January 20, 2019 (Sherbrooke, Que) – The temperature was in the -15 deg. C. range with high winds and heavy snow, for final day of the Haywood NorAm/World Championship trials. The event took place at Bishop’s University Sherbrooke/Lennoxville, Quebec and it was perfect conditions for FIS’s World Snow Day.

First off was the women’s race, a 15km FR mass start. It was a close contest initially between Nakkertok’s Katherine Stewart-Jones and Fondeur Laurentide’s Cendrine Browne. There was a bit of a pack on the 1st lap, including Chelsea’s Laura Leclair and another Nakkertok athlete Zoë Williams, but Stewart-Jones and Browne, broke away as the race progressed and it became a 2-skier contest.

The duo skied together on the first two laps, with Stewart-Jones creating a comfortable 8-second gap on the final lap for the win. In the middle of the race, Williams caught up to and passed Leclair for 3rd, with a 6-second margin at the finish.

“I felt really strong on the uphills and felt that I had something left for any sprint at the end,” Stewart-Jones who shows she is in good form for the upcoming FIS Nordic World Championships with two wins and a loss by a tenth of a second, in the three trials races.

In the Junior Women’s 15k race, Nakkertok’s Tove Halvorsen took home a commanding 2.5-minute victory over her teammate Bronwyn Williams, with Orford’s Alexandra Racine in 3rd.

The men’s 20km FR race was called an “epic contest” with 25 starters heading out to claim a spot on the World Championship team. Considering the conditions it was a bit surprising to see the skiers looking to make a break from the start as Russell Kennedy from Canmore and Lappe’s Evan Palmer-Charette set a brisk pace.

On the third lap Kennedy and yesterday’s winner, Scott Hill from Team Hardwood, stepped up the pace and on the final lap Kennedy skied away from Hill for a 23-second triumph.

It was a close race for 3rd as it came down to a sprint over the last 200 metres with Evan Palmer-Charette prevailing to take the bronze. A second later there was a photo-finish for 4th with Dumas, ahead of Shields and Skibec’s Philippe Boucher at 0.5 seconds behind.

“The fight for the podium occurred on the last uphill. I went hard initially once we hit the hill, and when Scott didn’t respond I just went for it Scott is skiing really well so I wanted to leave a bit of reserve just in case,” said Kennedy.

In the Junior Men’s 20k race, Felix-Olivier Moreau of Mont Ste. Anne won by over 4 minutes ahead of Nakkertok’s John Lindfors, with Orford’s Olivier Léveillé in 3rd. Moreau’s result was good for 7th overall.

Congratulations to the volunteers in Sherbrooke for putting on a great event, in very challenging weather conditions.

Results here.