This Week in Canmore: Biathlon World Cup Season Finale

Canmore is having a year.

Just over a month after hosting the International Ski Federation (FIS) Cross Country World Cup, the Canmore Nordic Centre is pulling out all the stops and showcasing its brand-new biathlon facility as the host of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup Finals from Thursday, March 14 to Sunday, March 17.

The world-class venue amid Canada’s Rocky Mountains is no stranger to World Cup nordic and mountain bike events. It hosted 2016 and 2019 IBU World Cups and, as recently as last year, eight IBU Cup events in advance of the 2024 Biathlon World Cup Finals.

Two years ago, Alberta’s provincial government granted the Canmore Nordic Centre $17.5 million to upgrade and enhance its biathlon building, stadium, snowmaking, and range. According to Ken Davies, the Canmore IBU World Cup event chair, they broke ground in May 2022 and have nearly completed the project as of this March.

“It’s huge,” he said. “We sort of stirred the pot initially seven years ago to get them to reinvest in the nordic centre, and the Alberta government followed through, so credit to them.”

In 2017, the Canmore Nordic Centre requested improvements to its biathlon facility, which hadn’t been updated since 1986, when it was built for the 1988 Olympics. The biathlon stadium needed to be widened to meet IBU regulations and continue to host World Cups. The nordic centre also wanted to replace its undersized timing building and wax facilities, expand its snowmaking, and modernize its shooting range.

Just three days before the start of the IBU World Cup Finals, the Canmore Nordic Centre is ready to show the world its fresh new look. According to Davies, the father of Olympic biathlete Macx Davies and a Canmore World Cup organizer since 2005, the biathlon course has been “turned upside down.”

“When you come in and shoot, we now do a 180-degree turn in the stadium so the spectators can see the athletes for longer,” he explained. “We used a lot of the same course, but how we start and finish is completely different.”

Situated between 1,425 and 1,550 meters (4,675 and 5,085 feet) above sea level, the Canmore Nordic Centre is one of Canada’s highest cross-country ski areas, and it has a deceivingly challenging World Cup course.

“The trails are so well maintained, and they’re wider, so they look like highways, [but] they’re sort of sneaky hard,” Davies said. “People forget we’re at 1,400 meters of elevation. … We’re as tough as most places, and the racers all realize that when they come here.”

According to Rosanna Crawford, a three-time Olympic biathlete based in Canmore, the approach to the range has changed. On each lap, racers must climb up to the stadium before shooting.

“I’m curious to see how the athletes will like it,” said Crawford, who lives in Canmore with her husband, Brendan Green, also a Canadian Olympic biathlete. “Before, you had a somewhat easier range entry, but now, especially for the men’s sprint, they’re going to climb right up into the range, so I think they’ll be pretty gassed.”

On the range, she said changing conditions can cause the wind flags to change immediately.

“It’s a tricky range. The wind can really rip through there,” she said. “So I’ll be curious to see how the athletes handle that.”

While Crawford has never watched a Biathlon World Cup in person since retiring from racing in 2019, she is excited to spectate with Green and her family this weekend. (Crawford is the younger sister of Olympic cross-country skier Chandra Crawford.)

“Seeing it in person is going to be special because we are huge biathlon fans. We don’t miss a race, and we try to stay off social media until we can get home and watch the races on Eurovision,” Rosanna explained.

“Brendan retired in Canmore [in 2019], so it was really special having his family there in the crowd,” she added. My cousin made some funny signs, like those face ones, so my whole family had my face on a stick that they were holding up. … Canmore’s just so special. I’m looking forward to being a number-one sports fan during the races.”

When she’s not at the races hanging out in the Rocky Mountain Club and grandstands, she can tune in while working as a dental hygienist in town.

“In my dental office, there’s a TV, and I’m able to stream from my computer,” she explained. “Luckily, I had some ski fans in my chair [during Canmore’s Cross-Country World Cup], and they would tell me when to look because you can’t clean teeth and watch TV at the same time.”

With more than 240 athletes from 25 countries, the Biathlon World Cup Finals are expected to draw 3,000 to 5,000 spectators for the Thursday and Friday events and up to 10,000 on the weekend days. Additionally, more than 50 million viewers are expected to watch remotely via Eurosport.  According to Davies, Canmore sold out of VIP and grandstand tickets within 36 hours, 70 percent of which were purchased by Europeans.

General admission to the races is free and doesn’t require a ticket. In addition to the indoor Rocky Mountain Club VIP zone and bleacher (grandstand) seating, the venue can accommodate 10,000 non-paying spectators.

Spectators are encouraged to use the courtesy shuttles between downtown and the venue, or take the scenic route by foot and enjoy an Art Walk in the Woods along the way. The Canmore Nordic Centre is 3.5 k west of Canmore, about a 30- to 40-minute walk from downtown. Crawford recommended bringing YakTrax or traction cleats for walking, just in case.

In late February, a snowstorm brought about a foot of fresh snow to Canmore, which made everything look wintery again after an up-and-down winter. Davies said the biathlon loops have been ready since early December, and with expanded snowmaking, the Canmore Nordic Centre can open at least 10 kilometers of trails in mid-October.

“We had a weird winter,” he said of the 2023/24 season thus far. “We had a really hot spot in January, but we also had a really cold spot. So there has been natural snow since November, but [the February storm] helped. .… It didn’t help me with organizing the event as far as digging everything out, but it helped what it looks like. It’s a winter wonderland right now.”

This week, the forecast in Canmore called for sunny weather with daytime temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius (mid to high 40s Fahrenheit). During the last two IBU World Cups in Canmore, which were held in February of 2016 and 2019, many races were either shortened or canceled due to frigid temperatures.

According to Davies, average temperatures for early March are a pleasant 3 degrees during the day and -5 at night. After the races, 12 Crystal Globes will be awarded to the top-ranked athletes in each discipline for their season-long performances. The competitions include sprints, pursuits, and mass starts over four days, and other spectator activities are being offered in town and at the venue, including an indigenous kickoff party on Thursday night.

“Like Soldier Hollow, we have the benefit of not being in Europe. We have the benefit of being at a high enough elevation. We have winter, and we have snow,” Davies said of Canmore’s attraction. “We’re in the mountains, and it’s pretty easy to get an audience to watch races in that environment. The skiers love it. We have 70 kilometers of non-race trails that are groomed and ready to go. It’s all part of the same facility.”

 

BIATHLON WORLD CUP FINALS SCHEDULE

(All times MST)

Thursday, March 14

10:40: Women’s 7.5 k sprint (10:40 a.m.)

 

Friday, March 15

10:40: Men’s 10 k sprint

 

Saturday, March 16

11:10: Women’s 10 k pursuit

15:10: Men’s 12.5 k pursuit

 

Sunday, March 17

11:10: Women’s 10 k mass start

15:20: Men’s 15 k mass start

 

Rosanna’s Favorite Canmore Hot Spots 

• Best Lunch: Crazy Weed
• Best Coffee: Bike Cafe
• Best Shopping: “There are so many cute little stores that you can wander around and really experience the mountain life.”

 

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