March 04, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Check out these cool videos of Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey winning Canada’s first ever gold medal at the Nordic World Championships in the men’s Team Sprint Classic. Watch the Canadian team’s reaction courtesy of George Grey and lots of great race footage.

NRK video HERE.

Canadian Team Reaction by George Grey

Oslo Men’sTeam Sprint Final Two Laps

March 04, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Last night we decided that we would take in the WC action and Oslo from a different perspective if the weather was foggy again. Well, it was foggy. We spent the morning with my cousin (Ahvo’s niece) looking at the Oslo Opera House (some fantastic architecture), Akershus Fortress, Vigeland Sculpture Park and a local ski shop (that sells about 5,000 pairs of skis per year!!) before watching the team sprint on the Jumbotron downtown. View more photos HERE.

The Oslo Opera House is relatively new building – construction completed in 2007 – and is an architectural masterpiece. The building is situated on the shore of the fjord and is home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Click HERE for more info.

Akershus Fortress is also situated by the fjord and can be seen from the Oslo harbor. The fortress is one of the oldest structures in Norway (dating back to 1299) and includes a church, as castle and a number of museums. The fortress is still a site for official government events and military guards still patrol the area. More info HERE.

Vigeland Park (also known as Frogner Park) is Northwest-ish of downtown and is made up of both bronze and granite sculptures designed by Gustav Vigeland. The sculptures depict men, women, and children at different stages of life and is definitely a must-see if you are a tourist in Oslo. Click HERE for more info.

We could see more from the Jumbotron than if we had been in the stadium today and it was one heck of a final (actually two)! As you have probably already read, Krista Lähteenmäki overpowered the Norwegian ladies to take silver behind a solid Swedish team and Alex Harvey axed the Norwegian men in the final stretch of the race.

Needless to say, downtown got pretty quiet. The Norwegians were clearly disappointed that they missed out on gold in back-to-back home-stretch sprints. The areas around the Jumbotron emptied quickly and quietly. A single shout of “Go Canada” was all that could be heard above Ahvo and myself shouting “Yes!!!” (which were admittedly preceded by “oh nohs” when the Finnish team slipped out of the medals… but these were drowned out by Norwegian fans having cardiac problems).

We found the source of the “Go Canada” when the park emptied before the flower ceremony (which we stayed to watch). It was from three Alaskans standing in the empty plaza who happened to be watching the race close by. We are a bit bummed that we were not near the finish line up at Holmenkollen for this one, but we think it is fate. Had we been up at the stadium, things could have been different and this was meant to be. Way to go Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey!

We did make it to the medals ceremony – got stuck in the back row, but were in the main area of the square – and got some comments from Canadians we met in the street.

Vigeland Park

Oslo Opera House I

Oslo Opera House II

Oslo Ski Shop

Canadian fan and Ahvo post-medals ceremony

Another Canadian fan (from Montreal) and Ahvo

March 04, 2011 – Check out this fantastic collection of Oslo 2011 photos with emphasis on men’s team sprint winners Canada’s Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey. The Toronto Star photo gallery features lots of pics of Kershaw and Harvey, including their famous “air guitar” celebration pic. Click HERE to view the slideshow.

February 21, 2011 (Drammen, Norway) – Sitting in the ice bath willing my sore/tired body to recover I picked an old Rolling Stones diddy to keep me company and keep my mind off the 10 degree water temp. Mick kept belting out “You can’t always get what you want…” time after time during that particular 7+minute rock-saga while my muscles contracted in the sweet feeling of “recovery.”

All the while I couldn’t help but agree with those rocking Brits – decades later that refrain continues to ring true (although I am sure they didn’t pen those lyrics with Nordic skiing in mind). It has been five long weeks without competition after a banner 2011 Tour de Ski campaign and sadly with Drammen now in the books – things did not go the way I had envisioned them going prior to this weekend’s World Champ tune-ups.

Day 1: 15km Individual Start Classic
I was optimistic of my chances heading into the competition having had some solid intensity sessions the week leading in – which was a surprise since last weekend I had to forgo racing a Norwegian Cup race (which I was looking forward to!) in Beitostolen due to a flu bug I must have caught on my journey over the Atlantic.

Things felt on track and I psyched upon inspecting the course. It was a tough course, with long rolling climbs that I felt suited my racing style and any time I get to race classic races I’m usually pretty fired up.

In addition to that, racing in Norway is always an amazing experience. Skiing was invented here after all. Cross-country skiing is a big deal here and over 15,000 fans braved the cold to come cheer us on. It’s their #1 winter sport – and racing around the 5km course I was shocked at how many people new my name?!

Early on the race turned into a real fight. Even in the first few kilometers I was struggling to find any sort of rhythm – usually a given for me in classical races. After a lap (5km) I was outside of the top 30 on the splits and struggling. Hard. The climbs felt like they were going on forever and the body was hurting bad.

I fought hard, staying with the technique. I dug in, kept positive and kept fighting – all the while trying in vain to find that elusive race pace and rhythm.

15km later, it never did come. I crossed the line a disappointing 26th place, over 1:41 down on the tall, talented Swede, Daniel Rickarsson who shattered the field by a blistering 30 seconds. I expected more on the results board – but damn if I didn’t fight hard. I was completely bagged at the line taking solace in the fact that I gave it my best effort.

After not racing in so long, the main objective was obtained – feeling that hurt and racing with a bib on again. The reality is no matter how many interval sessions you do, or time trials – real competition can’t be faked and can only come through real racing – with a bib on, and the xc community watching.

Day 2: 1.6km Skate Sprint
This morning I was really sore/tired from the 15km classic but super excited to get another crack at it in another event that I truly love, the skate sprint.

The day started poorly. Warming up my legs felt like maple – hard and heavy. I stuck to the plan and did a good, hard warm up in hopes of shaking the body awake.

Bad feelings aside (you can never trust your warm up – I’ve had some of the best races of my life after garbage warm ups), I knew the course was well suited for me – quite flat, with some good corners to accelerate out of. I kept telling myself that I’d feel better when the race is happening.

After repeating that mantra all morning – in the qualifier I actually did feel better than in the warm up. I was skiing “big” and felt as though I was gliding well – but crossing the line and hearing the damage, I was instantly bummed. Turns out I was awful.

Talking with Justin post-race, he said that I “looked good, but didn’t look like I had the gear to attack the course really…” and that “perhaps I was skiing too smooth” That could explain why I felt better – but ended up 48th.

While I stunk – it was an amazing day for the “Quebec crew”- Alex and Lenny. Alex snagged his first-ever skate sprint podium – finishing an amazing 2nd place to Joensson and out sprinting Northug – which was so inspiring to see. He was on fire! Lenny – all 6’6 of him – had a major breakthrough at the right moment – 4 days out from Worlds – to crack the top ten with a gutsy 9th place, after qualifying a stunning 4th. He is such a talent and will be a stable on top of the sprint leader board in the years to come for sure.

While there’s nothing I loathe more than watching sprint rounds on TV after not qualifying and I was really disappointed with today’s sprint – I was straight up pumped for the crew. For me, I’ll try to keep telling myself life goes on. It’s just racing. I wanted to have a personal best today when I woke up – and it didn’t happen.

Every time I slip a bib over my shoulders I hope for a personal best – and it rarely happens. There are always other chances and luckily my next one is coming up quickly. I hope to make a quick turn around and be ready to go on Thursday for the maiden race of this year’s World Champs.

I’m confident in the training Justin laid out, and I know that it will come around at some point (I just hope sooner rather than later!). All I can do is continue to try my best – which I did this weekend. Sometimes it goes – like it did during the Tour – other times racing tests you – like it did in Drammen. That’s the game.

Maybe The Stones were right all along. “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find – you get what you need.”

I obviously needed to blow out the carbon, put a bib on and race my guts out. I did that. It wasn’t what I wanted – but hell if I didn’t need it.

World Championships start Thursday. No matter what, I’ll be busy during the 10 days doing what I always do – getting after it and gunning for personal bests.

Word up to our staff today – the skis (as those that watched the races witnessed) were boss! We have the best staff ever!

February 19, 2011 (Drammen, Norway) – Sweden’s tough Daniel Rickardsson had both power and magic in his skiing on Saturday taking his first-ever World Cup win at the Konnerud ski stadium just six kilometers from this well known Nordic community, famed for it’s city centre sprints.

Rickardsson scored the win in the men’s 15km classic with a time of 37:19.1 on the tough trails over Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sunby winning by 29 seconds. Norwegian stud, Petter Northug, took third. More than 15,000 cheering fans came out to watch this final tune up just a week before the World Championships get underway in Oslo.

Fourth place went to Davos’ Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, who continues to lead the overall world cup standings with 1,247 points followed by Northug in second with 834 points.

While Rickkkardsson has been on the podium three times today was his first taste of the world cup nectar. He was thrilled following the race. “I had a good feeling the whole race, and I hoped to be on the podium. I will not start in Sunday’s sprint, as I will go home to Sweden and take it easy. I want to relax and will probably do all of the distance races at the World Champs.”

While the Canadian women struggled in their classic race earlier in the day, the men put in a reasonable showing. Devon Kershaw was 26th in 39:00.1, while Alex Harvey was 30th in 39:04.0, and prompted Head Coach and former Olympian Justin Wadsworth to tell SkiTrax following the race.

“For Devon it’s been since Jan. 9th without a race and he said he had a hard time getting into a rhythm. Alex has not raced a lot since the Tour de Ski as well and didn’t feel amazing, so it was a good tune up for both of them. I have 100% confidence they’re in good shape and it will show at the Worlds.”

Harvey weighed in with skitrax.com following the competition and said that his race went pretty much as he expected. “It was a good course for me, long uphills where you can stride it out and glide a lot. The course was really hard – the first 2km are basically all uphill – then you get 1km of downhill, and more uphill. Conditions were nice, a little on the cold side, especially on the last lap when it was close to -10.”

Ivan Babikov was 44th while George Grey was 68th for the Canadian National team.

The top American men was Kris Freeman who placed 57th with a time of 40:03.7. Freeman was quick to praise his skis but called it a frustrating day.

“My body just wasn’t there. I am not freaking out, but it’s not a confidence builder leading into Oslo.” The New Hampshire native said his blood sugar was ok, but just felt flat on the skis for no apparent reason but suggested that he may have over trained in the week prior to Drammen.

Freeman also said the US squad was very pleased by the strong Beitostolen results adding that he would skip Sunday’s sprint and would now head to Oslo for his final preparations for the Worlds.

“We had a rough one for sure today,” said US head coach Chris Grover. “I think Kris was a bit rusty from four weeks without racing. He will get going in Oslo for sure.”

Other American finishes included Noah Hoffman in 71st place, followed by teammates Lars Flora in 72nd and Tadd Elliott who was 77th.

All eyes will be now trained on Sunday’s free technique sprints in Drammen, the final world cup event before the start of the VM in Oslo next week.

Full results HERE.

February 12, 2011 (Beitostolen, Norway) – USA’s Simeon Hamilton led the North Americans at the Men’s 10km Classic in Beitostolen, Norway today, with a 16th-place finish, 1:20.7 off the pace of race winner Ronny Fredrik Ansnes (NOR). Pål Golberg (NOR) took second place, 15s back, followed by Arne Post (NOR) in third.

“Yeah, a good day for sure over here, especially since it was essentially my second distance race of the year,” Hamilton told SkiTrax by email. “The course suited me well, long climbs that required long striding with some good recovery downhills. And some technical corners added in for good measure. It felt good to see a hard effort pay off, especially since yesterday [sprints] wasn’t the best day in the world for me.

“It’s been fun watching the team ski really well over here, especially the ladies… they’re killing it. We’re all getting really amped for Drammen and Oslo.”

Canadians Ivan Babikov and Len Valjas were the next North Americans, finishing 23rd and 24th, respectively, with Babikov beating his teammate by only two-tenths of a second. Tad Elliott (USA) cruised into 55th position.

For Canada’s Babikov it was a day with bad luck but he found his groove and moved up about 60 spots after falling back to 80th.

“The race didn’t go well for me at all, I crashed and broke a pole about 2min after the start – and then skied almost half of the lap with broken poll, so at the first split time I was 80th,” said the veteran. “But it’s ok, better now than at the championships, right?

“On the 2nd lap I got into the rhythm and moved up to 23rd. But I think I feel more comfortable now in classic skiing than I felt at the beginning of the season. We’ll see how the 15km classic in Drammen goes for me.”

The “DNS” list was long, with Noah Hoffman (USA), Torin Koos (USA), Andy Newell (USA), Devon Kershaw, (CAN) all opting out of the race, which many used as a tune-up for next weekend’s World Cup in Drammen, Norway.

According to a recent Twitter update, Kershaw had intended to race, but he opted to rest up and recover from a bug that kept him from eating and depleted his energy.

Full results HERE.
All categories merged HERE.

February 08, 2011 – Jessie Diggin’s follow-up from the Scando Cup races in Madonna last week, as the junior races were cancelled, because there were too few juniors to put together race fields. As a matter of fact the senior fields were very lacking in numbers, but had some quality players, thanks to Finnish and Norwegian skiers at the top end of the order. This just confirms the quality of Jessie Diggin’s results at these races as a junior and her racing for the year – it is just outstanding!

In the sprint she qualified 3rd and finished up 5th and then in the 10km was 6th and only 30 seconds out and 14 seconds off the podium.

Another thing, that I think is good, is that this group is still in Europe on the Scando Cup tour, headed to Beitostolen, Norway this weekend – it’s been weeks – now they are getting to experience the ups and downs of racing in Europe and have to recover, from over-racing (maybe), sickness while they are on the trip – this is one hell of a learning experience. Kudos to NCCSEF and the USST.

Rybinsk, World Cup or Not, were the mutterings this past weekend in Russia. There was very small representation with just 12 countries for the men and a paltry six nations for the women participating. At there largest the fields had 54 men and 34 women on the start line – with 10 teams in the men’s relay and seven in the women’s. I didn’t check real close, but there were a few missing Russians as well.

Jurg Capol, Mr. Nordic Director for FIS, says don’t even consider the idea that this event won’t be on the calendar next year, as everything they have asked Rybinsk officials at all levels to do, they have come through in a big way. So, it is game on for next year.

I do have a suggestion for how I think they can make this work better for the future, just by changing the schedule. First off throw out the relays, it requires four skiers to make a team – we all know that – but more nations are more likely to participate with 1-3 skiers/sex if the relays are gone. Which means a nation can join in with 2-6 skiers, not the eight it takes to do the relays. It means smaller numbers of racers, and smaller numbers of support people.

Make the weekend a mini-tour of three races – prologue, sprints and then a 10 and 20 km pursuit – that is the order. This year they started with the distance races and then did the sprints and then the relay – ugly!! All the sprinters, which had the largest fields, slept in on the first day. All individual point races, more dollars in prize money, and a chance to build in preems will build the field and keep everyone happier. Hope FIS will try it.

Kershaw and Harvey in comparison, here is something that is interesting. In the World Cup overall standings they are Kershaw 7th and Harvey is 14th. Now when it comes to the prize money there is a premium on being in the top 10 in the WCup. Kersahw is in 13th place with winnings of $25,563 while Harvey is in 43rd place with $2,500. Alex is so close, but so far away from the money!!

American Birkie is growing and reached it’s 8,400 entries for this year quite early and closed registration on the 18th of December. I checked in with Ned Zuelsdorff, ED for the Birkie, last week to see how many people missed getting entered. He felt there were a few 100 that didn’t make it, but feels they need to do some finish line adjustments to be able to accommodate those additional numbers. Space is at a premium in Hayward. But, it has to be a good feeling to have those kinds of problems. Loppet racing all over the world is having the same growth problems – exciting.

Haywood NorAm/ Western Championships are over and Chandra Crawford ended up going home after doing the qualifier in the sprint (3rd qualifier and 4 secs back) – upset stomach.

George Grey had an OK sprint (reputation not built on sprinting), missed the Prologue with a migraine, but came back to win the 15km Pursuit by 21 seconds, which shows his form is coming back.

Surprised that Dasha Gaiazova missed these races and she isn’t entered in the Easterns this weekend at Nakkertok. These Easterns have 582 entries – will there be any snow left on the trails at the end of the weekend!

See you next time.

February 02, 2011 – Double Congratulations to FIS World Champion Alex Harvey! The first congrats is for the win and the 2nd is for saying he was going to Otepaa to win and then making it stick by winning – not always the way it happens when you think of all the variables and there is only one first place. First off he was at an altitude camp in Italy and putting in big hours, hasn’t raced in a while, and altitude is not a place you’re working on speed. I was also impressed on how much he knew about Belov and his inability as a sprinter, and that with the race ending with them together that he would, or could, take Belov in the sprint – which he did. A super effort by the World Champion on all fronts.

Another thing about the WJrs and U-23s is if your placing in the top 15 and you continue to progress in your growth as a skier – training hours, good program, coaching, international racing – you will more than likely be a top-30 skier on the World Cup in the future. People like Jessie Diggins, Noah Hoffman, Len Valjas, Jesse Cockney, Michael Sompii, Sadie Bjornsen, Kevin Sandau, Emily Nishikawa and Alysson Marshall are skiers showing these kinds of abilities and direction.

Across the board the young women (WJs) in both countries have a lot of work to do – their results could be better when you realize how many of them have been skiing for many years in formal programs with professional coaches.

One more thing about the World Jrs, is that if you’re blogging about your trip, make sure you do a good in depth job of talking about your feelings thoughts and what experiences you had. All this has a huge impact on your skiing peers and younger skiers and can accelerate their growth so they know what to expect. I know you have to do it once – go over THERE to get the stardust out of your eyes – but look at all of the guys we have at the senior level that are doing it. Kikkan Randall is the best at blogging – hands down.

Remember, at the FIS Worlds in Oslo, it is only four skiers per nation per event. So, in actuality the Worlds are easier then the WCup, except it’s the Worlds, and you’re in Norway, and every course will be totally lined with thousands of spectators. The crowds will be four times the size of the those in Vancouver if not more. A 100,000 people for some events is not out of the question – believe me. It’s one hell of a big experience.

The Craftsbury Marathon, has to be a must-do in your racing career, just for the sheer joy of every year being on one of the best and most fun XC courses in NA. The grooming is always superb and this is one fair course with all of its ups and downs. A seamless experience from entry to the final awards ceremony. I encourage you to get it on your bucket list.

BNS (Boulder Nordic Sport) in case you didn’t know, had a guide they put in the race packet at Craftsbury that you received when picking up your bib. I didn’t look at it until I got home and as I picked it up I was wondering what they were pitching as it’s 50 pages thick. Well here is how I assess it after taking the time to do a page by page – read this and you will have the information and education to help you move up in your age class. These guys at BNS have done their homework and are giving you the benefit of all this knowledge. Yes, they are selling – but in a good way – as they give you the knowledge to make the right choice for yourself if you do the reading. I was impressed! So, look for it, as they’re stuffing it at about 10-12 different marathons this winter.

One other thing about the World Champ, Alex made a quote, and the way he phrased it he insinuated that he wanted to get a World Championship title before going to Oslo – but it’s not out of the question to be thinking of another one in Oslo. I always felt, if you were afraid to talk about it, your chances of making it happen were just that much more unlikely. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Canada’s Men’s World Championships Team, is sure looking way stronger then last year’s Olympic Team that was so successful in Vancouver last winter. Much more experience, the addition of Valjas in sprinting, Phil Widmer’s return after missing the Olympics because of a shoulder injury, Kershaw has become a much better tactical skier, and they all seem to have gained international confidence from what they have done in the early winter. If George Grey is back to last year’s form, that is a real bonus. It’ll be fun figuring out who gets to ski which events – but there should be good coverage in the full schedule. Let’s get it on!!

Hey, this looks like it is going to be cool! Click HERE and give it a try.

My missing skiers for this winter, Sophie Caldwell and Fred Touchette, both are noticeably missing in a lot of the results – I hope both are well and still racing!

Talk to you soon…

January 14, 2011 – Cross Country Canada is pleased to announce that the following athletes have been selected to the 2011 World Cross Country Ski Championships Team competing in Oslo, Norway from Feb.22-March 6 – selection synopsis to follow.

– Devon Kershaw  (Ona-Wa-Su/NST)
– Alex Harvey (Club Nordique M.S.A/NST)
– Dasha Gaiazova (Rocky Mountain Racers/NST)
– Chandra Crawford (Canmore Nordic/NST)
– Stefan Kuhn (Canmore Nordic/NST)
– Perianne Jones (Nakkertok/NST)
– Ivan Babikov (Foothills Nordic/NST)
– Len Valjas (Team Hardwood/NDC Québec/NST)
– Phil Widmer (Canmore Nordic/NDC Québec/NST)
– George Grey (Blackjack/NST)
– Brooke Gosling (Foothills Nordic/CXC)

January 13, 2011 (Canmore. AB) – The fifth ever edition of the Tour de Ski is over and done with. I am comfortably sitting in a “Nighbor driving” laid back position up in B-Class flying home after over two months of European racing and am still in disbelief… first how fast this first half of the season has blazed by, and second how great our team performed over the last 10 days in Germany and Italy.

The Tour de Ski is the most grueling race that we do all year. We race eight distinct competitions in only 10 days at four different venues. It’s a fast-paced, high-stakes week and a half and considering how I feel at the end of it, I cannot even imagine how it is for our staff who work so hard indefatigably all day, everyday to give us every opportunity to perform.

I’ll break ‘er down race by race since I didn’t update as I went along this year.

Day One: 3.75km Skate Prologue – Oberhof (Ger) – December 31st/2010
I was psyched to get my 5th Tour under way. Ivan, Alex and I did our finishing  touches on our Tour-prep enjoying Davos’ great skiing and stellar café over the holidays. Everything went quite well for all of us in the pre-Tour period and with the added bonus of Hutchdogg tirelessly working on us over Christmas we were all feeling strong and confident – and for the most part I had great workouts and life was grand.

When December 31st finally came, I felt ready but not 100%. One aspect still lingered – some heavy legs that settled in after my last long distance ski earlier in the week. My legs were stubbornly holding on to fatigue like a dog that just won’t release that tennis ball. Justin and I had planned to push for that optimal training load before backing off but as the race day came and I was still feeling slightly sub-par – oops.

The good news was that the first race is short. The prologue is under 8 minutes and the Tour is never won or lost on the first stage. I hammered the one lap course willing my body to empty the tank. It didn’t take long before I knew things weren’t going my way. Early in the race I knew my legs hadn’t came back in time. While I was happy that my energy was back to 100%, and my legs no longer felt heavy while pushing hard, I lacked punch/power and in such a short race that’s not good.

I pushed as hard as my flat-feeling body would go crossing the line out of the points in 37th – same finish as last year. I was pissed off. No denying. I’ve been very hot and cold with prologues in the last and while I was happy that the body felt better I wasn’t expecting to be so bad on day one. Being a Tour though I had very little time to feel sorry for myself as the next day the 15km classic pursuit was quickly approaching. I did wallow of course being the drama-queen that I am blasting some Band of Horses during a cold bath, and afterwards for about an hour before putting the race in the rear view mirror and refocusing.

Day Two: 15km Classic Pursuit Start – Oberhof (Ger) – January 1st/2011

I was fired up for this race. I always am. I love classic skiing, I love the course in Oberhof and I love pursuit starts where you’re chasing the leaders. It’s exciting, fast from the start and suits my strengths. It helps that the previous two years I had finished 3rd and 10th in the same race. It was a classic Oberhof day, foggy with slightly soft tracks. Warming up I felt great far better than just one day earlier and our skis were top shelf. I was nervous, but pumped.

Still, I had a lot of work and dudes to go through to catch back up to the front. I played it patiently, slowly working through the pack for the first six or so kilometers before making sure I was hanging out in the top 10-15 out of trouble and close enough to react if an attack went.

It was a tactical affair, some surging and some half-hearted attacks but none that stuck. Then, on the last lap Cologna went to the front to assert himself. I followed; just focusing on skiing as well I could technically. Next thing I knew I was in the front with about 2km remaining. I made a snap-decision that it was time to punch it and starting a long drive to the line in the lead. Coming around the last corner and into the windy finishing stretch I was still leading. I was double poling as hard as I could, but Dario came around me with 50m to go and passed me. I slipped right in behind him and crossed the line in 2nd place.

Needless to say, I was pumped. It was only my second-ever distance podium, and after not hitting the podium at all last year it felt so good to be back. It was a great race for me, best of the year and I posted the fastest time of the day, moving from 37th to 2nd. It also confirmed that Justin and I had in fact got the training right. It would have been awesome to win but Dario was just too strong for me and to finish only 0.5 seconds from my first win wasn’t bad.

Alex was 9th putting two Canadians in the top 10 for the first time this season which was sweet!

Day Three: 1.2km Classic Sprint- Obertsdorf (Ger) – January 2nd/2011
After packing up and showering it was onto our badass bus that Justin had organized (you’ve all seen the photos and read about it. The thing ruled for recovery!) as we rolled Southwest to the site of the 2005 World Champs Obertsdorf.

I love the sprint course in Obertsdorf. It was the first time I was ever top 15 internationally back in 2005 as a 22year-old, and I watched Sara Renner make history sprinting her way to a bronze medal there. I knew the course well, and was cautiously optimistic that I could get through the quarter-finals.

Well, it went far better than I could have ever imagined. Again our skis were fantastic and Alex and I qualified 6th and 7th. I felt amazing in all my heats and moved through to the final for the first time in my life in a classic sprint on the World Cup. I was stoked!

In the final I made a desperate attack up the last climb and came over the top with a gap. The meters were flying by and I was still in the lead down the finishing stretch.

I may have even thought about what my victory salute would be but Joensson had other ideas. With meters to go, he pulled even with me and it came down to an epic lunge for the line for the victory. After some tense moments, it was announced that no, for the second day in a row I had been beat at the line. I lost the race my 1cm or something ridiculous. Joensson described it as his tightest victory ever.

After hitting the podium the day before I was shocked to snag back to back silver medals. I was choked to lose such a tight race, especially after a gutsy move over the top that I believed was enough to stick, but Joensson is the best sprinter in the world, and to even be competitive with him was more than I ever expected. Alex finished an impressive 7th so back to back great days for Canada all around!

Day Four: 20km duathlon pursuit Obertsdorf, GER January 3rd/2011
The fourth race in a row was the also the longest. The course in Obertsdorf was the same 2.5km that they used for some races back in 2005 as well, whith consisted of flatter terrain and one huge hill per lap. The only difference is that they used the same course for classic and skate (just groomed in tracks on the side) and that made for a narrow/sketchy experience.

People were attacking all over the place going for early bonus sprints and launching for the finish line. It was very messy, lots of crashes, and just pandemonium in the pack to be honest. The course was silly.

I felt great but ended the day in 7th getting caught behind traffic up the final climb  but I was still happy with how the race played out. Alex and I both thought it felt more like a zone 3 workout because of all the bodies around. That was the one positive it didn’t take as much out of me as I would have thought.

Day Six: 1.3km skate sprint Toblach, ITA January 5th/2011
After another sizable trip, but on our sweet bus from Obertsdorf to Toblach, we had a rest day which we used to test skis and train on the long 35km stage. This was the best day to date in my ski career – I finally won a world cup! I felt so good today. I qualified in 14th, then moved easily through my final. Once again that was the main goal get through the quarters, so I was pretty relaxed for the remaining rounds.

In the final, I got off to my normal snail’s paced start, and was content to hang in the back part of the pack. Then, with two uphills remaining I just went crazy and launched an attack with everything I had. I kept the pressure all the way to the line, and while I had a big lead at one point Cologna almost came right back to me, but he ran out of real estate. At the time I could not and still cannot believe it.

It’s the best feeling in the world to be able to lift your arms in victory on the World Cup after working and dreaming about it for over 10 years. Haha, it’s almost embarrassing when I put it that way, but it finally happened. Our staff did such a great job, and everything just came together perfectly. I will never forget that race!

Day Seven: 35km skate pursuit CortinaToblach ITAJanuary 6th/2011
From an amazing race, to an extremely frustrating race was the transition between the two Toblach events.

In the long race, I started in 2nd place but alone to tackle the long/fairly flat stage over the Italian Dolomites. Cologna had amassed a big lead so I wouldn’t come back on him, but my goal was to stay away from the chase packs that were sure to form.

The course is 18km of gradual climbing, before descending gradually back to Toblach, and then a final show lap of 3.3km to finish off the spectacle. I felt good, started at a good/manageable pace. Still, at 13km Hellner who had started 30-odd seconds behind me swallowed me up. I tried in vain to stay with him, but he was on another planet. I just got popped right away, and had to settle to ski my own pace keeping him in my sights to make sure I still had a good pace.

I made it over the top of the hill, but even though I was going all out down the other side in 2km the large 11-dude chase pack caught me. I was so frustrated – like in cycling it is so much harder on easy terrain to stay away. Guys that started over 2.5 minutes behind me were safely in the draft of the pack and with them working together they made quick work of me.

What’s worse, is when they caught me nobody was willing to work together. We were chewing into Hellner who would have been caught for sure but then all of a sudden everyone was thinking of the bronze medal and things got tactical in a hurry.

I ended up finishing in the first chase pack good enough for 10th. All that hard work for the overall that I did early in the Tour was erased. I was (and still am) bummed about it. It’s a tough race, and without question the most important race of the entire Tour as far as the overall goes.

Day Nine: 20km Mass Start Classic Val di Fiemme, ITA January 8th/2011
After another travel day, and another rest day training and scouting the Val di Fiemme classic course we had finally arrived at the last venue.

I love Val di Fiemme, and I was really excited about this race seeing how I had been feeling so strong in classic this year. I knew it could be good.

Conditions were pretty standard klister skiing with warm temperatures greeting us in the Northern Italian venue. Here’s a strange fact about Val di Fiemme – it was the first time this year that we saw races above zero degrees which is extremely odd for Europe. It felt like Hawaii out there!

I tried going for some of the plethora of bonus seconds up for grabs early but soon realized that it was going to cost too much energy, and that Northug and Cologna had both amazing skis and were gunning for all of them. I changed my strategy mid-race and focused on attempting to win the competition.

I sat near the front and stayed out of trouble keen with being patient and hyper-aware with what was going on around me in the pack. There were some pace changes, but for whatever reason this year no one was able to really inflict big damage. On the last lap the Swede Rickardsson launched a move with 2 km to go that could have stuck but we all caught him on a big descent. Then I launched up the final climb (600m from the line) and over the top I was in the lead going for broke.

Still, it was too early and on the flats of the stadium I was caught and passed by Northug and Cologna. Again. I finished 3rd which was my 4th podium of the week. Unbelievable. It’s been just such a great week of racing!

Alex ended up in 5th meaning with one stage remaining we were 4th and 7th overall. It was going to be a dog fight as not much time separated 3rd to 10th and both Alex and I aren’t exactly gazelles up Alpe Cermis but we were excited to see how things went.

Day Ten: 9km Skate Uphill Pursuit Val di Fiemme/Alpe Cermis, ITA January 9th/2011
The last stage. Always tough, the 9km skate consists of 6km of gradual descending before meeting the walls of Alpe Cermis, an Alpine run close to the ski trails in Val di Fiemme.

As expected, it was a large group heading down to the climb. We worked well together, exchanging leads often but it wasn’t enough to keep a hard charging Lucas Bauer at bay who caught our group (3rd-9th) on the bottom slopes of the Alpe.

Things splintered early on the climb especially when Bauer caught us, and I settled into the best rhythm I could. I am no specialist at this unique uphill event and tried in vain to stay with Perl, Clara, and Gaillardall who are far better at this event than me. Gaillard and I were dropped by Perl and Clara and in a battle with my friend from the French Team, Jean-Marc beat me to the line after I tried to attack and blew up with only 300m remaining in the race.

The Tour was over, and I ended up 7th overall. Alex had a tough climb as well, slipping to 10th, but both of us were excited to have completed a solid Tour and to have two Canadians in the top 10 was a great achievement. Babs had the 6th fastest time up proving once again that the bulldog IS climbing boom.

What now?
After traveling and racing for over 2 months, and I am now at home. It’s so good to be back in Canmore and I am already looking forward to training with friends and sipping cappos in the afternoons as I recharge and begin to get ready for the World Champs in Oslo. I can confirm that nothing is as comfortable as your own bed and I slept like a log last night.

I was able to catch up briefly with Chandra in Munich for one night as our trips overlapped (Chandra heading to the sprint World Cups in the Czech and Estonia, while I head home to recover/train for Worlds). It was great to see her – however brief – after weeks away from one another but I am already missing her here in Canmore!

After an easy week this week to catch my breath it’s back on baby. We have work to do if we want to keep this party going. Oslo and the World Cups after it are the next objective. I cannot wait!

I want to extend heart felt thanks to everyone who supported me and our team: Mostly importantly is Chandra and my family!

Thanks to Justin who has proven to be such an amazing coach, and has shown stellar leadership all year. Our technical staff is some of the best in the business. All the boys – Sasha, Joel J, Joel K, Yves and Micke – you all rule. Micke thanks for sticking with me for the past few years and putting up with my sketchy self every weekend (and during the week, haha), you’ve made a HUGE difference!

Most importantly thanks to my teammates. I am so lucky to be a member of such a bad ass/awesome Canadian Team. We respect each other, push each other and celebrate each other’s victories. It’s a lot of hours together but damn it’s fun! It’s been a trip – one that will continue for years to come!

We couldn’t do it without our loyal team sponsors (the crew at Haywood, AltaGas, Statoil and Teck) and B2ten for the mad hook ups all year most recently being instrumental behind our big black rock and roll Tour de Ski bus. Your continued support means that our entire team can push the limits all year.

Lastly, my personal sponsors, guys like Jamie Coatsworth who makes such a difference and who believes not only 100% in me but all of Canadian skiing, Stephen Dent and the whole Birch Hill crew in T.O., Chris out in Vancouver with Teck and Allison and the Stoneridge crew, thanks to all of you. Support matters, from all levels. Family, friends, team, sponsors, it all helps make

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 05, 2011 (Toblach, Italy) – His coach predicted it and Devon 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 in 1987 and 1988.

Kershaw has been laying down incredible results at the Tour this year, racking up two silver medals in the classic sprint and the 15km classic, slotting him in second position overall behind Dario Cologna (SUI) heading into today’s skate sprint race. Following his classic sprint performance, Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth said that Devon’s first win was “imminent.”

Kershaw won his quarter final heat but narrowly sneaked into the final taking the second lucky loser spot. Clearly he took that near miss to heart, skiing an absolutely perfect final. He held back early on, staying in 4th and 5th position, and it wasn’t until the final climb where 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 that proved enough to stave off the hard-charging Cologna and Petter Northug (NOR).

With the win – and the 60-second time bonus that accompanies it – under his belt, Kershaw enters the history books and is now in perfect position to challenge Cologna for the overall Tour de Ski title as they head into the final three races of this grueling tour.

January 04, 2011 (Barrie, ON) – Before Christmas I said that it was time for Devon Kershaw to make the next step up the ladder and be on the podium in a distance race noting that after his results from Vancouver last year this is where he should be.

Well, he’s there and then some! Happy New Year! In the first two days of 2011 Devon has been 2nd twice, once in a classic distance race and again in the classic sprints. He also finished 7th in the skating race and after four legs of the Tour de Ski he’s in 2nd place overall behind only Dario Cologna of Switzerland.

Being on the podium in a men’s distance race is the hardest thing to do in cross-country skiing. There is so much depth in the men’s fields – any one of 30 men can win any race. These are fantastic results for Devon and prove that he truly has moved into the top echelon of racing.

Devon has been a “streaky” skier. In the past he tended to ski fast races in bunches and then drop off and ski a number of poorer races in a row. Much of this is tied to confidence and recovery. Devon trains a lot and has been known in the past to push it too much and not be able to recover. Being tired can really affect your confidence which is the key psychological skill that all athletes need in order to perform at their best.

This is a real Catch 22 for most athletes. If they feel good and are in good shape they have good results and this gives them more confidence. When they feel tired they have poor results and that makes them lose confidence in themselves. In our society you’re only as good as your last result so a couple of bad races in a row has most athletes losing their confidence. Even the best in the world like Tiger Woods have a hard time coming back from poor results and lose their confidence.

Interestingly enough, for some athletes confidence is never a problem no matter what their results. They are labeled cocky or arrogant but really they’re thinking the way that they are supposed to be thinking. Many of these confident athletes also tend to never take responsibility for their results. If they can make it because of something other than themselves then how can they lose confidence? They’re still great, it has nothing to do with them – it was the track, or the snow, or their skis, or the weather, or their starting position, or the coaches, or the other skiers, or somethingŠ! It is not a bad thing if you understand what they may be trying to do.

Devon should now have the confidence that he can ski with the best in the world on any day. Classic or skate, sprint or distance he is there. Regardless of his results or how he is feeling he should be able to keep his confidence now that he can battle for the podium in any race.

Alex Harvey and Kris Freeman are getting close to this level too. Alex was on a distance podium a couple of years ago and Kris has finished 4th in a couple of World Cup races in the past. With Alex in 5th place overall after four races and Kris in 22nd after his 11th place in the 4th race they are both showing that they are not very far behind Devon.

This is really amazing if you think about it. Three North American men at the top of the World Cup standings would be unheard of years years ago. It’s been some time since the days of Pierre Harvey, Bill Koch, Tim Caldwell, Dan Simoneau and Jim Galanes in the 1980’s that this has happened. Couple this with the incredible drop-off by the Norwegian men’s team this year. They’re really having a lot of poor results and even their star, Petter Northug cannot win a sprint any more. Harvey came from behind to beat him in their quarterfinal heat on Jan. 2. This knocked him out of the heats and put him way back in the results.

Now if Ivan Babikov could return to his former level this would be even better. Ivan continues to struggle. He sits in 35th place overall in the tour. Two years ago he had the fastest time in the final stage hill climb in the Tour de Ski and last year he was 4th. I can’t say what the problem is right now. I am sure that everyone close to Ivan has a theory or a suggestion. One thing for sure is that he has to work hard to keep up his confidence now when his results are poor. He has to believe that these results do not really reflect what he can truly do. This will be a key for him to get back to where he wants to be as fast as possible.

Andy Newell is another skier who continues show a lack of confidence at skiing in the heats. After qualifying 4th in the classic sprints on Jan. 1st he made it through his quarterfinal round in second. Then his pattern of something going wrong continued in the semi-final where he tripped up coming out of the gate. He had to really hammer to catch up the 20 meters that he was behind but then fell again in the last 200 meters. This is happening too many times and he’s way too good a skier physically and technically for it to be a physical or luck issue. He may not admit it, but it’s got to be in his head now. He needs to take a good look at what he’s thinking about if he is going to fix this issue.

Kikkan Randall is the only North American woman at the Tour and she continues to ski in the middle of the field. She is 24th overall after the first four races. On the surface this does not look so hot, but Kikkan is just starting to try to ski well in distance races and the only sprint so far has been in her weaker classic style. However, the next race on January 5th in Toblach, Austria is a skating sprint and I am sure that she is looking forward to a much better result there.

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.

January 01, 2011 (Oberhof, Germany) – Canada’s Devon Kershaw put on stunning display of classic skiing with the fastest time of the day to take second in the men’s 15km classic handicap start, only 0.5s behind winner Dario Cologna (SUI), in an exciting battle as the snow fell in Oberhof. Kershaw took over the race lead at about 1km to go and looked like he might hold on for the win but Cologna nipped him at the finish line while World Cup leader, Alexander Legkov (RUS), took third.

A hard-charging Petter Northug (NOR) attempted his patent strategy making spectacular gains as the finish approached but fell short moving up from the mid 20s to place 6th. Kershaw’s team mate Alex Harvey had a strong race as well finishing 9th. The USA’s Kris Freeman, another classic specialist, also made strong gains starting in 55th to finished 26th overall. Ivan Babikov (Can) placed 32nd and Andy Newell (USA) was 58th.

The silver is Kershaw’s best ever distance result. “It was an amazing race perhaps my best ever,” said Kershaw in a phone interview with SkiTrax. “Once we got going I knew my legs were good. Our techs did a great job and our skis were great – I was frustrated with my performance in the Prologue so I was charged up to improve.”

Experience told Kershaw how the race would unfold. “As expected the pace was fast until we caught Hellner so I stayed mid-field conserving energy knowing the pack would slow down once we reeled Hellner in which is what happened. Then I started to move up wanting to stay near the front and cover any attacks. I felt comfortable and ended up in the lead by accident – then it was my time to push it and I thought I could win but couldn’t hold off Cologna at the end.”

Kershaw’s best previous distance result was third in the 15km in Oberhof in 2009 at the Tour de Ski and many recall his 5th place in the men’s 50km classic at Vancouver 2010. In 2006 the versatile skier won WCup sprint silver in Munich, Germany and sprint bronze in Borlaenge, Sweden.

He’s now in second place overall at the Tour de Ski coming into the sprints in Obertsdorf on Sunday and hopes Team Canada can continue with more strong performances. “Alex was 9th at the classic sprints in Kuusamo (Fin) so we’re fired up to see what we can do tomorrow,” added Kershaw.

It was huge day for the Canadians with Harvey in 9th and head coach Justin Wadsworth was on cloud nine. “Devon showed what he’s got,” Wadsworth told us by phone. “Conditions were challenging but not super tricky as there was time for testing in the morning and I think many teams had good skis like us. Devon has had good training since La Clusaz but he was as little flat afterwards and we missed some intensity blocks as he took it easier before the Tour knowing things would pick up once the racing unfolded. Alex was right up there as well and dropped back a little near the end but it was a great day for both of them.”

“I was a little tired in the warm up but things felt better soon after the race started,” said Harvey. “It was a tricky day for waxing and no one had perfect skis but our team did a great job for us. I felt good and was able to move up but couldn’t bridge to the lead group with Devon near the end and started to cramp dropping a few spots. Overall my form felt good and I’m really happy for Devon.”

Watch the FIS XC Big Step – Men’s 15km classic Race video HERE.

Early on the Russians looked like they’d be a force with Legkov and Ilia Chernousov leading the chase to reel in Hellner and at once point there were five Russians at the front of the pack. Then defending TdS champ, Lukas Bauer (CZE) flexed his ski muscles and took up the mantle as Hellner was caught but Bauer’s efforts may have cost him later as he faded to end up 13th.

Cologna who was also near the front most of the race paced himself better. As the final kilometres approached he, Kershaw, Legkov and Chernousov were leading with a small chase group just behind as Northug was whipping things up and passing skiers as he moved to the front. But the Norwegian ran out of time as Cologna edged Kershaw for the win and takes over the TdS leader’s jersey.

“Of course I’m satisfied. I had a good feeling and didn’t want to push too much as it’s a long race, but on the last hill I gave it my all,” said the winner to FIS XC. “I won here in 2008 and afterwards I was the winner of the Tour – so that’s a good sign. I was not afraid of loosing contact with the Russians, I was pleased the speed was higher. It is always good to be in front, and to cover first position.

“I am not afraid of Northug, I knew that I was in the first position and that was more important. I thought Northug was coming, but luckily he didn’t. My goal is to take as many bonus points as possible in the Tour. The sprint is important, and I want to be in the semi finals tomorrow.”

The US team was not their best yet Freeman’s move up from 55th to 26th was commendable but Newell who started in 14th fell back to finish in 58th.

“I felt good out there and despite the tricky conditions it was a solid day… I was able to move up steadily but I’m still not where I want to be as I couldn’t find my top gear near the end,” said Freeman from the team bus as they headed to Obertsdorf for tomorrow’s sprints.

It’s Freeman’s first Tour so what are his impressions? “Overall things are good and it feels a bit chilled out. Noone’s over-amped as it’s still early in the Tour so we’ll see how things unfold.” Freeman has raced at Obertsdorf and knows the scene there. “I haven’t qualified for a WCup sprint yet so we’ll see how I do tomorrow.”

Newell who had his best prologue performance yesterday was out of gas today. “I felt decent at the start of the race today, but for sure had a bad bonk. Not sure why… maybe I just pushed too hard up a hill or two. But after I bonked I moved backwards really fast and had a lot of trouble kicking my skis so I lost a ton of time. It was kind of windy and the tracks were a little soft in places so it was tough for some people to get kick. I was pretty worked after the race so hopefully I can recover ok for tomorrow’s sprint.”

US Team head coach Chris Grover referred to today’s efforts as a mixed bag. “Andy blew up which was too bad but Kikkan had a decent day as did Kris. I think Bird and his coach Zach Caldwell are satisfied with his efforts today. He picked off a lot of skiers and was as high as 12th or 13th at one point but couldn’t manage to hold the pace. We had a good transfer to Obertsdorf and we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s sprints.”

Results HERE.
Results detail HERE.

December 20, 2010 (Barrie, ON) – I don’t know about you, but I like dynasties in sport. I like it when teams and individuals dominate a sport for a number of seasons. I was a big fan of the Boston Celtics of the NBA in the 1960s, of UCLA and John Wooden in college basketball at the same time, and of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s and the Edmonton Oilers in the1980s for hockey (sorry I cannot be a fan of the Yankees, though).

There have been dynasties in cross-country skiing as well. In the 1980s it was the Swedish men led by Gunde Swan and Thomas Wassberg and Torgny Mogren. In the 1990s it was the Russian women led by Elena Valbe and the Norwegian men led by Vegard Ulvang and Bjorn Daehlie. This dynasty continued throughout the first decade of the 21st century.

The Norwegian women are the new dynasty for women’s skiing. Led by Marit Bjoergen they are beginning to dominate. On Sunday they showed this domination by annihilating the field in the relay. Bjoergen won her 9th World Cup in a row on Saturday and she has likely locked up the World Cup for 2011 already and it’s not even 2011 yet.

I thought that the Swedish women would give them a run for their money this year, but they have not delivered yet. They started well at home in Gallivare but faded throughout the rest of November and December due to illness. The Italian women have been strong in sprinting, and finished 2nd on Sunday in the women’s relay but they are a long way behind the Norwegians. The German, Slovakian, Slovenian, French and surprisingly the Russian women have been silent during this time.

Justyna Kowalczyk has been consistently 2nd to Bjoergen throughout this first racing period but she is getting closer and closer. On Saturday she lost in a sprint finish and I expect her to win the Tour de Ski after Xmas as Bjoergen will be at home in Norway.

Kikkan Randall has led the American women with two podium finishes in the last couple of weeks in skating sprints. She has solidified her place near the top in this discipline and is getting better in distance racing and classic. Morgan Arritola and Liz Stephen both finished in the top 20 on Saturday in La Clusaz for their best results of the campaign.

Dasha Gaiazova and Chandra Crawford were on the podium in Dusseldorf for the best result for the Canadian women. Canada’s women have been very strong for almost a decade and it looks like Chandra and Dasha are carrying the torch to the future. Chandra also had an 8th in Dusseldorf and Dasha scored points in a number of races. The downside is that there is not much depth in women’s ranks in Canada right now.

I believe that there is a dynasty brewing on the men’s side but it’s not where I thought it would come from at the start of the season. At that time I thought that the Swedish men would begin to dominate the podiums, which they did at the start of the season, but like the women they faded badly in December. The Norwegian men continue to struggle and they seem to be getting worse. The sprinters do not dominate like they used to and with Northug recovering from overtraining for most of the start of the season the distance men are also doing very poorly. Northug did come on strong on Saturday in La Clusaz for a 2nd place in the 30km free mass start race – so watch out for him after Xmas.

No, the new dominant men’s team are the Russians. Alexander Legkov is leading the World Cup standings but he is not alone at the top. Maxim Vylegzhanin won the 30km on Saturday doing something that few people have been able to do before this year – beat Petter Northug in a sprint finish. Lekgov was 3rd in this race and there were also two other Russian men in the top 11 on Saturday – and they finished 2nd on Sunday in the team relay to the suprising Swiss team.

They also have a very strong sprint group – remember that they were 1st and 2nd last year in Vancouver in the men’s individual sprint final. Alexei Pehtoukov and Nicolai Morilov are the best right now, but they have four or five skiers who can be on the podium. They have started again with new coaches and a new system and they are going to be a force in Sochi in four years.

The Swiss men surprised everyone by easily winning the Men’s Relay on Sunday. Dario Cologna has been one of the best skiers in the world for the past couple of years, but this result came out of the blue. The other three skiers – Toni Livers, Remo Fischer and Curdin Perl skied fantastic legs for the victory. Cross-country skiing is the poor second cousin to Alpine in Switzerland and in order to get press they need to win. This was a resounding win.

Emil Joensson of Sweden has shown that he is the best sprinter in the world. He has broken the Norwegian men’s domination – for now – but things can change quickly in sprinting. The Norwegians have a very strong sprinting program so look for them to be strong later on in the year.

Kris Freeman put together some great top 10 results in this period, but he was the only American male to do consistently well.  Simi Hamilton who debuted on the European World Cup scene had a superb sprint race in Davos qualifying 11th and finished 16th which is a good sign of things to come. Veteran Andy Newell continues to disappoint by following the same pattern of qualifying well in the sprints but hasn’t put his game plan together well in the heats. And Euro World Cup newbie, Noah Hoffman, also showed signs of talent starting well for a rookie with a 31st placing in the 15km freestyle at the World Cup opener in Gallivare, Sweden, but struggled as the trip went on.

The Canadian men were all over the map with their results in November and December. Devon Kershaw showed flashes of brilliance, but in other races he was ordinary. The same is true for Alex Harvey. Ivan Babikov and George Grey were nowhere near where they finished in Vancouver. In total they were not as good as I thought that they would be based on their results in Vancouver last year and all of the positive statements coming from them this summer and fall about how good they were training and how things were going. I think that everyone was expecting them to take a step forward as a group and it looks like they have taken a step backward. Is it the post-Olympic blues or something else? We will know better at the Tour de Ski and the World Championships in March in Oslo.

One bright spot were the sprint results from Len Valjas and Phil Widmer in Davos where they both finished in the top 20 and qualified for the World Championships. Len is a rookie on the World Cup as well and this was a great result for him and it was a breakthrough for Phil who in the past had the speed to qualify well but like  Newell he could not finish well in the heats.

Now it’s time to take a deep breath and get ready for the Tour de Ski that starts on December 31. Most skiers are at home while some of the Canadians and Americans have stayed in Europe. Not all of the top skiers will be in the Tour de Ski because it is very hard and difficult to recover from. Lukas Bauer (CZE) and Justina Kowalczyk (POL) were the winners last year and I believe that they will challenge for the top again this year.

Have a great holiday season everyone – ski as much as you can.

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.

December 11, 2010 (Davos, Switzerland) – Canada’s Devon Kershaw had another great day on snow leading the North American men with a 9th place finish in the men’s 15km classic individual start as Kazakstan’s Alexey Poltaranin was the surprise winner on Saturday in Davos to claim his first world cup win. It was a tight race as only six seconds separated the top five finishers with Kershaw 21s behind the winning time of 40:03.5.

American Kris Freeman was on pace but blew up in the last 4km to finish 23rd while Canada’s George Grey regained his form and was just out of the points in 32nd. Fellow Canuck Ivan Babikov, a late arrival in Davos, was 38th, followed by Stefan Kuhn in 67th, and Calgary’s Brent McMurtry in 75th. American Noah Hoffman placed 69th also having a tough day on his first crack at the grueling Davos course.

The 23-year-old Poltaranin had the 10th best time at the 1.6 km mark and increased his speed steadily remaining in the top 3 by mid-race holding off challenges by Russia’s Maxim Vylegzahnin who faded on the final leg and world cup leader, Alexander Legkov (RUS), who had the best intermediate time but lost it on the final leg losing to Poltaranin by 0.9s.

“Today I claimed my first World Cup victory and had my best race ever. I felt strong and my skis were very good as well. I did not change my summer training too much. My coach and I focused more on classic technique and also introduced some new elements to my training. On Monday we head to La Clusaz [France] where I would like to have a good result in 30km race,” said Poltaranin.

Lukas Bauer (Cze) surged in the latter part of the classic race to claim third edging out local Swiss star Dario Cologna by a mere 0.2s. Norway’s Petter Northug, at his first World Cup this season, was as high as 5th but faded near the end to finish 13th.

While the snow had stopped for the start of the men’s race, and the course was re-groomed following the women’s event earlier in the day, it was still a challenging day for the wax technicians with temperatures just below zero (-1C) on new snow. Canada’s Kershaw had nothing but praise for the Canadian wax crew.

“It was an interesting day in Davos – as the 50 or so centimeters of snow that fell over the past two + days made for some stressful times,” said Kershaw. “Yet, the course directors here in Davos are used to dealing with huge Swiss Alp dumps, and they did a great job getting the course ready – they even re-groomed directly after the women’s race – which helped things out for sure.”

“Our Canadian technicians did another outstanding job – staying calm and delivered the goods to get the job done,” he continued. “I can’t imagine that today was easy for them. They crank out such big hours working tirelessly for us, it’s really outstanding. Yves [Bilodeau head wax technician] is all heart and believes so much in Canadian skiing. And the tech I work with closely [Micke Book] is just such an outstanding guy as are all the guys – Joel K, Joel J. Jonathan, Peter Thor – none of us would be anywhere without their help.”

Kershaw had moved up to 15th by the 5km mark and made steady advances to sit in 10th by the 11.6km interval and still had something in the tank to take him to the finishline.

“Devon executed as planned and had energy at the end for a final kick,” commented Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth. “He trained well in Livigno [Italy] and rested up before race day knowing the altitude and tough course. Conditions were crazy for waxing – people were trying zeros and hairies – and it looks like we hit the mark.”

The USA’s Freeman, who was just getting over a cold, was not far behind Kershaw but his tank ran dry after being passed by Vylegzahnin as he tried to stay with him. “It was a tough day for waxing but my skis were good and the course was mostly ok as they groomed it after the women’s race,” said Freeman.

“I was pacing well until Vylegzahnin passed me and I tried to match his speed but that did me in – with 4km to go I blew up and was pushing hard just to stay in the top 30. I caught a cold just after Kuusamo and yesterday was my first intensity training so it was tough to find my top gear today.” Freeman was confident he could have made the top 20 and will race the skate sprints on Sunday.

We caught up with Ivan Babikov who had his best race so far yet still falling short of what he’s capable of. “So far today was the best race  this season for me. Not exactly were I’d like to be but there more races ahead,” explained Babikov. “The conditions were tricky, especially for kick wax, but I think our wax techs did a very good job.”

“Davos is a very hard course with a lot of double polling, and I’m never good at that. Overall I think the team did pretty good. Devon had a very good one, 9th, and George [Gray] was only one second out of the points – we’re looking forward to La Clusaz.”

The USA’s Hoffman is taking his World Cup experience in stride, “It was just a tough day all together. I’m really struggling with my classic skiing right now, and didn’t show any improvement today. I’m a little disappointed – the conditions were tough but our coaches and techs did a great job with our skis. I’m looking forward to next week.”

US head coach Chris Grover knows his crew was disappointed but also knows they’re resilient. “Bird was doing well but lost it near the end still he held his composure and ended up with an average result. Noah had a tough day in difficult conditions with a couple of crashes and struggled to find his rhythm but he’s learning and gaining the experience he needs to move up. Andy [Newell] skipped today’s sufferfest to prepare for Sunday’s sprints which should be good for him and Kikkan.”

The stage is now set for Sunday’s freestyle sprints and the forecast is for colder weather… stay tuned for more coverage.

Full results HERE.