January 05, 2016 (Obertsdorf, Germany) – Canada’s Len Valjas (CAN) powered to a strong 10th place as the top North American in today’s Tour de Ski men’s 1.2km CL sprint in Obertsdorf won by Emil Iversen (SWE). Sergey Ustiugov (RUS) and Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ) finished second and third, respectively.
“It is a good feeling to be back in the semis. I wasn’t completely happy with my qualifier because I knew I had more in me, but I was excited to get back in the heats and ski with those guys,” said Valjas, who racked up five career World Cup podiums, including two on the Tour de Ski, before struggling in his recovery since undergoing knee surgery two years ago.

“The field is so tight now. The hardest part is qualifying for the heats. Once I get in there that is where I ski better with the group – where I can be more technical and drafting. I just needed the chance to get in there.”

Three North Americans qualified for the heats: Andy Newell (USA) was top qualifier in 13th, followed by Alex Harvey (CAN) in 13th and Valjas in 25th. Canada’s Devon Kershaw (CAN) just missed the heats with a 34th-place result.

In his 1/4 final heat, Newell skied well and looked strong, but struggled as the pace picked up to finish third but his heat was not the fastest to advance as a lucky loser. Harvey’s heat went similarly as he sped out of the gate only to miss out on the final sprint to the line ending up third. His heat was also slow and he did not advance but he moved up one spot overall and now sits 8th in the standings.

Emil Iversen (NOR) © FIS XC

Valjas skied well in his quarter final was the only one to move through to the semis with a photofinish second place in his heat. In his semifinal he was at the back following a quick start and tried to make up ground on the frontrunners, but was never able to get back into contention, and wound up fifth to finish 10th overall – a great result and positive sign for Valjas, who has just missed out on the sprint heats until now.

“It was a really fast start in the semis. One of the fastest ever and that caught me off guard,” added Valjas. “I was gapped a little bit and was able to make up some ground on the downhill, but it wasn’t enough. I wish I could have kept up because one of the lucky losers came from my heat.

Results

1. Emil Iversen (SWE)
2. Sergey Ustiugov (RUS)
3. Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ)

10. Len Valjas (CAN)
15. Alex Harvey (CAN)
17. Andy Newell (USA)
34. Devon Kershaw (CAN)
38. Erik Bjornsen (USA)
59. Ivan Babikov (CAN)
61. Noah Hoffman (USA)
DNS Simeon Hamilton (USA)

Full results here.
Overall TdS standings here.