January 11, 2013 (Toronto, ON) – We are pleased to announce the SkiTrax FIS Tour de Ski 2012/13 Fantasy Contest standings after stage 6 in Val di Fiemme, Italy. In an exciting twist, Team Iisaku has taken charge with 632 points, trailed by ZIS XC with a mere one-point deficit. Team Mavericks has moved up into third place with 627 points.

Stage 6 was the day Canada earned a double podium in the men’s 15km CL competition, courtesy of Len Valjas and Alex Harvey – read more here. On the women’s side, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) continued to dominate the field, while USA’s Kikkan Randall finished a strong 11th in the 10km CL race – read more here.

With only one stage to go, we’d like to wish all contestants good luck and once again thank all of our great sponsors, including Mont Ste-Anne, Alpina, One Way, Marwi, Halti, 2XU, Fresh Air Experience, High Peaks Cyclery, CCC, Auclair, and Buff.

For the contest standings after Stage 6 in Val di Fiemme click HERE.

* 1st Prize – Mont Ste-Anne – 2 nights lodging w/breakfast + 3-day XC gift certificate, tune-up (value $800)
* 2nd Prize – Alpina ESK Ski Boots (value $419)
* 3rd Prize – One Way Premio Ski Poles (value $400)
* 4th Prize – Marwe 610c Roller Skis (value $349)
* 5th Prize – Halti XC Race Suit Hemmo Set (value $269)
* 6th Prize – 2XU Long Sleeve Thermal Compression Top and Elite Socks (value $195)
* 7th Prize – Fresh Air Experience or High Peaks Cyclery Gift Certificate (value $150)
* 8th Prize – Two free CCC Inside Track Rewards Cards plus a $50 Gift Card to the CCC e-store (value $100)
* 9th Prize – Auclair Micro Mountain Olympic Gloves + Earbags (value $65)
* 10th Prize – Buff Headware (value $23)

January 07, 2013 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – As the 2012/13 FIS Tour de Ski wrapped up on Sunday with the grueling handicap-style Alpe Cermis hill climb it was time for goodbyes until next time as teams dispersed and some were on the road soon after. We caught with the Canadians on their magic bus en route to Munich to get their final take on a very strong Tour.

Ivan Babikov, who won this stage in 2009, finished a fantastic second place to take seventh overall in this season’s TdS nailing a personal best along with the top Canadian result this year. Devon Kershaw posted a personal best 13th place on the Stage 7 ascent up Cermis to secure a respectable 12th overall in the Tour, followed by TdS rookie Len Valjas in 23rd on the day and 23rd overall. Alex Harvey was forced to abandon the Tour to protect his left leg, which was operated on in 2008, but scored a podium and showed his form is getting stronger. And finally we chatted with Head Coach Justin Wadsworth for his take on the Canucks at the Tour and beyond aka relay…

Ivan Babikov – 7th overall

Devon Kershaw – 12th overall

Len Valjas – 23rd overall


Alex Harvey



Justin Wadsworth

December 27, 2012 – If you are not familiar with the various competition formats that will be used during the seventh edition of the FIS Tour de Ski, here is a quick overview with explanations.

Oberhof: Stage 1 – 3 km Ladies/4 km Men Free Prologue

Traditional individual start competition; the 30 best athletes according to the current overall World Cup standing registered to compete will start in reverse order as the last group. The overall World Cup leader will start as last. Registered athletes with the highest distance FIS points will start between all the seeded athletes. The athlete with the highest distance FIS points will be set as first of those athletes.

Oberhof: Stage 2 – 9 km Ladies/15 km Men Classic Pursuit

All athletes registered to compete will start as according to the current FIS Tour de Ski standings after the first stage using the time differences between respective athletes as the start interval.

Val Müstair: Stage 3 – 1.4 km Ladies/Men Free Sprint

For the individual sprint qualification round the top 30 after 2 stages start first and the starting order within this group will be decided by a draw. Start positions for all other competitors will be assigned according to the FIS Tour de Ski ranking after 2 stages (the last athlete of the current FIS Tour de Ski standing will start as last).

Cortina-Toblach: Stage 4 – 15 km Ladies/35 km Men Free Pursuit

The starting order will be decided according to the current FIS Tour de Ski standings after 3 stages using the time differences between respective athletes as the start interval. If there are too big time differences in the back of the start field, the Jury can decide upon the use of the “wave start”.

Toblach: Stage 5 – 3km Ladies/5 km Men Classic Individual Start

The 30 best athletes according to the current overall FIS Tour de Ski standing after 4 stages will start in reverse order as the last group. Last 30 athletes according to the current TDS overall standing will start between all the seeded athletes. The athlete ranked last in the current overall TDS standing will be set as first of those athletes.

Val di Fiemme: Stage 6 – 10 km Ladies/15 km Men Classic Mass Start

The overall FIS Tour de Ski leader after 5 stages will get the first start position on the grid and bib number 1. Other competitors are assigned next start positions and bib numbers in order of their current FIS Tour de Ski standing after 5 stages.

Val di Fiemme: Stage 7 – 9km Ladies/9 km Men Pursuit Final Climb Alpe Cermis

The starting bibs will be assigned according to the current FIS Tour de Ski standings after 6 stages using the time differences between respective athletes as the start interval. To prevent too big start time differences, the Jury can decide upon the use of the “wave start”.

December 24, 2012 – An abnormally high pulse in training Saturday morning prompted Norwegian Marit Bjørgen to go to the hospital, and on Sunday, the defending World Cup champion was discharged after being examined for cardiac dysrhythmia, also known as arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.

Without knowing the full extent of her rhythmic disturbances, coach Egil Kristiansen said they wouldn’t be taking any chances.

“I can say for sure is that she is not going to the Tour de Ski,” he told NRK.no, adding that there’s no reason to worry about Bjørgen ending her career due to heart disorders.

The 32-year-old first detected an unusually high heart beat at practice Friday. She took another reading on Saturday and contacted a private physician, Hans Petter Stokke. Bjørgen was then admitted to St. Olav’s Hospital with what appeared to be cardiac dysrhythmia and spent the night there.

She returned home Sunday to her family with electrodes attached to her body for doctors to detect future abnormalities in her heart’s rhythm.

“The intention is to do research of heart rhythm disturbance while actually happening,” Stokke said.

“To my knowledge, there is no more serious than that she may soon start training again,” Kristiansen said. “But it’s important that she does not burden your body too much. Tour de Ski is a huge burden, so it goes without saying that she can not attend there.”

“She’s an incredibly tough lady, and there is no doubt that Bjoergen will come out stronger from this,” teammate Maiken Caspersen Falla told NRK. “I think she will use it as motivation towards the World Cup in February.”

Another young teammate, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, 22, said she was “very put out” by the news, but was glad everything turned out well.

“I have great faith that she comes back even stronger,” Østberg said. ”She is so strong both physically and mentally.”

“Fitness-wise, we live pretty similar lives,” Petter Northug said. “It is sad that she loses Tour de Ski, but when all is said and done it does not mean anything. It is health that is most important.”

Read the NRK article HERE.

January 18, 2012 (Toronto, ON) – Calling all cross country ski racing fans! The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has announced that it will broadcast highlights of the 2012 Tour de Ski this weekend, including Alex Harvey’s silver medal performance in the 8th stage in Val di Fiemme and the final climb up the Alpe Cermis.

The broadcast will feature commentary by Scott Russell and colour analyst Jack Sasseville (SkiTrax columnist) this Saturday, January 21st at 3:00pm ET. Relive the highlights of the race, including Devon Kershaw’s historic 4th place overall finish.

CBC’s broadcast schedule for the Tour de Ski:

CBC TV broadcast schedule:
– Sat. Jan. 21 @ 15:00-17:00 ET LIVE
CBC Sports Championship Cross Country Skiing: Tour de Ski 2012

– Sun. Jan. 22 @ 00:30-02:30 LOCAL
CBC Sports Late Night – Championship Cross Country Skiing: Tour de Ski 2012

cbcsports.ca broadcast schedule:
– Sat. Jan. 21 @ 15:00-17:00 ET LIVE
Championship Cross Country Skiing: Tour de Ski 2012

View the full CBC sports broadcast schedule HERE.

January 03, 2012 (Toblach, Italy) – Justin Wadsworth, head coach of the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team, along with athletes Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and Ivan Babikov bring you on the team’s unique bus they are using to aid in rest in recovery while traveling through Germany and Italy as they compete in the ultimate grind of high-performance sport – the Tour de Ski. Modeled after the Tour de France in cycling, the world’s best all-around cross-country ski athletes will compete in nine races in 11 days while traveling to five cities in two countries.

Check it out HERE.