CANMORE – A trio of Canmore-raised skiers, plus the nation’s top men and women were selected to compete in Nordiq Canada’s massive 26-athlete roster at the upcoming local Cross Country World Cup.
For the first time in eight years, the world’s top cross-country skiers will compete over four race days at the Canmore Nordic Centre from Feb. 9-13, and leading the charge for the Great White North are Olympians Antoine Cyr, Olivier Léveillé, Rémi Drolet, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt and Katherine Stewart-Jones.
Canmore-raised athletes participating include Xavier McKeever, Sam Hendry and Anna Parent.
Stewart-Jones, Canada’s top woman is day-to-day with an illness, but she said a major advantage for her, and the rest of the Canucks, is familiarity with the local trails.
Having lived in Canmore for the past five years while training at the highest level, Stewart-Jones of Chelsea, Quebec, said things are feeling more like home in the mountain town now.
Eight years ago at the Canmore World Cup in March 2016, Canadian Alex Harvey had the nation’s best results, with three top-10s, including a fourth place in the men’s 15-km freestyle. As Harvey fought for podiums, a 20-year-old Stewart-Jones was a rookie on the World Cup, living in a different province, and still trying to figure out where she stood on the top circuit.
Now 28, Stewart-Jones along with her 2022 Olympic teammate Bouffard-Nesbitt are the only Canadian racers from the 2016 Canmore World Cup remaining who are set to compete in the 2024 edition.
“I’m excited to come back because I feel like I have a lot more experience and a lot more confidence than I did back then and it was more of just a World Cup experience before, whereas here, I feel like I’m coming in with the mindset I can compete,” said Stewart-Jones, who finished 23rd in skiathlon at Beijing 2022.
One thing that Canadian skiers will savour, after living out of hotels and suitcases during the season, is the rare chance to sleep in their own beds.
“It’s nice to be back home and have access to my support system around here and also be around people that are friends kind of outside the ski world,” said Stewart-Jones.
“I can just kind of reset and I think that’s going to be helpful on the mental side going into the races.”
Team Canada and countries participating in Canmore
Athletes from 18 countries are currently set to compete in Canmore, which could change before Feb. 9, according to organizers.
The countries are Australia, Austria, Canada, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, and the USA.
Canada’s 26-athlete roster includes Stewart-Jones, McKeever, Hendry, Bouffard-Nesbitt, Cyr, Léveillé, Drolet, Léo Grandbois, Julien Locke, Pierre Grall-Johnson, Scott Hill, and Katherine Weaver.
So far this season, Cyr is the nation’s top skier in the World Cup, with two top-10 performances in January 2024.
Cyr of Gatineau, Quebec, was part of the four-man relay that finished fifth place at the 2023 Nordic Ski World Championships, which tied Canada’s best ever men’s relay result.
Stewart-Jones has taken the reins of Canada’s top woman over the past few seasons. Her best result this season was 18th in the 10 km classic. However, Canada’s Liliane Gagnon had a big 9th place in the World Cup in the 20 km classic in Goms, Switzerland, in January. It was Canada’s best women’s distance result since 2009.
Gagnon is set to compete at the 2024 U23 World Championships, and will not be in Canmore.
Canadians making their World Cup debuts in Canmore are: Parent, Marlie Molinaro, Élie-Anne Tremblay, Marielle Ackermann, Anna Stewart, Maeve MacLeod, Katya Semeniuk, Julian Smith, Erikson Moore, Ry Prior, Félix-Olivier Moreau, Xavier Lefebvre, Micah Steinberg and Eamon Wilson.
“It’s going to be an exciting week for our National Ski Team program and for our Canadian athletes,” said Chris Jeffries, the high performance director of the Olympic cross-country ski program, in a media release.
“For some members of our team, this is a chance to fight for the podium. For others, this will be their first World Cup start and a significant step in their development pathway. The focus continues to be on refining individual processes, finding new opportunities to learn and grow, and most importantly, representing our community through our core values and behaviours as a team.”
