Just six-hundredths of a second shy of Len Valjas's winning qualifying time on Thursday, Bob Thompson of NDC Thunder Bay is headed to Europe for his first international World Cup experience. He clinched the final men's spot on Canada's World Cup Period 1 team.
Update: Early Thursday, Cross Country Canada (CCC) announced that Jess Cockney has been selected for World Cup Period 1, referencing both his Olympic history and last season's World Cup top-10 result.
In Canada's first unofficial on-snow race of the 2016/2017 season -- which most of nearly 100 competitors viewed as a training effort -- American Chelsea Holmes and Canadian national-team biathlete Brendan Green topped their respective fields in the 7.5 and 12 k freestyle races.