February 01, 2014 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – The USA’s Scott Patterson put in another strong performance claiming 18th in the Men’s Skiathlon 15kmCL+15kmFR as France went 1-2 at the FIS U23 Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme. Adrien Backscheider out-lunged teammate Damien Tarantola for the gold as Daniel Stock (NOR) took home the bronze.

Scott Patterson © flyingpoint.com

Benjamin Lustgarten finished 34th followed by Canada’s Patrick Stewart-Jones in 41st and the USA’s Ben Saxton in 42nd. Knute Johnsgaard (Can) was 48th, Tyler Kornfield (USA) was 49th, Sebastien Townsend (Can) was 52nd with fellow Canuck Andy Shields in 53rd.

Germany animated the classic part of the race but Norway was leading after the ski exchange as various teams battled for the lead including the Germany, Italy, France and Russia. Backscheider stretched things out as Norway’s Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget and Stock challenged. When Nyenget and Russia’s Kirill Vichuzhanin fell during the final lap Backscheider and Tarantola capitalized winning the gold and silver respectively.

“My skis were amazing. Maybe some of the fastest classic skis out there and the kick was excellent. My wax techs absolutely nailed the skis! The classic portion was great! I felt good and tried to go hard and stay relaxed and I was getting excited for the skate. The exchange went well and I at the back of the lead pack halfway through the race which I was psyched about,” said Lustgarten.

Backscheider (l) and Tarantola © FIS

“I was a bit tired going into the skate but I think others were too. At the end of the first or second skate lap I crashed really hard on the downhill going into the lap, my ski just caught some wet piled up snow and sent me skidding down the course probably 50 meters.

“I hit my neck and head kind of hard and it shook me up. I got up and felt a touch dizzy but kept going. Later on my arms were cramping and I broke a pole. At that point I just wanted to finish the race. It was pretty tough to end the race like that considering my great start. Now I want to focus with what went well today and prepare for the rest of the season.”

Full results here.