February 03, 2017 (PyeongChang, Korea) – Canada’s Len Valjas just missed the podium by the toe of his ski boot with a final lunge in the men’s Sprint CL final on the 2018 Olympic cross-country ski course at the World Cup test event in Pyeongchang, Korea on Friday.

The 28-year-old Toronto native, second in the qualification, finished fourth as Russia’s Gleb Retivykh won with Norway’s Sondre Turvoll Fossli claiming the silver, while Andrey Parfenov, also of Russia, edged out Valjas for the bronze.

“I have mixed feelings about today. It is tough to be that close and come up short,” said Valjas. “On the bright side, I learned so much on how to ski the Olympic course. It’s a very tough course. The climbs are the perfect grade for striding. I had fun racing today, even though I fell an inch short of the podium. I am still very happy with how things ended up.”

The top American was Andy Newell in 6th after skiing strong all day but also came up short in the final with too much wax on his skis. “The course is awesome with two pretty big climbs. the first one out of the stadium long and gradual, and a much steeper climb before dropping into the stadium. Although a little jet lagged for sure I felt OK in qualification finishing in 7th position, but I was a little slick on the steepest climb so I knew I could improve.

“The final didn’t play out the way I wanted to of course. I had a little bit of a shortened recovery (because they were running behind schedule) That can be the drawback of being in the bottom bracket. And I think I was so concerned with kicking up that kick climb that we put too much wax on. But I am happy I learned a lot about the Olympic course and was so excited to see Ida on the podium for the first time! I think this was exactly what I needed to get stoked for next year’s Olympic race,” said Newell.

It was also a stellar showing for Jesse Cockney, who won his quarter final and finished 10th overall. “This was a great result for me. To have a long striding course like this for the Olympics really suits my strengths,” said Cockney, who also has a ninth and 10th-place finish in his career. “Hopefully I can come back next year and race this course again at the Olympics.”

The USA’s Simi Hamilton looked sharp as well but a broken pole in his quarterfinal ended his day early as he finished 17th. Canada’s Simon Lapointe was 27th, Matt Gelso (USA) was 29th, Bob Thompson (Can) placed 31st, Julian Locke (Can) was 36th, Scott Patterson (USA) was 44th and Noah Hoffman (USA) was 48th.

“The shape is there right now and I am feeling good coming into World Championships. I ran into some trouble here with the food this week and I could feel my energy getting lower and lower today. It might have been my inability to eat well or the jet lag flying in here two days ago,” added Valjas who has a peanut and fish allergy and was reacting throughout the week.

“Racing at night with all the lights was really cool. I had to wear dark lenses because it was actually brighter than a sunny day. I hope I can use the valuable info I learned tonight to my advantage when I race here next winter in the Olympic sprint,” Valjas concluded.

Qualifications here.
Results here.