January 08, 2014 – FIS Cross-country had a chance to sit down with Austria’s Johannes Duerr shortly after his impressive third place finish at the recent Tour de Ski atop Alpe Cermis.

You had the fastest time of the day up Alpe Cermis, which gave you a third place finish in the overall standings.  It was quite a day for you.
Johannes Duerr: Yes it was a really great day for me. I knew that the uphill is perfect for my strengths and I pushed really hard.  I can’t believe that I am on the podium here at the Tour de Ski. I am shocked at the final result and it is all the attention is now happening so fast.

During stage 5 of the Tour de Ski, the point-to-point competition from Cortina to Toblach you skied from 34^th place into the first chasing group and finish sixth that day.  At that time did you start to think it was possible to be on the podium at Alpe Cermis?
JD: After yesterday’s competition (Stage 6, 10 km classic in Val di Fiemme) I looked at the starting list for today and I thought I had an outside chance for a podium. I knew I would need a perfect performance and perfect skis. I had the perfect skis today. I had great skis the entire Tour so thank you to the Austrian wax service team. I just it all in and went full speed on the uphill.

What was your focus coming into this season?
JD: The focus is for sure the Olympic Games. It is a biggest thing in sports for athletes. It’s only every four years so it is quite special. In Sochi I will focus in particular on the Skiathlon and 50 km. The Tour is also quite important within the sport of cross-country skiing, so it was also a focus for me. But for now I don’t look to Sochi. I am here now enjoying everything on the top of Alpe Cermis. I need a few days still to realize what has just happened and then I will begin to prepare for the Olympics.

It takes a complete skier to make it on the podium at the Tour de Ski.
JD:  Yes I agree except that I am not a strong sprint. I do what I can. Classic can be ok, as it was yesterday in the 10 km, but for me when I am in good shape I can be competitive in skating.

You were the only skier able to upset the dominance of the Norwegian team. They swept the ladies podium and looked set to do the same in the men’s until you passed Petter Northug Jr. on the climb.
JD:  Yes, this was quite special for me. To be able to add some colour to this Tour it is an awesome feeling. I didn’t know if I could catch Northug and I didn’t know could beat him until I crossed the finish line. I thought I had caught him too late. It was almost the flat part at the top and I thought we could still follow and out-sprint me at the finish. But there was one little part left that was a bit steeper and there I attacked and hoped to be able to break him and it worked.

What does this mean for Cross-Country Skiing in Austria?
JD:  I think maybe that Cross-Country Austria is happy today. I hope today’s result increases the attention for cross-country at home. It would be perfect for the Tour to stop in Austria. On the map I think it is no issue. We have many great places that could host like Seefeld or Ramsau and many others.