December 11, 2016 (Davos, SUI) – Canada’s Len Valjas was on form finishing 14th in the men’s 1.6 km Sprint FR in Davos as Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov pushed the pace to claim gold in the final over Finn Hagen Krogh (NOR) in second with Sindre Bjoernestad Skar (NOR) in third.

“I was really happy with today’s race. Reaching the top-15 two weekends in a row shows that my shape is back so this excites me to keep racing,” said Valjas who had the 12th fastest qualifying time.

Simi Hamilton, who qualified 24th, was the lone American to advance to the heats but finished fifth in his quarter final placing 23rd on the day.

Skiing in his heat of six athletes, which included the top qualifier, Valjas did his work at the back of the pack for much of the 1.6-kilometre trek around the narrow sprint course. Valjas made his charge up the final hill into the finishing straight, and catapulted into third place. Only the top-two athletes in each heat, along with the next two fastest times advance to the next round.

“Davos is one of the toughest courses on the circuit,” said Valjas. “The altitude and the short, flat course really makes you work for your results. I’m anxious to keep going and hungry for the semis and finals.”

Hamilton has been sick lately and this was his first sprint race of the season so he still has some kinks to work out. “I’m not ecstatic about my result today, but I think it was an encouraging sign that my energy and speed are getting back to where I want them to be after a tough start to the season. My body definitely felt better than it has in the last couple of weeks, and I think my fitness is in a good place right now.

“My main goal for the upcoming few weeks before the Tour starts is to focus on getting my normal speed back. I’m confident that Matt and I will create a great training plan to do this and I’m looking forward to using Christmas break as a quality training block,” he added.

“I’m stoked for the whole team again today. We had some really great performances, especially from Sophie and Jessie, and it motivates all of us to keep plugging away in training and racing as hard as we can when we have individuals on our team with some serious momentum. My skis were super today and, as usual, our techs did an outstanding job with giving us great race boards. On to La Clusaz, and we’re all fired up to keep the season rolling,” he concluded.

Qualifications here.
Results here.