麻豆社区

Almost perfect racing conditions greeted the best skiers in the world as World Cup competition kicked off in Canmore, Alta. with a mass start classic technique race yesterday.

First up were the women, who skied a 10 km course.

The trails were fast and hard, and the course, generally agreed to be one of the toughest in the world, quickly took its toll on the racers.

The field took off like a shot and quickly spread out as Pole Justyna Kowalczyk pushed the pace early in the race. After a couple of laps, she took a definitive lead and finished the 10 km race in a brisk 28:54 鈥� 11 seconds ahead of the next skier.

Whitehorse's Emily Nishikawa stayed with the pack for the first couple of kilometers, but then the hills and the altitude took its toll.

"I'm really disappointed with my race today,鈥� she said post-race. "My legs just weren't there after the first few kilometres.鈥�

Nishikawa finished 48th in the 63 woman field, 3:51 off the pace.

"This race is just so much tougher than the NorAm circuit,鈥� she said. "These skiers are so much faster than we see there.鈥�

Dahria Beatty finished 57th World Cup debut.

Following the women's race, the men took to the field for a 15 km competition.

Once again, the field took off like a shot onto the brutal climbs that characterize the Canmore trail system. A pack formed and continual attacks by the big guns at the front dropped skier after skier.

Graham Nishikawa, skiing strongly, hung in with the main field until about halfway through the race, when he faded.

The race was eventually won by Tim Tscharnke from Germany, who stopped the clock in 41:14. Top Canadian for the day was phenom Alex Harvey in 11th place, only 20 seconds behind the leader.

Nishikawa ended up in 38th place, 2:22 off the pace.

Having a good debut race was David Greer, finishing 47th overall.

The skiers have a rest day today, then hit the trails again for a 1.3 km free technique sprint race on Saturday.

The series finishes off on Sunday with a skiathlon, a distance race consisting of a leg using classic technique followed by a skate leg.