December 12, 2010 (Davos, Switzerland) – Sweden’s Emil Joensson roared in the men’s final to take the win over Russia’s Alexei Petukhov with World Cup leader and local Davos hero, Dario Cologna (SUI) in third. Top US sprinter Andy Newell skied well qualifying 4th only to get pipped by half a boot in a surprise final lunge by Italy’s Fulvio Scola during his quarterfinal round and did not advance as a lucky loser to finish 13th on the day.

“I felt fast and strong so it’s frustrating to end up in 13th again,” said Newell ended up in 13th in Dusseldorf as well. “It’s a fun course and quick with times under 3min and room to pass. I was surprised by Scola’s move as I felt I was skiing well and had second place in hand – but that wasn’t the case.”

For Joensson it was back-to-back WCup victories following his win in Dusseldorf last weekend. “It was fun to ski here today. I felt strong and the crowd here cheers us all,” said the Swedish star. “For sure I am happy with my second victory after Düsseldorf in this season.”

In the men’s final Petukhov took the holeshot followed by Cologna as Joensson hung back but not for long. He quickly asserted himself and held the lead until the end as Petukhov and Cologna could not reel him in. Behind Scola and Federico Pellegrino, the top qualifier today, were unable to respond to the pace by the top three skiers.

For Switzerland’s Cologna it was his first podium of the season and no better better place than in front of a partisan crowd. “What I couldn’t make yesterday went well today and I took my first podium spot at the home World Cup in Davos. It’s a great feeling to finish on the podium in front of my home crowd. Thank you, fans!”

While Joensson’s win was not a surprise, a Norwegian no-show in the final was not expected. In fact two of Norway’s top sprinters, Oeysten Pettersen and John Kristian Dahl, did not make the cut in the qualifications. And veteran Norwegian sprinters, Ola Vigen Hattestad and Anders Gloersen, were trumped during their semi final round on the second lap by Italy’s Pellegrino and Scola and were also eliminated.

The big story for the North Americans today was American Simi Hamilton qualifying 11th in the stacked Davos field along with Canada’s Len Valjas in 22nd and Phil Widmer in 23rd. All three skied well and placed fourth in their quarterfinal heats to finish 16th, 17th and 18th respectively behind Newell – a good sign of things to come for both squads.

“It was a breakthrough day for Simi,” said head coach Chris Grover. “He’s got lots of potential and showed it today. Dusseldorf was as a good primer for Davos and he’s learning and gaining experience with each race. He’s had a slow start to the season with his IT band injury and there’s lots of natural ability there – it just needs to come to the surface.”

Newell agreed. “Yeah great day for Simi – he had a strong heat and a good quarterfinal – he’s gaining a ton of valuable experience.”

Hamilton was feeling pumped as he spoke to SkiTrax while on his way to Zurich. It was his first World Cup sprint quarter final heat as he heads home with a solid effort behind him. “It was awesome out there. I felt smooth and comfortable at this altitude – it was a great day and I really liked the course. My game plan worked well as I paced myself increasing my speed along the way. I’m more of a technical skier given my alpine skiing background. It was great to ski the quarter final with the big boys. The first half well but I got tangled up a bit during the second lap and was happy with 4th. I’m learning a lot and super psyched for more.”

For Canada’s Valjas and Widmer who trained together prior to Davos it was a great day as well and both are feeling more bullish after today’s performance.

“I felt really good coming into today’s race. After just missing the heats in Dusseldorf I was ready to redeem myself and felt confident,” said Valjas. “I may have started my qualifier a bit too hard but I fought right to the line and it ended up being pretty good. It was great to battle head-to-head with some of the world’s best sprinters. In my quarterfinal the first lap was good but on the long straight away during the second lap I could hear [Jesper] Modin and Gloersen behind me and should have shut the door before they skied passed me. I ended up 4th and missed the lucky loser position by 0.3 seconds. Our wax techs were awesome today – our skis were ridiculously fast! ”

Widmer’s 18th was his best WCup result as well. “Today was a mixed bag – Chandra and Dasha didn’t advance but Len and I did. It’s a long course into the wind and I didn’t have a great start and tried to move up during the second lap but stepped on a pole and ended up fourth. Overall it was a good day.”

Canadian coach Justin Wadsworth is happy with the team’s efforts so far. “Sure we’d like more but everyone is making good progress during this first World Cup period. It’s good to see the bright spots and we’re hoping for more in La Clusaz next weekend.”

Qualifications HERE.
Final results HERE.