the lead, I could tell from her cheering that she was getting excited, but also, I think she was getting nervous because she was saying some very funny things from a racing standpoint that don’t necessarily make a lot of sense. I remember her saying something about focusing but something about gathering my breath that was very funny. It was very cute. It was very sweet. I love my family. I think she really enjoyed it.”

Cathy goes to races when she can, depending on where and when they are. She has been to many races over the years, as has her husband Larry Holmes, who proudly posts Chelsea’s finishes on the Girdwood Facebook page. It was a special thrill for Cathy to see her daughter finish with gold in the 20K.

“It was very exciting,” Cathy said. “There were 700 plus racers. It’s a good venue, so you can see for long distances. I typically try to cheer her on from as many spots as possible. I always take my binoculars and see where she is on the course. I cheer for her and her teammates. It was fun to see her do so well. She worked really hard and is very passionate about her sport. It was very rewarding to see her do well. I was very happy for her.”

What impresses Cathy about her daughter is the way she takes her races in stride, no matter what the results are. Even when Chelsea wins, she is still low key.

“She’s pretty humble about it,” Cathy said. “I was very appreciative for her, her coach and her teammates, and all of her hard work. It’s really rewarding to see how it pays off. I was very grateful for her. She worked really hard, and she did it. It was wonderful to see her up there. If she wins or if she loses, she doesn’t seem to dwell on it for very long. She was very happy with her win.”

Cathy also pointed out how Chelsea has a great support team that allows her to focus on competing at the highest level.

“Erik Flora is a wonderful coach,” Cathy said. “She has great teammates, so it’s a real supportive, competitive group. It’s worked out well for her. She has her dad and I and sister, and Luke, her husband, and his family. They’ve all been real supportive. It’s tough at times because she sometimes wonders if this is what she should be doing. It’s a lot of work. It’s eleven months of training a year, training for four and five hours a day, six days a week. It takes a lot of commitment. She does it because she loves it.”

The U.S. Ski Team noticed Chelsea’s dedication and results, naming her to the 2017 U.S.A. Nordic World Championship Cross Country Team.

“That’s a big goal that I’ve had, but I didn’t necessarily focus on,” Chelsea said. “The women’s skiing team is so strong in the U.S. right now, and that that would be a very far-fetched goal for me. I’m thrilled, and it’s a huge compliment and moment of recognition from me, but I don’t feel a very strong desire to prove my worth. Who knows how that will go? Hopefully I can do that.”

Chelsea hopes to be competing in the Nordic World Cup Races in Europe. Nordic skiing is really popular in Scandinavia, and she’ll be competing in front of crowds of 20,000 people or more for the first time.

“Because of I’m the tour leader after these last races,” Chelsea said, “I’m going to go to Estonia where the World Cup starts in the middle of February. Then I’ll go to Finland at the end of the month.”

“World Cup starts aren’t necessarily guaranteed,” she said. “It depends on how everyone is feeling and performing around that time.”

“Hopefully I’ll get some starts. That’s about all I know right now.”