March 09, 2019 (Oslo, Norway) – Canada’s Alex Harvey delivered a career-best 5th at the famed 50km Holmenkollen World Cup in Oslo, Norway on Saturday matching his 2011 result, as Alexander Bolshunov led a Russian podium sweep.

The three-time Canadian Olympian was in a pack of seven that pulled away from the field with nearly three kilometres to go. The group strung apart in a relentless double-pole sprint to the finish.

The race came down to a five-man fight for the medals in the finishing stretch as Bolshunov was unstoppable becoming the youngest winner of the legendary 50km race.

Maxim Vylegzhanin (Rus), at his final career competition, finished second while Andrey Larkov (Rus) took home the bronze. Russia’s Ilia Semikov took fourth just ahead of Harvey in 5th, with Norwegian race-favourite, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, in 6th.

“I was close to the podium today, but the Russians were too strong for me,” said Harvey. “I had really good skis, but it was clear the Russians had the best skis than anyone in the field. They were just really strong and fast today.”

The top American was Scott Patterson in 19th followed by the USA’s David Norris, who also skied into the points with a 24th-place finish. Adam Martin (USA) took home a World Cup personal best of 31st, while Canada’s Jack Carlyle was 42nd.

“I chased pretty hard with about 14k to go to make the split for the lead pack,” said Patterson. “I hung on to the group quite well for the last time up to Frognesetern, but when we went back to the stadium with 3k to go, I was struggling. While I fought with the 3 others who were struggling, I didn’t manage to outsprint any of them.”

“The first three laps went really well for me,” said Norris. “During the fourth lap, I started to struggle a bit and dangled off the lead group a few times. Starting the fifth lap I did a ski exchange and lost contact with the leaders. My skis for the last two laps were really good, but I couldn’t close the gap to the lead pack. I felt pretty tired today, but overall the race went pretty well and I’m happy with my performance.”

Oslo has special memories for Harvey who is winding down his illustrious career with just two more World Cup stops to go, ending with the World Cup finals at home in Quebec City. The 30-year-old and Devon Kershaw captured the world’s attention in 2011 when they won World Championship gold in the team sprint at the shrine of Nordic skiing.

“It is so crazy racing here. People have bonfires along the trails and are camping out overnight. It is big and a very loud atmosphere which helps give you extra energy for a 50k,” said Harvey. “We are always treated like kings when we show up here, but if you do well, they give you so much respect.”

Harvey has always been in podium contention at the most prestigious stop on the World Cup. On Saturday he matched his career-best in the Nordic marathon at Oslo. He was also fifth in 2011, and sixth two years ago.

“When I started on the National Team (a fifth-place finish) was huge for us. We have come so far and that is because of the teamwork we had that turned our program around. That started before I was even on the team,” said Harvey. “Those years with Devon (Kershaw), Lenny (Valjas), and Ivan (Babikov) ,we set the bar so high, and that was special to be a part of. It is very special to have gone from an underdog to a staple on the World Cup. We had such a great team, and together we were able to make our mark on the World Cup.”

Results here.