February 19, 2013 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Canada’s high-powered cross-country ski squad is set to hit the start line against the top Nordic athletes on the globe for the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.

A team of five women and six men will blaze the trails of Val di Fiemme, Italy in Canadian colours over the next two weeks. The premiere event on the cross-country skiing calendar every second year, the nordic festival will feature six different race distances in both classic and skate-ski disciplines, February 20 – March 3, 2013.

Justin Wadsworth, Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw

Canada’s Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey headline the Canadian contingent as they look to successfully defend their team sprint title. The dynamic duo became the first Canadian males ever to win a World Championship medal in cross-country skiing two years ago in Oslo, Norway.

The final stop on the annual Tour de Ski, Canadian athletes have excelled on the World Championship layout in Val di Fiemme which resembles the team’s training headquarters in Canada at the Canmore Nordic Centre. Canadian athletes have skied to the podium five times in Val di Fiemme while competing on the Tour de Ski.

Men
– Alex Harvey – St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que.
– Devon Kershaw – Sudbury, Ont.
– Graham Nishikawa – Whitehorse
– Ivan Babikov – Canmore, Alta.
– Len Valjas – Toronto
– Phil Widmer – Banff, Alta.

Women
– Andrea Dupont – Timmins, Ont.
– Brittany Webster – Caledon, Ont.
– Daria Gaiazova – Banff, Alta.
– Emily Nishikawa – Whitehorse
– Perianne Jones – Almonte, Ont.

Schedule:
– February 21 – Women’s/Men’s Classic Sprint
– February 23 – Women’s/Men’s Skiathlon
– February 24 – Women’s/Men’s Team Sprint
– February 26 – Women’s 10 KM Skate Individual Start
– February 27 – Men’s 15 KM Classic Individual Start
– February 28 – Women’s 4×5 KM Relay
– March 1 –Men 4×10 KM Relay
– March 2 – Women’s 30 KM Classic Mass Start
– March 3 – Men’s 50 KM Classic Mass Start

Canadian Medals at the World Ski Championships:
– 2011 – Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey – Gold, Team Sprint (Oslo, Norway)
– 2005 – Sara Renner – Bronze, Classic Sprint (Oberstdorf, Germany)

Current Canadian Athlete Medals in Val di Fiemme, Italy:
– 2013 – Len Valjas – Silver – 15 KM Classic (Tour de Ski)
– 2013 – Alex Harvey – Bronze – 15 KM Classic (Tour de Ski)
– 2013 – Ivan Babikov – Silver – 9 KM Skate Pursuit Hill Climb (Tour de Ski)
– 2012 – Alex Harvey – Silver – 20 KM Classic (Tour de Ski)
– 2009 – Ivan Babikov – Gold – 9 KM Skate Pursuit Hill Climb (Tour de Ski)