March 1, 2015 (Falun, Sweden) – Petter Northug (NOR) pounced near the end of the men’s 50km CL race moving up from the mid-teens with a turn of speed that none could match as he slipped between the race leaders to claim his fourth gold of the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Lukas Bauer (CZE) took second at 1.7s behind with defending champ, Johan Olsson (SWE), in third just ahead of Russia’s Maxim Vylegzhanin in fourth.

Canada’s Alex Harvey, who was in the fight for the medals from the start, settled for a strong fifth place as snowy, difficult conditions made it a challenging day in the Falun tracks with temperatures above freezing.

Harvey and his teammates, Ivan Babikov and Graeme Killick, were at the front for much of the race with newbie Killick having a superb day finishing 19th with the lead group and veteran Babikov in 30th just behind. The top American finisher was Noah Hoffman just out of the points in 31st.

”It was kind of hard to break away and I spent too much energy in the first part of the race and should have read the situation better. My skis were very good I gained a few spots in the end but couldn’t do more. Northug skied the smartest saving his energy until the end. These are my best championship ever so overall I’m really, really happy,” commented Harvey.

Northug’s typical final charge was impressive as he quickly gained a dozen or so spots moving up on the last climb to third by the final corner leading into the finishing straight. For most of the race he sat back in the group keeping a watchful eye and resting while waiting for the right moment to attack. When he did it was like an explosion of speed and nobody could control or match him.

”It feels great to finish with a gold. I tried to be more in the front during he final 10km,” said Northug of this strategy. “I was happy with my position in fourth coming  towards the stadium. Then I stepped in between Bauer and Vylegshanin in the final stretch and had some strength left. It has been a fantastic championship and a dream to win four golds.”

During the first half of the race Olsson tried to escape but the conditions were tough and the pack remembered his superb solo victory effort at the 2013 Worlds in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

”As soon as I tried to get away and looked back, I saw a whole bunch of skiers,” said Olsson. ”As more snow fell, the more I realized that it was useless. So I decided to stay in the group. I tried to save myself for the last 5km to have good legs when we would go up the Mordarbacken “killer hill” the last time. I’m proud of three medals at these championship but of course I would rather have had a gold today.”

Olsson pointed out that he had some luck in the end when Vylegzhanin lost his balance in the last few meters allowing the Swede to pass him for the bronze while holding off Harvey and Dario Cologna (SUI) just behind.

While the Canadians made their presence felt throughout the race the Swedes were also looking for glory at home as veteran Anders Soedergren, 37, attacked with 35km to go in a farewell bid performance. The silver medalist from the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme gave local fans lots to cheer about but he was reeled in with 5km to go.

”I had bad skis for the first 15km but then when I changed skis it got better and I was able to catch up with the first group. Then I had a good grip and could press on. I knew it would be hard to stay away until the finish,” said Soedergren.

In the final 5km Bauer, 38, made an unusual but tactical ski change that gave him fresh skis as he quickly re-joined the lead group of about 20 skiers and moved to the front grabbing the silver at the finish.  “Changing skis before the last lap was a key to coming second. It was a very big risk I took, but when I was up there with a couple of kilometres left, I felt I had the chance of a medal. I lost the gold on the last hill where I had major problems,” said Bauer.

For Canada’s Killick who also changed skis with 5km to go it was a memorable championships. ”Our skis were really good so right off the start they put me in a great position coming down to the stadium. I just tried to ski as relaxed as I could and whenever it strung out I didn’t try to battle too hard but I was able to just stay relaxed and it came back together a few times.

”The one mistake I made is coming in when many in the lead pack switched skis but I didn’t. Ivan and I, and I think Bauer, pressed on. I thought my skis felt ok but later they were like dogs and I lost contact with the lead pack. Then I switched in the last 5km and I actually think it was really good to switch there because I made up a couple of positions.

”The hardest part was coming right thru the stadium. You almost needed a canoe to get thru as it was really loose. You had to stay relaxed thru that whole section and try not to overdo it scrambling there.

”It’s been amazing. I haven’t done a whole lot of skiing in Scandinavia but to see how it is and the huge crowds here is really cool and especially coming from Canada and seeing that level of enthusiasm  for the sport, its really special to see and hopefully we can get there someday”.

”I haven’t skied around Northug too much but he just kept on coming back and sitting in. That’s his style and I just don’t know how he does it, just drifting all over the place. That’s how he likes to do it and he is strong enough to just make it back whenever he wants to. It’s cool to ski with those guys for sure,” he concluded.

For Babikov in 30th it was a solid day on snow. ”I couldn’t believe my skis were so good. It was not my intention to lead… I was just trying to keep the pace up. It was super fun, the crowd was amazing up the Mordarbacken.

“The conditions were tough – I think they did the best they could. With so many competitions – the Nordic combined and us – I don’t know if salting today would have helped it. It is what it is,” he added.

For the USA’s Hoffman in 31st it was a good sign that he’s on the comeback trail following his early season injury and ankle operation altho he hoped for more.

”It was really challenging, really tough conditions. Ski exchanges made a big difference. It was just a hard race and I was kind of flat again, similar to what it’s been the whole week.

”I was in the pack when I didn’t change after 15km and then I changed at 25km and slowly skied back on and got back into the group. And then at the change again at the 35km that’s kinda where it strung out and I was at the wrong side of that string.

“I just didn’t have anything special today, I’m looking for better in the next couple of weeks. It hasn’t been a spectacular comeback from injury but it’s not terrible either,” commented the Hoff.

Full results here.