Race Report: U23 and Junior World Championship Selection Races
The selection for the U23 and Junior World Championships started today in Thunder Bay. Lappe Nordic hosted the chilly first race: 30 km Skiathlon for Senior Men and 20 km Skiathlon for Junior Men.
The Callaghan Valley Training Centre had all nine athletes participating in the men's categories. Although not the best results of the season, all the boys had solid races and a few are still in contention to quality for the World Championship trip. All it takes is one win or a number of top-three placings to attract the positive attention of the selection committee, so the CVTC men are poised leading into Saturday's sprint event.
Coach Chris Manhard indicated that the skis were running well and all of the men had a good classic leg (first half) of the race. "We were going well and then had a few technical difficulties, including some hard bonks. It was not a perfect day, but I think we're all doing well and will perform better in the sprint races this weekend."
Geoffrey Richards had the best result for the CVTC, with a 5th place finish (18th overall) in the U23 Men category. Yannick Lapierre (11th), Sebastien Townsend (12th) and Martin Schrama (19th) rounded out the CVTC results in the U23 category. In the Junior Men category, CVTC star Colin Ferrie had a rough go and ended the day in 10th position. Stefan Sander-Green (8th) and Sebastien Dandurand (9th) had excellent races to finish the day in the top-10. Paul Dupuis (20th) and Fred Weaver (44th) rounded out the team placings.
For full results, please visit www.zone4.ca.
CVTC Summary Results:
18th (5th U23) - Geoffrey Richards
27 (11) - Yannick Lapierre
28 (12) - Sebastien Townsend
37 (19) - Martin Schrama
8 (Junior) - Stefan Sander-Green
9 - Sebastien Dandurand
10 - Colin Ferrie
20 - Paul Dupuis
44 - Fred Weaver
Cross Country Canada's selection criteria (scroll to page 8 for U23 and Junior World Championship criteria): http://www.cccski.com/National-Ski-Team/Selection-Criteria.aspx
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