January 7, 2006 (Val de Fiemme, Italy) – After six days of racing that included travelling hundreds of kilometres, both on the snow and in the team van around Europe over a one-week span, Canada’s elite cross-country skiers survived the ultimate endurance test – the Tour de Ski.

The inaugural event wrapped up today with the men’s and women’s 15- and 10-kilometre pursuit races in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Germany’s Tobias Angerer and Finland’s Virpi Kuitunen claimed the final leg of the grueling marathon, and were crowed the overall Tour de Ski champions.

Seven of the 10 Canadians who took on the journey also finished the eight-day affair on Sunday.

“It was a great experience for our team and they fought hard to the end,” said Dave Wood, head coach, Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team, who added it was unfortunate they lost many of their top guns heading into the final weekend including Devon Kershaw and Drew Goldsack due to illness. “We started off the event with a couple of medals, and had some significant challenges, but I think we could have done some more great things if our team didn’t get sick.”

George Grey, of Rossland, B.C., and Chandra Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., led the Canadians on the final day. Grey and Crawford finished the pursuits in 43rd spot. Grey crossed the line with a time of 44 minutes 09.4 seconds, while Crawford was 51:14.0.

Germany’s Tobias Angerer, who started the sixth leg of the event with a 15 second lead, increased his lead over the challenging course which saw athletes climb more than 520 metres in 11 kilometres, and finished with a time of 33:39.5. Russia’s Alexander Legkov was second at 34:25.8, while Norway’s Simen Oestensen was third at 34:29.5.

Finland’s Virpi Kuitunen, who started with a one minute 40 second lead on her next closest challenger, dominated the field in the pursuit as she has done all week. Kuitunen gained another 21 seconds over the first three quarters of the race, and crossed the line with a time of 36:36.7 to solidify the gold medal and overall title. Norway’s Marit Bjoergen was forced to settle for second spot at 37:54.4, while Valentina Shevchenko, of the Ukraine, was third (37:57.2).

Other Canadian results included: Stefan Kuhn, of Canmore, Alta., in 49th (45:21.4); Sean Crooks, of Thunder Bay, Ont., in 57th (51:35.4); and Dan Rocroft, of Port Sydney, Ont., in 59th (51:57.3) in men’s competition. World Cup youngsters, Amanda Ammar, of Onoway, Alta., and Perianne Jones, of Almonte, Ont., who will both stick around in Europe to compete in the Under-23 World Championships, finished 45th and 47th respectively.

The rest of the Canadian team will return home for training and selection races for the 2007 World Nordic Ski Championships, which will take place in Japan.

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 Canadian Disabled Cross-Country Ski Team. Cross-country skiing is Canada’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually.

Top-5 Men

1.Tobias Angerer, GER, 33:39.5;
2. Alexander Legkov, RUS, 34:25.8;
3. Simen Oestensen, NOR, 34:29.5;
4. Petter Northug, NOR, 34:46.1;
5. Tor Arne Hetland, NOR, 34:49.1.

Canadian Results:
43. George Grey, Rossland, B.C., 44:09.4;
49. Stefan Kuhn, Canmore, Alta., 45:21.4;
57. Sean Crooks, Thunder Bay, Ont., 51:35.4;
59. Dan Roycroft, Port Sydney, Ont., 51:57.3.

Top-5 Women
1. Virpi Kuitunen, FIN, 36:36.7;
2. Marit Bjoergen, NOR, 37:54.4;
3. Valentina Shevchenko, UKR, 37:57.2;
4. Aino Kaisa Saarinen, FIN, 37:59.0;
5. Katerina Neumannova, CZE, 38:01.0.

Canadian Results:
43. Chandra Crawford, Canmore, Alta., 51:14.0;
45. Amanda Ammar, Onoway, Alta., 55:52.6;
47. Perianne Jones, Almonte, Ont., 59:22.8.

Complete Results at www.fis-ski.com