March 13, 2011 (Lahti, Finland) – Sweden’s Emil Joensson put his game plan together and executed it to perfection to claim the men’s 1.4km Classic Sprint victory and the overall WCup sprint title as well. Yet it was a tough day for many on the crash-marred Lahti sprint course – we lost count  – as there seemed to be fewer rounds without crashes than those with.

Canada’s Alex Harvey and American Andy Newell were the only North Americans to advance through the qualifications but their respective days ended early for different reasons. Harvey wiped on Lahti’s treacherous final downhill corner joining many of the day’s victims while Newell was disqualified for obstructing Matias Stranvall (FIN) just before the finishing straight.

For Norway is was a good day at the office with feisty Eirik Brandsdal celebrating silver and his second WCup podium while his teammate Paal Golberg, last year’s Junior World 10km classic Champ, stood on the World Cup podium for the first time in third.

Harvey was back in the mix on Sunday after dropping out of the pursuit on Saturday with back problems. “My back was ok this morning. We have an amazing physio here with us so he was able to fix me up. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again, the worst thing as an athlete is having to drop out of a race,” said Harvey in an email to SkiTrax.

“The sprint course here in Lahti is straight up retarded. The big hill at the beginning is fine, I don’t care if a sprint course is all hills, or all flat, but as long as their are no corners like the last two here in Lahti. Luck is always a factor in sprinting, but it shouldn’t be the most important one…if you look at the five quarter finals of the men, I think their was a crash in EVERY. SINGLE. ONE!!!! That is not normal.”

For US sprinter Newell it was a frustrating finish to his strong day in the tracks as he would have advanced to the semis as a lucky loser as his heat was the fastest with John Christian Dahl crossing the line in 3:08.5. But fate was not on Newell’s side.

He battled smartly from 5th to 3rd by the final treacherous turn to the finish and just when he was looking good to challenge for second he and Strandvall tangled near the final corner. Newell bobbled but stayed upright and placed third with Strandvall fourth. But the jury didn’t like what they saw and disqualified him for blocking Strandvall altho neither skier saw it that way.

“I felt good today so the DQ was a bummer. I was a little bit slippery in qualification but the skis and body felt great during the heats and even with a big bobble in the finishing lanes I was the first lucky loser for the semis,” Newell explained in an email to SkiTrax.

“Unfortunately I was relegated to last because of some kind of infraction. We had to wait until the end of the race to visit with the jury and apparently they thought I had cut off [Matias] Strandvall on the hairpin. The two of us were going into the corner side by side, so for sure there was a little bit of contact but we both kind of did what we had to do in order to stay on our feet.

“After the race Matias and I had a laugh and neither of us could believe the jury thought there was unfair skiing going on. Considering how much carnage there was on that corner in the other heats. So that sucks because I really wanted to go out and have a strong race today and I was feeling pretty good, but I guess I’ll have to wait for Stockholm on Wednesday.”

Harvey felt good during his quarter final and felt strong with good skis but the course got the better of him as he and Estonian Kein Einaste went down on crash corner.

“I felt pretty bad in my qualifier, but I still sneaked in the top 30. In my 1/4 final, I felt relaxed and my skis were working well up the big climb. I was able to stay in the track while most guys were hairboning outside. Then at the top, I felt strong and I could see some guys fading so I tried to make a move to position myself well and I guess I had caught some snow in the wax or something because I almost crashed and my skis were kind-a icing.

“Still, in the next downhill I made up one spot, and another in the downhill before the ”stupid corner”. So I was in 4th entering that corner and the Estonian guy [Einaste] in front of me had his skis so wide, I crossed onto his skis and we both crashed. That was the end for me!”

Canada’s other star sprinter Devon Kershaw was not on form this weekend failing to qualify placing 49th. The USA’s Kris Freeman finished 61st while Canuck Len Valjas was 63rd.

“I’m confident our crew can turn things around for the WC finals,” said Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadsworth

It was Joensson’s fourth World Cup win this season and his second overall Sprint World Cup series title. The Swedish star’s strategy was simple – get to the front and grab the inside lane by the first corner and then power up the climb and leave any problems behind.

After cresting the hill Joensson put pressure on his rivals again by jamming up the second small climb as well giving him a clear advantage leading into the downhill and the final tough corner before the finish. He won his quarter final and his semi final heats handily – all that was left was the final.

But with three Norwegians on the final start line his work was cut out for him as Brandsdal was eager to challenge and looked like he might upset the Swede. Joensson took things up a notch as they exchanged the lead with the WCup Sprint leader taking the pole position on the downhill run.

Brandsdal did his best to reel him in but on the finishing straight Joensson is virtually unbeatable as he double-poled in for the win and the series overall title.

“It feels good to retain the sprint world cup globe. I appreciate the win the total cup. It means i was strong the whole season and I’m happy I made. After the World Championships I had cramps in my stomach and felt not so good,” Joensson told FIS XC.

“I did my first training session on Wednesday. I did not know how my shape was, I only wanted to gain some points for the Sprint Cup today. I had power today and felt better and better during the day. In the final heat, in the stadium I gave it all and had some more power left. My absolutely favourite race is just ahead with Stockholm and I want to show there an great performance.”

The WCup caravan now moves to Stockholm for the final sprint race and then three back-to-back races in Falun for the finale where all champions will be crowned – as Harvey points out lots can still happen and a podium finish is still possible.

“I’m 10th in both the sprint and overall rankings. It feels good for sure but Stockholm/Falun is a paradise for WC points! A possibility of 400 pts for a guy who wins every event, so nothing is done here. I will do my best with what I have left in the tank!”

Qualifications HERE.
Final Results HERE.

Overall Sprint Standings HERE.
Overall WCup Standings HERE.