CROSS-COUNTRY:

Kershaw, boosted by wax techs, skis to 9th at Davos

Dec. 11, 2010 — Cross Country Canada  

DAVOS, Switzerland — Marit Bjoergen of Norway earned her 40th individual cross-country World Cup victory Saturday in Switzerland, and Alexey Poltaranin of Kazakhstan won his first.

Bjoergen, a triple Olympic champion, continued her dominating season with a time of 29 minutes, 31.6 seconds in a women's 10-kilometre classical event. Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk trailed by 29.3 seconds and Therese Johaug of Norway was another 10 seconds back.

Bjoergen earned 100 points and leads Kowalczyk by 151 in the World Cup standings.

Poltaranin won the men's 15 km classical in 40:03.5, 0.9 ahead of overall leader Alexander Legkov of Russia. Czech Lukas Bauer was third. Devon Kershaw of Canmore, Alta., was ninth.

Kershaw relied heavily on the strength of the Canadian wax technicians to help him battle through extreme snowfall and challenge for the podium.

More than 50 centimetres of snow plummeting down on the World Cup track is enough to send any athlete or wax team into a frenzy, but Kershaw and the Canadian support team rallied to ensure his skis were prepared properly to handle the greasy snow and zero degree temperatures.

The 27-year-old Kershaw, of Sudbury, Ont., clocked a ninth-place time of 40 minutes, 24.4 seconds (40.24.4).

“Our techs were absolutely amazing and played a huge factor in my result today,” said Kershaw. “With Yves (Bilodeau) leading the way, our techs are some of the best in the world. You have to have the right attitude to deal with these variable conditions, and they absolutely nailed it today. Yves remains so calm, which is such a complement to me, because I’m not always the calmest person.”

With 100 percent trust the right skis were on his feet, the two-time Olympian finished just 21 seconds back of the gold-medal pace in an extremely close men’s field.

“I usually blow up in Davos because it is a tough course, and at altitude,” said Kershaw. “To have these conditions thrown in, I really just tried to stay relaxed and let the skis work for me. I lost myself in the technique and it worked out today. To have that many guys separated by only 21 seconds in the top 10 is crazy. The races are so tight.”

After a slow start to the post-Olympic season, Kershaw and his Canadian mates have found their groove after posting strong results in three consecutive weeks on the World Cup.
 
George Grey had his best result of the season after finishing in 32nd spot at 41:45.7. Ivan Babikov was 38th with a time of 42:01.1, while Stefan Kuhn was 67th (44:08.8) and Calgary’s Brent McMurtry was 75th (45:16.3).
 
Daria Gaiazova was the lone Canadian to hit the start line in the women’s 10-kilometre classic-ski race. Gaiazova finished 61st with a time of 31:14.0.

The World Cup wraps up in Davos, Switzerland on Sunday with skate-ski sprint race. S-Magazine

Davos World Cup cross-country results

Top-5 Men and Canadian Results:
1. Alexey Polotoranin, KAZ, 40:03.5; 2. Alexander Legkov, RUS, 40:04.4; 3. Lukas Bauer, CZE, 40:07.5; 4. Dario Cologna, SUI, 40:07.8; 5. Sami Jauhojaervi, FIN, 40:09.4.
Canadian Results:
9. Devon Kershaw, Sudbury, Ont., 40:24.4; 32. George Grey, Rossland, B.C., 41:45.7; 38. Ivan Babikov, Canmore, Alta., 42:01.1; 67. Stefan Kuhn, Canmore, Alta., 44:08.8; 75. Brent McMurtry, Calgary, 45:16.3.
 
Top-5 Women and Canadian Results:
1. Marit Bjoergen, NOR, 29:31.6; 2. Justyna Kowalczyk, POL, 30:00.9; 3. Therese Johaug, NOR, 30:10.7; 4. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, FIN, 31:08.9; 5. Marianna Longa, ITA, 31:11.5
Canadian Results:
61. Daria Gaiazova, Banff, Alta., 31.14.0