.: Ski XCOttawa.ca :: Skiing in Ottawa and Gatineau Park

XC Ottawa Heads Out West
By:   Team XCOttawa.ca   (2005/11/20)

RSS
Many XC Ottawa athletes will be out West for the next couple of weeks, competing in the first races of the Haywood NorAm Cup series at Silverstar Mountain-Sovereign Lake (Nov 26-27) and Canmore (Dec 3-4). Sheila, Ed, Craig, Eva, P-O, Megan, and Karl are racing in Sovereign Lake, and Wayne will join the team for the NorAm Cup races in Canmore. Coach John will be along to monitor our training and ensure that we have fast skis!

The Sovereign Lake race is a “continuous pursuit.” The cross-country ski world has been toying with various ways of combining classic and skating techniques in one event, and seems to have settled on this format. It seems to be the most exciting for spectators, and provides an interesting twist for athletes as well. A mass start heads skiers off racing in the classic technique, they ski into a transition zone half way through the race, switch poles and skis, and head off to complete the skating portion of the race. Women will race 5k classic + 5k skate, while the men will be racing 10k classic + 10 k skate. Sunday will be sprint races (skating technique). The races in Canmore will be a sprint (skating), and a mass start classic race; 10k for the women, and 15k for the men. This classic race will help select Canadian athletes that will compete in the December World Cup races.

The Canmore and Silverstar-Sovereign Lake race venues will also be the site of World Cup races in December. The best cross country skiers in the world will be racing, and for many athletes it will be the last chance for these athletes to earn points on the road to the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy. Both the Canmore Nordic Centre (site of the Nordic skiing events for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics) and Sovereign Lake have upgraded their facilities for the World Cup events, so the NorAm races will be excellent racing in many regards.

Here are some links to keep you updated:
Silverstar Mountain
http://www.skisilverstar.com/

Sovereign Lake
http://www.sovereignlake.com/

Race Results will be available at
http://www.zone4.ca/

WORLD CUP What's Happening with World Cup Preparations? http://www.cccski.com/main.asp?cmd=doc&ID=3170&lan=0

Canmore World Cup 2005
http://www.canmore2005.com/

Sovereign Lake World Cup 2005
http://www.sovereignlake2005.ca/

Sheila racing at Haywood Noram in Sovereign Lake, 2004.


 
Interesting Reading. . .
Interested in supporting XC Ottawa or advertising on our site? Email: info@xcottawa.ca.
© Copyright 2001-2006, www.xcottawa.ca. All Rights Reserved. Contact us before re-publishing anything seen here.