Canada's veteran team member, Devon Kershaw, gave the team a big boost with a strong first leg. ©Nordic Focus
Race action... Ivan Babikov at the front. ©Nordic Focus
Canada's Ivan Babikov in action... ©Nordic Focus
This is a fab team result early in the season – did things go as planned?
Devon Kershaw: It was a great start to the season – relay-wise. We maintained contact for most of the race, and I think everyone did a good job. It was a much improved race when compared to the previous day for our entire team. We awoke to a lot of snow on the ground (15+cm), and it snowed for the duration of the first leg, then it stopped snowing – but conditions remained soft.
Alex Harvey: Yes – more or less as we’d planned.
Graham Nishikawa: Yeah, it was a great relay. It was my first World Cup overseas and after a disappointing day on Saturday I was very pleased with the way I skied. I was skiing much better, more relaxed and enjoying the soft conditions a lot more than the ice of the previous day. Nishy’s got his groove back.
You guys started very strong and had a great finish – tell us how the race unfolded…
DK: I was the lead-off, and we were bib 13 (so second row). There were 26 teams, and I moved up quickly, but realized that on a tight course the best thing to do was lead (even if it was snowing) – that way I was out of trouble, and controlling the race. I ended up tagging Ivan [Babikov] in 3rd. Ivan skied great, a real fighter and kept in contact and Alex and Graham were skiing smooth and fast as well – Graham made a great move up the last climb to pass 3-4 teams.
AH: The split was made by Alexander Lekgov on the 3rd leg. The podium was decided at that point. Graham got caught by a big group of guys coming from behind but still managed to hold on and sprint well at the finish.
GN: Devon described most of it, but in my leg – the anchor – [Dario] Cologna (Sui), Finland’s Matti H [Heikkenen] and [Marcus] Hellner (Swe) came through me moving very quickly. I tried to go, but red-lined and blew up a bit, but after focusing on technique and skiing well I regained energy and was able to out-sprint most of the guys in the chase pack I was in. Kershaw was an animal in the first leg out front in the snow. He is relay skiing – boom.
How about the snow, the course and conditions in Beitostolen…?
DK: Conditions were a mess [laughs]. On Saturday it was so icy – it was clear, very windy and warm (+4). You couldn’t get any purchase with the skate skis, and I felt like Bambi on ice out there. Never getting in a rhythm, and struggling on the icy/rutty downhills too. Sunday couldn’t have been more different. Snowing heavily at times, -2, and very soft/slow conditions. It was a pretty crazy weekend, but that’s ski racing.
AH: Saturday’s conditions were pretty bad – very icy and super hard to get a good edge while skating. Then it snowed a lot on Sunday so it got pretty slow. The course in Beitostolen is perfect with good uphills, some gradual climbs and one more steep one. There were a lot of tricky corners in the first 1.5km.
GN: Ditto on Devon’s comments. It was also a very twisty, turny course. On Saturday with the ice and ruts it made for some harrying descents. Lots of top guys looked like beginners on the descents – and that says a lot.
Tenth is a great result as you begin the season but as you strive to improve what’s the strategy going forward?
DK: It was a good day for our team – not the day we had in Liberec, but solid. I think we were all happy to have improved, and show our actual form on Sunday after a such a bummer of a day on Saturday. We are all training hard right now, and it’s no secret that the Olympics are the focus. Other teams had guys in that boat as well, but some guys have to be racing so fast at this time of year to even be noticed by their respective countries. Guys like Aasen, Gaustad for Norway for example. It was a good day, it was great to remain in contact but there’s a lot of work to do. The 4x10km relay is the premiere event (maybe with the 50km) in our sport, and there are just so many great teams out there.
AH: The team did a great job – we know that when George [Gray] is back with us and we’re all in our top shape, we have a shot at a medal. That is what we’re striving for.
GN: Relays are messed up. They are always changing. In Liberec we (the Canadians) beat Russia, Sweden, and the Swiss – but yesterday Russia was amazing (in 2nd), and Italy bombed completely. Does that mean anything in February? Probably not. It’s just such a volatile race. You need to have four solid guys if you hope to do anything on any given day.
How is the team feeling overall with the first WCup in the can…?
DK: The team wanted more – there’s no denying that. I (personally) feel bummed out a bit. Last weekend in Bruksvallarna in the Swedish opener I had what was probably one of my best-ever 15km skate races. I was skiing so well, and feeling in great shape/confident. Then, this past Saturday I just couldn’t put anything together and raced terrible. Guys I was beating the weekend before by 30+ seconds crushed me. I tried so hard (probably too hard), and wanted it so badly, but it was not to be. The conditions were tough, and I struggled with the technique. Other didn’t. That’s how it goes sometimes. Sunday’s relay went exactly as I’d planned it to go (given the snow falling) and I was happy to be feeling relaxed, skiing well, and up at the front. There are plenty of other races ahead, so I just need to take what I can from each experience. Learn from both the good and bad.
AH: We were a bit disappointed with Saturday’s effort but we had a strong race from all four of us on Sunday and we’re looking forward to Kuusamo.
GN: The team was disappointed on Saturday’s performance (as was I), and happy with how things went on Sunday. We’re all excited to keep plugging along and it will be great to see Sara, George and Dave Wood in the next few days in Kuusamo, Finland.
What happens between now and Kuusomo as you prepare for round #2 this coming weekend?
DK: We woke up @ 5am this morning in Oslo to fly up to Kuusamo so things are going be a bit chill over the next couple days and we’ll get adjusted to the darkness that is Northern Finland. Training is pretty standard stuff – but mostly it’s energy dependent. The first one is done (World Cup) and we’re looking forward to our next chance to compete against the world’s best next weekend. It’s all about the process as we pursue (hopefully) stellar shape come February.
AH: It’s a bit different for all of us but personally I’ll be putting in some very easy skiing for most of the week and on Wednesday will be doing my usual hard intervals. But the volume stays fairly high because I’m training for the Olympics.
GN: I am going to ski with Alex, Ivan, and Devon and we are going to ski nice and slow [laughs]. We’ll have fun up in the dark, keep the vibe relaxed, and catch a sauna a bit too. Alex wants to hit me with juniper branches and I am not sure how I feel about it yet – although I am up for new experiences. Seriously though – we are going to try and keep it light for a few days, we can’t change anything drastically this week but we will do what we can to gain some energy back. We’ll be better next weekend, I truly believe that.