March 15, 2014 (Falun, Sweden) – In a stunning display of skiing prowess Canada’s Alex Harvey demonstrated that he can ski with the best in the world and defeat them as well claiming the men’s 30km Skiathlon today in Falun in what he described as “…maybe one of the best races of my life.”

Falun has been good to Harvey and his legendary father Pierre who won Canada’s first-ever World Cup race here in 1987 and again in 1988 after the Calgary Games. That year Pierre went on to win the 50km at the Holmenkollen in Olso.

The final battle was between Harvey and overall World Cup title winner, Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway, who settled for second as the 25-year-old Canuck out-sprinted him to the line for the win while 50km CL Olympic gold medalist, Alexander Legkov of Russia, ended up third suffering a broken pole just before they hit the horseshoe section in the stadium.

“I think it was the best race of the season for me and one of the best races of my life,” said Harvey. “I was a bit sore from the sprint (yesterday) because it is such an intense sprint course, but by the end of my warm-up I was feeling good. My body felt really good and the equipment was there too. I was bit surprised to be skiing with two of the world’s best skiers. I just used good tactics and it was great to get the win.”

Harvey on his victory

Powering his way to his fifth podium and third victory of the season Harvey executed his race plan to perfection leading up the final climb and then on the downhill he let up so Sundby and Legkov would be in front heading into the stadium and the finishing lanes. This way he could see things unfold while drafting them on the final downhill and then slingshot his way to gold. He used a similar tactic in Friday’s sprint where he finished fourth.

“I knew Legkov and Sundby were good climbers so I wanted to keep ahead of them so they didn’t drop me,” said Harvey. “I raced that sprint course four times yesterday. They didn’t get to do that, and I know when you get to the top of the course [Morderbakken] you don’t want to be in the lead heading into the stadium so I just used that tactic to step aside and let them go ahead, and it worked.”

The selection came early as five leaders established themselves by the 5km mark including Sweden’s Daniel Richardsson and Calle Halfvarsson but the latter didn’t last long. The four leaders looked untouchable but Matti Heikkinen (FIN) along with other top skiers like Eldar Roenning (NOR) tried in vain to reel them in.

Harvey’s teammate Devon Kershaw was in the mix as well at the front of the chase group showing signs of his old self, perhaps inspired by his teammate, or ready to assist him if needed.

Prior to the exchange Legkov was the main protagonist during the classic leg but Harvey decided to send a message as he pushed to the front as well. Then Sundby took over and at the 20km mark Richardsson started to crack…and now it was a 3-horse race.

Sundby continued to lead but Harvey was ready to send another message and with 3km to go he asserted himself again knowing his plan as he looked strong at every stage of the race. Over the final climb Harvey stepped aside and let his two rivals move to the front as he waited for the right moment.

As Harvey made his move on the inside on the final push up the horseshoe climb in the stadium Legkov suddenly broke his pole as he came close to Harvey…  quickly he had a replacement but by then he was out of the running. Harvey then chased down Sundby in the finishing lanes passing him just before the line for a spectacular victory.

It was the fifth podium finish of the 2014 World Cup season for Harvey, and the 12th of his career. He also won a sprint race in Poland earlier this year, along with a gold, silver and bronze at this year’s Tour de Ski.

The St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que. skier also has two World Championship medals on his resume. He won gold in the team sprint with Devon Kershaw in 2011, and finished third in the individual sprint race last year in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

Like his father Harvey has had great success in Falun – his first World Cup victory came here in 2012 when he won gold and bronze at the World Cup finals that year – watch his father’s 1987 Falun victory below.

“I just love racing and Falun is always at the end of the season,” said Harvey. “I think some guys when they feel tired at the end of the year they shut down in the head a bit, but I just love to race. When there may be tired bodies at the end of the season, I like to keep going. The course is so hard and it requires sustained work, and I just enjoy racing here.”

Kershaw ended up a strong 12th while the USA’s Noah Hoffman was a solid 18th with Ivan Babikov finishing 23rd. “It was very nice to see Alex winning today and Devon finding his form. Was a tough one for me, it’s nice to get some points but too bad that I couldn’t stay with Devon’s group,” said Babikov.

Harvey now has his sights on the overall World Cup podium. Both Sundby and Legkov have secured their positions in first and second, but with the withdrawal of Norway’s Chris Andre Jespersen from today’s Skiathlon, Harvey has the opportunity to move into third in the overall standings with a first or second-place finish on Sunday – he trails Jespersen by 133 points.

The Canadian leads the World Cup finals mini-tour by 26.0s over Sundby and 26.1s ahead of Legkov as the men will contest the the final World Cup of the season, a 15km pursuit start free technique race which wraps things up.

“I am for sure taking my chances for tomorrow. I will ski the first lap at my pace, and see if I gain or lose some seconds. I know if they catch me they will have to work 26 seconds harder,” said Harvey, whose career-best overall World Cup finish was sixth in 2012.

“This has been the best season of my life. Obviously we didn’t have the magic we needed at the Olympics which was the goal, but I have five podiums this year, three victories, and this just reconfirms all of the work we did in the summer. I’m confident in my tactics and finishing ability so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Interview with Head Coach Justin Wadsworth

Results here.