"Cancel" is a word no race organizer wants to entertain, and the local committees behind the first two NorAms in Rossland and Whistler, British Columbia, did everything they could to make sure their races happened -- even if they had to be moved a six-hour drive inland to Sovereign Lake.
With the second weekend of NorAm racing taking place Friday and Saturday at Sovereign Lake, here's a look at who could be some of the top contenders on a regular basis throughout the season, and who could potentially earn race starts in Europe.
The NorAm circuit resumed last weekend with the three-day Eastern Canadian Championships in Cantley, Quebec, where Graham Nishikawa and Alysson Marshall of the Canadian Senior Development Team both picked up two wins. Before the Western Championships Feb. 13-16, some are considering racing over in Europe.
Four racers proved they deserve a spot on Canada’s Olympic team this weekend in the freestyle sprints and 15/30 k skiathlons. Heidi Widmer (AWCA/NST) and Jesse Cockney (AWCANST) took home top honors in the freestyle sprint, while Graeme Killick (AWCA/NST) and Amanda Ammar (Team Ninja) won the skiathlon.
Cold temperatures couldn't keep the Sovereign Lake NorAm classic sprint from going off on Sunday. Andrea Dupont and Patrick Stewart-Jones overcame windy and cold conditions to take victories in the classic sprints.
Photos from the season-opening NorAm at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, with 10/15 k freestyle and classic-sprint races in temperatures near -18 degrees Celsius on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Andrea Dupont was called up by Canada to race in the sprint at World Championships, and offered a World Cup start the weekend before. But it seemed silly, she thought, to go to Europe for just a few days - and so she managed to gain a start spot in Sweden's famed Vasaloppet, where she double-poled her way to 11th place.
After narrowly qualifying in 26th, Alex Harvey went on to have the race of his life in Thursday's World Championships classic sprint, placing third to make history for Canada, which he hopes will lift the rest of the team after sub-par finishes.
Twelve athletes, including five domestic skiers, were nominated for selection to Canada's 2013 Senior World Championship team, which will compete in the Davos World Cup Feb.16-17 and the WSC in Val di Fiemme, Italy Feb.20 – March 3. Updated with quotes.
The focus at the NorAm World Junior/U23 Trials hosted by Lappe Nordic shifted to classic sprinting today with a shift in the top of the podiums to match. The pressure was rising for athletes chasing a limited number of spots on the U23 and World Junior races in Liberec, Czech Republic, while older athletes tried to accumulate points toward a trip to the World Championships in Val di Fiemme.
Still waiting to hear from your favorite North American skier that failed to qualify for the Quebec World Cup heats on Saturday? We've got their responses.
Alysson Marshall has a pretty good idea what her strengths are in any given race. Power up the hills, charge down them and conserve energy wherever possible. The 23-year-old Alberta World Cup Academy skier played Friday’s 1.4 k freestyle sprint accordingly, pacing herself to a qualifying win in 3:31.19 on the first day of the NorAm mini tour in Cantley, Quebec. She was 2.61 seconds ahead of the next fastest woman, Andrea Dupont of the...
Three months may not seem like a long time, but Alysson Marshall couldn’t wait much longer. Since her first race of the season on Nov. 13, the Alberta World Cup Academy and Canadian Senior Development Team member had aimed for the top spot on the podium. Maybe she didn’t expect it in Europe, especially at World Cup races in Kuusamo, Finland, and Düsseldorf, Germany, but she wanted it at home. In six of eight NorAm...
ROSSLAND, British Columbia — Some 2,500 kilometers or 1,550 miles away from Wisconsin, the Central Cross Country (CXC) ski team was feeling a little travel-weary as it rolled into Rossland on Monday. After almost five weeks on the road, some of its members decided to remedy their bodies and minds with a distance ski on the Rossland-Paulson classic-only trail. A little confusion led Jessie Diggins and Jennie Bender to the wrong trail, Seven Summits, where...
VERNON, British Columbia — Throughout Saturday’s NorAm Cup Teck Sprints, Jessie Diggins made a point to look back. There were a lot of things the current SuperTour leader and Central Cross Country (CXC) skier was working on, but keeping her distance ranked near the top. “I’ve had problems where I’ll get stepped on or pushed over or something,” said Diggins, who claimed her second classic sprint victory in the 1.2 k event in as many...
If Drew Goldsack and Graham Nishikawa were not already familiar with each other, they should be by now. That’s because the two Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) athletes are locked in a tight battle over the top spot in the NorAm rankings – and the battle became even closer after this weekend, as Goldsack won the NorAm mini-tour in Kelowna, B.C. Goldsack, also a member of the Canadian National Ski Team (CNST) emerged victorious Sunday,...
Perianne Jones is now two for two. The Canadian National Ski Team (CNST) member and Vancouver Olympian put on a powerhouse display of classic skiing Saturday morning, winning the 2.7 k classic event on the second day of racing at Western Canadian Championships in Kelowna, B.C. Jones won the second race in the mini-tour by a little over 20 seconds, an amount almost unheard of in such a short event. Andrea Dupont of the Rocky...
Drew Goldsack must be getting good at mini-tour racing; he’s on his third one this season. Last weekend, the Canadian National Ski Team (CNST) member who trains with the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) tackled a Haywood NorAm mini-tour event in Orford, Quebec, finishing second. This weekend, Goldsack began another mini-tour, with a freestyle sprint in Kelowna, B.C. on Friday. After posting the fastest qualifying time on the day, Goldsack stormed through the rounds on...
With Friday’s skate sprint opener at the Rossland mini-tour serving as a winner-takes-all qualifying race for the Canadian World Championships team, smart money said that the Canucks would come out swinging. And they did—at least one of them. After sneaking through her quarter- and semi-final heats, Perianne Jones (Canadian National B-Team) roared out of the start in the finals, intent on staying out of trouble and keeping her Oslo dreams from sliding away in a...