Congratulations to Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway for winning first place in the inaugural Ski Tour Canada. Canadian Alex Harvey put on a good show for his home country with a fifth.
Alex Harvey crosses the finish line in 5th place in the Ski Tour Canada. Petter Northug receives attention from his coach.
Sundby started nearly 40 seconds behind the leader, Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, in the final stage, but put the pedal down as he has all year and smashed the field to win the race, and the overall Tour with a time of 47:24.1. Read more about today’s event from Cross Country Canada.
Today’s large crowd watching the awards presentation
In addition to winning the tour, Sundby also was the men’s overall FIS World Cup champion for this winter, and the distance champion.
The top Canadian woman in the tour was Emily Nishikawa of Whitehorse in 37th. Therese Johaug of Norway was the women’s overall tour winner, and also took home the hardware as the women’s overall FIS World Cup champion. I lost track of how many times the Norwegian national anthem was played today.
The Ski Tour in Canmore was a fantastic and well-organized event. Thanks to all the volunteers who made it possible.
Ski Tour Women’s final standings
Ski Tour Men’s final standings
Click for larger image
Is Winter Returning?
Spring is almost here according to the calendar, but it feels like we’ve had spring conditions for the past two months.
The Ski Tour is over and it’s time to get back to some skiing. Thanks for all the trip reports today. The weather forecast is looking promising for the coming week with temperatures below zero every day starting on Monday, and some snow, too.
Thanks Doug for showing us all the things we missed!
I had a great week volunteering for the Ski Tour Canada races in Canmore. What a great experience to see what is involved in putting on world class races and the chance to see close-up some of the fittest people in the world. It is amazing to see the stature of these top competitors, they are not big, but do they go fast. Also saw Ski Here contributors Chuck and Jeanette and Hugh Burton volunteering. It all ended Saturday night with a volunteer party in the Civic Centre with many thanks from the major of Canmore and the Head of Cross Country Canada.
My job was part of the course set up and take down crew which involved early starts in the morning to get things ready for the races. Then most of the day was free to watch the races before take down which happens moments after the last racer passes. I had the opportunity to watch the races from a variety of places, unfortunately take down happens when the award ceremonies occur so I missed the presentations of the crystal globes.
Our Canadian men and women did great as the 8 race tour was grueling. Some of the days when the temperatures were warm it was like skiing up through a giant slurpy.
I also had the opportunity to secure a campsite at the Night-sky Village on Friday night. This was located mid course up at the big open area sometimes refereed to as the reservoir or the bone yard where the Centennial and Olympic trails meet. A great evening was had with campfires, a weenier roast and local entertainment, There were lots of kids camping with their parents and having a great time so it was a low key family affair.
I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who can afford the time in the future. The next big event in Canmore is Ski Nationals in March 2017, hope to see some of you there.
Below is a link to some of the photos I took of the competitors, spectators, volunteers and great scenery, enjoy.
https://goo.gl/photos/pCuXYTPndyoMcv2q8
Thanks for the great shots Doug! I enjoyed the behind the scenes shots.I’m STILL at CNC 2-3 more days) sorting out the team cabins.
It was cool to see your wonderful photos after having watched the races on CBC. You’ve got some really neat views which are very unique. I like the ones looking back down the hills with the open water in the background. Great actions shots of the skiers all the way around, with memorable closeups too. Also the night photos with the lights of Canmore were awesome. What a great experience the tent village must have been.
Just when we thought the World Cup season was over, there was one more race held at an Ikea: Norway vs Sweden!
Brilliant! That was the only way that Sweden would win anything this year. Norway was so dominant.
I’ve been searching for the original video clip that goes with the Monty Python Finland Song skit but to no avail.
Hi Doug!
It was great meeting and chatting with you at the volunteer party. I too enjoyed my job on the timing crew. It certainly gives one a different, close-up view of the action. Your photos are truly amazing! I love how some of your shots really show the expression on the athletes’ faces. I also love the IKEA race video- hilarious! All they need is for the two guys to be laying on the parking lot at the end! I’m looking forward to more events in Canmore! Maybe that son of yours will coach some of those kids to an international podium, and we will get to hear our own national anthem!
Thanks for sharing that great collection of photos Doug!