November 25, 2018 (Ruka, Finland) – Top Canadian Alex Harvey finished just outside of the top-20 battling 22nd in the men’s 15km CL individual start as Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov was unstoppable winning gold for the second straight day.

Norway’s Emil Iversen finished second while Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson claimed the bronze as last year’s winner Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (Nor) ended up 9th. The USA’s Erik Bjornsen was just out of the points in 31st.

“Individual starts are always very difficult. It took me a while to figure them out because I always started too slow from the beginning. It’s about starting fast enough so you are putting the hurt on yourself in the first lap but staying patient and not going too fast to kill yourself,” said Harvey, who was lined up against the top skiers in the world – many whom already have a few elite races under their belt in the early season. “You have to bite your teeth a bit in these races.”

Bjornsen was hoping for more at the World Cup opener. “It wasn’t the start to the season that I had hoped for, but I don’t think it was too far off. Today, I didn’t feel great. I felt a little stiff, never able to open up and glide out there. I’ve always found the snow to be a little tricky here in Ruka. Hopefully next weekend I’ll feel a little more snap in the body. The goal is to be consistently skiing in the points,” he told SkiTrax.

Results here.