March 18, 2012 (Falun, Sweden) – The distinct red-white w/bright yellow leaf Canadian kits were ever-present once again at the final World Cup race of the season in Falun, Sweden, the men’s 15km freestyle handicap start, as three Canucks landed in the top 15 of the Mini-Tour final standings. Devon Kershaw finished 2nd overall, just 23 seconds behind the overall winner, Dario Cologna of Switzerland, while teammates Alex Harvey and Len Valjas placed 6th and 14th, respectively.

It was a fitting end to a stellar season for the Canadians who seemed to turn heads with each successive race landing podiums with style and precision skiing – 14 in total smashing their season goal of 10 medals.

Starting 3rd in today’s handicap race, at 46 seconds behind Cologna, Kershaw quickly caught and passed team mate Len Vajas, who started second at 36 seconds behind the race leader. After dropping Valjas, Kershaw skied alone the rest of the race and finished 23 seconds behind Cologna who won the mini-tour, adding to his massive season of 20 podiums.

“I crossed the line and thought ‘Thank God it is done,’ but I was also so proud right away of our entire team,” said Kershaw in a team release. “This last month I had a lot of nervous energy, but finishing second at the World Cup Finals was another huge goal this year. That is about as good as it gets.”

Behind Kershaw a battle for third place unfolded amongst a chase group of eight skiers that included teammate Alex Harvey, who started  in 9th, along with Roland Clara (ITA), Evgeniy Belov (RUS), Jean-Marc Gaillard (FRA), Niklas Dyrhaug (NOR), and Petr Sedov also of Russia, among others.

Clara and Belov attacked with 2km to go but couldn’t shake the group and it came down to a sprint at the line with Dyrhaug taking the bronze medal in the mini-tour. Harvey, who finished 6th overall, ended up skiing the second fastest leg on the day, just 10.4 seconds behind Sedov – that’s another podium for Canada.

Rookie Len Valjas, the surprise third-place finisher in yesterday’s 15km classic race, hung on for 14th place overall, finishing 2:06 behind Cologna. Other North American men racing today included Canada’s Kevin Sandau, who finished 37th (+5:43) and the lone American on the start line, Andy Newell, who finished in 32nd (+5:07).

Today’s race wrapped up the 2012 FIS World Cup season and Cologna was the clear overall World Cup winner with 2,216 points, followed by Kershaw in second with 1,466 (he was 8th last year), and Norway’s Petter Northug in 3rd with 1,199 – Kershaw was also second behind Cologna in the Distance overall. Harvey moved up from last year (10th) as well claiming 6th overall while Valjas finishes the season ranked 28th overall, but 12th in the sprint events.

Kershaw became the first Canadian male cross-country skier to finish second overall on the World Cup adding a silver lining to his historic, stellar season that culminated in Falun, Sweden.

“To be second in the overall is crazy awesome and I’m just so proud and happy of what we accomplished as an entire team,” added Kershaw. “I’m not sure how many skiers – cross-country or alpine – have ever been second overall in history. But it is not perfection. My dream is to have one Canadian male skier on the Olympic podium. I don’t care who it is. I just want it to happen.”

Canadian Head Coach, Justin Wadsworth, was thrilled with the team’s performance over the course of the season, and with the team’s having achieved almost all of the goals set back in the fall. “It feels amazing,” he told SkiTrax by phone, “The athletes work hard, the waxers work hard, the staff in the office work hard, and the coaches work hard – you don’t get that many things in life where you can really grasp and see your hand work paying off like is has for us. The whole team really buckled down and now we’re reaping the reward. It feels pretty damn good.”

15km FR Handicap results HERE.
Final Mini-Tour Overall HERE.
Final World Cup Overall HERE.