October 28, 2007 (Dusseldorf, Germany) – Canada’s cross-country skiing duo of Sean Crooks and Phil Widmer joined forces to finish 17th in the World Cup team skate-sprint relay in Dusseldorf, Germany on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Crooks, of Thunder Bay, Ont., skied the opening leg of the 1.5-kilometre trek through the downtown streets of Dusseldorf, while the 23-year-old Widmer, of Banff, Alta., anchored the leading Canadian team. With each athlete skiing the course three times, the Canadian team finished with a combined time of 18 minutes 42.7 seconds. The athletes hand-off to their teammates between each leg.

“This is a difficult time of year as athletes are recovering from intense training periods and are not peaking right now,” said Yves Bilodeau, head wax technician for the Canadian team. “Our guys put in a great effort for an early-season race and we think it was a good experience for them.”

The world’s best cross-country skiers who descended on the downtown streets of Du˝sseldorf battled warm conditions, with temperatures climbing to 11 Celcius, and slushy man-made snow for the opening World Cup event of the season.

Dave Nighbor, of North Bay, Ont., and Stefan Kuhn, of Canmore, Alta., also hit the start line to form the Canada II team. The two Canucks posted a combined time of 19:42.9 to finish in 31st position.

The Sweden I team of Thobias Fredriksson and Peter Larssson were the first to cross the line in the men’s final with a time of 18:12.7. The Norway II team of Johan Kjoelstad and Tor Arne Hetland finished second at 18:13.2, while the Sweden II team of Marcus Hellner and Emil Joensson grabbed the final spot on the podium in third.

Canada did not field a women’s team as Perianne Jones, of Almonte, Ont., was ill. Chandra Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., finished 10th in Saturday’s World Cup sprint race.

The Canadian athletes who took part in the first World Cup of the season in Germany will return home this week and chase snow in Canada in preparation for the Haywood NorAm series and the next World Cup event in November.

Cross Country Canada is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada. Its 45,000 members are athletes, coaches and officials, including members of the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team and the Canadian ParaNordic Cross-Country Ski Team. Cross-country skiing is Canada’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually.

Complete results at www.fis-ski.com

Men
1. Sweden I (Thobias Fredriksson and Peter Larsson), 18:12.7
2. Norway II (Johan Kjoelstad and Tor Arne Hetland), 18:13.2
3. Sweden II (Marcus Hellner and Emil Joensson), 18:15.9
T4. Italy I (Renato Pasini and Cristian Zorzi), 18:16.5
T4. Czech Republic I (Ales Razym and Dusan Kozisek), 18:16.5

17. Canada I (Sean Crooks, Thunder Bay, Ont. and Phil Widmer, Banff, Alta.) 18:42.7
31. Canada II (Stefan Kuhn, Canmore, Alta. and Dave Nighbor, North Bay, Ont.) 19:42.9