March 07, 2012 (Drammen, Norway) – Canada’s Len Valjas was on top of the world on Wednesday as the Torontonian who skis for Team Harwood, claimed the first WCup podium of his young career placing second in the men’s 1.2km CL Sprint behind winner Erik Brandsdal (NOR) with fellow Norwegian Paal Golberg in third.

Valjas surprised the field, skiing in control and in command from the get-go, carrying the weight of the Canadian team – sporting new headgear in Drammen – on his shoulders as his accomplished team mates, Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey, were out early. Kershaw broke a pole in his quarter final while Harvey took a brief spill in his heat, on the popular, but congested sprint course, in Drammen.

Meanwhile Americans Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton also raced with confidence both advancing to the semis with Newell having his best result of the season making the final, finishing sixth. Hamilton, from Aspen, CO, placed 7th for his best ever classic sprint result.

It was a day for the North Americans as big names such as Jesper Modin (SWE), Italians Fabio Pasini and Federico Pellegrino, and Norway’s Ola Vigen Hattestad failed to advance.

“I don’t think it has sunk in yet, but it does feel pretty good,” said Valjas in a team release. The lanky 6’6” Canuck finished fifth at a World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland earlier this year. “I think I may be a little in shock.”

Valjas looked sharp winning his 1/4 final heat while Newell and Hamilton both finished second to advance to the semis. The Canadian had fast skis and skied smart positioning himself well to maintain a leading edge over his rivals.

The USA’s Newell also made it look easy skiing strong yet with finesse at the front and was just edged out at the line in his quarter final. His semi included Valjas and Hamilton making it difficult on North American fans but to their delight the three animated the heat with Valjas and Newell making a break on their own. Valjas took the semi in the final stretch over Newell with Hamilton bringing up the rear in third.

“I was happy to make the final today but really wished I could have put down a better sprint in the last 100 meters,” Newell told SkiTrax. “I was on the podium here two years ago in a classic sprint and I really wanted to repeat that, but have had a handful of 4th and 5th-place finishes in classic world cups over the years.

“The course today was the same as it always is with one long gradual uphill that you ski twice once out of the start and again for the finish. I like courses like this because of the uphill finishes.

“In qualification I chose to double pole which turned out to be a bad call. I think I was one of the few doublepolers to make the heats. The course just ended up getting too chewed up so it made it hard to get solid pole plants even with big baskets so doublepoleing definitely wasn’t faster. For the heats I switched over to wax and felt good in both the quarterfinals and semis.”

For Hamilton it was a good day at the office with his best classic sprint result. “I’m pretty psyched with how today went, especially with it being a flat classic sprint in really sloppy conditions.

“Drammen is a super-hard sprint day. It seems like there’s always about 1,000 Norwegians that can qualify, so I was definitely satisfied to slip into 18th for the qualifications. In my quarter, I really focused on getting into a comfortable place position-wise on the climb, and then hammered the 2nd half of the course.

“The skis were great. I didn’t have a great start in my semi and lost a bit of time in a slow track at the end. I felt good in the last 500 meters put in a surge that was good enough for 3rd. Unfortunately it was not good enough to advance as a lucky loser, but I was really psyched for Andy and Lenny making the finals”.

U.S. Head Coach Chris Grover was naturally pleased the team’s overall results in Drammen. “We had great skis all day.  It was challenging to find a wax with great kick and glide.  The snow was quite saturated and new snow mixed with rain was falling all day. Newell decided to double pole the qualifier since classic skiing didn’t feel fast enough at first, but he switched to classic gear for the rounds. Everyone else skied on classic gear all day.

“Drammen has been a great city sprint for Andy. He really knows how to make moves in the right places in order to pass other skiers. He knows when to relax and when to make a move happen. He was on the podium last time we raced the city sprint in Drammen (in 2010) so he knows how to get to the final.

” It was clearly a breakthrough day for Simi. His best classic sprint result yet. He had a rough start to the year with illness and a lot of near misses in sprint qualification, so it feels really good to see him coming into form now. He was very close to being a lucky loser and going through to the final. He has all of the right skills to be a star in the sport,” Grover concluded.

In the final it was Valjas, Newell, Brandsdal, Golberg, Alexander Panzhinskiy (RUS) and the legendary Emil Joensson from Sweden. From the gun Valjas established himself while Joensson and Newell seemed to struggle as the two Norwegians also came to the front with Valjas and soon it became a 3-horse race.

The 23-year-old Valjas raced like seasoned veteran taking the lead as he battled with Brandsdal at the front knowing Golberg was right behind. In the finishing straight to the line the Norwegian got the better of the charging Canuck but for Valjas it was the race of his life.

“I never would have thought I’d win a medal this early in my career, but to have the first medal come in Norway is really special. This country has been really good to me over the last couple of years,” continued Valjas. “I just wanted to get to the front and attack on the hills. I had great skis and was able to do that. I felt good all day.”

Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadsworth was suitably pleased with another podium medal in the Canadian Team coffers. “It’s great to see other team members like Lenny rise to the occasion and deliver in spades when our two big guns were sidelined. The team is really on a roll with well deserved celebrations with today’s performances by Len and Chandra.”

“Training with Alex and Devon has had a huge influence on me and me getting to the podium,” added Valjas. “Just watching how these guys train with such intensity is huge for me.”

Wadsworth pointed out that with Petter Northug (NOR) not racing in the men’s 50kmCL in Oslo this weekend it’s another chance for Kershaw to narrow the gap in the overall WCup standings. Both Kershaw and Harvey are podium threats in the 50kmCL slated for Saturday. Unofficially Northug might not race in Sweden either leaving the door open even wider for Kershaw.

Men’s Qualifications HERE.
Final Results HERE.