March 02, 2016 (Gatineau, Que.) – The USA’s Simi Hamilton was also on fire at the opening round of Ski Tour Canada, lunging for a brilliant historic bronze in the men’s 1.7km Sprint FR final, as Canada’s Alex Harvey finished 11th in a tough battle that saw Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov claim the win. Richard Juve of France grabbed the silver only days after an impressive performance in Romania at the U23 World Championships.

Hamilton mirrored his teammate Diggins qualifying second behind Nordic kingpin, Petter Northug Jr. (NOR), as Harvey was 15th, Erik Bjornsen (USA) surprised making the heats for the first time placing 27th, while Knute Johnsgaard added some Canadian lustre racing to 29th for his first time to make the heats as well.

“If feels really good [to start off this way], it’s always a bit of a unknown after taking a break from racing for over a couple of weeks. You never really know what’s going to happen, but felt good training yesterday,” Hamilton said after fighting his way onto the podium.

“It was a long technical course today, which had me play different tactics throughout the course and in the heats. I knew I could throw some moves around the horseshoe climb, and that was going well all day and I banked on having that in my quiver for the final,” added Hamilton pointing to the importance of skiing tactically.

For Harvey it was a decent start to the long-awaited Tour. “It was a great start to the Tour… I felt really good out there as the day went on,” commented Harvey, whose best sprint finish is seventh on the World Cup this year. “I haven’t had much success this year qualifying in the sprint races so to be 15th was a good sign. I was better positioned in the semis, but I almost crashed in that final corner and it scrubbed my speed. That was it for me – the crowds were great.”

We caught up with Bjornsen as well who’s known for his distance skiing but delivered a great sprint run as well in Gatineau to make the heats and finished 25th overall, earning his first sprint World Cup points.

“It was fun to jump in the heats and mix it up a little bit. I was feeling comfortable, there was one move coming through the lap lane where one guy was pretty aggressive and took the spot I needed, that was crucial spot I think to get in position for that last lap,” shared Bjornsen, echoing his frustration at being unable to pass during heats.

Johnsgaard, 23, of Whitehorse, competing in just his second World Cup sprint race ever, dug deep in his heat, but was last to cross the finish line. After finishing in 30th overall and claiming his first World Cup points, Johnsgaard said, “I was hoping to save a bit of energy and maybe make a move on the last lap, but just didn’t quite have it in me. My goal all year was to qualify for the sprint heats so to do it is a great feeling.”

Ustiugov had a strong day and a crucial comeback in the semifinal heat, after breaking a pole in the semis forcing him to drop back in the pack. But he managed to fight his way up to finish second and advance to the finals. The men’s final was close as the Russian claimed first at 0.08 seconds over Jouve while Hamilton attacked from the back of the park, moving up tactfully throughout the heat to snag third.

“The race course was curvy and tight, making passing really challenging,” said Head Coach Chris Grover. “Once the heats began, both Jessie and Simi were masterful when it came to making space in which to pass their competitors. They made gaps open for themselves and timed their podium bids perfectly.”