February 13, 2016 (Falun, Sweden) – The USA’s Erik Bjornsen was the top North American finishing 21st  in the men’s 10k classic in Falun on Saturday. Maxim Vylegzhanin of Russia raced to a well-earned victory over teammate Alexander Bessmertnykh with France’s Maurice Manificat claiming the final podium spot after narrowly missing second by 0.1 seconds.

Erik Bjornsen © Toko USA

In a very tight and competitive race, where the top five men were separated by just 9.5 seconds, Bjornsen crossed the finish line just one minute behind Vylegzhanin as Norway was absent from the podium with Emil Iverson fourth and Martin Sundby, the overall World Cup leader, in fifth at 9.5 seconds behind Vylegzhanin.

Maxim Vylegzhanin © Nordic Focus

“I’m very happy with today’s result. It’s even more rewarding after such a tough period. The conditions were very tricky today. It seemed like everybody was struggling to find good kick, us included,” explained Bjornsen.

“I set out at a pretty hot pace and was able to hold on. I started 30 seconds behind Alex [Harvey] so when I caught him at 5 km I knew I was having a good race. I felt really strong on the flat double pole sections and just did my best to keep my Herringbone light and kick.

“I pulled out of the 50k in Oslo last weekend because it wasn’t going the way I wanted and I wanted to save some fuel for today. For sure the last few races haven’t gone the way I wanted so hopefully this is the start of a new fitness level,” he added.

M podium © Nordic Focus

Canada’s Devon Kershaw was 44th, while Harvey was 52nd and Graeme Killick was 55th followed by the USA’s Noah Hoffman in 56th. Len Valjas (Can) was 80th and Reese Hannemann (USA) was 87th – Andy Newell (USA) did not start.

“I’m so impressed with Erik Bjornsen,” said coach Matt Whitcomb. “He’s been flat for a while and one of the hardest things in sport is to find the belief that today you can come out of the slump. Watching Erik start, it was immediately evident that he was going for it.”

Results here.