-Alberta World Cup track in Canmore promises to be nasty challenge for world’s best-
Canmore, Alta.-Canada’s Beckie Scott and George Grey will enter their first World Cup races of the season next week at home with another gold medal under their belt. The two Canucks won their respective races at the Haywood NorAm cross-country skiing event in Canmore, Alta. on Sunday morning.
Source: Cross country Canada
A final tune up race before the Canadian squad competes in their first ever World Cup on home snow next week at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre near Vernon, B.C., Scott put the boots to the field in the women’s 10-kilometre classic event today. The Vermilion, Alta. native claimed her second title in as many days, crossing the line nearly two minutes ahead of the pack in a time of 32 minutes 28.1 seconds.
“I raced extremely well today, and feel really good heading into next week,” said the Olympic gold medallist who won the Madshus sprint race on Saturday. “This course is perfect for me with lots of long, steep climbs. It is great and I really enjoyed it today.”
Sara Renner, of Canmore, Alta., delighted the hometown crowd with a silver medal performance. Renner crossed the finish line of the newly renovated stadium area with a time of 34:18.1. Milaine Theriault, of St. Quentin, N.B., who was competing in her first race of the season, finished third after clocking a time of 35:23.7.
George Grey, of Rossland, B.C. didn’t have as easy of a time as Scott did en route to his golden performance. Grey duked it out with Ivan Babikov through the first five of six laps on the 2.5-kilometre track under sunny skies and perfect racing conditions at the Canmore Nordic Centre. While the duo exchanged leads several times throughout the race, Grey pulled away on his final lap to solidify the gold.
“It was really tough out there and a great race,” said Grey, who also got his first taste of the revamped Canmore Nordic Centre. “These hills take a lot out of you, but it is a really good course. I am happy with the way I skied today and look forward to the next couple of weeks.”
Babikov, who recently moved to Canmore to join the Canadian program, settled for second, while Drew Goldsack, of Red Deer, Alta., stretched out at the finish line to claim the bronze medal ahead of Spain’s Diego Ruiz.
The Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team now packs their bags for a short trip west to the interior of British Columbia to compete in two World Cup races at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, December 10-11, 2005. The team will then return home to Canmore for the Alberta Centennial World Cup, December 15-18, 2005.
The Alberta Government has financially supported a $23 million upgrade to the Canmore Nordic Centre to support holding a World Cup in Alberta. The trial run on Sunday proved the new track would provide a world-class test when the top racers on the globe return in two weeks.
“This is definitely a huge challenge,” said an exhausted Sara Renner after crossing the finish line. “They have replaced the short, steep climbs with long, steep climbs and it is extremely tough. They have done a great job getting it ready.”
NorAm Open Women 10 km. Classic Mass Start Course Info: MC: 41m HD: 64m TC: 177m Bib Nation Club Time Diff 1 Beckie Scott Canada Vermillion Nord 32:28.1 2 Sara Renner Canada Canmore Nordic 34:18.1 +1:50.0 3 Milaine Theriault Canada Husky 35:23.7 +2:55.6 4 Madeleine Williams Canada National Team 2 35:28.9 +3:00.8 5 Dasha Gaiazova Canada National Team 2 35:46.2 +3:18.1 6 Chandra Crawford Canada National Team 2 36:16.1 +3:48.0 7 Tasha Betcherman Canada Lappe Nordic 36:20.0 +3:51.9 8 Perianne Jones Canada National Team 2 36:25.3 +3:57.2 9 Amanda Ammar Canada National Team 2 36:27.1 +3:59.0 10 Tara Whitten Canada Edmonton Nordic 36:32.7 +4:04.6 11 Shayla Swanson Canada X-C.com 36:59.3 +4:31.2 12 Anna McLoon USA Atomic USA 37:32.0 +5:03.9 13 Megan McTavish Canada XC Ottawa 37:36.4 +5:08.3 14 Sara Hewitt Canada Foothills Nordi 38:01.9 +5:33.8 15 Christine Bisson Canada Nordique Mont-S 38:13.1 +5:45.0 16 Brooke Gosling Canada Foothills Nordi 38:19.1 +5:51.0 17 Jacqui Benson Canada Caledonia Nordi 38:40.2 +6:12.1 18 Marcia Birkigt Canada Camrose Nordic 38:40.8 +6:12.7 19 Sophie Caldwell USA Stratton 38:43.1 +6:15.0 20 Sarah Daitch Canada Fort Smith 38:43.7 +6:15.6 21 Sheila Kealey Canada XC Ottawa 38:50.9 +6:22.8 22 Sarah Peters Canada Strathcona Nord 38:54.2 +6:26.1 23 Magi Scallion Canada Banff Ski Runne 39:11.0 +6:42.9 24 Hannah Perry Canada Foothills Nordi 39:22.1 +6:54.0 25 Maddie Talkington USA Stratton 39:26.5 +6:58.4 26 Rhonda Sandau Canada Exel Racing Tea 39:52.7 +7:24.6 27 Brittany Greer Canada Whitehorse CC S 40:04.4 +7:36.3 28 Kerrie Fabius Canada Big Thunder Nor 40:22.3 +7:54.2 29 Alysson Marshall Canada Larch Hills 40:46.3 +8:18.2 30 Jennifer Mygatt USA Bridger Ski Fou 40:48.0 +8:19.9 31 Maryse L'Heureux Canada Skiélite 40:52.2 +8:24.1 32 Emily Nishikawa Canada Whitehorse CC S 41:08.7 +8:40.6 33 Rebecca Puiras Canada Lappe Nordic 41:09.8 +8:41.7 34 sharon hogg Canada Foothills Nordi 41:22.4 +8:54.3 35 Eva Szabo Canada XC Ottawa 41:40.6 +9:12.5 36 Bryn Knight Whitehorse CC Ski Club 0.0289942129629 +9:17.0 37 Mae Foster Stratton 0.0296238425925 +10:11.4 38 Marita Cockburn Canada Nakkertok 42:41.2 +10:13.1 39 Alana Snow Canada Foothills Nordi 42:54.2 +10:26.1 40 Sophie Boyer Skiélite 0.0298321759259 +10:29.4 41 Karmen Whitham Stratton 0.0298981481481 +10:35.1 42 Megan Killigrew USA Stratton 43:23.3 +10:55.2 43 Virginia Lehoux Gagnon Canada Skiélite 43:28.4 +11:00.3 44 Mellie Park USA Bridger Ski Fou 43:32.1 +11:04.0 45 Kristin Dewey USA Stratton 44:18.0 +11:49.9 46 Megan Hudson Canada Edmonton Nordic 45:22.4 +12:54.3 NorAm Open Men 15 km. Classic Mass Start Course Info: MC: 41m HD: 64m TC: 177m PL Name Nation Club Time Diff 1 George Grey Canada Blackjack 42:52.3 2 Ivan Babikov Russia Foothils Nordic 43:03.7 11.4 3 Drew Goldsack Canada Rocky Mountain 43:35.3 43 4 Diego Ruiz Spain RFEDI 43:36.5 44.2 5 Dave Nighbor Canada National Team 2 44:10.9 +1:18.6 6 Chris Jeffries Canada Nakkertok 44:11.5 +1:19.2 7 Vicenç Vilarrubla Spain RFEDI 44:14.3 +1:22.0 8 Dan Roycroft Canada Arrowhead 44:37.6 +1:45.3 9 Graham Nishikawa Canada National Team 2 44:38.6 +1:46.3 10 Stefan Kuhn Canada X-C.com/ENSC 44:39.2 +1:46.9 11 Adam Kates Canada Soo Finnish 44:56.6 +2:04.3 12 Gordon Jewett Canada Exel Racing Tea 45:04.5 +2:12.2 13 Brent McMurtry Canada National Team 2 45:06.6 +2:14.3 14 Ben Sim Australia 0.0315879629629 +2:36.9 15 Robin McKeever Canada Foothills Nordi 45:37.7 +2:45.4 16 Ben Koons New Zealand 0.0316944444444 +2:46.1 17 Karl Saidla Canada XC Ottawa 46:01.6 +3:09.3 18 Kit Richmond Canada Strathcona Nord 46:04.8 +3:12.5 19 Ben Derrick Australia 0.0320613425925 +3:17.8 20 Phillip Wood Canada NTDC/Mono Nordi 46:17.9 +3:25.6 21 Alex Harvey Canada Nordique Mont-S 46:18.7 +3:26.4 22 Kazuma Takahashi Japan Foothills Nordi 46:28.1 +3:35.8 23 Sean Crooks Canada National Team 2 46:28.5 +3:36.2 24 Skeets Morel Canada NTDC/Georgian N 46:41.2 +3:48.9 25 Erik Carleton Canada Rocky Mountain 46:46.9 +3:54.6 26 Chris Butler Canada National Team 2 46:48.5 +3:56.2 27 Phil Widmer Canada National Team 2 47:16.8 +4:24.5 28 Carl Skinstad Canada Camrose Ski Clu 47:19.4 +4:27.1 29 Georg Jalkotzy Canada Foothills Nordi 47:23.4 +4:31.1 30 Cyrus Kangarloo Canada X-C.com 47:26.7 +4:34.4 31 Ian Murray Canada North Highlands 47:27.1 +4:34.8 32 Frédéric Touchette Canada Nordique Mont-S 47:29.9 +4:37.6 33 Jesse Heckrodt Canada Larch Hills 48:17.6 +5:25.3 34 Cameron Egan Canada Sovereign Lake 48:18.9 +5:26.6 35 Haakon Lenes Canada Banff Ski Runne 48:35.6 +5:43.3 36 Edward McCarthy Canada XC Ottawa 48:39.0 +5:46.7 37 Terrell Stephen Canada Foothills Nordi 49:19.0 +6:26.7 38 Connal Robertson-More Canada Banff Ski Runne 49:24.2 +6:31.9 39 Andrew Casey Canada NTDC/Blow Me Do 49:31.6 +6:39.3 40 Wayne Dustin Canada XC Ottawa 49:34.6 +6:42.3 41 Christian Ruel Canada National Team 2 49:36.3 +6:44.0 42 Carl Steudler Canada Foothills Nordi 49:37.3 +6:45.0 43 Patrick O'Brien USA Stratton 49:37.5 +6:45.2 44 Fritz Horst USA Stratton 49:42.4 +6:50.1 45 Marty Smith USA Stratton 49:42.9 +6:50.6 46 Christopher Werrell Canada Omineca 49:43.8 +6:51.5 47 Mark Doble Canada NTDC/Hardwood H 49:48.7 +6:56.4 48 Bryon Hughson Canada Hardwood Hills 49:59.3 +7:07.0 49 Pierre-Olivier Dorego Canada Skinouk 50:07.4 +7:15.1 50 Timothy Puiras Canada Lappe Nordic 50:12.8 +7:20.5 51 Brian McKeever Canada National Disabl 50:14.8 +7:22.5 52 Mike Argue Canada Yellowknife Ski 50:18.2 +7:25.9 53 Dominic Gagnon Canada Norvegien 50:40.5 +7:48.2 54 Jack Cook Canada ENSC/Cooksport. 50:41.9 +7:49.6 55 Justin Kangarloo Canada Foothills Nordi 50:52.6 +8:00.3 56 Chase Marston USA Stratton 50:57.0 +8:04.7 57 Kevin Sandau Canada Foothills Nordi 50:59.0 +8:06.7 58 Nicolas Poirier Canada Défi 51:02.0 +8:09.7 59 Ray Sabo Canada Whitehorse CC S 51:13.2 +8:20.9 60 Jesse Winter Canada NTDC/North Bay 51:16.7 +8:24.4 61 François Bussières Canada Skibec 51:16.9 +8:24.6 62 Kyle Dewey USA Stratton 51:17.2 +8:24.9 63 Jeremie Duchesne Canada Skiélite 51:46.9 +8:54.6 64 Rémi Doiron Canada Skiélite 51:48.5 +8:56.2 65 Matt Cummings Canada Foothills nordi 51:56.1 +9:03.8 66 Rob Spiller Canada Foothills Nordi 52:26.2 +9:33.9 67 Don Harris New Zealand 0.0366087962962 +9:50.7 68 John Rennie Canada NTDC/Nakkertok 52:57.6 +10:05.3 69 David Greer Canada Whitehorse CC S 52:58.9 +10:06.6 70 Nick Grimmer Australia 0.0369189814814 +10:17.5 71 Tolly Bradford Canada Edmonton Nordic 53:29.6 +10:37.3 72 Anthony Gauvin Canada Skibec 53:31.2 +10:38.9 73 Murray Carter Canada Prairie Storm 53:46.6 +10:54.3 74 Harrison Harb USA Stratton 53:54.4 +11:02.1
