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Steamboat Springs — Tammy Jacques was surprised to hear herself say it.

The former national team road and mountain cyclist, who earned six World Cup podiums, stood at the end of the fifth annual Steamboat Ski Marathon at Lake Catamount looking like a woman that has found a new calling.

“I love skiing. It is my new thing,” said Jacques, who won the women’s division of the 40-kilometer race. “I could actually care less about bike racing. I didn’t think I’d ever say that. But I like the whole thing of learning something knew.”

Jacques is just part of a new contingent finding the glories of long distance, cross-country skiing. This year, she’s already competed in multiple long distance races and has her eye on next year’s American Birkebeiner in Wisconsin, one of the premier cross-country races in America.

“This year, it seems like it’s growing,” she said about the sport. “Especially with the young kids. There seems to be tons of young kids skiing.”

That was the case Saturday, as skiers of all ages and abilities took part in the last event in the Sven Wiik Cup Nordic Race Series.

The race featured five races of varying lengths, with the longest being the 40-kilometer race.

The long race drew the most intrigue. Longer distances have become a more common thing, with skiers using the marathon-like distance for multiple platforms.

Saturday’s finish looked very reminiscent of a Town Challenge Mountain Bike Series race finish in the summer and showed that for some, the longer distances provide the best cross-training an athlete can get in winter.

“It’s great cross-training,” said Barkley Robinson, who was the second men’s finisher Saturday and is a constant podium finisher during summer bike season. “It’s a great way to stay fit. It’s fun, it’s challenging, and it’s all that technique.”

The race was Robinson’s second long one of the year. He said the growth of longer races can be seen in Steamboat Springs, where the Nordic hub offers the Steamboat Stampede, Saturday’s race and the March 19 Coureur des Bois in North Routt County.

Maybe the best example of the sport growing, and especially the longer distances, was Josh Smullin.

Smullin, who won the men’s 40-kilometer race, is an ability coach with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club cross-country team and has raced professionally since 2005. Smullin might race in the Birkebeiner next week, if he feels healthy enough. He said the growth of the sport can be seen at the junior level. When Smullin was growing up and skiing in Bend, Ore., he said he was about the only one in the program. Now he helps 20 young racers train six days a week.

“Is the sport growing? I think so,” he said. “When things get more expensive with Alpine skiing, this is a cheaper alternative. I think more people are always going to go towards Nordic skiing.”

— To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or e-mail lgraham@SteamboatToday.com