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Kershaw enters Tour de Ski record books

Canmore national team cross-country skier Devon Kershaw is earning quite the reputation as a bridesmaid. Kershaw made ski history with a fourth-place overall finish in the Tour de Ski, Sunday (Jan.
Devon Kershaw wrapped up the 2012 Tour de Ski in fourth place; Canada’s best-ever finish.
Devon Kershaw wrapped up the 2012 Tour de Ski in fourth place; Canada’s best-ever finish.

Canmore national team cross-country skier Devon Kershaw is earning quite the reputation as a bridesmaid.

Kershaw made ski history with a fourth-place overall finish in the Tour de Ski, Sunday (Jan. 8), the highest ever finish for a Canadian on the Tour. However, the Canmore resident, often his own worst critic, couldn’t help but agonize over falling just short of a podium.

“It’s bittersweet to be fourth. In the coming days I will appreciate it more,” Kershaw said.

Last year, Kershaw earned four medals, but finished seventh overall in the Tour de Ski after faltering late in the nine-day event. He’s happier with this year’s result.

“Fourth is better than seventh. My focus this year was the overall and I was able to achieve that. I’m now poised to have a good second half.”

Canada placed three skiers in the top 30 this year on the Tour, as Alex Harvey finished 12th and Ivan Babikov was 27th. Only Russia had more skiers in the top 12. With no cross-country ski world championship or Olympic Games this year, the Tour was considered the top race of the Nordic season.

Kershaw has developed a penchant for winning the wooden medal. He already has a fourth and fifth place finish at the Olympics, and is confident he can one day win the 110-kilometre Tour de Ski the World Cup ski circuit patterned after the Tour de France cycling race. The Tour combines nine races over 11 days.

Over the combined races, Kershaw was only 25 seconds behind bronze medalist Petter Northug of Norway, and just over two minutes behind gold medalist Dario Cologna of Switzerland, who has won the tour three times. Sweden’s Marcus Hellner finished second.

The second half of the tour was a revelation for Kershaw, who had several breakthrough races. He was 13th in the sprit in Toblach, Italy, then recorded the ‘race of his life’ in the Cortina to Toblach, Italy 35 km skate ski, finishing fourth.

“This is probably the best ski race I’ve ever had. I couldn’t have imagined to have skied this strong,” Kershaw said last Friday.

In the 20 km stage in Val di Fiemme, Italy, Harvey grabbed the silver medal for Canada’s lone medal of the tour with a time of 1:00.03.3. In a sprint finish, he double poled his way to second place, just ahead of Cologna. Kershaw was sixth on the day, just three seconds out of first place.

“It’s been an up and down Tour de Ski for me, but today (Saturday) everything was clicking together,” said Harvey.

“I felt amazing all day. My legs were super light. To be sixth, I was right in the mix. In the Tour, that’s most important,” Kershaw said.

In the final stage, a heart-pounding climb up a slalom ski course in Val di Fiemme, Italy, Kershaw needed to catch Northug to grab third overall in the Tour ranking.

“It’s (the three-kilometre climb up Alpe Cermis) hell. It is nothing short of hell. You got to try and find a rhythm but it is hard to find a rhythm when there are pitches close to 30 per cent and you are essentially just walking up a hill.

“Your legs are screaming for a rest and there is no rest to be found. When Hellner gets away from you and then Northug is coming back to me, I just want to bury myself to catch Northug. But then I’m so terrified the guys behind are going to catch up to me – to be honest, it is a horrible sensation. It is horrible.”

The grind hardly resembled a cross-country ski race.

“It’s not cross-country skiing. It hurts so much,” Kershaw said.

The Val di Fiemme course is lined with 30,000 screaming ski fans with no barrier between them and the athletes. Kershaw had a tough time getting updates on his position, and was able to pick out a few words in Italian to determine his spot in the race. He ultimately finished 18th in Val di Fiemme, seven spots behind teammate Ivan Babikov. Babikov recovered from a sprained wrist suffered earlier in the Tour for his best finish on the Tour.

“They’re in your face and right up against you.”

Kershaw is currently ranked sixth in the overall World Cup ranking and in striking distance of the top three. Despite the initial disappointment with a fourth-place finish, Kershaw was reflective hours after the result.

It’s really a soulful race for me. It has all the disciplines and I love it. It’s a season highlight for me.”


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