Alex Harvey
Thanks for the comments (written and verbal) on yesterday’s post. Indeed, this is a blog and when we write here, we leave aside our day job and try to keep a positive environment!
Of course, Tuesday’s sprint race did not go according to plan for Alex Harvey and we must say that there are now big concerns about him getting on a podium in these Olympics.
What happened with Alex in the sprint, as explained to us, is that when he got to the «Putin Wall» in his quarter final, he had to switch too early from «one step» to «offset». The Russians kept attacking and pushing «onestep» and by the time they reached the top of the hill, Alex had dropped to fourth and wasn’t able to fill the gap. We could see down the stretch he had no zap left whatsoever in his legs.
Why that? Because he burned too much energy in the classic portion of the skiatlon two days before following a bad waxing choice.
The next race is in three days and Alex will recover. He’s still in great shape, physically and mentally. That’s not where the worries are.
Where the worries are, and THAT is a lot more complex, concern Devon Kershaw’s form. The big set back for the candaian team on Tuesday was not that Alex lacked turbo going up the last hill, it’s that Devon completely failed in the qual. What is going on?
Devon had an excellent summer of training and going to camps with the national team. Everything looked so good for the season and… and it’s just not happening. Devon is having a tough season and there does not seem to be any logical explanation for it.
For the team sprint, it will be hard to count on Lenny Valjas, who’s a fantastic sprinter. But he hasn’t fully recovered endurance wise from his knee injury. Going up three times the «Putin Wall» in his actual form could prove suicidal. So unless Devon finds the right gears (which we deeply hope!), Canada’s chances for a medal there are slim. Same goes for the 4×10 km relay.
And if Alex tries to make up for that in the team sprint and relay, what will he have left for the 50 km?
So as a blogger, yes, we stay positive.
As a journalist…
Skiplus 