Jeffries, Theriault headed to cross-country worlds

Cross-country skiers Chris Jeffries and Milaine Theriault each left the Haywood Canada Cup with more than two first-place performances.

They also guaranteed themselves a spot on Team Canada for February's world championships in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Jeffries, who dominated most of the men's 20-kilometre skate event in Foret Montmorency, Que., stopped the clock in one hour, 20 minutes and 9.3 seconds.

"I wanted to make a bit of a statement with today's race that I'm ready to push for a decent campaign at World Cup this winter," said Jeffries, 26, who finished more than a minute ahead of his closest competitor. "I wanted to have a good race and be in the lead right from the start.

"My hamstring started to really tighten up two kilometers into the race, but I just tried to relax and find my groove in order to ski well the rest of the race."

Ethan Foster of the United States (1:21:38.9) and Dan Roycroft of Port Sydney, Ont. (1:21:61.3) rounded out the top three racers.

Theriault, a three-time Olympian who hails from St. Quentin, N.B., took the women's competition for the second consecutive day.

"This is the first 15 kilometre race of the season, coupled with heavy snowfall, so I was pretty tired in the end," said Theriault, who finished in 43 minutes, 4.6 seconds. "I kind of prefer this length of race because I am not a sprinter, and I perform better in longer races. It's been a great weekend."

The all-Canadian podium also included Edmonton's Tara Whitten, who clocked 43:38.2, and Shayla Swanson of Calgary, who was third (44:62:6).

Sunday's event was the second of five races being used to determine the Canadian squad for the worlds.

with files from Canadian Olympic Development Association