From James Cunningham - Head Coach

Well, another great day of racing is in the books at the Canada Winter Games. Team Ontario had an excellent showing, with five skiers in the top-10 and nine skiers qualifying for the heats. Natasha Kullas and Alana Thomas finished a very close 4th and 5th in the women's sprint and Mark Doble won the men's B Final to claim 7th spot. The sprint course was outstanding for spectators and coaches, and was one of the first multi-lap courses we've ever raced. The skiers started out at the bottom of the stadium and headed up around the corner and up the hill out of the stadium. At the top they took a sharp turn and dropped back into the stadium for their second lap. Despite its simple design, the course had no trouble separating the skiers and determining who the strongest skater of the day was.

The men's race was completely dominated by BC's Chris Werrell who exploded up the final hill with his characteristic lightning fast offset. He looked a lot like Petter Northug sprinting past the skiers in the relay at World Champs. The women's race was also won in convincing fashion by Cathy Jacques of Alberta. She took off from the first hill and never looked back leaving the other five skiers to fight it out for the other medals. Coming around the final turn the Quebec skier took a dramatic tumble and two Alberta skiers and Ontario's Natasha Kullas sprinted to the line. In the end it was a sweep by Alberta with Ontario taking 4th and 5th spots.

Wednesday is our only rest day of the week and the skiers are looking forward to taking a breather tonight and re-grouping for the final two races. With so many 4th place finishes I know they are all confident that the time will come. So far everything is going great, the skiers are well prepared and staying healthy and the skis are among the fastest on the trails. With the mass start race on Thursday and the relays on Friday we have some great opportunities to reach the podium.