February 05, 2017 (PyeongChang, Korea) – USA I’s Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton battled to a strong 4th-place finish in the men’s Team Sprint won by Russia I over France in a photo finish at the line. In third was Russia II at 5.52 seconds back.

Men's final podium (l-r) France, Russia I, Russia II © Nordic Focus

USA II with Matt Gelso and Scott Patterson had a solid race as well finishing 9th while Canada I featuring Jesse Cockney and Len Valjas were 13th overall. Canada II with Bob Thompson and Julian Locke did not advance past the semi final.

Friday’s classic sprint winner Gleb Retivykh brought Russia I to victory by just 0.03 seconds ahead of Lucas Chanavat of France. Norway I suffered a fateful DSQ as Daniel Stock was outside the exchange zone when tagged by Mathias Rundgreen as he tried unsuccessfully to get back behind the line.

“It was another solid race here in Korea and another really fun opportunity to race in the Olympic course under the lights and with lots of excitement,” said Newell.

“I felt strong most of the night, especially in the semi final. I knew because of some increased snow fall that it was going to be my responsibility to keep Simi up near the top 4 in order to advance. I felt great and on the last lap was able to push the pace and put us in a good position to win the heat.

“Simi and I tried to use the same strategy in the final, but the pace was extremely high right from the gun for the first leg skiers. There were some antsy distance guys in the field who really wanted to stretch things out. I was able to hang until about half way through the last lap then we were gapped to 5th. I think both Sim and I got a little heavy in the legs on pro last laps, it was a really tough course at that pace. We actually finished 5th but we’re moved up to 4th because Norway missed a tag and was DQd.

“I’m general is was a solid race and I’m happy with how my fitness is progressing.. we’re getting closer and closer to that sprint relay podium. I think this is our best finish yet,” added Newell.

For Hamilton it was a solid night out there “for sure”.

“Andy and I were both psyched to skate team sprint again after feeling good and nothing a 6th in Toblach in the same race a few weeks back. Obviously, this course is much different, but the field was slightly weaker this weekend and it’s just a great opportunity to be able to race on the Olympic courses a year out from the Games.

“I felt decent all day. I was struggling a bit with not being able to keep down some food I ate last night or this morning, so my energy wasn’t exactly where I wanted it to be, but my legs felt good during the semis and the finals and I thought I paced both races well. My main strategy for both rounds was to conserve energy where I could early on in the race, so that I could attack the third and last lap. I thought I did that really well and each lap I was able to twist the screws just a bit more.

“Our semi was a fair amount slower than our final, so going into the last climb I wanted to secure an automatic advancement place (places 1-4) because at that point there were about six of us skiing in a pretty tight pack and I wasn’t sure if places 5 and 6 would secure a lucky loser time from that heat. So that was the main reason why I attacked so hard in the semis.

“I don’t think I burnt too much of the candle in that round because I still felt fast during the final heat. I thought both of us skied a really great final, and it was nice to be tagged by Andy in 5th place with a bit of distance back to 6th and 7th going out on my last lap. Because I was tagged alone, I focused on skiing a smart last lap.

“It was a little frustrating to not just go full out from the start, but I think if I had done so I would have completely blown up while trying to claw back some time on the lead pack on such a long and hard course. I’m really happy with the day, and I think on a team sprint race day when both of us are feeling totally on our game, we can contend for the podium,” he concluded.

Results here.