Canada sprints to rare cross-country skiing gold
Canadian pair of Alex Harvey, Len Valjas win team sprint event in Italy
Alex Harvey and Len Valjas raced to victory in the men's cross-country team sprint event in Toblach, Italy on Sunday.
The Canadian pair, who were competing together for the first time, finished the course in 16 minutes, 2.11 seconds, just 0.53 seconds ahead of Sweden, and 0.65 seconds in front of Italy.
Canada advanced to the sprint final after placing fourth in the semis earlier in the day.
"This feels absolutely great. Team wins are always special. To share this with Lenny and all of the [equipment staff] is awesome," said Harvey.
It was the first time Canada has won a team sprint event since Harvey and Devon Kershaw won gold in the classic team sprint at the 2011 World Championships in Norway.
"I'm just feeling really good right now. I wasn't going to race yesterday and decided I might as well do it and see what happens," said Harvey.
"It gave me a lot of confidence for today to deliver a great result and we did that. The skis have been amazing all year. The body is great and everything is going really well right now."
Haywood Update: <a href="https://twitter.com/alex_harvey">@alex_harvey</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/LennyValjas">@LennyValjas</a> World Cup sprint gold in Toblach <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamCanada">@TeamCanada</a> <a href="https://t.co/9vFUXSlesX">pic.twitter.com/9vFUXSlesX</a>
—@cccskiThe win was Harvey's fifth and 19th World Cup medal overall, while for Valje, it was his first World Cup victory.
"I've been kind of waiting for this breakthrough," said Valjas. "It has been a long road, but I am feeling really strong.
"This is just perfect and gives me huge confidence heading into World Championships."
On Saturday, Harvey and Valjas each registered top-20 finishes in the 1.3-kilometre skate-sprint race.