February 19, 2015 (Falun, SWE) – Canadian Alex Harvey demonstrated how strong he is at these championships as he claimed the silver medal today in the men’s 1.4km CL Sprint just behind Norwegian star, Petter Northug, on Day 1 of the FIS 2015 Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden.

Harvey really pushed Northug in the final run to the line in a double-poling match up that had fans on the edge of their seats. The Canuck had to switch lanes just before the line as he pulled up beside Northug which may have cost him the gold in the photo-finish lunge which went to Northug. Olympic champ, Ola Vigen Hattestad (NOR), took the bronze as he held off Italy’s Federico Pellegrino and Russia’s Nikita Kriukov.

“It felt really good today. I’m always a little slow in the beginning but then I came with good speed and I had really good skis today,” said Harvey who won silver at the Tour de Ski this year and at the Ostersund World Cup last weekend.

“I just love racing in Falun,” continued Harvey, who won two Stage World Cups here in 2012 and 2014 while his father Pierre won World Cups in Falun in 1987 and 1988. “The course is so hard and it requires sustained work, and I just enjoy racing here. I’m really excited. It was a great day for me and our entire team.”

Harvey was fifth in the qualification and finished second in his quarterfinal in a close race with Pellegrino. Both he and Northug was Lucky Losers in their tough semifinal against Hattestad and winner Tomas Northug, Petter’s younger brother.

“I went light on the kick wax in the qualifier. I didn’t want 100 per cent grip because there are so many downhills into the finish, especially with this wet snow, but we had to make a choice so we went with the fast skis today,” said Harvey. “That qualifier was a great start for me. In the quarter-final, I knew I was in it and I just said ‘it is on now for me!”

“I knew in the semis the Norwegians would go full blast. They had to with four guys in it. I just bit my teeth on the climbs and tried to be strong for the finish,” added the two-time Olympian.

Northug was also happy to finally claim his first sprint Worlds gold. “It means a lot to me to win my first gold in the sprint. This was a good start in the championship. I have good shape and looking forward to the rest. It is important season for me after everything that happened. The goal has always been to get in shape for Falun. I have marked these days in red in the calendar. Now I sit here with a gold,” commented the champ.

The USA’s Simi Hamilton had a solid day as well qualifying 28th and then had a strong quarterfinal to advance to the semis. He started well but ran out of steam ending up 12th on the day.

“Today did not start as I thought but I had a good quarterfinal so things were looking up. But I only had about ten minutes to reload for the semi-finals. I felt good over the first minute, but then the wheels fell off,” said Hamilton. “Our race skis were great and our staff has been putting in 16 hour days to deliver – they have been amazing and their tireless work always deserves a lot of the credit. Our whole team is incredibly pumped for Alex. He is skiing so well right now and he carries his success with so much humility and grace.”

Canada’s Len Valjas who finished in 14th looked like he’s regained his old form having a solid burst of speed during his quarterfinal to finish third in his heat but did not advance as a Lucky Loser.

“The course was great today. The weather was warm and the snow was perfect for klister. Our techs absolutely nailed the skis in the heats. I had bomber grip to climb all the long hills.

“My quarterfinal was really fun. I paced the first hill on purpose and when a lane opened up on the second climb I decided to take the opportunity to go from last to first. I am feeling snappy again, first time this season.

“I was forced really far outside coming into the finish by Nikita Kriukov (Rus), which allowed Teodor Peterson (Swe) to come by on the inside and beat me. It’s a bit tough to swallow but that’s racing. I definitely felt like my shape today was better than my 14th place result and I’m looking forward to the Team Sprint this Sunday, get some revenge,” Valjas told Trax. Jesse Cockney, of Canmore, Alta., was the only other Canadian to suit up and finished 49th.

American Andrew Newell in 17th was happy with his form but not his tactics during his quarterfinal that cost him some speed and advancing to the next round – here’s what he had to say.

“Today was a solid day for the USA but nothing spectacular. I think this is the first time we’ve qualified 6 skiers into the heats at Worlds so that was a positive start to the day.

“I felt great in the qualification and I think the course skied really well. They preserved the tracks throughout the day so we weren’t allowed to warm up on them which made for some pretty firm classic tracks for the heats and some good kilter skiing.

“I skied my quarterfinal heat the way I wanted to staying up near the front and trying to catch a good draft into the stadium. Unfortunately I made one big mistake and got hung up on Peterson coming off the downhill out of the draft. I got my ski stuck between his legs which forced me to stand up and change track losing a lot of momentum into the stadium.

“I would have liked to have a better kick in the lanes but just swung way to wide. So I’m happy with the way my body feels but disappointed in the tactics on the day and in the result. I’ll start preparing for the Team Sprint on Sunday and I think we can have a very competitive run out there. I was excited to see Alex come through in the final… great performance.”

American Dakota Jess von Blackhorse in 30th overall turned heads when he qualified and with his gutsy skiing as he attacked during his quarterfinal to take the lead, which said wasn’t planned, yet stepped up when the opening came. While he couldn’t hold the pace the Bend, Oregon skier had a strong debut to the Worlds.

This was the third World Championship medal of Harvey’s career. He won gold in the team sprint with Devon Kershaw in 2011, and finished third in the individual CL sprint race two years ago in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

Now Harvey is looking forward to the rest of the championship in Sweden. “The two mass starts I look forward to. IF I have rocket skis like today anything is possible. The relay I also look forward to, it is always fun, but I will not do the 15km race.

Harvey was strong on the final stretch today adding, “I’m always working hard in the gym to improve myself. Chin ups with 100 pounds for example. I always try to improve myself in every way. The finish is so important in all mass starts. At 50k it will take a longer time on the final stretch so maybe I’ll beat Peter then,” Harvey said with a laugh.

Qualifications here.
Final Results here.