Graham Nishikawa spent the weekend going head to head with the best skiers on the planet at a pair of World Cup races in Beitostoelen, Norway.

First up was a 15-kilometre free technique race, skied on a fast, icy course on Saturday.

Nishikawa was only two minutes off the top time, but, demonstrating just how intense the competition is at this level, his 36:46 clocking was only good for 66th place in the 100 man field. Still, it was a strong start to the World Cup season for Nishikawa.

Top Canadian for the day was Ivan Babikov, who finished in 28th spot. The race was won by Norwegian Ronny Andre Hafsaas. Scandinavians dominated the race, picking up seven of the top 10 positions.

On Sunday, Nishikawa skied the anchor leg for Canada in a 4 x 10 kilometre relay race along with Babikov, Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey.

Once again, Norway took the podium but the Canuck foursome hit the top ten in a sprint that took a photo finish to separate five teams who hit the line together. This is a good performance for the Canadian men as they lead up to the Vancouver Olympics.

Next stop for Nishikawa is a pair of World Cup races next weekend in Finland.

Submitted by Alain Masson and Claude Chabot.