January 31, 2005 – Canada’s Jason Myslicki battled through a thick mass of skiers during an extremely tight cross-country sprint to finish 19th at the Nordic Combined World Cup B event in Klingenthal, Germany on Sunday.

Myslicki started the 7.5 kilometre sprint in 20th spot after the ski jumping portion of the event, and finished the day one minute 34.6 seconds off the leader.

“I hung in there today and had a decent race,” said Myslicki, who jumped just a few metres shy of a top-10 result. “It was tough for me mentally, especially coming off my poor performance on the cross-country course in yesterday’s event. I gave a good push during the last kilometre of the race and thankfully it moved me up a few spots.”

Mathieu Martinez of France secured his second consecutive World Cup B gold medal victory in as many days, finishing the event on top in a field of 60 athletes. Joining Martinez on the podium was

Switzerland’s Ivan Rieder, who took home the silver medal after finishing the race at +16.9, with France’s Kevin Arnould rounding out third to claim the bronze medal at +18.5.

Two other Canadians, both from Calgary, suited up in Sunday’s event. Max Thompson finished the day in 43d spot at +2:51.1, while Wes Harris finished in 51st place (+4:03.3).

The Canadian Nordic Combined Team will head to Karpacz, Poland on February 5-6, for the last leg of the World Cup B tour before the World Championships kick-off February 18th in Oberstdorf, Germany.