Ski Tour Canada World Cup race slides into Montréal for first time

Cross-country, indeed. The organizers of the 2016 edition of the world’s largest cross-country skiing event are taking full advantage of being in one of the world’s largest countries. While not quite sea-to-shining-sea, the 12-day Ski Tour Canada 2016 – FIS Cross-Country World Cup will span several thousand kilometres of the country, from the Rocky Mountains in Alberta to the ski hills of Quebec, including one hill in particular with a long history of skiing: Montréal’s Mount Royal.

Skiing on Mount-Royal – at one time the home of alpine ski slopes, chair lifts and a top-flight ski jump – can be traced back to 1879, making it one of the oldest skiing sites in Canada. (And the mountain’s dozens of kilometres of skiing and snowshoeing trails, as well as skating and tobogganing, continue to make it a premiere destination for outdoor winter sports enthusiasts). So it’s only fitting that Ski Tour Canada 2016, the biggest cross-country ski event ever presented in Canada, will take place on a challenging course that traverses the summit of Mount-Royal, winding around prominent landmarks like Beaver Lake and Mount Royal Chalet with its spectacular vista on the city.

Adding to the excitement, Ski Tour Canada 2016 – which runs from March 1 to 12 – is also first multiple-race FIS cross-country skiing World Cup event ever to be held in North America. Approximately 150 elite athletes from some 25 different countries are expected to participate in the World Cup, which visits four Canadian cities, stopping in Montréal on March 2.

The Montréal leg of the tour is comprised of two action-packed events, both on Mount Royal: the 13 km women’s race and the 20 km men’s race. These are both “mass start,” “classic” races that follow cross-country ski-racing’s most straightforward format: all skiers start together at the same time, engaging in a tactical race that’s similar to road cycling and concluding with an all-out sprint to the finish with the first skier across the line claiming victory. If it sounds like a blast, it’s because it is. For full details and updates as we get closer to the Montréal event, please visit the Ski Tour Canada 2016 website here.