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Canmore World Cup
A World Cup in cross country skiing in Canmore, Alberta gave Marie and me a chance to see the best cross country skiers in the world. It also gave us the opportunity to see past and present Thunder Bay Bay NTDC athletes in World Cup action. Two former NTDC skiers, Chris Jeffries and Dan Roycroft, lived with us and it was particularly exciting to see them again.
(there are more cross country skiing photos in the Photography Galleries of this website)
Day 1
The setting for the races in Canmore is spectacular, with mountains virtually surrounding the site. The first race was a 15 kilometre race for the men and a 10 kilometre race for the women. The winners were Pietro Pillar Cottrer of Italy in the men's race and Julija Tchepalova of Russia in the women's race. Beckie Scott of Canada was a close second in the women's.
(If you place the cursor on each photo, a short caption will appear.)
Dan Roycroft
Karl Saidla
Adam Kates
Tasha Betcherman
Beckie Scott
Day 2
The second racing day was Saturday, December 17. It was a 15 kilometre classic race for the women and a 30 kilometre classic for the men. Beckie Scott led from start to finish on a cold , sunny day that was delightful for the crowds in the stadium. Sara Renner, who is from Canmore, finished sixth. Germany's Tobias Angerer won the men's 30 kilometre race.
Skeets Morel
Chris Jeffries
The German skier must be hoping that Chris is out of gas.
Day 3
Sunday was the sprint relay and it was bound to be an exciting day because three former Thunder Bay NTDC skiers, Sean Crooks, Dan Roycroft and Chris Jeffries, were competing in this event. In addition, Beckie and Sara were favourites in the women's team sprint. Both the men's and women's races came down to close finishes. Beckie and Sarah finished second in front of a cheering, enthusiastic crowd. It sounded like the end of gold medal hockey game as they raced to the finish. In the men's race, it came down to a sprint between Norway and Sweden. Norway beat their arch-rival Swedes by a foot, which, as Marie's photo shows, Eldar Roenning extended across the line just ahead of the Swedish skier).
Sean Crooks and Chris Jeffries
Eldar Roenning from Norway winning by a foot.
Cindy Crawford
Beckie Scott skiing in the final.
Canada's Silver Belles
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