December 22, 2013 (Asiago, Italy) – It was a day of firsts on Saturday in the men’s 1.65km CL Sprint as Russian Olympic and World Champion Nikita Kriukov claimed his first Classic World Cup win, Gianluca Cologna (SUI) scored his first World Cup podium placing 3rd, and Canada’s Alex Harvey received his first DSQ.

(l) Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ) and winner Nikita Kriukov (RUS) at the finish © Nordic Focus

Kriukov fended off all challengers including Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin who made a bid for the win on the final straightaway but couldn’t quite catch his Russian rival. Yet in many respects the day also belong to Dario Cologna’s younger brother who skied with panache attacking during his quarter and semi final heats against big names like Emil Joensson (SWE) with strong skiing but settled for third in the final.

Alex Harvey (CAN) receives his very first DSQ © Nordic Focus

Harvey had a strong qualification in 13th but the judges ruled he skated to much in violating classical technique rules. Harvey disagrees but decided to save his energy for the races that lie ahead.

“Yes this is my first time being DSQ… and hopefully my last too! It was a good qualifier but I really wished I could have skied in the heats! A member of the jury filmed me up one of the hills. They decided to disqualify me after looking at that video. They called me into the jury cabin, showed me the video, and what I saw wasn’t skating,” explained Harvey.

“Then they said there was another video, but didn’t have it. I didn’t agree with the ruling and could have put some of my legal education to use – and part of me really wanted to – but then I feel like spending any form of energy on this would not make me ski as fast as I can in February…so I just have to let it go.

“The course was a disaster,” continued Harvey, “Dirty, soft snow. I was on skate skis, but the conditions were so slow, 4min for 1.6km…that’s really slow. On Sunday I’m going second leg in the team sprint, Kersh goes first leg.”

Devon Kershaw (CAN) © Nordic Focus

They USA’s Andy Newell put in a strong qualification run in 5th as only he and teammate Simi Hamilton, in 28th, advanced to the heats given Harvey’s DSQ but they drew the same quarter final. Meanwhile Devon Kershaw came up just 0.37 short in 33rd while Torin Koos (USA) was 67th, Len Valjas (CAN) was 70th, Jesse Cockney (CAN) was 77th and Michael Sinnott (USA) finished 78th.

Misfortune struck Newell in his quarter final on a tricky downhill section as he came out of the turn at the bottom and went down losing his ski in the process – his day was done and he ended up 26th.

“It was a fun course with a few smaller uphills and lots of turns, so I was pretty excited to race it. The poling was a little soft in places and the snow was dirty, but typical for a good city-style sprint. In the men’s race the majority of the qualifiers were double poling although I think a few striders might have made it in,” Newell told Trax.

Andy Newell (USA) © Nordic Focus

“In the QF we took it out slow and I was really fired to to hammer the last few hills. After qualifying 5th I knew this was a good course for me and I was stoked to ski into the finals. So the confidence was high going onto the heats but somewhere between the start and the deep corner on the far end of the track my binding must have come lose. Probably got flipped up by another skier, or maybe not closed all the way at the start. Either way going around the corner my ski flew off which caused me to go down.

“It really frustrating because I thought today was going to be a really good result so it always stings a bit when that happens. This is our last classic sprint for a while so I’m bummed about that but I’ll be ready next time. Tomorrow’s team sprints will be interesting with the combination of double pole and stride, but I think Simi and I will have a strong team and could definitely be in contention for a top 5 or podium,” he added.

(l-r) USA's Simeon Hamilton and Andy Newell with Alexander Panzhinskiy (RUS) © Nordic Focus

Hamilton also looked strong in the quarterfinal with Newell skiing near the front but he couldn’t sustain things as the pace quickened near the end and finished 5th ending up 23rd overall.

“Although today’s course was good for me – lots of rolling terrain, corners, and transitions – the conditions weren’t ideal for my type of skiing. The snow was breaking down very quickly, was quite soft and very slow. As a bigger guy, I tend to excel on sprint courses when snow conditions are very fast and firm and when I can use my power to my advantage.

“So with that said, I’m fairly psyched with how the day turned out. During training in the last year or two I’ve been focusing on a lighter touch for when conditions are slow and soft. I think I’m doing a much better job at sprinting in snow like that but there’s still room for a lot of improvement. That was very evident in my quarterfinal when I just lost too much momentum going up the long climb on the men’s extension.

(l-r) Poltoranin 2nd, Kriukov 1st, Cologna 3d © Nordic Focus

“I think getting bogged down when I was double poling on that long hill just sapped my energy and I was unable to keep my skiing poppy and light for the remaining 1 km. I felt great for the first 800 meters of the quarterfinal, and I think that with the training I’ve done and will continue to do I’ll get better at being able to sustain that really good feeling throughout a longer sprint course.

“Sunday should be an interesting day. With the warm temps and humid air, we’ll see how the course holds up. But nonetheless it should be a fun time out there rubbing elbows with a bunch of other fast dudes. Andy and I are feeling healthy and we’re excited to see how things shake out,” commented Hamilton.

Sunday’s Team Sprint CL is the first of the season giving skiers and coaches a preview in the lead up to the final test in Nova Mesto before the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.

Qualifications here.
Final results here.