January 6, 2007 – While Sean Crooks powered his way to the top of the Madshus Sprint Series standings prior to Christmas and earned a spot at the Tour de Ski in Europe, youngster Kate Brennan of the Thunder Bay Training Centre continued training over the holidays in Canada. Brennan holds onto a slim 1 point lead over Sarah Daitch of Yellowknife going into the third leg of the seven race series at the Haywood NorAm Selection races in Rossland on Saturday, January 6.

With consistent performances at Sovereign Lake and the Canmore Nordic Centre already under their belts, Brennan and Daitch will square off on Saturday against a field hungry for berths on Canada’s World U23 and World Junior Championship team. Challenges to the two women are expected to come from Tara Whitten, Shayla Swanson and Australian skier Ester Bottomley who has been training with her team in Vernon since December.

With Crooks in Europe, the men’s title will be wide open as Chris Jeffries and Phil Widmer hope to jump into top spot. Jeffries carries 38 points into Saturday’s race, 17 behind the sprint leader, while Widmer stands in 3rd spot with 37 points. The winner on Saturday will net 30 points and the potential lead in the Madshus Sprint series.

The World Junior and U23 Ski Championships are slated for Tarvisio, Italy between Jan 29 – Feb 4. The Canadian team will be announced late Sunday or early next week as a result of performances in Rossland this weekend.