March 09, 2016 (Canmore, Alta.) – Norwegian attitude: I woke up this morning pissed. Last night I read that the Norwegian men decided not to try their best in the final of the sprint on Tuesday (Mar. 9) in Canmore because they didn’t want to go to the awards ceremony that night – read more here.

Are you kidding me? What a bunch of sucks! This was disrespectful to all of the organizers, sponsors and spectators who had to watch Petter Northug et al snail it in during the final.

These guys should be disqualified from the Tour and sent home. One of the basic tenants in sport is that everyone tries as hard as they can to be their best. Quitting like this is shameful. At the very least they should be fined and have their prize money taken away. Would they have done this at a World Cup in Norway? Not likely in my books… so why is Canada or any other country different?

This follows Martin Johnsrud Sundby’s rhetoric after his fall in Montreal. Instead of taking responsibility for crashing he blamed the organizers, the course and the snow. Of course the snow conditions weren’t perfect – it was blowing and snowing. I hear that Sundby does a lot of training on a treadmill inside. Perhaps guess he wants these kind of conditions when he races. Suck it up… this is cross-country skiing!

Sick Swedes – What is it with the Swedes and sickness? They seem to be the team and nation who are sick all the time. Their men have had a horrible year with sickness and injury – Calle Halvorsen has not raced, Marcus Hellner has barely raced and Johann Olsson had to give up on his dream of winning the Vasaloppet because of persistent colds and a rib injury.

Now it is the womens’ turn. Stina Nilsson, Ida Ingemarsdotter and Maria Rydqvist all pulled out of the Tour after the first four races citing colds, too much travel and too many hard races. Welcome to the world of the North American skier. Canadian and US skiers spend all winter on the road in Europe. For them, the travel to Canada for the Tour is a walk in the park.

Harvey and Diggins – Alex Harvey and Jessie Diggins continue to shine in the Tour. They have given North Americans something to cheer about here at home. Going into the last three races they both have a chance at the podium. I can hardly wait to see what they can do on the weekend. Both are very tough competitors and I know that they will give everything they have to succeed.

I am going to be travelling to Canmore for the last two races on Friday (Mar. 11) and Saturday (Mar. 12). I am looking forward to cheering for all of our Canadian skiers who are giving it all they can and heckling Northug et al for quitting. I hope that you can join me.

“Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required every day”. – John Wooden