CANMORE – Rising star skier Xavier McKeever of Canmore opted-out of his spot at the U23 World Ski Championship in favour of some home cookin’.
One of Canada’s best young cross-country skiers, McKeever said he plans on racing at the Canmore World Cup (Feb. 9-13), instead of the U23 World Ski Championship in Planica, Slovenia from Feb. 5-11.
He said the allure to compete at a rare World Cup in his hometown swayed his decision.
“Pretty much this entire year … I’ve had to kind of pick and choose between the two, and I made the decision on Sunday after the race that I am committing myself to race at the Canmore World Cup this year,” said McKeever, 20.
“If the World Cup hadn’t been in Canmore, it would have been an easy decision and I would have gone to the U23 championships, but just the fact that the World Cup is coming back to Canmore is really exciting and it’s kind of always been on my mind that I want to race at home in a high-level competition.”
The last time the World Cup was in Canmore in March 2016, McKeever was just 12 years old.
Though only 20, McKeever, the son of Olympians, is touted as a mature athlete. Since he was 18, the young gun has gotten experience in World Cup, and this season was his first time starting in period one on the top circuit.
When McKeever returned to Canada for the Nordiq Canada trials from Jan. 4-7 in Mont Saint-Anne, Quebec, he had a spectacular triple gold medal performance, winning the skate sprint, 10-km classic, and 20-km skate mass start.
McKeever easily positioned himself in a main spot at U23 Worlds. However, there is plenty of opportunity for him to qualify for the big event in the next two years.
“That’s not to say I’m not disappointed that I will be missing U23 world champs,” said McKeever. “I’m definitely a little bummed I won’t get to be on that trip with those boys that made that, but it was a really tough decision for me to make, and, I guess, I just decided I wanted to go home.”
On Tuesday (Jan. 9), Nordiq Canada announced its Junior World and U23 World Ski Championship Team rosters, which include for the U23: Sonjaa Schmidt, Liliane Gagnon, Jasmine Drolet, Amelia Wells, Jasmine Lyons, Max Hollmann, Sasha Masson, Luke Allan, Tom Stephen, and Derek Deuling.
For the Junior Worlds: Sabine Comeau, Alison Mackie, Tory Audet, Clara Hegan, Alexandra Luxmoore, Alexandre Cormier, Raleigh Tarte, Finn Redman, Garrett Siever, and Samuel Picard.
Tabitha Williams of Canmore also qualified for the 2024 World Junior Ski Championships. The 19-year-old will represent Great Britain in Slovenia.
An advantage she has over many competitors is knowledge of the course. Two years ago, she, along with members of Team Alberta, trained at the track in Plancia.
“It’s quite tough and it’s also at altitude, so I guess being from Canmore I have a little bit of a jump start,” said Williams. “I’m pretty confident – there are a few big climbs, but I’m pretty good at climbing. There’s one sketchy downhill, it’s a very tight corner, so I’m thinking in the skate mass start that could be a bit of carnage if you’re not up near the front and can get away from everybody.”
When she’s not spinning records on her radio show at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, she’s usually out training or competing in skiing or cross-country running.
“It’s been a good place for [ski] training because we were on snow Oct. 6, skiing on like 20-km of groomed trails, which is insane because everywhere in the U.S. hadn’t even had snow yet,” she said. “Alaska is definitely the place to be if you want time on snow.”
