CROSS-COUNTRY:

Day 3 of tour: Kershaw 2nd, Harvey 7th

Jan. 2, 2011 — Cross Country Canada     ♦ Photo: One of the tour venues (fiscrosscountry.com) 

OBERSTDORF, Germany — Canada’s Devon Kershaw followed up what he described as the best race of his career on Saturday, where he finished second, by sprinting to the silver-medal position on the podium again as the most prestigious event on the cross-country skiing calendar headed to Oberstdorf, Germany, on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Kershaw, of Sudbury, Ont., continued to prove he is one of the most talented and well-rounded nordic skiers in the world after skiing onto the podium in both the distance and sprint races in consecutive days, taking a stranglehold of second spot overall on the 2011 edition of the Tour de Ski.

“I thought I had it today. I was so focused on that finish line with 50 metres to go that I couldn’t hear anything. I thought I was away, but I got beat by an inch at the line,” said an elated Kershaw while recovering from the race. “That was so close today, but to win silver back-to-back, I’m really happy.

“I respect my competitors. These guys are no slouches and are the best in the world. Yesterday I was beat by an Olympic and World Cup champion. Today I got nipped by the overall World Cup sprint leader. I’m in good company right now.”

The two-time Olympian and his 22-year-old teammate, Alex Harvey of St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., qualified for the round of 30 head-to-head heats after finishing in seventh and sixth spots, respectively. With the top two athletes in each heat advancing to the next round, the Canadians both finished second in their quarterfinal round to move into the semifinals, where they were battling in the same heat.

Kershaw and Harvey tucked in behind the three Swedish athletes who pushed the pace off the start until the second climb on the 2005 World Championship sprint course, where the Canadians made their move on Sweden’s Marcus Hellner. On the final downhill, Kershaw and Harvey fought into second and third sport for the stretch run. Kershaw finished second, while Harvey narrowly missed advancing by placing third in his heat to finish seventh, moving him into fourth overall in the Tour de Ski.

“It was a good surprise for me today. I felt really good in the heats and the wax techs did a great job with my skis,” said Harvey, who was eighth on Saturday. “I was fast in my heat but came up a bit short. This is just really good for my confidence and I have to be happy with my position heading into the mass start pursuit.”

“Alex is the best skier ever to come through our program, period,” said Kershaw of his World Cup teammate. “Yes, we’ve had Beckie (Scott) and Chandra (Crawford) win Olympic and World Cup medals and Pierre (Harvey) and myself win some World Cup medals, but this guy has won countless World Junior Championship medals and for him to come in and compete the way he is on the World Cup at just 22 years of age is absolutely incredible. He is the top dog. He will be here long after me, and nobody should think different.”

Riding the momentum from his first World Cup podium finish in two years on Saturday, Kershaw tactically executed a similar game plan on in the final where he made his move on the second hill to take the lead into the finishing stretch. Kershaw was poised to claim his first ever gold medal as he led the top nordic sprinters in the world until the final metre, where sprint qualification winner, Sweden’s Emil Joensson, edged the Canuck in a photo finish.

“Of course I wanted to come out and win. That is always my goal and I was so close,” said Kershaw. “But to have no podiums in two years and then come and win back-to-back is just awesome.”

Tour de Ski leader Dario Cologna of Switzerland grabbed the bronze medal.

Ivan Babikov, of Canmore, Alta., known for his distance racing, qualified in 65th spot and did not advance to the heats.

The ultimate grind in high-performance sport, the 10-day Tour de Ski, which has the top cross-country ski athletes in the world competing in eight races at five venues in Germany and Italy, has been bittersweet for Canada’s Kershaw.

Four of the five medals throughout his career have come at the tour. He won a bronze medal in a sprint race at the 2006 tour stop in Munich, Germany, and a bronze in the 15-kilometre classic race in the second stage of the 2009 Tour de Ski to go along with this back-to-back silver medals this week. Kershaw’s first World Cup medal came days following the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, where he won the bronze in Borlaenge, Sweden.

But in his four previous attempts at completing the epic test of endurance, Kershaw has been forced to withdraw two years with sickness.

“I love the tour and it is the future of our sport, but it is long and you can’t get ahead of yourself. I know you can get sick. Anything can happen and you are done,” said Kershaw. “Alex and I have always said the tour starts tomorrow with the pursuit race. That is when you are going to see the fireworks. We have raced three days straight and I have only a few hours to get ready for a 20-kilometre pursuit. It is a long haul.”

To assist with the recovery and preparation for the grueling Tour de Ski, the Canadian head coach, Justin Wadsworth, rented a tour bus where athletes are able to relax without distraction to be fully prepared for hitting the start line. With two athletes in the top four in the overall tour standings, it appears the Canadians strategy is starting to paying off.

“As a team we knew we were capable of these results and the guys are capable of more,” said Wadsworth, who added that success at the World Championships and Tour de Ski were the team’s two primary goals this season. “We are hammering the recovery and hitting it full bore. We are definitely leading the world in this area. Fatigue and illness is always a concern, but that is why we got the bus to help these guys by ready.”

The Canadian squad will hit the start line for the fourth leg, and midway point, of the Tour de Ski on Monday for a pursuit race in Oberstdorf before heading to Italy. S-Magazine

Tour de Ski Day 3 results

Top-5 Men and Canadian Results:
1. Emil Joensson, SWE; 2. Devon Kershaw, Sudbury, Ont., CAN; 3. Dario Cologna, SUI; 4. Simen Oestensen, NOR; 5. Alexey Petukhov, RUS.
Canadian Results:
7. Alex Harvey, St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., 65. Ivan Babikov, Canmore, Alta., 48:37.2