Canada's top-four cross-country skiers teamed up to finish 13th in the men's 4x7.5 kilometre relay on Sunday at a World Cup event in Lillehammer, Norway.
Led by three-time Olympian Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont., the Canadian squad also included Alex Harvey of St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., Ivan Babikov (Canmore, Alta.) and Graeme Killick (Fort McMurray, Alta.), in the anchor position. The Canadians combined for a 13th-place time of one hour 15 minutes 7.2 seconds.
Warm cloudy weather made for a tricky first leg for the world's best cross country skiers — especially on the opening leg. Kershaw quickly charged out into the lead, but faded as the opening 7.5-kilometres continued on back into 13th spot. Despite having the sixth fastest time against the second group of athletes, Harvey was not able to make up any ground and the Canadians maintained their position throughout the rest of the race.
"We missed the kick wax 100 per cent on the classic today," said Justin Wadsworth, head coach of the Canadian cross-country ski team. "On paper this team is top-five and we proved that yesterday with each of the guys finishing in the points. We are debriefing as to what happened and can only learn from it."
Norway entered three teams in the World Cup relay, and all three shared the medals.
Norway I clocked-in at 1:13:25.7, while Norway III skied to the silver medal at 1:13:28.5 and Norway II claimed the bronze (1:13:40.5).
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