November 28, 2010 (Kuusamo, Finland) – Alexander Legkov (RUS) topped the field winning the men’s overall at the Nordic Opening Ruka Triple as the cold weather and humidity continued in Kuusamo (-19C). Canada’s Devon Kershaw surged on the final day to 10th overall with Kris Freeman (USA) finishing 12th and Alex Harvey (Can) in 17th.

Kershaw made solid gains from his 16th place start in the men’s 15km freestyle handicap pursuit finishing 9th. Freeman also had a strong day starting in 13th and finishing 12th despite breaking a pole in the final 3km. Harvey had a tougher day placing 33rd in the pursuit race won by Lukas Bauer (CZE) – overall winner Legkov had the 7th best time.

The Russian takes over as new WCup leader with 318 points with Dario Cologna (SUI) only seven points behind in second followed by  Marcus Hellner (SWE) in third with 265 points.

Legkov upped the ante as he taunted Norway’s Petter Northug who missed both initial rounds of the World Cup due to illness. “It was an excellent competition for me today,” said Legkov. “I believed I could win this race. My skis were perfect and I think they were the best. I realized I could win the race in the uphills. I was confident and believed in my strengths. I look forward to Davos and La Clusaz and I would like to win the Tour de Ski – I’m waiting for you, Petter!

For 27-year-old Kershaw it was redemption for his sluggish WCup start in Gallivare last weekend. “I felt really good today and it’s awesome that it all came together,” said Kershaw. “I over trained coming into last weekend in Sweden, and came out flat. I took it really hard, but Justin [Wadsworth – head coach] kept telling me to relax and it will all come together. It shows me he’s a good coach and knows what he’s talking about because it did. I surprised myself today. I don’t normally do well in a 15km skate, but I had a lot better energy and felt good.”

He shrugged off any suggestions of pressure on the team following their stellar performance at Vancouver 2010. “There’s no external pressure on the Canadian men’s team to be on top,” said Kershaw. “We have depth and each one of us knows we can be there with the best. Nobody puts more pressure on us than ourselves. We all want to win. That is why we do this.”

For the USA’s Freeman it was another solid weekend of top performances. “Overall I’m happy with the weekend. I was doing well in the final pursuit and was with a group of skiers in the top ten but broke a pole with 3km to go so I lost touch and couldn’t make up the ground.” The cold didn’t bother him but he added “nobody’s happy when it’s really cold.”

Freeman says the US team is feeling good after this weekend and he’s ok with the mini-tour format adding that he sees it as way for FIS to bring all of the disciplines together under one roof. “Plus it’s good practice for the Tour de Ski” which is on his race calendar this year.

Canada’s Harvey who lost ground today and followed Freeman in 17th overall was direct. “The course was the hardest I’ve ever raced on a 2.5km loop with two massive and steep climbs each lap – we did that six times! I felt pretty good in the warm-up and I was confident,” said Harvey. “I think I made a mistake in my ski selection. I was getting dropped on the down hills even when drafting. I felt like I was going harder than I should have on the flats as well, I could never really glide well and relax on my skis.”

Harvey likes the TdS format as it makes every day important and makes for an exciting show. “I think they should give full points for the sprint day and the individual start (100 pts instead of 50 pts). The last day should only be the cumulative time – no individual time – as people are racing for position in real time and not really racing against the clock.”

“This is by far my best start of the season in the last five years,” he added. “I am going home now for about three weeks. I have to write two final exams and will be doing a good block of training. It will be nice to sleep in my bed for awhile and see my girlfriend, family and friends.”

Canada’s Ivan Babikov had a better day finishing 41st overall after starting the pursuit in 89th as did the USA’s Noah Hoffman in 42nd from a start position of 79th. Canada’s Brent McMurty placed 59th following his 71st place start. The tough conditions meant 27 skiers did not start today including Andy Newell (USA), Simi Hamilton (USA), Chris Cook (USA) and Stefan Kuhn (Can) while eight skiers including George Gray (CAN) did not finish.

“It was a good day for me,” said Hoffman or the “Hoff” as his teammates and friends call him. “It was tough in the cold but it’s a great course and I’m just happy to be hear soaking it up and looking forward to the next opportunity.”

Both coaches were pleased with their respective team’s weekend results. “It was a very satisfying day. All athletes that raced from the US moved up the results sheet,” commented US head coach Chris Grover. “Had Kris not broken that pole, he would have finished in the top-10 for sure. He was very strong. Kikkan moved up and Noah once again narrowly missed scoring some WC points. Liz and Morgan made major moves on the results board as well.”

Canada’s Wadsworth was not surprised with the team’s performance. “Solid weekend. Devon went in to this weekend still a bit tired from the last couple weeks of training, but came around nicely. He showed great fitness and strength all year in training – nothing surprising here, he’s where he should be. Alex had a great start to the season and shows his potential as an all-arounder like Devon. I think the rest of the team is finding their legs as well.”

Men’s 15km Free Handicap Pursuit results HERE.
Men’s Nordic Opening mini-tour overall HERE.
Men’s World Cup Overall standings HERE.