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...
The Canadians will field an experienced 11-person roster for the World Championships in Oslo, Norway at the end of February, and all 11 will also ski the World Cup in Drammen, Norway, the week before. The roster is almost identical to the Olympic roster from last year – 9 of the 11 skiers competed in Vancouver, and all 11 have at least one World Cup start. According to Cross Country Canada (CCC)’s selection criteria, the...
Sunday marked the final day for the Nor-Am races at Thunder Bay, Ontario, which also doubled as Canadian World trials for Junior Worlds, U23 Worlds and the 2011 World Championships in Oslo. However, both the men’s and the women’s winners had already secured their tickets earlier in the week.
Winners of the NorAm sprints in Thunder Bay also secured tickets to the World Championships. The weekend series serves as World trials for U23, World Juniors and the 2011 World Championships in Oslo.
With the victories in Thursday’s distance events at the Nor-Am races in Thunder Bay, Dasha Gaiazova and George Grey secured their spots on the Canadian World Championships team.
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...
While Sunday’s Haywood NorAm 10 and 15 k freestyle races were held in Canada, it was the Americans who took the top step of both podiums – and convincingly. The men’s race started in sloppy conditions – approximately 20 centimeters of snow fell overnight, and continued right up until the start of the men’s race, resulting in ankle deep snow in some places. The men skied three loops of 5 k, and each one contained...
After struggling to crack the top-30 on the World Cup last season, Canadian Perianne Jones knew she needed some time on the domestic circuit this year to get her feet back under her. “I’ve raced on the World Cup the last two seasons before Christmas—especially last season, I didn’t feel like I belonged,” she said. “I want to feel like I’m ready to race the World Cup when I’m on the World Cup.” If Jones...
While the SuperTour kicked off two weeks ago, the Canadian domestic series, the Haywood NorAm/Teck Sprints begin this weekend at Sovereign Lake Nordic Center, in Vernon, British Columbia. This year the series opens with a classic sprint, and a 10/15 k freestyle race. Home to some of the best and most consistent early season skiing in the country, Sovereign Lake is a regular on the Haywood NorAm series. According to National Development Center (NDC) Thunder...
Since the Olympics, Kikkan Randall has had anything but a relaxed spring and summer. Her activities have included the International Ski Federation (FIS) Congress in Turkey, a visit to Norway to spend time training with Marit Bjoergen, and a three week training camp in New Zealand. Randall’s latest stop has finally brought her a little closer to home. While the Ontario High Performance Camp in Barrie, Ontario, was still far from Alaska, at least she...
Barrie, ON – Team Hardwood, one of Ontario’s most successful cross country ski racing clubs, is host a gathering of winter Olympians, National Ski Team members, and 50 of the top junior cross country ski racers in the province at the annual Ontario High Performance dryland training camp, being held at Hardwood Ski and Bike, Barrie, ON, from August 12-15th, 2010. The objective of the “Hitting Your Stride” camp is to show and teach promising...
Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted sprinters on their arrival at Whistler Olympic Park this morning for the men’s and women’s sprint. This is a big chance for the Canadians and the U.S.—all six Americans are capable of qualifying for the heats, with three medal hopefuls in Kikkan Randall, Torin Koos, and Andy Newell. The Canadians are set up just as well, with Devon Kershaw, Sarah Renner, Dasha Gaiazova, and Perianne Jones gunning for the...
A five year member of the Senior National Team, Jones has progressively improved on the WC circuit leading up to this season, placing in the top-30 several times last year. Jones qualified for this year’s Olympic Team with a 6th place finish in the team sprint (along with Sara Renner) at the Liberec WChs. Jones has had most of her best finishes in the sprint distance, and although she will keep her main focus on...