January 02, 2016 (Lenzerheide, SUI) – Canada’s Alex Harvey raced to a strong 7th place finish in the men’s 30km CL mass start at round #2 of the Tour de Ski battling near the front for much of the competition until winner Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) put the hammer down with about 10km to go for a resounding solo victory.

Fellow Norwegian, Petter Northug, made the final selection of 12 skiers that included Harvey, to grab his first podium of the Tour edging out teammate Didrik Toenseth in the final sprint to the line for a Norge podium sweep.

“It was a good race today. The classic has been tough for me this year, but it was my first race I was skiing well technically and hitting my kick. I was happy with my skiing and I also got a lot of bonus points so I gained a lot of rank today,” said Harvey.

“I started in the fourth row today which is unusual for me. I had no choice but to start harder than I normally would. I had to go for it today,” he continued. “I was running outside the track on the hills to pass guys. I couldn’t relax for the first couple of kilometres so I maybe paid for that at the end of the race a bit, but there was no other choices today but to go for it.”

The USA’s Noah Hoffman had a superb race as well moving up to 23rd at the finish after starting 77th while teammate Erik Bjornsen also had a fine day at the office as well claiming 30th.

“Noah and Erik were very tough out there,” said US coach Matt Whitcomb. “Noah found a way to 23rd by picking apart his competitors with a fast pace on the climbs. This was a really large step forward for The Hoff. For Erik, he entered the final lap in 33rd. At the top of the last hill with only 1k of descent into the finish, 30th and 31st had pulled 15 meters away from Erik. That 30th place, while only worth one World Cup point, is one of the most important points of the season for the team.”

It was also a solid day for Ivan Babikov who was the next best Canadian finisher in 33rd. Devon Kershaw (Can) was 41st, while Len Valjas (Can) crossed the line in 65th, Simi Hamilton (USA) was 69th and Andy Newell (USA) finished 76th.

Men’s results here.
Overall TdS standings here.