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Newsletter by Keiran Gorsky, Martin Cleary & Dan Plouffe
Gliding through the Dolomites that surround the little village of Tesero, Gatineau’s Antoine ‘Tony’ Cyr is far removed from the hustle and bustle of Milano three-and-a-half hours southwest. After his first Olympic experience in Beijing, it sure doesn’t feel that way.
In stark contrast to Zhangjiakou, where attendance was restricted to Chinese mainland residents, Tesero was filled to the brim with supporters of all stripes. Cyr passed by a surprisingly large contingent of Canadian fans, including his parents Bruno and Nathalie, en route to the finish. Everyone and their stoat came to the show.
In considerably clearer conditions than yesterday’s snow-sprayed women’s event, the 27-year-old fought his way to a 25th-place finish (48:30.9) among 75 competitors on a temperate afternoon through the valley in men’s skiathlon.
The skiathlon is divided into classic and freestyle portions with a quick pit stop in between, where athletes switch out their skis. It was the first time the event had been run at this distance at the Olympics.
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Cyr put in a particularly strong showing in the first portion of the 20 km race. He did well to stay on his feet after a collision immediately in front of him early in the classic portion of the event. The Club Skinouk product stayed in close with the leaders early on as he reached the 6.6 km checkpoint just seven seconds back of first place in 11th before fatigue began to set in halfway through.
“I don’t have any regrets,” Cyr told the Ottawa Sports Pages’ Keiran Gorsky in an interview after the race. “But it was a tough last 10k or so… when you’re closing a gap, the best guys in the world for sure go above and beyond.”
At the end of the race came the infamous “Zorzi” uphill – the punishing climb into the final stretch of track. Cyr became all too acquainted with the mischievously placed incline having competed on this very circuit during the Tour de Ski through the new year.
“I think the hard part is before the Zorzi climb, there’s a really, really long working section, then you go into a very technical downhill,” he explained. “It’s a tough one for sure, like it’s pretty steep, but you know, so close to the finish, you always find an extra gear.”
Cyr climbed up a single spot from 26th over the last kilometre-and-a-half. His 22-year-old national teammate, Xavier McKeever, meanwhile, finished in 13th place in his Olympic debut. Canada’s Max Hollmann finished two places behind Cyr in 27th, while Rémi Drolet was 42nd.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway won his sixth Olympic gold medal, crossing the finish line two seconds before France’s Mathis Desloges and compatriot Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget.
Cyr has surely earned a well-deserved rest before returning to Tesero for the men’s individual sprint classic this coming Tuesday morning. He is one of roughly 700 skiers staying in neighbouring Predazzo – one of six athlete villages in Italy. The site serves as an academy for recruits to Italy’s Guardia di Finanza police force when it isn’t occupied by skiers.
Cyr enjoyed his time in China, but things are very different this time around. Athletes aren’t confined to a “closed loop” the way they were four years ago. In one massive shared dining hall, everyone is treated to a truly ridiculous quantity of food.
Cyr indicated he was also planning to visit the dedicated ‘Mind Zone’ later in the day, where athletes are provided a sort of zen space. Among other things, athletes can put on virtual reality headsets for guided meditation and visualization exercises.
“The accommodations are awesome. It’s well organized so far,” Cyr indicated. “They’re doing a great job for us to have a comfortable environment and an environment where we can perform the best.”
Valérie Grenier equipment blunder leads to downhill DQ
Valérie Grenier got off to a difficult start at her third Olympic Games this afternoon in Cortina d’Ampezzo. An ill-timed equipment malfunction saw her narrowly miss her starting window. The 29-year-old appeared to struggle to adjust the straps on her pole grips just as her timer began. She completed her run in 17th place with a time of 1:38.42 before officials confirmed her disqualification.
“It’s difficult [to deal with] right now, but it’s just a really bad run of luck that’s a bit out of my control,” Grenier said in an interview with Le Devoir after her event. “I was so flustered that it was really hard to stay in my zone the whole way down.”
Grenier had been looking forward to competing in downhill at these Olympics, having missed out on the event in Beijing while recovering from a lengthy tibia plateau injury she sustained in 2019.
“For 2026, I want everything – giant slalom, downhill, super-G, team combined,” the St. Isidore, ON skier told High Achievers columnist Martin Cleary heading into the Olympics.
The Mont-Tremblant athlete didn’t return to downhill events until the 2023-24 season, during which she won her first and only World Cup downhill medal on this same Cortina slope.
Cassidy Gray was the only other Canadian in the event, placing 26th. Breezy Johnson won the United States’ first gold medal in Milano Cortina. Germany’s Emma Aicher won silver while Italy’s Sofia Goggia took home bronze.
Grenier will get another chance on Tuesday when she competes in the women’s team combined downhill event.
Ottawa Olympians in action on Feb. 9:
Day 3 Preview: Kayle Osborne and Team Canada look to keep the puck out of their net for second straight women’s hockey contest
Monday will be the lightest day on the Milano Cortina calendar for Ottawa’s Olympians, with just one competition scheduled.
But goalie Kayle Osborne will see lots of sprinkles of her hometown during her Canadian women’s hockey team’s preliminary round match against the Czech Republic (we’ll tell you more about that tomorrow).
Team Canada had a strong effort in its tournament opener Saturday, launching 55 shots at Switzerland’s goaltender while allowing just six en route to a 4-0 shutout.
That was originally supposed to be Canada’s second match of the Olympics, but their contest against Finland was postponed to Thursday when the Finns’ lineup was decimated by a norovirus outbreak.
In the short tournament, Osborne wasn’t expected to see any action as Canada’s #3 goaltender, but with three games in four days (and potentially four in five depending on the scheduling of the quarter-finals), the crammed schedule could open the door for an appearance by the 23-year-old, who served as backup behind Emerance Maschmeyer against Switzerland.
It has already been a landmark season for Osborne, who has seized the reins as the out-and-out starter in the New York Sirens’ goal crease in her second year in the PWHL, and then getting the call to join Team Canada for her debut Olympics elevated it even further.
With last year’s starter Corinne Schroeder off to Seattle in free agency, the New York franchise placed a great deal of faith in Osborne, who had just 10 games of professional experience to her name. It was a faith that was so rapidly rewarded.
On Jan. 6, Osborne became the first netminder in PWHL history to start 11 consecutive games, marked with a 31-save 2-0 shutout win over the Toronto Sceptres. She did it while boasting a .930 save percentage, good for third in the league among active starters when the team was announced.
Given that, you might be startled to learn she was only assured of her place on Canada’s Olympic roster the night before it was publicly announced on Jan. 9.
“I think you never go into these things expecting anything,” Osborne explained to the Ottawa Sports Pages’ Keiran Gorsky before the Games. “Obviously, you want it to be you and you want it to work out. I think that just going in with an open mindset and knowing that regardless if you make the team or not, that it wasn’t going to be the end of my journey there.”
After receiving the news, Osborne’s first phone call was to her mother, who burst into tears. It doubled as something of a virtual reunion for her scattered immediate family – Osborne quickly rang her brother in New Brunswick and her sister in Gatineau to spread the joy.
“It was such a special moment, especially because my family doesn’t get together in the same room a whole lot,” underlined the Ottawa Senators junior women’s hockey team player.
Osborne had already become well acquainted with her soon-to-be Olympic teammates during the Rivalry Series, flying from Airbnb to Airbnb. It didn’t exactly go according to plan, Canada dropping all four games to the United States by rather lopsided 4-1, 6-1, 10-4 and 4-1 scorelines. Even so, Osborne took great pleasure in simply being a part of it all.
“I got to see how special this group was, and not just see it, but be a part of it,” Osborne described. “It’s something you can’t really explain.”
The John McCrae Secondary School grad has every bit of faith that the world will come to know Canada’s true potential come February. Osborne knows better than anyone how the path to success is not always so linear.
Now living in constantly-buzzing New York City, Osborne grew up in tiny Munster Hamlet, which only comes alive for Halloween, and for outdoor hockey games in the case of the three Osborne siblings.
You can read more about Osborne’s journey to the Olympics in this full feature on OttawaSportsPages.ca.