March 22, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – USA’s Kikkan Randall is storming strong, even as the end of the World Cup season quickly approaches. Only days ago, she successfully defended her World Cup Sprint crystal globe, but the Alaskan star is not resting on her laurels.

Today in the 2.5km free technique event, Randall snapped up a bronze medal only 6.6s behind Norwegian powerhouse Marit Bjoergen and 2.2s behind second place, Charlotte Kalla (SWE).

“The times were really tight out there and I’m happy to be on the podium. I think we had great skis today and I’m really psyched for our performance as a team. Two more races to go now, hope we can keep this momentum rolling! The course was short but challenging. The downhill turn that everyone was concerned about was definitely a little wild but safe enough,” said Randall in a team release.

“It’s been an interesting last 24 hours here in Falun, but with a seemingly happy ending. Yesterday after previewing the course there were concerns from several athletes that the new technical downhill section was going to be unsafe. We called an athletes meeting and went back and forth with the jury to try and find a compromise on a safer course. For me, as the athlete rep, it was a lot of running around yesterday. But in the end I’m glad we found a good solution and everyone agreed to start today.”

USA’s Holly Brooks had a great race, finishing seventh, while teammate Jessie Diggins also made the top-10 with a strong eighth-place finish. Other North American results include Liz Stephen (USA) in 20th, Ida Sargent (USA) in 38th, Emily Nishikawa (CAN) in 41st, Rosie Brennan (USA) in 46th, and Dasha Gaiazova (CAN) in 47th.

“It felt good to race a skate prologue – I really like this distance. It was also nice to get a good race feeling back! I had been feeling really tired and pretty done after World Champs, but today my body was ready for one last race series as we finish World Cup Finals,” commented Diggins. “The coaches did a fantastic job on the skis and it’s really exciting to have three girls in the top eight! It really boosts confidence and it’s always nice to end the season on a high note.”

After significant athlete protests, the infamous Mördarbacken (Murder Hill) hill was cut from this weekend’s race courses. Read more about it in our coverage here.

Women’s 2.5km Free results HERE.

December 10, 2012 (Sovereign Lake, B.C.) – Check out this video interview with the winning brother and sister duo of Graham and Emily Nishikawa after they took individual victories in the 10/15k free races at the Haywood Nor Am/Teck BC Cup at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, B.C. Also, check out interviews with Brittany Webster and Sweden’s Jens Eriksson

December 10, 2012 (Sovereign Lake, B.C.) – The Nishikawas took the podium in both the men’s and the women’s Haywood NorAm races on Sunday. It was a cold start to the Haywood NorAm race at Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, with 80 men racing in the men’s 15km free and 42 in the women’s race.

The women’s competition had a close finish leaving officials to tally the times of the as Emily Nishikawa finished behind Brittany Webster in the race, but as it was interval starts, both finished with the time of 31 minutes.

When Emily came in, Webster was anxiously awaiting the results to see if her first place standing would hold. The results showed Nishikawa as the first place finisher with a time of 31:04 and Webster 31:11. Third place was a Junior racer, Frédérique Vézina with team NST.

Webster explains that what makes this course tough is the transition zones. The skiers who are good at transitioning from the flat or down to the steep rises can make up time. She credits the race organizers and groomers for making the course as smooth as possible.

Webster’s points seeded her near 5 minutes ahead of the leaders. She found it a hard race to gauge where she was in relation to the fast girls in her category and to know that she was so close to Nishikawa.

Nishikawa had her own race plan for the day. “I wanted to ski relaxed in the first lap and then pick it up in the second lap, and I felt I was able to do that. It’s a tough course and you’re always working, so I wanted to make sure I had enough energy to push in the last two kilometres. I’m really happy with how it turned out.”

The men’s field demonstrated strength on hills, with three loops of the hilly 5km course that left their lungs on the trails in the light freezing rain that cooled the air temperature. Graham Nishikawa of Whitehorse, training with AWCA proved to be the toughest and fastest of the day, finishing the 15km in a time of 39:22.

Michael Somppi of AWCA finished in second place with a time of 39:40 followed by David Greer of the Yukon Elite Squad in 40:02.

Nishikawa felt he started his race well and felt he was able to maintain it. “The last two km were super hard.” he said. “It was hard to see on the downhill as my glasses were fogging and icing.”

This weekend Nishikawa feels shows that his fitness is good. Looking ahead to the World Cup, Nishikawa is pretty excited about it, and would like to have two good races next weekend.

Full results HERE.

May 03, 2011 (Canmore, AB) – Cross Country Canada has released its 2011/2012 season National Team and coaching staff roster on the heels of a record-breaking 2010/2011 campaign, which saw Canadian skiers achieve World Cup and World Championship medals. Look for the following list of racers to be making history on the snow next season and for years to come.

Senior World Cup Team
Head Coach: Justin Wadsworth
Coaches: Eric de Nys, Louis Bouchard
– Ivan Babikov – Foothills Nordic Ski Club, AB
– Chandra Crawford – Canmore Nordic Ski Club, AB
– Dasha Gaiazova – Rocky Mountain Racers, QC
– Alex Harvey – Club Nordique Mont Ste. Anne, QC
– Perianne Jones – Nakkertok Ski Club, ON
– Devon Kershaw – Ona Wa Su, ON
– Len Valjas – Team Hardwood, ON

Senior Development Team
Coaches: Louis Bouchard (CNEPH), Mike Cavaliere (AWCA), Eric Bailey (NDC-TB)
– Jess Cockney – Foothills Nordic/AWCA, AB
– Drew Goldsack – Rocky Mountain Racers/AWCA, AB
– Graeme Killick – Banff Ski Runners/AWCA, AB
– Alysson Marshall – Larch Hills/AWCA, BC
– Brent McMurtry – Foothills Nordic/CNEPH, AB
– Emily Nishikawa – Whitehorse/AWCA, YK
– Graham Nishikawa – Whitehorse/AWCA, YK
– Kevin Sandau – Foothills Nordic/AWCA, AB
– Michael Somppi – Lappe/Thunder Bay NDC, ON
– Frédéric Touchette – Club Nordique Mont Ste. Anne, QC

Junior Team
– Dahria Beatty – Whitehorse, YT
– Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt – Club de ski de fond Fondeurs-Laurentides/CVTC, QC
– Raphael Couturier – Commission de ski Nordique Skibec/CNEPH, QC
– Janelle Greer – Whitehorse/AWCA, YT
– Zach Holland – Banff Ski Runners/AWCA, AB
– Knute Johnsgaard – Whitehorse/CNEPH, YT
– Maya Macissac-Jones – Rocky Mountain Racers, AB
– Alex Mahoney – Rocky Mountain Ski Racers, AB
– Camille Pepin – Club Nordique M.S.A., QC
– Rebecca Reid – Black Jack Nordic/AWCA, BC
– Geoffrey Richards – Black Jack Nordic/CVTC, BC
– Martin Schrama – Banff Ski Runners/CVTC, AB
– Sébastien Townsend – Club Nakkertok Nordique, QC
– Alexis Turgeon – Club de ski de fond Skinouk, QC
– Michelle Workun-Hill – Club Nakkertok Nordique, QC

Para-Nordic World Cup Team
Head Coach: Robin McKeever
– Mark Arendz – Foothills Nordic, AB
– Jody Barber – Bulkley Valley Ski Club, BC
– Colette Bourgonje – Snobuddy Ski Club, SK
– Chris Klebl – Lifesport, AB
– Brian McKeever – Foothills Nordic Ski Club, AB
– Robin McKeever (guide) – Foothills Nordic Ski Club, AB
– Erik Carleton (guide) – Rocky Mountain Racers, AB

Para-Nordic Development Team
Coaches: Pierre Pomerleau, Robin McKeever
– Sébastien Fortier, Skibec/Hus-ski, QC

** National Development Centre teams will be announced when all information is available**

February 14, 2011 (Cantley, QC) – The Eastern Canadian Championships, hosted by Nakkertok, wrapped up on Sunday with familiar faces on the podium. With temperatures rising throughout the day, peaking just below zero, the weather was more settled than it had been for the previous races.

Emily Nishikawa (Whitehorse/AWCA) took the top step on the podium for the 3rd time this weekend as she won the 15km classic Pursuit. Leading from the word go, Nishikawa kept ahead of her rivals as she led from start to finish.

Sarah Daitch (Rocky Mountain Racers) narrowly beat out Alysson Marshall (AWCA/BCST) for 2nd place, just 15 seconds back. Heidi Widmer (Foothills Nordic/AWCA) and Alana Thomas (Nakkertok) rounded out the top 5.

“I’m so happy with how this weekend went. I felt strong in all three races and was skiing well,” said Emily Nishikawa “The pursuit yesterday was a good race for me, I didn’t know how far back the other girls were so I just focused on my race and pushed as hard as I could. I’m pretty pumped about winning the overall, and very happy for my brother as well.”

Graham Nishikawa (Whitehorse/AWCA) took home his second gold medal, and third medal of the weekend, as he won the men’s 30km classic pursuit. Nishikawa powered away from the rest of the field from the gun and by the half way mark, had nearly a minute on the rest of the field.

“I had a perfect race today,” he told SkiTrax. “It was nerve racking being chased down by the field, but I just tried to focus on my own race and was able to ski away from the guys.”

“Thirty kilometers was a long distance to ski solo. It took a lot of mental focus. I am very happy to have won the mini tour. The organizers did a great job with the event,” added Nishikawa.

Kevin Sandau (Foothills Nordic/NST) was 1:22 back in second place, and Michael Somppi (Lappe Nordic/NDC T-Bay) took the bronze. Pate Neumann (Canmore Nordic/AWCA) and Karl Saidla (XC Ottawa) finished fourth and fifth, with Saidla posting the 2nd fastest men’s time of the day.

Both Graham and Emily Nishikawa easily led the overall standings after the weekend of racing, Emily by more than a minute, and Graham by more than two minutes over their closest rivals.

“I am not sure about the future, but I hope to head to the World Cups in the spring, after some much needed rest,” commented Graham Nishikawa.

This weekend’s racing was the final NorAm event in Canada this season.

Women’s results HERE.
Men’s results HERE.

February 07, 2011 (Barrie, ON) – What would happen if you held a World Cup and nobody came? Well, you would call it Rybinsk, Russia and there would be free world cup points for just about everyone who was there.

This past weekend there were three – yes three World Cup races on the calendar, a distance pursuit, an individual sprint and a team relay. For the distance race there were only 33 men (11 Russian) and 30 women (11 Russian). It didn’t get much better for the sprints with fields of 54 men (15 Russian) and 34 women (16 Russian). The relay for women had 7 teams (4 Russian) and 10 for men (again 4 Russian).

This is brutal. There has got to be something wrong with the schedule to have so few skiers in a World Cup in the first week of February. When there have been World Cups in Canada the last few years they have been better supported. The Ontario Masters Championship in Parry Sound had almost as many skiers! This has to be an embarrassment to the FIS Cross Country Committee.

Now, I’ve been to Rybinsk and it is not that bad there. I know that some countries were having National championships, but that should be no excuse. In fact, I don’t think that this should be allowed to happen either. We have the same problem in North America, but we still send our best skiers to compete at the World Cup.

Meanwhile, it should be no surprise that the Russian skiers dominated the result list for these races – at least for the men. Alexei Pethukov won the sprint, Ilia Chernousov won the distance race and the Russian 1 team won the relay.

It shows how far the Russian women have fallen when they cannot win a race with at home against such small fields. They couldn’t even win the relay with 4 teams out of 7 in the field – the Italian women beat them. Katja Visnar and Vesna Fabjan of Slovenia were 1st and 2nd in the sprints and Justina Kowalczyk of Poland won the distance race and was 3rd in the sprints. She has pretty well cemented the overall World Cup title for this season as the only person who could beat her, Marit Bjoergen was at home, once again, in Norway training for the World Championships in March.

In the 1990’s the Russian women were unbeatable. Of course, we now know why. A good, structured, well organized doping program will do that for you. Now they are ordinary and need to get their act together quickly in order to have a decent showing in Sochi in 2014.

There’s a two-week break in the schedule before the World Cup resumes in Drammen, Norway on February 19-20 with a short distance race and individual sprints. Hopefully we should see full fields for this event and truly have a “World Cup” race.

I can’t close this week without some commentary on the World Junior and World U23 racing from Otepaa, Estonia last week. In my opinion, a finish in the top 10 at either level is a great indication that a skier has the talent and potential to be a consistent point scorer (top 30) at the World Cup level.

A good way to look at it is to look at junior and professional hockey in North America. If a junior hockey player is drafted in the first round by a professional team then they have a good chance of becoming a National Hockey League player. Not all of them do, of course, and there are players who are not drafted in the first round who make it. I think that less than 5% of junior hockey players ever play in the NHL.

Most of these junior players who are drafted end up playing for a year or more in the AHL – kind of the equivalent of the U23 level in skiing. Not all players in the AHL make it to the NHL – again a small percentage and only the best move on. Some of the very best junior players go right to the NHL, but they are the exception.

When I look at the North American results from Otepaa I see the same thing. Alex Harvey is World Champion at U23 and finishes consistently in the top 20 on the World Cup. He was on the podium a number of times as a junior, as well. In hockey he would have been a top draft pick as a junior and would likely have been in the NHL in his first or second year as a pro.

The other skiers that finished in the top 10 – Kevin Sandau, Jesse Cockney, Len Valjas, Jessie Diggins and Noah Hoffman all have a shot at a career as a World Cup skier. Emily Nishikawa, Michael Somppi, Alysson Marshall and Sadie Bjornsen had top 20 finishes – kind of like being drafted in the 2nd round of a hockey draft. They have shown some talent, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Don’t get me wrong, there are no guarantees that any of these skiers will make it on the World Cup (except Alex Harvey – he is already there). It also doesn’t mean that the skiers who were there from North America but outside the top 10 or top 20 (or those who didn’t make the trip) will not make it eventually, but it is going to take them much more time and work.

Malcolm Gladwell in his great book “Outliers” told us that the difference most of the time between those who “make it” and those who don’t is not talent but work and opportunity. He points out that it seems to take 10,000 hours of work for someone to be the best in just about anything.

At an age of 22 or less, all of these skiers have not put in the time yet to know if they are going to make it. They also need to continue to have the opportunity to race and train with the best in the world. I hope that the USST and the Canadian NST continue to give these young skiers as many opportunities as possible to do this.

February 02, 2011 – Double Congratulations to FIS World Champion Alex Harvey! The first congrats is for the win and the 2nd is for saying he was going to Otepaa to win and then making it stick by winning – not always the way it happens when you think of all the variables and there is only one first place. First off he was at an altitude camp in Italy and putting in big hours, hasn’t raced in a while, and altitude is not a place you’re working on speed. I was also impressed on how much he knew about Belov and his inability as a sprinter, and that with the race ending with them together that he would, or could, take Belov in the sprint – which he did. A super effort by the World Champion on all fronts.

Another thing about the WJrs and U-23s is if your placing in the top 15 and you continue to progress in your growth as a skier – training hours, good program, coaching, international racing – you will more than likely be a top-30 skier on the World Cup in the future. People like Jessie Diggins, Noah Hoffman, Len Valjas, Jesse Cockney, Michael Sompii, Sadie Bjornsen, Kevin Sandau, Emily Nishikawa and Alysson Marshall are skiers showing these kinds of abilities and direction.

Across the board the young women (WJs) in both countries have a lot of work to do – their results could be better when you realize how many of them have been skiing for many years in formal programs with professional coaches.

One more thing about the World Jrs, is that if you’re blogging about your trip, make sure you do a good in depth job of talking about your feelings thoughts and what experiences you had. All this has a huge impact on your skiing peers and younger skiers and can accelerate their growth so they know what to expect. I know you have to do it once – go over THERE to get the stardust out of your eyes – but look at all of the guys we have at the senior level that are doing it. Kikkan Randall is the best at blogging – hands down.

Remember, at the FIS Worlds in Oslo, it is only four skiers per nation per event. So, in actuality the Worlds are easier then the WCup, except it’s the Worlds, and you’re in Norway, and every course will be totally lined with thousands of spectators. The crowds will be four times the size of the those in Vancouver if not more. A 100,000 people for some events is not out of the question – believe me. It’s one hell of a big experience.

The Craftsbury Marathon, has to be a must-do in your racing career, just for the sheer joy of every year being on one of the best and most fun XC courses in NA. The grooming is always superb and this is one fair course with all of its ups and downs. A seamless experience from entry to the final awards ceremony. I encourage you to get it on your bucket list.

BNS (Boulder Nordic Sport) in case you didn’t know, had a guide they put in the race packet at Craftsbury that you received when picking up your bib. I didn’t look at it until I got home and as I picked it up I was wondering what they were pitching as it’s 50 pages thick. Well here is how I assess it after taking the time to do a page by page – read this and you will have the information and education to help you move up in your age class. These guys at BNS have done their homework and are giving you the benefit of all this knowledge. Yes, they are selling – but in a good way – as they give you the knowledge to make the right choice for yourself if you do the reading. I was impressed! So, look for it, as they’re stuffing it at about 10-12 different marathons this winter.

One other thing about the World Champ, Alex made a quote, and the way he phrased it he insinuated that he wanted to get a World Championship title before going to Oslo – but it’s not out of the question to be thinking of another one in Oslo. I always felt, if you were afraid to talk about it, your chances of making it happen were just that much more unlikely. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Canada’s Men’s World Championships Team, is sure looking way stronger then last year’s Olympic Team that was so successful in Vancouver last winter. Much more experience, the addition of Valjas in sprinting, Phil Widmer’s return after missing the Olympics because of a shoulder injury, Kershaw has become a much better tactical skier, and they all seem to have gained international confidence from what they have done in the early winter. If George Grey is back to last year’s form, that is a real bonus. It’ll be fun figuring out who gets to ski which events – but there should be good coverage in the full schedule. Let’s get it on!!

Hey, this looks like it is going to be cool! Click HERE and give it a try.

My missing skiers for this winter, Sophie Caldwell and Fred Touchette, both are noticeably missing in a lot of the results – I hope both are well and still racing!

Talk to you soon…

January 29, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Finnish ace Kerttu Niskanen won the gold medal in the 1.2km sprint classic final at the U23 World Championships on Saturday morning. She started the day as the top qualifier and went on to dominate every heat on her way to the final. It was Niskanen’s second U23 Worlds gold – her first was in a 10km classic at Hinterzarten, Germany.

Niskanen came home with a clear margin in the A-Final to secure her victory. In the battle for silver and bronze Norway’s Britt Ingunn Nydal edged out Sweden’s Jennie Oeberg by a toe length to claim the silver.

“It feels great to be a U23 World Champion,” said Niskanen in a FIS post-race interview. “I wanted to win and this was a very good day for me. I was feeling very good during the whole race. My tactic today was to go as fast as possible after the shot. I had some problems to ski always in front because it was snowing.”

It was a solid day for North American skiers with six women advancing to the quarterfinals as the USA’s Sadie Bjornsen led the charge in 11th followed by Canada’s Alysson Marshall in 14th, Jennie Bender (USA) in 18th, Canada’s Emily Nishikawa in 19th, Ida Sargent (USA) in 21st and Sara Hewitt (CAN) in 30th. Canada’s Erin Tribe was 31st at 2s behind Tribe while Rebecca Rorabaugh was further back in 36th – only the top 30 advance.

Marshall was the only skier to make it through to the semis placing second in her quarter final but faced a fast and very close semi-final round ending up in 6th to finish 12th overall.

“My qualification round felt messy but I still had a decent time. I felt really strong and controlled in my quarter- final and finished in 2nd spot,” Marshall told SkiTrax post-race. “My semi-final was very fast and close. I fought the whole way but didn’t quite have the double pole strength left in the finishing stretch and I finished in 6th.

“It was a tight finish with all six of us crossing within 1.3 seconds. It was also 7 seconds faster than the other semi-final so my time in 6th spot was faster than the winner of the other semi-final. I am happy to be top-12 but I was disappointed to miss out on the final in such a tight finish,” she added.

Canadian coach Eric de Nys commented on Marshall’s performance: “Alysson Marshall skied strong all day. She was second in her quarter final and just got out-muscled in the finishing stretch in the semi, but it was a fight to the end. She should be happy with this result.”

The USA’s Bjornsen ended up 17th, Bender was 21st while Ida Sargent was 23rd. Taking 22nd overall was Nishikawa with Hewitt ending up in 30th.

Qualifications HERE.
Final results HERE.

January 27, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Using her experience as a former Junior World champ, Finland’s rising star Krista Lahteenmaki dominated Thursday’s U-23 10km free technique in Otepaa. Her winning time of 26:33.3 was one minute ahead of runner up Mariya Guschina of Russia while third place went to Norway’s Hilde Lauvhaug.

Lahteenmaki, recently a remarkable 8th overall at this year’s Tour de Ski, controlled the race from the start. On the 3×3.3km course she was in the lead after every lap. The talented Swede Hanna Brodin was not far off her Finnish rival’s pace on the first lap, but the sprinter who was impressive this past weekend in Otepaa finishing second claiming her first world cup podium, paid the price for starting too fast on the challenging course and finished 14th.

Lahteemaki was pleased with her effort today. “I am happy about the victory – the feeling of being the U-23 World Champion is nice. The weather was very cold, but everything else was very good. My skis were good, the track was good. It’s a demanding course here in Otepaa. Now I will concentrate on my next race.”

For the North Americans, it was Canada’s Emily Nishikawa leading the way with a top-20 results placing a strong 16th in 28:41.5. Sadie Bjornsen was the top US skier in 23rd in 29:31.1 followed by Canuck Alysson Marshall in 25th with a time of 29:34.5.

“I was pretty happy with how things went today,” Nishikawa told SkiTrax. “I started off pretty smooth and relaxed, then on my 2nd lap I caught a sweet ride from a German girl who was just starting.  I felt strong, pushed my hardest, and I paced it pretty well so I’m really happy with this race.

“It was pretty cold today, but being from the Yukon I’m used to it and prefer racing at colder temps.  I’m looking forward to the rest of the week, it should be really exciting,” added Nishikawa.

“I had a decent race today. I was careful not to start too hard and I focused on being strong and relaxed throughout the race,” Marshall told SkiTrax by email. “The course had some difficult climbs but there were downhills after which allowed for some recovery.

“A Norwegian passed me about 1.5km before the finish and I stayed with her into the stadium so I got a good ride up the last couple climbs. I am excited to race the classic sprint on Saturday!”

Caitlin Patterson (USA) who was recently on the podium at collegiate races in Lake Placid was 26th in 29:34.8. Sara Hewitt (CAN) finished in 28th, Becca Rorabaugh (USA) was 29th and Erin Tribe (CAN) placed 36th.

Full results HERE.

January 06, 2011 (Thunder Bay, ON) – Cold conditions and a moderate wind made for a frigid race, dropping to 20 below at Lappe Nordic Centre, but this did not dampen the enthusiasm and drive of 174 racers on site for the competitions. The continuous pursuit races held today were trials to determine who would qualify for positions on Canada’s team at the 2011 World Senior Nordic Championships in Oslo, Norway and the World Junior/U23 Championships in Oteppa, Estonia. A perfect set of classic tracks and a challenging, lung-bursting skate leg, greeted the skiers.

In the senior Men’s category National Ski Team (NST) member, George Grey, of Rossland, B.C. earned a spot to go to Oslo edging out Graham Nishikawa, of Whitehorse in the final meter of the men’s 30km race. The race was described by Grey as a tactical one with several unsuccessful breakaway attempts by NST members Drew Goldsack and Stefan Kuhn in both the classic and skate portions.

“Many of the skiers in this race are at a very similar fitness level so it was difficult to establish any gaps,” said Grey a two-time Olympian. In the end his World Championship spot was decided by toe over Nishikawa as NorAm leader Goldsack claimed the bronze.

“It was awfully tight and very technical out there today,” added Grey. “I don’t really have my shape but I think my experience put me in the front in the end. The last few weeks of training have been challenging because my fitness isn’t there. But it will come around. I’d love to be in Europe even just to watch Devon (Kershaw) and Alex (Harvey) because those guys are flying. It will be fun to get them home and train beside them again, and get ready to race with them again at the World Championships.”

In the Senior women’s category, National Ski Team member Dasha Gaiazova held off a skate leg charge by Brooke Gosling (Foothills Nordic/CXC) to take the win. Ottawa’s Perianne Jones took the bronze after skiing closely with Gaiazova in the classic portion but was overtaken by Gosling in the final 7.5km skate section.

“It was really hard today. I’m not going to lie,” said Gaiazova.“I had really good skis and it was fun to be racing in Thunder Bay. I have really good memories of racing here at the Nationals in 2006, and I was just excited to be racing in Canada and on these trails again.”

In the Under 23 competitions Kevin Sandau and Emily Nishikawa took top honors.  Sandau, of Canmore, Alta., was the top under-23 male, while Emily Nishikawa was the fastest under-23 woman.

Heidi Widmer of Banff, Alta., was the top Junior woman in their 10-kilometre pursuit race with a time of 32:38.8 while Thunder Bay-based National Development Centre skier Andy Shields dominated the junior men’s 20-kilometre pursuit. Shields skated away in the final 10km to a 51-second victory.  Both Widmer and Shields are now guaranteed to go to the Junior Worlds in Estonia.

Races continue Saturday and Sunday and predicted warmers temperatures will likely heat up the action.

With files from CCC.

Full results HERE.