January 01, 2012 (Obertsdorf, Germany) – It was classic Petter Northug (NOR) firing on all cylindars at the finish to take the win on New Year’s Day in the men’s 20km (10CL+10FR) Skiathlon while Canada’s Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey grabbed valuable bonus seconds along the way to solid 6th and 7th place finishes respectively.

Dario Cologna (SUI) was a strong second as Russia’s Maxim Vylegzhanin, who made as last minute bid for glory, settled for third. Given the tough weather and conditions in Obertsdorf officials salted portions of the course to firm up some sections including the last 100m to the finish and on a few wet spots in the stadium.

Kershaw was second to Lukas Bauer (CZE) in the first classic preem at 6.9km as he and Harvey skied well and near the front the whole race. “Today went better than yesterday. It’s a tight track and the classic was a bit faster than I expected while the skate was slower and more tactical,” said Kershaw in a teleconference call on the way to Italy and who now sits 5th overall, “Our strategy was to go for bonus seconds and do our best to hold on until the end. We lost some energy which cost us a bit but we still finished strong.”

Harvey was also happy with his day moving up into 11th overall. “We raced solid today and it’s always a good day to be in the top 10. The course is tough and everyone is working hard so you had to ski smart – we were able to go for points and keep pace, plus our skis were running well.”

Their teammate Ivan Babikov also had a strong run and was leading for a stretch during the skate leg as the Canadians made their presence felt throughout the race. An unfortunate crash near the end bumped Babikov down to 31st on the day.

The US squad had a tougher time in the trenches as Andy Newell was not able to start due to sickness and Kris Freeman slugged it out finishing 47th while Simi Hamilton was further back in 75th.

“I have been feeling a little bit under the weather the last few days which has made the first few races tough,” Newell told SkiTrax by email. “I tried to get through yesterday and score some points. I actually felt pretty good during the qualification but went on klister which was slow, then switched over to harries for the heats and struggled with kick – so it was a tough day. This morning I woke up really congested and feeling much worse. Turns out sprinting in the rain isn’t good for your cold so I’ve had to pull out of the Tour.”

Northug grabbed both skate bonuses on his way to victory but was shadowed by Cologna who also earned bonus seconds as the two remain in first and second respectively. Skiers now enjoy their first rest day at the Tour as they make their way to Toblach, Italy for the next two stages.

Toblach is where Kershaw won his first WCup last year at the Tour. “I’m not putting more pressure on myself for Toblach,” added Kershaw. “We want to race well at every start line. We’ll relax and rest up tomorrow and then get right back at it.”

“We’re looking forward to sun, snow and good food in Italy,”  quipped Harvey.

Skiathlon results HERE.
Skiathlon results detail HERE.
Tour de Ski Overall HERE.