The Yukon's Graham Nishikawa and Madeleine Williams will head home for the holiday break with gold around their neck after winning the men's and women's cross-country ski distance races at the Haywood NorAms in Duntroon, Ont., last Sunday.

Nishikawa, of Whitehorse, led North America's top development athletes through a 30-kilometre tour through an Ontario winter wonderland.

With 10 centimetres of snow falling prior to the final race before the holiday break; the well-groomed track was primed for racing when the sun peaked through the clouds at the sound of the gun.

"I felt strong all day and my legs felt good so I kept trying to push the pace," said Nishikawa, who won the four-man sprint to the finish.

"We skied in a pack of four guys all day and I just had some extra jam in my legs to push for the finish."

It was the first gold medal of the season for Nishikawa, who also has a second- and third-place finish under his belt in the first half of the season.

"It was definitely nice to get my first win of the year for sure in a strong field," said Nishikawa, who continues to develop his way through the Canadian ranks.

"I feel I am slowly developing each year and really want to make it to the World Cup. My goal is to qualify for the World Championship team this year."

Joining Nishikawa with the same goals, and also on the podium, was Saturday's gold medallist in the Tech Sprints, Alex Harvey of St-Ferreol, Que., who settled for the silver, while David Nighbor, of North Bay, Ont., won the tight finish for the bronze medal.

Edmonton's Madeleine Williams will also bring gold from the Haywood NorAm series home for the holiday season.

Williams capture the top spot on the podium in a hard-fought women's 15-kilometre skate-ski race.

Williams had strong company with two other regulars on the women's podium this season.

Brittany Webster, of Caledon, Ont., continues to inch her way back into elite racing form with another second-place finish. Montreal's Dasha Gaiazova was third.

Meanwhile, two Canadian men represented the country in a World Cup team skate-sprint earlier last Sunday in Duesseldorf, German. Sean Crooks, of Thunder Bay, Ont., and Phil Widmer, of Banff, Alta., joined forces to finish 16th.

The relay consists of each athlete racing around the 1.1-kilometre track three times each. Athletes tag their partner after each lap.

While the two Canucks failed to advance to the final, it was a Norwegian duo who finished on top, while Sweden was grabbed the silver medal and Russia grabbed the bronze.

Canada did not enter a women's team.

While most of the nation's cross-country skiers will take a break from competition, all eyes will be on Sara Renner, Devon Kershaw, Ivan Babikov and George Grey, who will represent the country in the FIS Tour de Ski, Dec. 27 to Jan. 4.

Similar to the Tour de France in cycling, the Tour de Ski consists of seven international cross-country skiing competitions in nine days at four different venues in three countries.

Cross Country Canada is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada.

Its 51,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities, including those on Canada's National Ski Teams and Para-Nordic Ski Teams.

Cross-country skiing is Canada's optimal winter sport and recreational activity, with more than one million Canadians participating annually.