Cross Country Canada – NOVA MESTO, Cze.—Alex Harvey battled through challenging conditions to post a solid seventh place finish in a 15-kilometre cross-country ski race in Nova Mesto, Czech Republic on Saturday.

 

Coming off the grueling Tour de Ski and a bout of illness last week, the 27-year-old Harvey grinded out the top-10 result after clocking a time of 34:46.2 in the skate-ski race.

 

“The snow was really soft and completely different than yesterday so it was extremely slow today and I had to work the whole way,” said Harvey. “I really wanted to try and catch on to someone but it seemed I skied alone the entire day which made things tough – especially in the windy parts of the course.”

 

Harvey was in the hunt for the medals, skiing in the top-three for the first half of the race before fatigue started to set in and he dropped off the pace.

 

“I felt pretty good today. I was in the top-five most of the way. I’m definitely happy with a top-10 result. That is the goal every time I race,” said Harvey, of Saint Ferreol les Neiges, Que. “Our wax techs did a great job on the skis today. Overall it was a good day.”

 

Harvey finished 41 seconds off the leading pace set by Maurice Manificat, of France, who clocked a golden time of 34:04.9. Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby finished second at 34:15.7, while Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov claimed the bronze with a time of 34:17.9.

 

Devon Kershaw, of Sudbury, Ont., finished 38th at 36:07.1. Graeme Killick, of Fort McMurray, Alta., skied to 63rd (37:34.6), and Knute Johnsgaard, of Whitehorse, was 76th (39:18.2).

 

Emily Nishikawa, of Whitehorse, finished as the top Canadian in the women’s 10-kilometre skate-ski race. Nishikawa posted a time of 27:30.2 for 44th place.

 

With illness rolling through the Canadian women’s camp, the young Canucks dug deep to gain additional experience on the elite circuit. Cendrine Browne, of St-Jerome, Que., was 54th at 28:32.9. Dahria Beatty, also of Whitehorse, was 57th (28:58.2), while Maya MacIsaac-Jones (Athabasca, Alta.) was 61st (30:01.6) and Katherine Stewart-Jones, of Chelsea, Que., was 62nd (30:12.9).

 

The Norwegians grabbed the top-two spots on the women’s podium. Therese Johaug was first at 25:09.1, while Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen skied to the silver medal with a time of 25:13.7. Jessica Diggins, of the United States, won the race for the bronze medal with a time of 25:18.4.

 

The World Cup wraps up in Nova Mesto on Sunday with the men’s and women’s relay races.

 

CCC is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada, which is the nation’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually. Its 60,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities, including those on Canada’s National Ski Teams and Para-Nordic Ski Teams. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Haywood Securities Inc., AltaGas, and Mackenzie Investments – along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium and B2Ten, CCC develops Olympic, Paralympic and world champions. For more information on CCC, please visit us at www.cccski.com.

 

 

Complete Men’s Results: http://www.fis-ski.com/cross-country/events-and-places/event=37417/race=25801/?season=2016&discipline=&gender=all&race_id=25801&sector=CC

 

Complete Women’s Results: http://www.fis-ski.com/cross-country/events-and-places/event=37417/race=25801/?season=2016&discipline=&gender=all&race_id=25800&sector=CC

 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chris Dornan

Media and Public Relations

Cross Country Canada

T: 403-620-8731