December 05, 2015 (Oestersund, Sweden) – Canada’s Macx Davies, 21, turned in the performance of his life in tough windy conditions as the lone clean shooter in the men’s 10km Sprint, to claim 10th just behind teammate Nathan Smith in 9th on the challenging World Cup circuit in Oestersund, Sweden.

Canada's Macx Davies © Nordic Focus

Davies defied the odds amidst a stiff crosswind on the range in the talented international field, as Martin Fourcade, of France, missed two shots en route to victory over Germany’s Arnd Peiffer in second at 51.2s back (0+1), while Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen held on for the bronze at 55.2s behind (1+1).

“Overall I am super excited with today’s race. I wasn’t aware of my position until the final lap and I think that really helped me shoot better, but made it a huge surprise when our wax tech told me that I was 10th with 7 seconds to 6th,” Davies wrote by email.

“Also I had a little mishap with my rifle. It was nothing to do with my actual shooting but I had forgotten to load one of my clips so I started the race with only 5 shots in my rifle. Then once I came into the range the first time i realized that i only had one clip, so I shot those 5 shots and hit them, but I was thinking more about how I was going to get another clip. So when I skied by the first wax techs on course I told him that I needed a clip and he organized everything so by the time I returned to the range an official was waiting with a new loaded clip.

“However that type of clip did not work in my rifle, so I couldn’t use it. I then hand loaded my five shots, which though I hit them all, is very slow compared to shooting from a clip. So my mind wasn’t really on the skiing or my position at all throughout the race, I was just trying to figure out how I could get the extra shots I needed. By the time I exited the range for my final lap I knew I would have a good result but thought I was around 30th place, until I was told 10th!! Then I really pushed myself as hard as I could and managed to maintain my position,” he continued.

Sean Doherty led Team USA with a 25th-place finish, hitting seven of 10 on the range and crossed the line at 2:13.4 behind Fourcade to sit tied for 13th in the overall World Cup rankings. The USA’s Tim Burke was 45th with four penalties, Brendan Green (Can) was 55th (2+3), Leif Nordgren (USA) was 64th (2+2), Calgary’s Scott Gow was 67th (3+2), Lowell Bailey (USA) was 68th (1+5), and Christian Gow placed 70th (2+3).

“The sprint today was an interesting race,” said Doherty. “The wind conditions were very difficult. I felt strong on the course and I am very excited to start the pursuit in the middle of the action. Should be a lot of fun.”

An accomplished pianist, Davies is keen to hit the start line in Sunday’s Pursuit as well and growing up in Canmore, Alta. has a strong xc ski and biathlon background as his father Ken is heavily involved with bringing international Nordic ski events to Canada.

“Everything feels surreal at the moment. A very crazy race for me, but it all led to a great result. I think it’ll sink in by the time I’m on the start line tomorrow, with all of the athletes around me that I have idolized as a kid and in recent years,” he concluded. “I believe the whole Canadian team is no longer looked at as underdogs. We are making a place for ourselves among the top nations and now I want to look to improve on my top-10 result moving forward.”

Full results here.