Para-Nordic skier Lyne-Marie Bilodeau concluded the Vuokatti World Cup in 11th place in the 10 km freestyle sitting mass start on Friday, a format that she continues to master since her addition to the circuit last season.
Like the 10 km freestyle presented in the individual start the day before, the Sherbrookoise faced a storm in Finland. She clocked 40:44.9 on Friday.
“It wasn't my best, but it wasn't a bad race either! I am quite proud of what I did in these difficult conditions,” she told Sportcom.
“The mass start is something I have to learn and I gained a lot of experience in this race. It's still new and we don't do it often. Starting at the same time as the others is really different on the sled,” continued the Sherbrookoise, used to starts with 30-second intervals.
Germany's Anja Wicker won gold in 33:18.2. South Korean Kim Yunji (34 min 27.4 s) and American Kendall Gretsch (34 min 54.7 s) received silver and bronze.
Also in action in Vuokatti, Charles Lecours finished 34th in the men's standing category, won by Chinese Wang Chenyang. His compatriot Liu Xiaobin won silver, while Canadian Mark Arendz received the bronze medal.
Tenth in Tuesday's sprint, Lyne-Marie Bilodeau was ranked ninth in the 10 km freestyle on Thursday.
“In general, I'm proud of what I did here and it's a good start to the season,” concluded the woman who wants to improve the control of her sled for the next races.
She will return to Quebec for the holiday season, then resume training in Canmore, Alberta. His next World Cup remains to be determined.
