Three cross-country skiers from the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club were named to Canada’s list of athletes set to compete in the World Cup Period 4 Team in February.
Marlie Molinaro and Maeve MacLeod, and Alexandra Luxmoore were all named to the Canadian World Cup team ahead of the competition. The races will be happening from Feb. 6–19 in Canmore and Minneapolis. As hosts of the competition, Nordiq Canada said that the Canadian team was awarded 12 athletes per gender, per race, of which three Revelstokians were named, but just two will compete.
Molinaro and MacLeod will represent Canada at the Canmore races, which will be happening from Feb. 9–13.
Canmore’s competition marks the first time that the World Cup has returned to Canada since 2019, when the finals were hosted in Quebec City. The events in Minneapolis will be the first World Cup cross country races in the United States since the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In August, MacLeod became the second Revelstoke Nordic skier to be awarded the Future Olympic Fund Award in a row after Luxmoore had won it the year before.
READ MORE: Revelstoke Nordic Skiers awarded consecutive Future Olympians Fund Award
Both MacLeod and Molinaro will compete in Canmore, but Luxmoore will not be able to attend. Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club coach, Zach Hill, said in an email that Luxmoore will be in Planica, Finland from Feb. 7–13 for the World Junior Championships, which is why she won’t be able to attend the Canmore races. He said that she’ll be back in North America for the races in Minneapolis.
According to Nordiq Canada, nominations for the team came from the High Performance Committee based on the 2023–24 Nordiq Canada Competition Trip Criteria.
The three Revelstoke skiers chosen for the team are a testament to the local club’s quality.
“It’s really incredible to see what all of them have achieved and to see all of their hard work pay off,” said Hill.
He said they will be the first Nordic Skiing athletes to represent Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club in a World Cup. Hill also said that MacLeod and Molinaro can look forward to the support of members of the local club at their events in Canmore as the team will be headed east to cheer them on.
The races get started in Canmore on Feb. 9 with the women’s 10 km event set to start at 10:40 a.m.
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