CALGARY — The timing of Devon Kershaw’s success in cross-country skiing is no accident.
Cross-country trailed other winter sports in development in 2005, when Canada began its push for medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
The sport has now caught up.
Technical expertise, athlete support, stable coaching and confidence have aligned to create an environment where Canada has multiple medal threats on the world stage.
Kershaw, the team’s top threat, arrived Monday at Calgary International Airport exhausted and elated after winning four World Cup medals, including one gold, over an eight-day span in the Tour de Ski.
The 28 year old from Sudbury, Ont., became just the third Canadian male to win a World Cup race in cross-country skiing after Pierre Harvey (1987, 1988) and Ivan Babikov (2009).
“It’s the best start I’ve ever had to a season,” Kershaw said upon his arrival from Germany.
“I’m sitting fourth overall in the World Cup (standings) which is great.
“I’m really happy to be home because I’ve been away for a long, long time. It’s been two and a half months on the road.”
The Tour is a stage race, similar in format to the Tour de France cycling race, in which skiers race almost every day at different courses in Europe. Kershaw finished seventh overall, Harvey’s 22-year-old son Alex was 10th overall and Babikov salvaged a tough series by finishing sixth in Sunday’s final stage.
“We definitely have confidence,” Kershaw said. “Ivan is there, he’s won a World Cup before. Alex Harvey is 22 and he’s going to be far better than I ever will be in my career.
“I’ve had some good strong results over the years and we’re building off that. Our team is definitely getting better.”
Since Beckie Scott’s Olympic gold in 2002, the women had a star teammate to inspire and to chase. Scott’s success overlapped Sara Renner’s and Chandra Crawford’s.
Crawford, Kershaw’s girlfriend, won Olympic gold in 2006.
The men’s squad took more time to mature and develop depth. While Canadian men had the occasional World Cup bronze medal or top-10 result in the five years leading into 2010, their breakthrough performance as a team didn’t happen until the Games themselves when the men posted seven top-10 finishes in Whistler.
Kershaw and Harvey were fourth in the men’s team pursuit. Kershaw was fifth in the men’s 50-kilometre race on the final day of the Games, just a second and a half out of a medal.
The ski team had three different head coaches in the quadrennial prior to 2010. Justin Wadsworth, a former U.S. ski team member and husband of Scott, is now committed to coaching the team to the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
Equipment and waxing are crucial in cross-country skiing. Canada developed much-needed expertise in this area prior to 2010 thanks to funding from Own The Podium. The athletes’ bodies are also better cared for by physiotherapists and massage therapists, another spin-off benefit from the Olympics.
“Our technical staff, the people in charge of our skis and equipment work so tirelessly for us and they do such a great job,” Kershaw explained. “We’ve had a lot of different coaches over the years. For me, Justin has been very instrumental in making good changes that were necessary this year in my training and preparation.
“I think those are the two main reasons (for success). It has definitely started to pay off for sure.”
The 2010 Winter Olympics were a psychological springboard for Kershaw and his teammates. They believe now they can beat the mighty skiers from Europe, where the sport is very popular. Kershaw likes to say cross-country skiing is to Norwegians what the NHL is to Canadians.
The Canadian men worked hard to be physically ready for the Olympics and they were inspired to continue that workload after their results at the Games.
“We’ve been training really hard the last two, three and four years,” Babikov said. “It’s paying off for sure.”
Crawford was hampered by injuries heading into 2010, but a winning a World Cup bronze last month in the team pursuit with Dasha Gaiazova indicates she may be returning to form.
Kershaw will spend the next three weeks training at the at the Nordic Centre in Canmore, Alta., where he lives with Crawford, before he returns to Europe for the rest of the World Cup season. The world championships are Feb. 23 to March 6 in Oslo, Norway.
Crawford departed for Europe on Saturday. She and Kershaw managed to meet in Munich to spend a few hours together before Kershaw caught his flight home.
The success of the men’s cross country team is similar to that of another Canadian sport just hitting its stride now. The luge team also played catch-up to other sports in developing medal candidates for 2010. Alex Gough, a 23-year-old Calgarian, has won an unprecedented three bronze medals on the World Cup this season.
There are also Canadian athletes who have carried their success at the Olympics over into this season. Speedskater Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., is the most prominent among them. The Olympic champ in the 1,000 metres is undefeated on the World Cup circuit in the 1,000 and 1,500 metres.
The freestyle season has just begun, but Canada has already won seven moguls medals in three events, including a gold medal from Mikael Kingsbury of Deux-Montagnes, Que. The ski cross team has three medals, all silver, after two World Cup races.
Kershaw was met at the Calgary airport Monday by his mother Maureen, who decided just that morning to fly in from Ontario and surprise her son.
“Quick visit, but I’ll be able to give him a hug and congratulate him in person,” Maureen said. “It’s a great story.
“Canada has been a bit of an underdog in the ski world because Scandinavians and Europeans dominate so dramatically in the sport. He was sort of told throughout his career ’Don’t expect much because you’re Canadian’ but he never really believed that.”