January 30, 2014 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – It was a great day for North American skiers as heavy snow made for tough conditions and tricky waxing for the Men’s 15km CL Individual Start race on the second day of competition at the 2014 FIS Nordic U23 World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme.

Erik Bjornsen (USA) © flyingpointroad.com

Alaska’s Erik Bjornsen (USA) logged the best North American result in 17th place, followed by teammate Scott Patterson (USA) in 18th, while Knute Johnsgaard (CAN) was the top Canuck in 21st.

“Today was probably my best classic race of the season so far. In previous races I have died towards the end like at nationals or been a bit frantic and struggled a bit with kick in the first EISA Carnival of the year. Today I conquered both of those items but was lacking a little in pop,” commented Patterson also from Alaska. “Our wax techs did a great job today giving both good kick for the steep hills at Val di Fiemme but also persevering very fast skis for the important flats between.”

Johnsgaard was also pleased with his day in the tracks. “I was feeling really well leading up to the championships, a lot better than I was at trials. It seemed like a long break with no racing the past few weeks and I knew I was in good shape so its exciting to finally start racing,” said Johnsgaard from Whitehorse, YK, post-race. “The snow during the race was probably more of a problem for the wax techs than the racers. I don’t know if anyone had perfect skis today. I pushed hard up last climb and held onto the finish.

Racing was made more interesting in the event, as contrary to the norm, groups formed and resulted in more tactical skiing, which helped some skier performances.

Scott Patterson (USA) © flyingpointroad.com

IIvo Niskanen (FIN) set the fastest time to win gold in 38:26.6, followed by yesterday’s sprint gold medalist Serget Ustiugov (RUS) in second at 17.4s. Mathais Rundgreen (NOR) trailed by 27.7s for the bronze.

Iivo Niskanen (FIN) © FIS

Benjamin Lutgarten (USA) just squeaked into the top 30 in 30th, followed by Canadian Patrick Stewart-Jones in 34th. USA’s Benjamin Saxton (USA) was in the hot seat as race leader for a short period of time, adding some shine to today’s US results, and finished a respectable 38th.

Andy Shields (CAN) placed 43rd with teammate Seb Townsend (CAN) 57th in an 80-skier field. According to Cross Country Canada, several of the Canadian men’s team are recovering from a mild cold that developed in the early days of the trip and are just now returning to normal energy levels.

U23 Men 15km CL results here

Photos courtesy of NNF and Flyingpointroad.com in support of US skiers
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