The Yukon Cross Country Ski team was off in Canmore, Alta. this weekend to race in the Haywood NorAm YOG Trials/US Super Tour on the weekend.

The races on Friday and Saturday held extra weight, as skiers were selected for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) cross country team. The YOG will be held from Jan. 9-22 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Yukon had two U18 skiers, Sasha Masson and Derek Deuling, in contention for the Youth Olympic Games selection which will be announced later this week by Nordiq Canada.

In Canmore, Masson and Deuling were entered in the U20 class. Coach Alain Masson said it’s important for them to be competitive in the older age category.

“They have become competitive with the U20s,” said Alain. “They need to continue at this level to be some of the best in Canada. It was a great opportunity for both.”

The 1.3-kilometre sprint race and the classic interval start races were the ones used in the selection process.

Alain said the strategy was to lay it on the line the first two days of the competition.

In the sprint, Sasha came in fourth and Deuling 13th. Alain said Sasha went in without much expectation.

“He just wanted to race the best he could,” said Alain. “It was a big surprise for Sasha in the sprint. After his second-place finish, he knew it was possible and shifted his focus.”

Deuling went into Canmore with more pressure.

“Derek is ranked as one of the best,” said Alain. “He came in with more expectations. He didn’t have the greatest sprint so there was more pressure on the second day.”

Deuling rebounded well in the classic interval start and placed fifth, Sasha came in 16th.

Alain said that both Sasha and Deuling showed improvements throughout the first two days and they have a good chance of being named to the Youth Olympic Games team.

Six other Yukoners competed in Canmore, including Graham Nishikawa, who was a guide for Brian McKeever in the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games.

Amanda Thomson, Sonjaa Schmidt, Victor Emile Thibeault, Romeo Champagne and Curtis Cash all raced in the U20 category.

The races in Canmore featured skiers from both Canada and the U.S. and Alain said it was some of the biggest fields of skiers entered in recent memory.

Having the Americans there, Alain said amped up the competition level.

“It was very tough,” said Alain. “It’s a much stronger U.S. program but Canada faired well against them. They have the numbers and retention because of NCAA opportunities.”

For the skiers, it was their second set of races in as many weeks, as they were recently in B.C. for the Sovereign Lake Open. Alain said the races the weekend prior helped the team be in better shape and in race mode for Canmore.

“I don’t think we race as well if not for Sovereign Lake,” said Alain. “It got them into it physically and mentally.”

Alain said it was a great weekend for the program and that all the skiers had at least one strong race.

“Sonjaa had a good sprint, and Curtis a good classic race,” said Alain. “Romeo did well and Amanda had a really good sprint race and she’s more of a distance skier. It was good to see.

“Everyone had one strong result and it’s a good confidence builder.”

In the sprint, Thomson came in 10th and Schmidt came in 46th. Thibeault came in 22nd, Champagne, 42 and Cash 54th.

Thomson came in 14th in the classic interval start race and Schmidt came in 19th. Thibeault came in 31st, Cash 36th and Champagne 44th.

Nishikawa, in the open men’s, came in 21st.

On Sunday, the race that did not determine YOG selection, Schmidt placed 12th. Champagne came 29th, Cash 40th and Thibeault had a DNF (did not finish). Nishikawa placed 15th.