March 14, 2012 (Stockholm, Sweden) – Len Valjas advanced Canada’s tally to 10 medals this season as the rising rookie star skied from fifth to third in the men’s final 1.0km sprint, passing Norwegian star Ole Vigen Hattestad, to claim the bronze in Stockholm on Wednesday for the second WCup medal of his young career.

“I’m still a little shocked because I didn’t expect this finish, but I am really happy,” said Valjas in a team release. The lanky skier at 6’6″ barely qualified placing 30th, but switched to wax skis for the heats and then rose to occasion. “I made a little mistake double poling in qualifying, but I was lucky to squeak into 30th. I had to dig deep, but it made it pretty fun to be able to move from 30th to the podium today.”

The sprint day belonged to Norway despite the presence of the Swedish king, as Eirik Brandsdal followed up his Drammen victory with the Stockholm WCup under his belt as well. Men’s Sprint Cup winner Teodor Peterson from Sweden could not contain his Norwegian rival settling for second.

Top Swedish sprinter Emil Joensson, who was leading his semi final but pulled out over the first climb with an injury speculated  to be an injured hamstring.

The USA’s Andrew Newell put in another fine classic showing and looked good to advance past his quarter final but was pipped by Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ) at the line. The Lucky Loser gods were smiling as Newell got to the semis where his day ended in 7th overall as he was outlunged at the line.

“Today was fun, I felt great so it would have been awesome to race the final but I just missed out with a lunge in the semi. During the qualification I felt a little sluggish, either because I was still feeling a little tired from the 50km or because I didn’t warm up enough,” Newell told SkiTrax. “I went on DP gear and made it in, but didn’t crush it.

“For the heats I switched over to classic skis and felt better and better each heat. In the semi I tried to relax and then really attack on the last hill which I was able to do and came up to second place in a hurry but just didn’t have enough track left to get in. It was a close lunge but not close enough. Either way it was a sweet last sprint. Stockholm is one of my favorite sprints. I’m still feeling good so I’m looking forward to the rest of the mini tour,” he added.

Canadian studs, Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey, were out early again similar to Drammen as both made the heats but failed to put it together to advance into the semis. Harvey ended up 14th while Kershaw was 19th and remains 2nd in the WCup overall standings.

“We knew Len was capable of these performances. He trains alongside Devon [Kershaw] and Alex [Harvey] every day so we know his speed is there,” said Justin Wadsworth, head coach, Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team via the team’s release. “Len is a very smart skier and knows where to make his move which is huge in sprint racing. It is amazing for sure to do this now, especially on courses in Scandinavia. It is pretty incredible.”

One Canadian fan quipped about Valjas’ sprinting prowess telling us it was as if Kershaw had been enlarged 150%. Valjas is certainly coming through and filling some big shoes on team.

“I think my size definitely helps with having a fast stride up the hills,” said Valjas, who also had a top-five finish in Finland earlier in the year. “This course was similar to Drammen which I really like. In each heat I was able to make my move up that final climb and it worked out. I had confidence from last week, and this definitely reassures me that I can do it [get on the podium].”

Qualifications HERE.
Final results HERE.
Sprint Cup final overall HERE.
World Cup overall standings HERE.