January 05, 2012 (Toblach, Italy) – Which three countries have two skiers in the top ten at the Tour de Ski? If you anwered Norway, Canada and Russia you advance to the next round. The Canadian duo of Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw had a good day in Toblach, Italy, on Wednesday, site of the 6th stage of the Tour de Ski, a 1.2km freestyle sprint race. After qualifying in 5th and 6th, respectively, Harvey and Kershaw both made it into the heats, with Harvey skiing all the way into the final, in which he finished 6th.

Russia’s Nikolai Morilov was today’s winner, outsprinting Petter Northug of Norway who claimed second and Dario Cologna of Switzerland on the podium in third retaining his overall lead.

Skiing in the same quarterfinal heat as his teammate [Harvey], Kershaw lead for much of the heat, racing on the same course where he won his first WCup last year. However, when Sweden’s Teodor Peterson attacked with 200m, along with Tobi Angerer of Germany, it was Harvey who responded as he eventually beat Peterson in a drag race in a photo finish to the line – both were given the same time. Kershaw tried desperately to catch them but only managed third and missed out on a Lucky Loser spot in the semi-final.

Harvey looked strong in his semi-final, skiing comfortably near the back and one-skating farther up some hills than other competitors, but he came down the final hill in fourth and was forced wide on the final turn by Northug to cross the line in 4th. Harvey advanced to the final nonetheless thanks to the Lucky Loser rule and a fast heat.

The men’s sprint final began as a slow and tactical affair before Northug took charge and accelerated on the 2nd lap. Rounding the final corner the Norwegian was leading but he couldn’t hold off a hard-charging Morilov in the final metres as Cologna crossed the line in third. Harvey didn’t have the gas in the final round to challenge and finished 6th in the final.

“My skis were good and the body felt really good throughout the heats,” said Harvey, “conditions started to change a little bit and in the final I think I was lacking speed a bit in the downhills and gliding. I wish I could have passed one two guys but sixth is good. Too bad to finish the day last in your heat, but I’ll take it.”

As a result of his 6th place today Harvey vaults back into the top 10 and now sits in 9th at +2:46.2. “It was great Alex made the finals and that really brought him up in the standings to ninth and in contention with the group that will be skiing together in the point-to-point race on Thursday, so that is exciting,” said Canadian Head Coach, Justin Wadsworth, in a team release.

Kershaw, meanwhile, ended up in 13th on the day, but more importantly, he moved past Russia’s Maxim Vylegzhanin to grab 4th place overall at 2:06.6 off the lead and just 38.4 seconds behind third place overall, currently held by Russia’s Alexander Legkov. As Wadsworth pointed out, not having to race deep into the heats may actually give Kershaw a slight advantage going into tomorrow’s 35km long distance skate race, because he may be slightly less fatigued than some of his competitors.

“Even though he got knocked out of the first round,” Wadsworth said, “he actually finished with quite a high placing, which gave him bonus seconds, and he didn’t have to ski the last two rounds of the race so he is able to conserve energy for tomorrow. I know it is kind of counter-intuitive to think Devon getting knocked out of the quarterfinals is a good thing, but I don’t think it was such a bad thing today.”

Kershaw’s 4th place overall is somewhat remarkable considering that he has not made the same impact on the results lists as he did last year, when he achieved a number of podiums, including a gold medal in Toblach. The secret to Kershaw’s success this year, Wadsworth points out, has been his consistency. He has finished in the top 15 in 5 out of 6 races. “The Tour de Ski is like that,” Wadsworth said, “you don’t have to win any races or get on the podium, but you just have to be consistent and in contention all of the time, and our guys are doing a really good job of that despite some tough conditions. I’m feeling really good about where we are and excited for the overall.”

The other Canadian in the mix, Ivan Babikov, who is nursing an injured wrist, finished 73rd in the qualification today. Kris Freeman, the lone American man left in the Tour, finished 54th in qualification and did not make it into the heats.

Sprint results HERE.
Overall TdS standings HERE.
Overall TdS standings detail HERE.