Ski Tour Canada: A Look at Likely Starters for the U.S. and Canada

The Ski Tour Canada starts on March 1 and we have a good idea of who will be on the start line for the two North American teams. As Canada is hosting the new World Cup tour, both Canada and the U.S. get an increased quota on top of the normal (larger) tour quota.

Canada planned to select 12 women and 14 men, and the U.S. can take up to 13 women and 11 men.  With roughly 175 international athletes expected to start the eight-stage tour on March 1 in Gatineau, Quebec, the 50 North Americans will play a big role in the event.

Canada

Canada has chosen not to use discretionary picks and is using an entirely rule-based selection system.  To oversimplify it, skiers with top-30 finishes this season on the World Cup are automatically selected, as are the Continental Cup (NorAm) leaders in overall, sprint and distance. The remaining places are chosen using a series of ranked rules using CPL (Canadian Points List) points, which are a variant of the FIS points list. World Cup races, U23 World Championships, and Continental Cup events from November to Feb. 21 all count towards the CPL rankings used. 

The provisional selections are based on results up to Feb. 17, changes are possible from Western Canadian Championships this weekend in Prince George, B.C, and U23 World Championships next week in Rasnov, Romania.

The selection rules are a bit complicated and there is a defined selection order, making it difficult to be mathematically certain how much this could change before Feb. 22. More detail is available on the Cross Country Canada (CCC) website.  The athlete order below is from CCC, but it doesn’t appear to be ranking order.

For the women, it is fairly likely that only one name will change, but there could be significant shuffling of the selection reasons, including the partially funded spot as NorAm overall leader.

Name	Affiliation	Selection Reason
Cendrine Browne	NDST/CNEPH	NorAm overall leader
Andrea Dupont	Rocky Mountain Racers	NorAm sprint leader
Dahria Beatty	NDST/AWCA	NorAm distance leader
Sophie Carrier-Laforte	CNEPH	4C1
Jennifer Jackson	NDC Thunder Bay	CPLS2
Frederique Vezina	CNEPH	4C5
Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt	NDST/AWCA	CPLD2
Marie Corriveau	NJST/CNEPH	4C4
Maya MacIsaac-Jones	Rocky Mountain Racers	CPLS1
Alannah Maclean	NDC Thunder Bay	4C2
Emily Nishikawa	NDST/AWCA	CPLD1
Katherine Stewart-Jones	NDST/NDC Thunder Bay	4C3

 

*Code:

• CPLD#: Rank on the best 5 distance CPL
• CPLS#: Rank on the best 3 sprint CPL
• 4C#: Best 4 distance +2 sprint CPL

 

For the men, the selection situation is more fluid, with more changes likely.  As of Feb. 18, the provisional selection was:

Name	Affiliation	Selection Reason
Alex Harvey	NST/CNEPH	WC top 30
Devon Kershaw	NST	WC top 30
Ivan Babikov	NST	WC top 30
Lenny Valjas	NST	WC top 30
Graeme Killick	NDST	WC top 30
Kevin Sandau	AWCA	NorAm overall leader
Andy Shields	CNEPH	NorAm distance leader
Julien Locke	Black Jack	NorAm sprint leader
Knute Johnsgaard	NDST/AWCA	CPLS1
Brian McKeever	Para-Nordic ST	CPLD2
Russell Kennedy	Canmore	4C1
Colin Abbott	Whitehorse	4C2
Michael Somppi	NDC Thunder Bay	CPLD1
Jess Cockney	NDST/CNEPH	CPLS2

 

It is likely that only a few names will change based on the CPL, but there are at least five athletes that could find their way in.

Most of the World Cup team and some of the development team will be doing an elevation camp in the Lake Louise area.  Ivan Babikov is doing the American Birkebeiner as final preparation.  A number of athletes will race at Westerns this weekend, either to defend their selection, gain selection, or final intensity before STC.

Daria Beatty, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt and Kevin Sandau will race the first two days at Westerns and return to Canmore, Alberta, on Sunday. Carrier-Laforte, Jackson, Locke, Maclean, and Vezina all chose to attend U23’s in Romania, with a training stop in Austria on the way. Johnsgaard is choosing to train instead of race as his final preparation, as he did on the European B tour in January.  

“The plan is to skip the Lahti World Cups this coming weekend,” Kershaw wrote in an email earlier this week from his home in Canmore. “The plan now is to train at altitude between Lake Louise, Canmore and up at a lodge up above Canmore [Engadine Lodge] for 10 days and then have some days at home here in Canmore before flying back to Ottawa two days before the whole SkiTour Canada begins!”

None of the Canadians planned to race in Lahti this weekend.

 

USA

The American team used a combination of discretion and criteria to select athletes, with only one spot still open.

Name	Affiliation	Selection Reason
Jessie Diggins	USST/SMST2	Top-30 Sprint and Distance World Cup
Sadie Bjornsen	USST/APU	Top-30 Sprint and Distance World Cup
Sophie Caldwell	USST/SMST2	Top-30 Sprint World Cup
Ida Sargent	USST/CGRP	Top-30 Sprint World Cup
Liz Stephen	USST	Top-30 Distance World Cup
Caitlin Gregg	USST/Team Gregg	Discretion
Anne Hart	SMST2	Discretion
Caitlin Patterson	CGRP	SuperTour Overall Leader
Chelsea Holmes	APU	Distance Leader 2 after Nationals
Katharine Ogden	SMS/USST	Distance Leader 3 after Nationals
Jennie Bender	BSF	Sprint Leader 1 after Nationals
Kaitlynn Miller	CGRP	Sprint Leader 2 after Nationals
Rosie Brennan	USST/APU	Objective Crit. (WC Points Jan. 16-Feb. 21)

 

U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover explained the selections in an email.

“Adam Martin was the 3rd man on the distance list post Nationals but has declined his start spot due to the conflict with NCAAs,” he wrote of the Northern Michigan University junior. “We have left one position open on the men’s side for an outstanding performance at the U23 Champs.  If we don’t have that, Matt Liebsch will be the next athlete named via the post-Nationals ST Distance CAN-Selection list.  We’ll make a decision on the 25th (last day in Rasnov).”

Name	Affiliation	Selection Reason
Simi Hamilton	USST/SMST2	Top-30 Sprint World Cup
Andy Newell	USST/SMST2	Top-30 Sprint World Cup
Erik Bjornsen	USST/APU	Discretion
Noah Hoffman	USST/SSCV	Discretion
???		Discretion
Eric Packer	APU	SuperTour Overall Leader
Scott Patterson	APU	Distance Leader 1 after Nationals
Brian Gregg	Team Gregg	Distance Leader 2 after Nationals
Reese Hanneman	APU	Sprint Leader 1 after Nationals
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess	BEA	Sprint Leader 2 after Nationals
Tad Elliott	SSCV	Distance Leader 4 after Nationals

 

Of the U.S. Ski Team members, Andy Newell, Liz Stephen, Rosie Brennan, and Caitlin Gregg returned to the U.S. early, skipping the Lahti World Cup, to prepare for the tour.

“Many of the sprinters will travel home on Sunday from Helsinki,” Grover explained of the rest of the team in Lahti. “Those doing the skiathlon will travel home on Monday.  For the Alaskans, most will go to New England (Craftsbury) rather than going back to AK in a short window.”

 

Cost Estimates

The Continental Cup (NorAm or SuperTour) leaders have a quota spot, with accommodation and some costs covered by the organizing committee.  Red Group members get the same cost reduction and most have additional financial support from their respective national team.

For the rest of the nation’s group skiers, at least in Canada, the costs have been estimated by CCC. Note that this information was published in November and was subject to change. U.S. dollars reflects the conversion rate.

Item	Note	Original currency cost	$ CDN	$ US
Mandatory FIS charter flight, Montreal to Calgary	Athletes will be transported from Quebec City to airport.	895 euro	$1362	$995
FIS food and accommodation	This is 14 days, optional in Canmore only.	125 swiss francs	$173/night	$126/night
Waxing	Canadian team price	$30 CDN/race	$240	$176
Shipping classic skis from Montreal to Canmore	Both Quebec City races are freestyle	$35 CDN	$35	$26
Total for Canmore residents	Only 7 nights food and accom.		$2848
Total for non-Canmore residents			$4059	$2961
Flight to Ottawa		varies by athlete
Flight from Canmore	Or location where the athlete leaves the tour.	varies by athlete

 

If an athlete drops out of the tour, through elimination, illness or disqualification, they pay their own way home from the last location they raced and will not be refunded for food and accommodation.

Two weeks out from the event, there was still some uncertainty on final costs and support levels for individual Canadian skiers.

“We didn’t receive any information yet,” Browne wrote in an email on Wednesday. “I think it will be pretty expensive though. But if I’m still noram leader after Westerns it’ll be less expensive for me.”

“We got a quote from the CCC administrator yesterday that the Eastern part of the Tour — including accommodation, the charter flight, and all race service fees will be just over $2000,” Jenn Jackson wrote on Friday. “Most people will be staying with friends and family in Canmore to reduce costs, but if not it’ll be about another $1000.”

“The fee does not, however, include the costs of travelling to Ottawa for the start of the Tour or back home from Canmore after – so another several hundred dollars there…” Jackson added.

In an email, Colin Abbott, of Whitehorse, explained that he will skip Westerns despite not knowing for sure whether he had qualified.

“I decided that in order to be rested for the tour I needed to take a break after Easterns,” he wrote. “I will race the tour if I qualify, hopefully I can survive the whole thing! Final costs are likely to be $3000-$4000 but haven’t been finalized yet.“

“My guess is between $2500 to $3000,” Alberta World Cup Academy Head Coach Chris Jeffries wrote of the total cost. “Western athletes in Canmore do not have to stay in the race hotel.”