Saving his best for last, Canada’s Alex Harvey produced a long awaited world cup gold medal in the 30 kilometre men’s skiathlon in Falun, Sweden to capture his third gold of the season on Saturday (March 15).
The 25-year-old Harvey beat out two of the world’s best in the penultimate race of the world cup season, where he finished the race in 1:18.07.6, ahead of points leader Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway and Olympic gold medallist Alex Legkov of Russia.
“I think it was the best race of the season for me,” said Harvey. “I was a bit sore from the sprint (yesterday) because it is such an intense sprint course, but by the end of my warmup I was feeling good. My body felt really good and the equipment was there too. I was bit surprised to be skiing with two of the world’s best skiers. I just used good tactics and it was great to get the win.”
Harvey, Sundby and Legkov broke away from the pack at the 20 km mark, as Harvey’s fast skis and smart race tactics allowed him to conserve energy. He tucked in behind the frontrunners until the 25 km mark, when he took the lead until the final downhill. That’s when he outsmarted his opponents with a slingshot move on the final descent.
“I knew Legkov and Sundby were good climbers, so I wanted to keep ahead of them so they didn’t drop me,” said Harvey. “I raced that sprint course four times yesterday. They didn’t get to do that, and I know when you get to the top of the course you don’t want to be in the lead heading into the stadium, so I just used that tactic to step aside and let them go ahead, and it worked.”
Legkov broke a pole coming into the stadium, allowing Harvey to outsprint Sundby in the final 100 metres on what has become one of his favourite courses.
“I just love racing and Falun is always at the end of the season,” said Harvey. “I think some guys, when they feel tired at the end of the year, they shut down in the head a bit, but I just love to race. When there may be tired bodies at the end of the season, I like to keep going. The course is so hard and it requires sustained work, and I just enjoy racing here.”
Harvey’s first world cup win came in Falun in 2012, where he won gold and bronze. His father Pierre also won a world cup medal in Falun in 1987. This season, Harvey has landed on the podium five times for the best season of his career. He currently sits fourth in world cup standings.
“This has been the best season of my life. Obviously, we didn’t have the magic we needed at the Olympics, which was the goal, but I have five podiums this year, three victories, and this just reconfirms all of the work we did in the summer. I’m confident in my tactics and finishing ability, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Harvey wasn’t the only Canadian to find his groove in Falun. Devon Kershaw pulled off a 12th-place finish for one of the best results of his season, while Ivan Babikov finished in 23rd.
“It’s only the second race this year I’ve felt somewhat decent, so I’ll take it,” Kershaw said.
Andrea Dupont was the lone Canadian in the women’s races. She finished 45th in the 15 km skiathlon.
