North East local to represent Australia in Canicross World Championships

**Everton runner selected for Australia’s inaugural Canicross World Championships team**

*Poland – 5‑8 November 2024* – Jess Hercourt, a resident of Everton in Victoria’s North East, has been named to Australia’s first‑ever team to compete in the Canicross World Championships. The event, organized by the International Canicross Federation (ICF), will take place in Owińska, Poland, from 5 to 8 November and is expected to attract more than 1,000 participants from around the globe.

Hercourt will join three other Australian athletes as part of a four‑person squad representing the country in the dry‑land, dog‑powered sport that evolved from traditional sledding. In addition to the canicross race, Hercourt plans to compete in the bike‑joring category, a discipline that combines a cyclist with a team of dogs.

**Path to the world stage**

Hercourt first encountered canicross through posts on Instagram and contacted the Northern Victorian Sled Dog Club (NVSDC) in 2024. At that time her German short‑haired pointer cross‑kelpie, Zephyr, was deemed too young for competition. She attended a “Come and Try” day in May 2023, after which she and Zephyr won their inaugural race with Canicross Melbourne in the pine forests near Mount Macedon. Since then, Hercourt has amassed a record of 12 races in 2023 and 11 races to date in 2024, most recently competing at an NVSDC event near Benalla.

In July 2024, Hercourt secured victories at the SDRQ Red Mile Muster and the Australian Sleddog Sport Association (ASSA) Nationals in both the women’s canicross and two‑dog bike‑joring categories. The championships were held from 3 to 5 July at Thanes Creek, Queensland.

**Team composition and preparation**

For the world championships, Hercourt will race with a borrowed dog – the father of her youngest canine – sourced from the Czech Republic. She also owns two Eurohounds, Tiege and Nancy, which are cousins; their mothers are sisters, with Tiege’s sire from South Australia and Nancy’s sire from the Czech Republic. According to ICF regulations, participating dogs must be at least one year old, and ambient

Article and image source: alpineobserver.com.au