Antoine Cyr and Katherine Stewart-Jones didn’t have to wait long in 2023 to stand out. The Quebecers both finished in the top-25 of the 10-kilometre pursuit in classic style on Sunday at the World Cup in Val Müstair, Switzerland.
It was Antoine Cyr who obtained the best result of the day among the athletes of La Belle Province with a 20e place among men (+1 minute 18.2 seconds). Provisionally 24e at the halfway point, the athlete from Gatineau continued to fight hard to gain a few places before crossing the finish line.
For his part, Olivier Léveillé also managed to improve his lot throughout the race. He was 59e after 2.5 kilometers, but finally finished the race at 38e rank (+1 minute 56.6 seconds). The finish photo was necessary to decide between the German Florian Notz who took the 39e place, one hundredth of a second behind Léveillé.
Victorious the day before in the free sprint, the Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Kalebo did it again on Sunday. He sits at the top of the general classification of the Tour de ski with these two successes. In the classic 10 kilometer pursuit, he was accompanied on the podium by his compatriot Paal Goldberg and the Italian Federico Pellegrino, both 10.2 s behind the winner.
In the women’s event, Katherine Stewart-Jones showed consistency throughout the event to place 25the rank (+2 minutes 0.4 seconds). This is the sixth time this season that the 27-year-old has been in the top-25 of an individual World Cup race.
Liliane Gagnon participated in the first 10 kilometers of her career in the World Cup where she took the 60e step (+4 minutes 15.7 seconds).
Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng took top honors after securing the bronze medal on Saturday. Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen (+0.4 seconds) finished second while Sweden’s Frida Karlsson (0.6 seconds) finished third.
The Tour de ski continues on Tuesday with a classic 10 kilometer interval start in Oberstdorf, Germany.