Antoine Cyr: Ready for the Start of the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Season

The good news for the cross-country skier from Hull? The start of the new World Cup season is fast approaching.

Three days of racing are planned for November 24-26 in Ruka, Finland.

“At this point in the year, we have done everything to be ready. We tried to fill the hours in training to perfection,” says Cyr.

“I’m feverish. I can’t wait to have the bib on my back. I can’t wait to start a race and give my best.”

Especially since the previous season had been his best in his career.

The athlete, who turned 25 in September, has finished in the top 10 four times in an individual World Cup event in 2022-2023.

There was this fourth place in a 15 km race in classic technique in Val di Fiemme during the Tour de Ski. The day before, he had taken sixth place in a sprint.

At the world championships in Slovenia, the Canadian relay finished fifth. That’s without counting a fourth position in the team sprints with his friend and teammate Graham Ritchie.

It’s only a matter of time before Cyr ends up on the podium.

The Outaouais skier, however, does not make it an obsession.

“I just want to try to get good results and be consistent. I keep the same speech. The goal is to ski to the best of my abilities. For the rest, the stars have to align for it to be a good day.”

— Antoine Cyr

2.4 seconds

Cyr learned this during the last race last winter in Lathi, Finland. He had to settle for eighth place in the 20 km classic technique event, finishing just 8.4 seconds behind the winner.

The gap was only 2.4 seconds with the bronze medalist.

Everything was decided in a sprint in which 11 men were involved.

Cyr decided to “keep basically the same formula” in terms of preparation in the last few months.

“Last year, the plan worked really well. We were just trying to improve a plan that was already working very well.”

There were three altitude training camps, including one in France.

Then for a week, Cyr has been in Davos, Switzerland, with three of his teammates, including Richie. They rub shoulders with European adversaries.

“The Swiss, the Italians, the Austrians and the Poles are here. We do simulations with them.”

Cyr decided to focus on this option instead of imitating other skiers who will participate in preparatory races in Sweden and Finland in the next week and a half.

“The rest of us are skipping these races to concentrate 100% on the first stage of the World Cup. This is what we did last year. We are going to keep our good habits.”

We should see him in action at all World Cup stops. That’s the plan.

“Sometimes it can happen that there is a little cold or an injury. But I will try to be present as often as possible.

One of the big events of the winter will once again be the Tour de Ski which will begin during the holiday period. There will also be World Cup stops in North America in mid-February. First in Canmore then in Minneapolis.

“If all goes well, I shouldn’t be back home until the races in Canmore. Then we’re going to go back to Europe. I’m going to walk a lot again this season. I will visit several ski centers and hotels.”

Again, Antoine Cyr is ready for this frenzied sprint that awaits him. He was able to recharge his batteries at the conclusion of the last season.

“I spent 10 days in Mexico doing kitesurfing. I did it in North Carolina too.”