When Alex Harvey tripped over a pole broken by U.S. skier Noah Hoffman, it summed up the whole Olympics for the Canadian team: if one piece was there, the rest was unlucky. Harvey, Ivan Babikov, and Graeme Killick finished 19th, 20th, and 28th, while Jesse Cockney was "just thrilled to have the start."
Devon Kershaw said he felt better skiing Friday than previously at this Olympics, but it was hard to tell with too much grip on a klister day in extremely soft and warm conditions. Kershaw placed 35th, his teammate Ivan Babikov finished 39th, Graeme Killick was 65th and Alex Harvey did not finish.
Photos of the U.S. and Canadian men on the first day of the men's cross-country races at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Two Canadians finished in the top 30, and Noah Hoffman led the U.S. in 35th.
Alex Harvey, the Canadian medal hopeful, placed 18th in the Olympic pursuit, hindered by a pair of classic skis that he said were both slick and slow. Noah Hoffman led Americans in 35th.
Erik Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team broke through in Saturday's 15 k classic individual start at the Toblach World Cup in Italy, two days after placing 17th the same event at U23 World Championships. Aside from Alex Harvey in fifth, the rest of the North American men placed outside the top 38 on a wet day marked by tricky conditions.
Fog blanketed the hillsides of Szklarska Poreba, Poland, as the men of the World Cup lined up for the start of the 15 k. In a field that lacked the esteemed Scandinavian racers, the predictions of who might win were about as unclear as the visibility on course.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby led the final stage of the Tour de Ski and never looked back as he skied to his, and Norway's, first victory in the event's history. Sundby, who has skied in every Tour de Ski, called his feat a "dream come true" and, overcome, said, "I have a great feeling, deep into the soul." Chris Jespersen of Norway, skiing in his first Tour de Ski, captured second place. Of his effort on the big climb, he said, "towards the end I thought, 'Now I die.'”
Alex Harvey can walk away from the 2014 Tour de Ski with his head held high. After finishing fifth in the 10 k individual classic on Saturday, Harvey ranked fourth in the overall Tour standings.
After breaking a pole early in the 35 k Cortina to Toblach pursuit, Canadian Ivan Babikov was still able to move up the rankings in the Tour de Ski.
A tough wax day plagued the Canadians, but Ivan Babikov persevered and knocked off 56 places to finish 19th in Wednesday's 15 k classic mass start at Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Meanwhile, Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw finished 40th and 47th.
Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw topped the podium Saturday in the opening prologue of the Tour de Ski. The Canadian men, dogged by slower start to their season than they would have hoped, made history and announced that they are back on form in the difficult, drizzly conditions of Oberhof, Germany.
The Canadian and American men's relays fell short of their goals on Sunday, placing 14th and 17th, respectively, in the 4 x 7.5 k Lillehammer World Cup, but both are optimistic about the future.
The Canadian men showed signs of recovery and an upswing in their second weekend of racing, with Alex Harvey leading the team in 16th in Saturday's 15 k classic individual start at the World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway.
The high hopes for today’s final stage of the Ruka Triple, in Kuusamo, Finland failed to materialize for the Canadian National Team, as they were unable to place anyone in scoring position. The Canadian men fell short of their expectations with Ivan Babikov, a traditionally strong distance skate skier, giving the team it’s best result in the 15k pursuit, with 37th place overall.
The North American men made a solid showing at the second stage of this year’s Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland. The men’s individual 10k classic was what each team described as a productive start to the season - headlined by Ivan Babikov of Canada, who tied for 21st and American Noah Hoffman who placed 28th.
Moving on from last season, the Canadians are a calculated bunch and ready to get the World Cup season started -- with a goal of not overemphasizing early results in order to peak for the Olympics. For the entire team, the Tour de Ski is part of the plan.
Anastasiya Kuzmina has pretty happy memories of Canada: the Slovakian biathlete won gold and silver there at the 2010 Olympics. But she's making plenty more memories with a yearly training camp at Frozen Thunder in Canmore, thanks to Ivan Babikov and Biathlon Canada. “I hope to be back here more," she said.
Ivan Babikov is excited, to say the least, heading into his third Olympic season. At 33, Canada's most-seasoned World Cup veteran knows what to expect and what not to get too stressed about. "[I’m] not trying to reinvent the bicycle," he says.
At first glance, one might not see much of a difference on the Canadian World Cup Team: mostly the same faces looking fit as usual. But head coach Justin Wadsworth said there's a lot that's gone on behind the scenes this training season, especially in monitoring recovery and priming his athletes for what he hopes to be their best seasons yet. A new camp in Truckee was part of the plan.
Kikkan Randall was an easy choice for her fifth Skier of the Year Award, while Andy Newell took his second title.