December 12, 2015 (Davos, Switzlerland) – Canada’s Devon Kershaw was the top North American delivering a solid 20th-place finish in the men’s 30km FR race with teammate Alex Harvey 22nd, as Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby took home another World Cup victory in Davos, Switzlerland on Saturday. France Maurice Manificat came through for the silver at  20.7s back while Norway’s Anders Gloeersen locked up the bronze another 8s behind.
Kershaw, 32, is on the comeback trail telling Trax, “I didn’t know how I was doing really during the race – I was a really early starter so I just kind of skied my own thing. Conditions were perfect man-made conditions. Great for skating. The course is unique here…it’s been a World Cup staple for decades, so it’s more on the “old school” side of things. Not a lot of steep uphills, but long working sections. As for the pacing – I adjusted it for the course and was able to hit my race plan that I wrote down yesterday almost perfectly. Start really controlled and really wind it up from there.”

The Sudbury skier was second overall in the World Cup standings back in 2012 but has had to deal with his share of bad luck over the last three years including injuries, illnesses and disappointing performances.

“The course here in Davos is deceiving. At first look it seems really easy – almost a training course. But the working sections are really, really long. You need to be aware of that. And the descents aren’t just “sit in a tuck and chill” like in Kuusamo or Lillehammer. You need to keep working all the time,” added Kershaw.

Newly married this summer and with a refreshed outlook on his life as a high-performance athlete, Kershaw is quietly serving notice not count him out just yet.

“I am happy with how I executed the day. The result is solid as well – I’ve been really consistent between 20-30th in the distance World Cups which is much better than the last year or two in World Cup Period #1. Still though – 20th is great for me at this moment, but far from my best. I have had to adjust my expectations and my recent results are good confirmation that I’m heading in the right direction.

“The goal is to hit the points more constantly – and I have been doing that and have been between 20-30 in all the distance races. I think it gives me a good platform to make that jump back into the top 10,” he added.

Fellow Canuck Ivan Babikov placed 36th while Graeme Killick was 46th. Noah Hoffman led the Americans in 52nd while teammate Brian Gregg joined the U.S. men’s team in Davos as a result of his first place finish in the men’s 15k freestyle at the USSA SuperTour in West Yellowstone ending up 65th. US veteran Kris Freeman was 67th while Canada’s Michael Somppi was 68th.

“Things seem to be trending up for me now – so that’s really nice – especially mentally after struggling in the last couple years,”  Kershaw concluded.

Full results here.