January 05, 2013 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Len Valjas and Alex Harvey stuck hard at the finish to claim 2nd and 3rd respectively in the men’s 15km CL on Stage 6, the penultimate stage of the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy, site of the upcoming Nordic World Championships. Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ) took his second stage victory at the Tour as race leader Petter Northug (NOR) faltered and finished 29th surrendering the leader’s bib to defending champ Dario Cologna (SUI) who placed 11th on the day.

Not far behind was Ivan Babikov in 7th, his best classic finish ever, while Kershaw also looked good during the race but fell back near the end to finish 21st.

“It is unbelievable. I just put my head down in that sprint to the finish and double poled as hard as I could,” said Valjas. “When I crossed the line and looked over I thought Alex might have won and we’d go one-two. This is just awesome though. To share a podium with a teammate is an unreal feeling. We are all pretty happy here.”

This course has been good to Harvey who took the silver here last year when it was a 20km race. “I am happy to get on the podium and to finish the Tour off with a podium feels great. I just love this course. I was fifth here two years ago, second last year and now third. It is a good feeling knowing the World Championships are here later this year.”

Harvey will not race up Alpe Cermis on Sunday according to Head Coach Justin Wadsworth who explained that the move is to protect the St-Ferréol-les-Neiges skier’s left leg, which was operated on in 2008 to correct a circulation problem. “We know from previous years that this kind of stress on his leg and artery can be problematic so we’re playing it safe,” said Wadsworth in a teleconference call.

Wadsworth was elated with the team’s performance. “That’s the way we like to do it,” he added. “We know everyone’s in good shape and starting to come on strong. Devon’s just taking a bit longer but we know his time is coming. Ivan has a good shot on Alpe Cermis which he won in 2009 so we’re optimisitic for our chances tomorrow and 5th place overall is not out of the question.”

The four Canadians skied strong and smart leaving the bonus points for others keeping within striking distance. Northug, who grabbed the first 15s at the 1.9km mark, was not able to regain his composure as he dropped back into the pack and never recovered.

Others were ready to take over, particularly the Russians as first Lukas Bauer (CZE) tried to escape but couldn’t and then Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS) scored some bonus points. Cologna, the defending champ, was ever-present near the front watching all moves. Then Russia’s Alexander Legkov seeing Northug in trouble pushed the pace as Poltoranin kept all in check as well and would soon make his intentions known.

The USA’s Noah Hoffman was in 16th at one point but couldn’t match the pace of the aggressors and fell back skiing just ahead of his teammate Kris Freeman. Neither would factor in the outcome finishing 32nd and 40th respectively.

As the finish approached Legkov (#3) and Germany’s Tobias Angerer (#14) battled for position in the finishing straight with the Russian taking 5th but suffered a 15s-penalty in the end for obstruction.

Poltoranin took the inside lane beside Harvey while lanky Valjas took the outside lane and put his head down. Local fans were screaming for veteran 40-year-old Giorgio Di Centa who skied well but was edged off the podium in 4th. But the day belonged to Poltoranin…