February 21, 2017 (Gatineau, QC) – Gatineau Loppet skiers could not have hoped for a more festive atmosphere in which to launch themselves on Gatineau Park’s cross-country trails today. Excellent skiing conditions and ideal temperatures greeted the close to 1,200 skiers on this first day of competition.

The first two classic style races started simultaneously on Gatineau Park’s trails this morning: the 51 km SWIX, from P17 in Wakefield, and the 27 km OTTO’S BMW and SUBARU, from École secondaire Mont-Bleu. The 51 km classic was back again this year in linear form, to the great delight of every skier.

“Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all of the skiers who took part in this first day of competition,” noted Gatineau Loppet President Philippe Lebel. Tomorrow’s races, the freestyle and snowshoe, will start at 9 a.m. from École secondaire Mont-Bleu. The weather looks very promising for the skate skiing, and there is still room in each of these races! There will be entertainment throughout the day with, among others, the Carnaval Soleil Polaire, the XC Ski Show…

Day Two – Freestyle Events

Day two of the 39th edition of the Gatineau Loppet competition again started off under brilliant sunny skies at école secondaire Mont-Bleu. All of the participants, from elite to recreational skiers, were eager to hit the trails of Gatineau Park for the freestyle and snowshoe races.

In addition, a hundred or so children accompanied by their parents took part in the Mini Sport Échange Outaouais. This non-timed race is part of the Carnaval Soleil Polaire, a big party presented by L’Orée-du-Parc District Municipal Councillor Mireille Apollon. Kids of all ages enjoyed the entertainment, music, hot chocolate, roasted marshmallows and much more.

Final Tally
The 39th edition of the Gatineau Loppet ended up attracting 2,211 skiers from 20 different countries over the weekend. Gatineau Loppet President Philippe Lebel was all smiles as the event wrapped up. “We can safely say that this is mission accomplished. The efforts by the organizing committee and the 350 volunteers to give skiers the best possible experience paid off. All weekend long, skiers gave us positive feedback about the trails and the new additions to the event (the covered bridge, entertainment along the route and at the arrival, the regional flavours in the post-race meals…). This was the best edition ever of the Gatineau Loppet, and it will certainly have positive repercussions for the future.” The 40th edition will take place on February 16, 17 and 18, 2018. Don’t miss it!

Highlights of this 39th edition:
– Tremendous popularity of the 51 km swix linear race, with close to 425 registered skiers.
– Loppet long-distance race, won by Andy Shields for the men and Jennifer Jackson for the women.
– Andy Shields won the 51 km classic on the Saturday, and the 51 km freestyle on the Sunday.
– The Ambassador of Norway, Ann Kari Hensen Ovind, took part in the 51 km classic swix.
– The passage through the covered bridge at Lac Philippe.
– Entertainment along the route.
– 2,211 skiers from 20 countries took part in the 39th edition of the event under brilliant sunshine.

For additional information, check the Gatineau Loppet Web site here.

Results

Day 1

51km Classic Swix and Long Distance Loppet Championship

Men
1. Andy Shields (Thunder Bay) 2:29:06
2. Ryan Jackson (Oro-Medonte) 2:33:34
3. Karl Saidla (Chelsea) 2:38:14

Women
1. Jennifer Jackson (Barrie) 3:04:34
2. Sheila Kealey (Ottawa) 3:10:26
3. Megan McTavish (Chelsea) 3:13:47

27km Classic Otto’s BMW / Subaru

Men
1. Étienne Hébert (Varennes) 1:25:45
2. Bruce Macneil (Rosemère) 1:27:35
3. Émile Studnicki-Gizbert (Montréal) 1:34:5

Women
1. Nathalie Godbout (1:48:18) St-Ferreol Les Neiges, CAN
2. Louise Martineau (Québec) 1:48:41
3. Sonia Magny (Trois-Rivière,) 1:51:26

15km Classic Chelsea and La Pêche

Men
1. Ewan Craig (Deep River) 00:52:24
2. Ethan Wood (Saranac Lake, USA) 00:54:54
3. Olivier Marois (Mont-Tremblant) 00:55:49

Women
1. Stéphanie Graf (Rougemont, Sui) 00:58:47
2. Camille Bolduc (South Burlington, USA) 1:03:54
3. Sarah Button (Ottawa) 1:16:50

5km Classic Tourisme Outaouais

Men
1. Taylor Samburgh (Gabriels, USA) 00:17:38
2. Nicholas Kelting (Paul Smiths, USA)
3. Griffin Smith (Saranac Lake) 00:19:29

Women
1. Emmanuelle Forge (Gatineau) 00:17:48
2. Robin Pflughaupt (Coventry) 00:18:50
3. Evelyn Eller (Saranac Lake, USA) 00:21:20

10km Fatbike

Men
1. Vincent Gaboury (Gatineau) 01:02:23

Women
1. Marcie Girouard (Ottawa) 01:17:48

20km Fatbike

Men
1. Bakker Osmond (Stittsville) 01:29:52

Women
1. Natasha Elliot (Ottawa) 02:00:20

Day 2

51km Gatineau Freestyle 2017

Men
1. Andy Shields (Thunder Bay) 2:23:30
2. Ian Murray (Canmore) 2:30:50
3. Maxime Leboeuf (Gatineau) 2:31:11

Women
1. Elizabeth Izzo (Lake Placid, USA) 2:51:12
2. Carly Wynn (Queensbury, USA) 2:52:14
3. Jennifer Jackson (Barrie) 2:55:33

27km NCC Freestyle

Men
1. Daniel Murray (Dingwall) 1:16:48
2. Dave McMahon (Chelsea) 1:21:33
3. Luc Campbell (Gatineau) 1:21:34

Women
1. Sara Graves (Stowe, USA) 1:28:48
2. Sabra Davison (Jericho, USA) 1:31:17
3. Nathalie Godbout (St-Ferreol Les Neiges) 1:34:07

10km Bipro Freestyle

Men
1. Thomas Graf (Rougemont, Sui) 00:34:04
2. Olivier Despatis (Gatineau) 00:35:13
3. Nicolas Moncion-Groulx (Gatineau) 0:35:14

Women
1. Camille Bolduc (Burlington, USA) 00:39:03
2. Lotte Kallio (Chelsea) 00:40:26
3. Stephanie Graf (Rougemont, Sui) 0:41:04

10km Snowshoe Race

Men
1. Dave McMahon (Chelsea,) 00:55:30

Women
1. Annie Jean (Chelsea) 00:58:42

5km Snowshoe Race (Presented by Atlas Snowshoes)

Men
1. Terry Brule (Gatineau) 00:29:57

Women
1. Maria Musselman (Stouffville) 00:40:35