January 10, 2011 (Alpe Cermis, Italy) – Check out these great photos from Stage 8 of the 2011 TdS. The final stage of the Tour was a 9km uphill pursuit won by Lucas Bauer (CZE). The overall Tour win went to Dario Cologna (SUI), followed by Petter Northug (NOR) in second and Bauer third. Canadians Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey, who throughout the Tour have posted some of their country’s most impressive World Cup results ever, finished in 7th and 10th respectively overall – read the full story on the final stage HERE.

January 9, 2010 (Alpe Cermis, Italy) – It’s over. The 5th annual FIS Tour de Ski finished atop Italy’s Alpe Cermis today, crowning Swiss super star Dario Cologna as the best all-round ski racer in the world. Cologna had little trouble defending his commanding lead on the 9km uphill climb.

Norway’s Petter Northug claimed 2nd over all, but the real story was Czech Lucas Bauer’s phenomenal display of climbing prowess. Like Therese Johaug (NOR) in the women’s race Bauer hurled himself up the mountain, posting the fastest time of the day and vaulted himself from 10th to 3rd in the over all.

Canadians Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey, who throughout the Tour have posted some of their country’s most impressive World Cup results ever, finished in 7th and 10th respectively overall.

In come-from-behind moves of their own, Canadian Ivan Babikov and US skier Kris Freeman posted impressive results on the final day. Both skiers have struggled during the Tour, but today they left that all behind, skiing together and snagging the 6th and 7th fastest times of the day respectively – Babikov ended up 21st overall and Freeman was 28th.

For Freeman having the 7th best time up Alpe Cermis behind Babikov in 6th was a final coup for him at the Tour and retribution for yesterday’s waxing debacle in the 20km classic.

“For sure today was an attempt to make good on yesterday which was a 19-km sufferfest. I felt good going into the 20km on Stage 7 but knew after the first kilometre I knew that I was in trouble – it was a frustrating day out there and no one felt good about it.”

An interesting twist to Freeman’s day was forgetting his transponders, “a rookie move” as he put it. “I was distracted today because of yesterday and some personal issues and only realized at 1.5km into today’s race that I’d forgotten my transponders – a rookie move. Chris [Grover, Head Coach] appealed to the jury later and I was super lucky that they understood and allowed my day to count.”

For the first few kilometres of the race things stayed relatively calm. At 3.5km Harvey was skiing very well, having moved into 3rd behind Cologna and Northug with Kershaw in 6th. But by the 5.6km mark, Harvey had been overtaken by Italy’s Roland Clara and France’s Jean Marc Gaillard who had passed Kershaw now in 7th… as Bauer lurked behind in 10th.

Nothing much changed by the next interval at 6.5km but soon after everything did. Just as the skiers hit the toughest point on this toughest of courses, Bauer dropped the hammer and suddenly attacked vaulting himself into 3rd by the 7.4km mark. From there, it was all about masochism, and Bauer certainly knows how to punish himself.

So too, does Babikov, who last year took the win in the Tour’s final hill climb. The former Russian skier, and veteran of three tours said he felt strong on today’s stage.

“I always felt pretty confident on this stage,” said Babikov. “I knew I had a chance for a good time on the day, so I went for it hoping to get some points.”

He said this year’s edition of the challenging stage was especially tough.

“Every year it seems longer, or maybe I’m just getting older. Either way, it’s tough. Some places are very narrow and it’s hard to pass. With the 6th fastest time, I’m happy,” commented Babikov.

Devon Kershaw was quick to agree with his teammate.

“Hill climbing is super hard,” said Kershaw. “I moved into 7th, and I’m happy to have stayed in the top 10. Losing time in the overall is a little disappointing, but with four podiums and such solid races, we must have done some good training.”

With one bronze, two silvers and a gold medal from this Tour, Kershaw also takes home some significant prize money. Cologna will take home 150,000 Swiss Francs ($155,000US) for the overall win, with Northug picking up 100,000. Bauer get’s 50,000 thanks entirely to today’s powerful showing…not bad for a day’s work.

All told Kershaw will head back to Canada with 25,000 Swiss Francs. When asked about his plans for the cash, Kershaw joked, saying “The guys have been razzing me about my old ’96 Saab…maybe it’s time I passed it along and might get something newer in the spring.” A new set of wheels is certainly a well-deserved reward for Kershaw’s impressive results of late.

Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth couldn’t be happier with how this year’s Tour has gone.

“I knew Dev and the guys would ski well,” said Wadsworth. “They’ve been working hard. I thought one podium for sure, but four… I couldn’t have predicted that.”

U.S. coach Chris Grover was also gratified with Freeman’s solid day to end the Tour. “Considering our wax issues yesterday it was really important for Kris to have a good day – it was a great finish for him on good skis.”

Freeman heads to Munich later today and will be home tomorrow where he’ll take a short break and then prepare for the Nordic Worlds in Oslo in Feb.

Alex Harvey echoed his teammates enthusiasm for their accomplishments over 10 days of grueling racing.

“It’s like a circle,” he said. “Dev medals, and we all get pumped, and it pushes us. Then it happens again and it keeps coming around.”

Harvey posted some very strong splits early in today’s race, even taking over 3rd place for a short while.

“It was really good, I’m really happy with how my body felt. The real skiing, in the stadium and early on felt really good…but when I hit that wall, man, with all that off setting…my legs just cramped up. That climb is just so hard.”

Harvey also heaped praise on the coaching and wax staff, pointing out how well taken care of he, Devon and Ivan were.

“Justin’s been really good, pushing us on recovery and stuff like that. Having the bus was a huge advantage. It’s a great lounge for us after the races. We’ll have it again next year.” The Canadians may just be on to something. The tour bus has been such a hit that it’s likely other teams will follow suit.

For now, the Canucks are heading home. Kershaw and Babikov will head back to Canmore, and Harvey home to Quebec for a month of recovery and prep training before returning to Europe for World Championships. But Harvey will first make a quick stop at the U23 World Champs.

“It’s my last year U23,” he said. “And I want to use that. I’d like to go for a U23 World Champs title while I can.”

Men’s 9km Pursuit Results HERE.
Men’s 9km Pursuit finishing order HERE.
Final Overall HERE.
Final Overall detail HERE.

January 06, 2011 (Cortina, Italy) – Dario Cologna (SUI) hammered out a lonely 35km from Cortina to Toblach, Italy to maintain his dominant overall lead in today’s 6th stage at the FIS Tour de Ski. As leader of the Tour, Cologna started first in today’s handicap start, and no one could catch him. Swede Marcus Hellner came the closest, finishing second at 1:11.4 behind. Norway’s Petter Northug was the strongest in the chase group to finish third at 1:50.3 behind.

Canada’s Alex Harvey skied a very strong race today, finishing 5th. He helped control a chase pack of about 10 skiers that formed behind Hellner who broke away on his own attempting to bridge to Cologna to no avail. The group was intent on hunting down the leaders and by km 16, Harvey was pulling for Kershaw.

“It feels pretty good sitting in 5th! I’m kind of surprised, I was always coming to the Tour with the ambition of having 2-3 good days, not going for the overall,” said Harvey by email.

With Cologna skiing off the front at 5km, Canada’s Devon Kershaw had initially gained about 5 seconds on the leader and  was followed closely by Hellner but couldn’t maintain the pace.

“Today’s race was frustrating. I felt good again but when Hellner went by me he was on another level,” Kershaw told SkiTrax.  “I was going for it – but alone in the wind with a chase group of 10 breathing down hard on me – I was quickly swallowed up. I know I will celebrate my two 2nd place finishes and my career-first win when I get home, and I know I’ll be thrilled about them, but today I was left frustrated.”

Harvey said Kershaw’s three recent medals were on his mind as he raced. “I was motivated by watching Devon yesterday,” he said in a CCC press release.  “We saw Devon win a race and have three podiums – we know it’s possible. Today I was right there myself and I know I can get on the podium too.”

Along with the Canucks, the 10-skier chase pack included top skiers like Petter Northug (NOR), Lucas Bauer (CZE), Martin Jaks (CZE) and Daniel Rickardsson (SWE). The group skied well together at first, but by km 21 they seemed disorganized. When it became apparent that they weren’t likely to close in on Cologna or Hellner, they began to lose time as they each worried about the approaching finish line.

In the final few kms the pack began to splinter and it was every man for himself.

“The pack was very disorganized out there coming down the hill,” said Kershaw.  “Northug and Alex’s skis were definitely a notch above the rest, but with an opportunity for 3rd place in that pack – no one was willing to sacrifice to get back on Hellner.”

“I was pushing hard on the downhill part with Northug,” said Harvey.   “It seamed like people gave up on chasing Hellner and started racing for 3rd place, which is kind of stupid in a handicap start.  Who cares about the 3rd place really? I’d rather be 9th 30sec down on Hellner than 3rd 55sec down.  I was surprised that Northug was pushing the pace… he’s not known for doing that, but was 3rd in the end.”

Harvey said he felt that Kershaw’s pack could have done more to catch Hellner early on instead of resigning themselves to third, but as for catching Cologna, “No way in hell. He’s just better than anyone else right now, calm, strong and always putting himself in the right spot.”

As the skiers closed in on the finish line, Northug was able to best the few survivors of the chase pack, with Harvey taking a photo-finish over Rickardsson and Curdin Purl (SUI) to finish 5th. Kershaw finished 10th behind Matti Heikkinen (FIN) and Jean Marc Gaillard (FRA).

“It was OK for the guys today,” said Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth. “Alex was in good company to move up well. I would say it was a good day for him. Devon was OK too – he maintained his spot for the whole way up the hill, but succumbed to the group on the gradual down. It would have cost a lot of energy today for him to really go for it, and it might have been too much of a risk, especially with the 20km classic coming up. Ivan had a good day and moved up which puts him in a spot to improve more in the following days.”

Wadsworth said the team’s “rock-star” bus proved yet again to be a great tool for the athletes. “The bus is really serving it’s purpose with great recovery between stages, and a sanctum for the guys to prepare for battle. It came in really handy this morning in Cortina where there was no good place for the athletes to be.”

Canada’s Ivan Banikov finished 25th and the USA’s Kris Freeman placed 28th after starting in 20th and is 28th overall. Freeman’s teammate Andy Newell decided to call it quits and didn’t start today’s race. He joins 34 others who have abandoned the grueling Tour including Tobias Angerer (GER), Axel Teichmann (GER), Alexander Legkov (RUS) and Emil Joensson (SWE).

“Kris wanted more for sure and was hoping to move forward instead of falling back,” said US coach Chris Grover. “However, I was proud of his effort, especially for his first time seeing and skiing such a specialized course. I think this course requires some experience.”

As for Newell’s decision to withdraw, Grover said, “Andy and I decided it was best for him to stop the Tour. His distance skiing has not been close to his ability or potential this week, so we feel we need to take some days off and re-evaluate his preparation for the second half of the season.”

January 05, 2011 (Toblach, Italy) – In dramatic style that’s been building since his two silver medals at the Tour de Ski, Canada’s Devon Kershaw went for broke and claimed the gold medal win he’s been craving as he brought the nation to it’s feet.

His coach predicted it and Kershaw delivered winning today’s 1.3km freestyle sprint in Toblach, Italy, the fifth leg of the FIS World Cup Tour de Ski.

Kershaw is only the third Canadian man to win a World Cup. Ivan Babikov won the final 10km freestyle uphill stage at the 2009 Tour de Ski while the great Pierre Harvey (father to Kershaw’s teammate Alex Harvey) won three World Cups, one in 1987 and two in 1988.

Kershaw’s been on fire lately laying down incredible results in the Tour this year. He racked up back-to-back silver medals first in the classic sprint, and then in the 15km classic. After his classic sprint performance, coach Justin Wadsworth predicted that “Devon’s first win was imminent.”

“I’m thrilled. I’m more than thrilled. I absolutely cannot believe it,” said Kershaw describing his win in a CCC press release. “Justin [Wadsworth – Canadian Ski Team head coach] kept telling me all year to be patient and the win would come. I wanted to believe him and I just kept staying with the plan. This is just unreal.”

Kershaw only narrowly sneaked into the final, taking the second lucky loser spot. Clearly, he took that near miss to heart, skiing an absolutely perfect final for the gold. He held back early on, staying in 4th and 5th position.

On the first climb he made a move to take over the lead, but it wasn’t until the final climb that he really blew the doors off, dropping the field and making for the finish like a man possessed. He opened a large gap heading into the final stretch and it proved enough to stave off the hard-charging Dario Cologna (SUI) and Petter Northug (NOR).

His break-away, which he called a “suicide move” wasn’t something he’d planned, said Kershaw.  “It kind of just materialized. I was tucked in the pack while some other guys were working for the first lap. When I saw [Marcus] Hellner making a bit of a move, I just went with it,” said Kershaw in a phone interview.

Waiting to hear about the lucky loser spot while the second semifinal raced must have been nerve wracking, but Kershaw said he was pretty relaxed.   “The reality is the goal was just to get through the quarters today,” he said. “I knew that worst case scenario I’d end up 7th…and the pace had seemed pretty high, so I was nice and relaxed.”

Kershaw had stellar skis under him today, and has throughout the Tour.

“Our hats go off to Yves (Bilodeau) and all our wax guys,” said Wadsworth. According to the NST head coach, their skis are turning heads in a big way. Even Cologna commented to Wadsworth that the Canadians have consistently had “the best skis in the field.”

American fast man Andy Newell qualified strongly in 6th this morning, and skied well taking the win in his quarterfinal. In his semifinal, he had some difficulties, getting boxed in on the last corner and finished third, but the pace in his heat was not fast enough to snag a lucky loser spot, both of which went to the 3rd and 4th skiers of the first heat – including Kershaw.

Newell’s teammate Kris Freeman qualified in a World Cup sprint for the second time in his career but was paired with Newell in the quarter finals and did not advance.

Canada’s Alex Harvey, 8th in the qualifications was also out early placing third in his quarterfinal heat – but gets more time rest is not a bad thing at the Tour de Ski.

Now with a win – and the 60-second time bonus that accompanies it – under his belt, Kershaw is closing in on Tour de Ski leader Cologna, but he said taking the over all win isn’t a priority for him.

“No, it’s definitely not a goal right now.” He said his goal for the Tour was never the overall, but to have solid races. He’s had four impressive results, including two silvers a now a gold medal, and he said he’s happy with that and is already thinking about preserving his form for World Championships.

Kershaw sounded a little nervous about Thursday’s 35km handicap start freestyle race, saying “I’ll be out there on my own for a lot of it, which isn’t the best. I just hope I can hang on.”  Even so, coach Wadsworth thinks Saturday’s 20km classic will be perfect for Kershaw. “That’s a race he could potentially win by 20 seconds or more,” said Wadsworth.

Tomorrow’s 35km handicapped freestyle race will be a challenge for Kershaw, but look for him to continue his medal streak in the 20km classic on Saturday. Finally there will be the infamous 9km hill climb in Val di Fiemme, Italy for the racers to contend with.

Video of Kershaw’s win HERE.
Press Conference HERE.

Sprint results HERE.
Overall HERE.

January 02, 2011 (Oberstdorf, Germany) – Canada’s Devon Kershaw claimed his second silver in as many days just missing out to winner Emil Joensson (SWE) by a toe nail in the men’s 1.2km classic sprint final as the two lunged across the line in a photo finish that went to Joensson. TdS leader Dario Cologna (SUI) was third.

It was déjà vu for Kershaw, who was nipped by Cologna yesterday in the men’s 15km handicap start pursuit, but the stalwart Canuck stepped it up today taking the lead near the end of the final round looking for the win and it took everything that WCup sprint leader Joensson could muster to catch him at the line.

Kershaw’s performance puts him firmly in second place overall at the Tour at 3.7s behind Cologna with Alexander Legkov (RUS) in third at 23.1s. It also demonstrates that the 28-year-old athlete from Sudbury, Ont. is one of the most talented and well-rounded Nordic skiers in the world with second-place podiums in both distance and sprint races on consecutive days.

“I was going for the win,” Kershaw said in a SkiTrax interview post race. “I felt strong and my classic skiing has been good. I have a lot of respect for the other guys out there – Joensson and Cologna are Olympic champions. I thought I had it – my first World Cup win… that’s always my goal and I was so close.

“Joensson crept up on me at the end – I didn’t even hear him I was so focused on the finish line. We both lunged for it and I’ve got big feet which I thought would be an advantage but not this time.”

Kershaw, who was 7th in the qualifications, used a similar strategy in each heat hanging back a bit and then advancing to position himself strong for the final uphill before sweeping down to the finish for the final sprint. Earlier in his quarterfinal round with the USA’s Andy Newell the American was in control leading for most of heat until the finish when Kershaw overtook him for the win. Newell almost got caught by a Russian skier but held on to advance.

In the final Kershaw’s strategy worked again as he passed Joensson and Cologna on the last uphill and put the hammer down as they all headed for the finish but the Swede reeled him on the final stretch for the win.

“He’s worked hard and our technical crew did a fabulous job on the skis – everything came together and Devon’s got the confidence in himself to go for it at the right time,” commented Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadsworth.

“It was really, really tight in the finish, the tightest finish in my life, I changed the tracks, closed my eyes and went for it all,”  Joensson told FIS XC. “I was really happy when the announcer said I was the winner. My body was really tired, the last race was really though. Tour de Ski is getting harder, I feel tired. When the race is on, all I focus on is winning the race. I was lucky today.”

Kershaw’s team mate Alex Harvey also had a stellar day besting Petter Northug (NOR) in his quarter final round and making it to the semis where he narrowly missed advancing as he placed third in his heat to finish seventh and sits in 4th overall behind Legkov at 36.9s.

“Yeah, another great day for the team,” said Harvey, “I felt good in the qualifiers, posting a fast time (6th) to make it into the finals. In my 1/4 final, I had a good start and was 3rd behind Northug and another Norwegian. I skied easily up the first hill, pushed a bit over the top and went into 2nd place.

“On the second climb I got pushed into a wide lane so at the top I lost a position to Northug. In the finishing stretch I knew I would have to give it all because I had to pass Northug to come in 2nd – but I made it so it was kind of a personal victory – out-sprinting Northug to the line! Definitely good for the confidence!”

Kershaw, Harvey and Newell found themselves against three Swedes in their semi final heat. Marcus Hellner bolted to the front as Newell slipped and fell right at the start but held his composure and rejoined the group by the first climb.

“I felt strong today but had a lot of bad luck in the semi final,” said Newell. “I fell right out of the start gate. Not sure if the wand got stuck, or if I poled my boot or ski, or if I slipped but I went down fast. So I started about 20 meters behind everyone and was able to catch up and even ski all the way back into second going up the final hill.”

As the Swedes lead Kershaw, Harvey and Newell glided behind but over the final hill Joensson took charge with Kershaw just behind. As they rounded the last corner into the final straight-away Newell went down again.

“We all kind of came into the finishing lanes together and as we were setting up to pick our lanes Marcus Hellner’s pole caught my ski and I did a belly flop – twice on the same heat – so hopefully I got a few crashes out of the way for a while,” explained Newell who finished 12th.

Joensson and Kershaw went 1-2 in the semi setting up their match up in the final and more fireworks. The day was a mixed bag for the USA as Newell’s team mate Kris Freeman made the sprint qualifications for the first time in his career (at a WCup) but was fourth in his quarter final to finish 24th overall. Canada’s Ivan Babikov was 65th.

“It was great for Bird [Freeman] to make it in there,” said Head Coach Chris Grover. “For a distance skier like him, it was a great performance.”

Despite his back-to-back stellar days Kershaw is focused on the rest of the Tour. “Anything can happen and you’re done,” he said. “The Tour starts tomorrow with the pursuit race – you can’t lose your perspective. The key is stay relaxed and I don’t plan on trying for any bonus points.”

And what are his thoughts on the team’s magic bus? “Very cool! Great idea by Justin – we love it. It’s a great place to hang out and chill.”

Results HERE.
Overall HERE.
Overall detail HERE.

December 19, 2010 (La Clusaz, France) – Swiss skier Curdin Perl anchored his team to a surprising win on Sunday at La Clusaz. Lead by Toni Livers, the Swiss team (Livers, Dario Cologna, Remo Fischer and Perl) skied an impressive race to take the win over the Russian l team (Evgeniy Belov, Alexander Legkov, Petr Sedov and Maxim Vylegzhanin) in 2nd and Norway l (Eldar Roenning, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Tord Asle Gjerdalen and Petter Northug) in 3rd.

Livers broke away early with Belov, and quickly opened up a gap. The Russians and Swiss worked together throughout much of the race, widening their lead to about a minute. When skaters Fischer (SUI) and Sedov (RUS) took over on leg three, they had over a minute on the three-skier chase pack of Finland, Sweden and Norway. The two leaders skied together well, but were slowly bleeding seconds to the chase group.

Leg four saw Switzerland’s Perl really kick it up, putting over 30 seconds into yesterday’s winner Vylegzhanin from Russia by the finish. Vylegzhanin couldn’t hold on, but managed to mitigate the damage enough to survive in second until the line. Third place came down to a sprint between Sweden’s Marcus Hellner, Finland’s Matti Heikkinen and Norway’s Northug – an unfortunate situation for anyone but Northug to be in.

In a move reminiscent of Lance Armstrong’s ‘The Look’, Northug glanced back over his shoulder as if daring Hellner and Heikkinen to challenge, and then made for the line, slotting his team into 3rd.

The Canadian men finished in 9th spot, winning a photo-finish with Norway II to crack the top ten.

The Canuks were lead by youngster Lenny Valjas, who’s in his first month of World Cup action.

“Lenny hasn’t had much World Cup experience but did a great job leading the way and the rest of the guys were solid – it was a good day,” said Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth. “Overall the team did a pretty good job today.”

Valjas held his own with the world’s elite until the final lap on the lead-off leg where he was tripped up on a slippery section of course. He tagged off in 14th position to two-time Olympian Devon Kershaw, who more than made up for the slip, setting the third fastest classic time of the day putting Canada in 10th. Following Kershaw was Ivan Babikov who advanced the Canucks into 8th when he handed off to Alex Harvey who anchored the team. Harvey put in a very strong showing, battling with Kazahkstan and Norway ll as he positioning himself for his finish line sprint with Norwegian Petter Eliassen to claim 9th for the red maple leaf.

From here the Canadians will head to Davos, Switzerland where they will train through the holidays in preparation for the Tour de Ski.

“We’re very excited about the Tour,” said Wadsworth yesterday. “That’s our next big focus before World Championships in Oslo.”

Full results HERE.