January 21, 2008 (Canmore, Alta.) – Mother Nature has almost emptied her bag of tricks on Canmore. With heavy snow last week, a blizzard on Saturday and frigid temperatures on Sunday, it’s almost a given that the weather throughout the Alberta World Cup will be perfect – at least that seems to be all that’s left on the menu.

The forecast for race week is for between -8 to -12 C – just what the skiers ordered. But the athletes endured temps diving down to -23C on Sunday. There is plenty of snow, but it’s very cold.

As the Canadians headed to a photo shoot in the morning, the German team took to the stadium for sprint training. “Today it’s a little too cold,” said Head German coach Cuno Shreyl as he watched Axel Teichmann ski past. Teichmann is a former World Cup overall winner in 2005 with his latest win in Davos, Switzerland.

Top German skier Tobias Angerer (overall World Cup winner in 2006 and 2007) and Claudia Kuenzel-Nystad were all on course as well working on increasing their classic sprint speeds. “The weather is good,” said German women’s sprint coach Ismo Hamalainen. “The surface is better today and getting faster and faster. You get used to the cold,” he said. “When you are pushing full speed, it is quite hard on the lungs.”

Italian coach Freddie Stauder agreed. “It’s cold, but it’s cold for everyone,” Stauder said. “We’d all like it warmer but it’s winter – we all have to compete in the same conditions. Tomorrow, maybe it’s warmer.”

Norwegians Love Canmore

The Norwegians opted to go for a run rather than ski in the cold morning temperatures. They hit the trails skiing under cold blue, sunny skies at the Canmore Nordic Centre on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s good and cold today,” said Johan Kjolstad, one of Norway’s top sprinters who is leading the World Cup Sprint coming into Canmore. “I don’t think the course is too difficult.” The athletes visiting in Canmore seem to agree that it is a great venue for a World Cup.

“This is the best sprint course on the whole World Cup circuit,” Norwegian coach Ulf Morten Aune said. “It’s without curves or anything for the last 400 metres to the finish line. The preparations here are fantastic.”

The Norwegians hope to hold onto the red Sprint leader’s bib after Canmore’s World Cup. “In the sprint, we hope to fight to remain on top,” added Morten Aune. “We want to keep the red bib. For Kjolstad, it’s important for him to keep it. I don’t care who wins here, but I want to take the red bib home to Norway.”

The Norwegian team has 15 racers, with many contenders for podium finishes. The team also hopes to take in some entertainment while here in Canada.

“We wanted to go to a hockey game in Calgary last night,” Morten Aune said. “But it was too far to drive.” Calgary is an hour east of Canmore, and it is another half hour drive through the city to the NHL rink. Many Norwegians are star players on Canadian hockey teams.

The Norwegian ski team is acclimatized now. “We’ve already spent two weeks at Silver Star in Vernon, BC,” Morten Aune said. “We are all acclimatized to the altitude and the time change. Many other teams have done this as well. But the US and Canadians who are already here, so they don’t have to worry about it.”