January 10, 2011 (Barrie, ON) – If I would have told you at any time in the past that Canada would have more men in the top 10 at a series of races like the Tour de Ski  than Norway, Italy, France, Sweden, Germany, Finland or Russia I am sure that you would have told me that I was crazy.

Canada has never been thought of as a men’s cross-country ski power. Sure there was Pierre Harvey in the distant past winning world cups, but one skier does not make a powerful team.

Of course, the Canadian women have had fantastic results over the past 10 years or so led by Beckie Scott, Sara Renner and Chandra Crawford.

This all started to change in Vancouver last winter. Multi top-10 results there were a step ahead of what had happened in the past.  But those results were on home soil and at the Olympics where the fields are not as deep as at a World Cup.

The results this past week at the Tour de Ski are another step even higher. With all of the best in the world racing Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey consistently skied at the front of the fields in almost every race finishing 7th and 10th overall. Devon was on the podium four – yes four times winning his first ever race. He also had the fastest time in another race, but there was no podium for this result as it was a pursuit. He is now in the top echelon of racing and should be considered a threat to be on the podium in every race.

Alex Harvey continues to improve. I believe that he will challenge for the overall World Cup title within the next couple of years. He is the complete package and will only get better.

Ivan Babikov had a poor Tour by his standards, but his 6th place in the final hill climb on the Cermis showed that he can still be at the top. Something has gone wrong in his training formula this summer and fall and he needs to sort it out so that he can get back to his best. He is 30 years old now and the clock is ticking.

The other North American man to finish the tour was Kris Freeman in 28th with a remarkable final stage. He did not show the same form that he had before Xmas and I am not sure that he has solved his diabetes/blood sugar/insulin challenge yet. He is charting new territory racing in a sport as physically challenging as xc skiing as a Type 1 diabetic.

Kikkan Randall also finished the Tour in 21st place. She is continuing to improve as a distance racer and an all-round skier. Her best results still come in the skating sprints but she is getting better.

Dario Cologna (SUI) showed throughout the Tour that he was the strongest skier. He has no weaknesses in any area and reminds me of Lance Armstrong in his ability to be at or near the top no matter the distance or the technique.

Petter Northug (NOR) is back. By the end of the Tour he was back to his dominant position in sprinting at the end of distance races – in the second last race in Val di Fiemme he won all 5 “preem” sprints and the sprint at the end of the race. He finished 2nd overall and looks to be ready to take a run at Cologna for the overall world cup.

Lukas Bauer (CZE) won the hill climb to move from 10th to 3rd overall. He showed his incredible fitness on that climb. He is not the best skier technically but he does have the fitness.

There is incredible depth in the men’s fields right now. There were skiers from eight different nations in the top 20 – this without anyone from Russia or Finland. Marcus Hellner (SWE) had one bad race and he dropped from 2nd at the start of the second last race right down to 14th by the end of the tour. This depth makes the Canadian results even more impressive.

The Russians, after rocketing out of the gate before Xmas, came back to earth in the Tour. Alexander Legkov (who chirped before Xmas that he wanted to meet Northug on the tracks during the Tour and beat him) left sick, part way through, along with Ilia Chernousov. Maxim Vylezghanin was not allowed to start due to high hemoglobin (I wonder how this happened). After being the best team in the world before the break, the best that they could do was Dimitri Japarov in 23rd. The Finns are also struggling – they had no men finish the Tour de Ski.

I’m discouraged by the lack of depth in the women’s fields. Without Marit Bjoergen (NOR) in the field there was no one to challenge Justyna Kowalczyk from Poland and for me the races were boring. Sure Petra Majdic (SLO) won a sprint and Therese Johaug (NOR) had a great hill climb on the final stage, but in general most of the races were a whole bunch of mediocre speed skiers chasing Kowalczyk. With the men you really didn’t know who was going to win any race and most finishes were pack finishes, but not so with the women.

This could be seen as good news for North American female skiers. There is room at the top right now and it will looks like there is a spot in the top 20 for anyone with the talent and opportunity to race. Keep working, ladies, now is the time to move up the ladder. I hope that the USST and CCC also see this as a great opportunity to put their female skiers at the top again.

The sprinters gather again in Liberec, CZE for a couple of races next weekend while the distance racers get a week off to recover before the first distance race in two weeks in Otepaa, Estonia. This is also the time period when many countries hold their national championships. For the skiers who completed the Tour it is a time for recovery and a return to base training for a short period of time before they hop back on the World Cup conveyor belt.