Nordic

Ski Tour Canada Kicks Off Tuesday

by
USSA
2016-02-28 09:39
 

GATINEAU, Canada (Feb. 28, 2016) – Eight stages, two weeks and four venues make up the grueling Ski Tour Canada schedule, which is also the FIS Nordic Ski World Cup season finale. From March 1st through the 12th, athletes, coaches and wax techs will be put through a whirlwind of competition that will test endurance, strength and recovery.

Despite the challenging schedule, the races still play to the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team’s strengths, with two skate sprints and a distance skate race in the first four stages in eastern Canada. After a successful European Tour de Ski in January and an extremely impressive period three, USA is predicted to have some crowd-pleasing results.  

“The whole team is very excited for something new,” said U.S. Ski Team Coach Chris Grover. “It’s been a few years since we’ve been to Canada and of course we’ve never been there for a Tour. The schedule of events and the number of venues is extremely ambitious and I think athletes are really looking forward to the challenge.”

Since the World Cup races finished in Lahti, Finland, February 21st, the U.S. team will be gaining a few more teammates for the Ski Tour Canada, growing from 14 to 24 athletes. There will be 11 men and 13 women. The new additions to the team are the skiers who have been finishing in the top spots in the USSA Super Tour races as well as the U.S. Championships this season.

The Ski Tour Canada kicks off with a freestyle sprint race at Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau, Canada on Tuesday, March 1st.

STREAMING SCHEDULE (times EST)
Tuesday, March 1
1:45 p.m. - Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint, Gatineau - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

Wednesday, March 2
12:00 p.m. - Women’s 13k classic mass start, Montreal - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra
2:30 p.m. - Men’s 20k classic mass start, Montreal - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

Friday, March 4
3:30 p.m. - Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint - Quebec City - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

Saturday, March 5
3:00 p.m. - Women’s 10k freestyle pursuit - Quebec City - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra
4:00 p.m. - Men’s 15k freestyle pursuit - Quebec City - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

Tuesday, March 8
3:00 p.m. - Men’s and women’s classic sprint, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

Wednesday, March 9
12:00 p.m. - Women’s 15k skiathlon, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra
2:30 p.m. - Men’s 30k skiathlon, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

Friday, March 11
11:45 a.m. - Women’s 10k freestyle interval start, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra
3:00 p.m. - Men’s 15k freestyle interval start, Canmore - LIVE - NB Sports Live Extra

Saturday, March 12
3:00 p.m. - Women’s 10k classic pursuit, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra
4:00 p.m. - Men’s 15k classic pursuit, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

Competing U.S. Women
Name, Hometown, Club
Sadie Bjornsen, Winthrop, WA, Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center
Sophie Caldwell, Peru, VT, Stratton T2
Jessie Diggins, Afton, MN, Stratton T2
Ida Sargent, Orleans, VT, Craftsbury Green Racing Project
Liz Stephen, East Montpelier, VT, Burke Mountain Academy
Katharine Ogden, Landgrove, VT, Stratton Mountain School
Caitlin Gregg, Minneapolis, MN, Loppet Nordic Racing  
Anne Hart, Stillwater, MN, Stratton Mountain School
Caitlin Patterson, Anchorage, AK, Craftsbury Green Racing Project
Chelsea Holmes, Girdwood, AK, APU Nordic Ski Team
Kaitlynn Miller, Lake Elmore, VT, Craftsbury Green Racing Project
Rosie Brennan, Park City, UT, APU Nordic Ski Team

Competing U.S. Men
Name, Hometown, Club
Simi Hamilton, Aspen, CO, Stratton T2
Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, VT, Stratton T2
Erik Bjornsen, Winthrop, WA, APU Nordic Ski Team
Noah Hoffman, Aspen, CO, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail
Matt Liebsch, Minneapolis, MN, Gear West
Eric Packer, Anchorage, AK, APU Nordic Ski Team
Scott Patterson, Anchorage, AK, APU Nordic Ski Team
Brian Gregg, Minneapolis, MN, Loppet Nordic Racing  
Reese Hanneman, Anchorage, AK, APU Nordic Ski Team
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess, Bend, OR, Bend Endurance Academy  
Tad Elliot, Durango, CO, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail

HIGHLIGHTS

  • All races will be streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra.
  • If some of the new U.S. athletes who have been added to the World Cup are able to finish in the top-30 and gain World Cup points, it could potentially increase USA’s start quotas for the 2016-17 World Cup season.
  • The last time the U.S. was in Canada in 2012, Kikkan Randall won the individual sprints in Quebec City and then teamed up with Jessie Diggins to win the Team Sprints.
  • The U.S. currently has five U.S. women in the top-30 list.

 

QUOTES

Chris Grover, U.S. Ski Team Coach
The whole team is very excited for something new. It’s been a few years since we’ve been to Canada and of course we’ve never been there for a Tour. The schedule of events and the number of venues is extremely ambitious and I think athletes are really looking forward to the challenge.
 

 


 


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