December 05, 2015 (Lillehammer, NOR) – Canada’s Alex Harvey battled back to claim 10th in the men’s 30km Skiathlon as four North Americans landed in the top 25 while Martin Johnsrud Sundby led a Norwegian podium sweep winning gold. Niklas Dyrhaug finished second while his teammate Hans Christer Holund was third.

Harvey moved up 17 spots during the skate and was followed by teammate Graeme Killick in 21st, with Devon Kershaw 23rd and Ivan Babikov 24th as American Noah Hoffman also put in a fine skate leg to grab 25th. Erik Bjornsen (USA) placed 42nd while Michael Somppi (Can) was 60th.

(l-r) Andrey Larkov (RUS), Alex Harvey (CAN), Alexander Legkov (RUS) © Nordic Focus

“It was really a race with two totally different phases. The classic was a struggle and I don’t know why because the equipment was good,” said Harvey, 27. “It’s funny because in the past my classic has always been stronger, but it just hasn’t been feeling good this year.

“When you are struggling on the course you have some really dark times out there. The hardest was in the third of four classic laps. But I stayed in sight of the other Canadians and was able to hold my spot and clip into the skate-skis.”

This was Killick’s best finish since he was 19th in the 50-kilometre race at last year’s World Championships in Falun, Sweden. “I’m really pumped with todays results. The difference for me today was the focused work I put into my double pole and skating through the summer.

“My skis were amazing, letting me relax through the classic and stay fresh into the skate,” said Killick. “This was a huge breakthrough for me, the points have always seemed illusive, but now that I have a taste for them, I can’t wait to improve from here through the rest of the season, especially during the Canadian tour,” said Killick.

(l) Graeme Killick (CAN) and Dario Cologna (SUI) © Nordic Focus

Kershaw finished three seconds behind Killick in 23rd place with a time of 1:21:53.5. Kershaw led the Canadians into the transition where he was in 19th spot, but dropped four places when the dust finally settled.

“It was a lot like last week – definitely satisfied with the effort and the technique has been feeling decent these last weeks too. Of course, missing that top-top end right now, but when stacked up to the last years pre-Christmas period – this is an encouraging sign and gets me excited for what’s to come.

“The classic leg was good – we had good skis and the conditions were surprisingly good (considering it snowed 30cms the day before (Friday). it was warm today (+5) and humid – so things tightened up well. The tracks held together decently and it was decent klister conditions. The course (both Classic and Skate were on the same 3.75km) is a real killer though – hardest on Tour I would say – so 8 times around that thing was a challenge.

“The skate leg was ok as well. But just that – ok. On the steeper sections I didn’t feel amazing – but again, better than last year at this time. I am happy with the progressions I’ve made in skate technically, but I still have work to do – especially in the steeper (offset) terrain and on this course there was a lot of that.

“I am happy with how my energy is and how my technique is feeling. The first two World Cup weekends have been ok for sure. Again, it’s all relative. I know I’m not at my best-level – that’s evident – but at the same time I’m off to a better start than the previous two seasons – so that’s a big positive. I’m excited to see how I feel and race after Christmas,” he concluded.

Babikov, of Canmore, Alta., also grabbed his first World Cup points of the season tweeting, “Great day for our team today! 4 guys in top 30! First points of the season for me, 24th place! I’ll take it, finally starting to feel faster.”

Hoffman was also pleased, “Today was a good step in the right direction for me. After a lot of fresh snow yesterday followed by rapidly warming temperatures, the skiing was surprisingly good. Honestly I felt like I struggled throughout the race today. It was very painful. However, I was able to ski with some very good skiers and I’m pleased with my progress from last weekend.”

Harvey leads the Canucks sitting seventh in the Overall World Cup standings.

“My goal is to win the overall and I know that every World Cup point matters. As soon I clipped in those skate-skis it was game on. I had great skis and made up a lot of ground,” added Harvey. “I managed to battle back and get into the top-10. I’m most proud today of the way I was able to fight through those dark thoughts on the classic and end up with a good day.”

“That was our best day as a team in a really long time and we are very happy as a group,” added Harvey. Those were Graeme’s first World Cup points so everyone is really happy for him, and to do it on a day like today in Norway is amazing. That was the hardest World Cup to score points today no question. There is really positive energy for the team heading into the relay.”