After Cendrine Browne had her first quarterfinals at a World Cup sprint event last weekend in Lahti, Finland, it was now Antoine Cyr’s turn to achieve that feat on Thursday in Drammen, Finland. Norway.
Posted at 1:50 p.m.
Cyr took the 19and rank in qualifying on the 1.2 kilometer circuit in the heart of the city of Drammen. Stopping the clock at 2 minutes 32.77 seconds, he was the second best Canadian in this phase behind his Ontario teammate Graham Ritchie, 13and.
The 23-year-old cross-country skier’s day’s work ended in the quarter-finals as he finished fourth 0.63 seconds from a ticket to the next round. This is the best result of his career in the sprint in the World Cup, he who finished 32and in Ruka, Finland, in this specialty and 31and at the World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany in February 2021.
In the final, Frenchman Richard Jouve took top honors in a time of 2 minutes 32.84 seconds. He beat Chinese Qiang Wang (+1.59 seconds) and his compatriot Lucas Chanavat (+2.32 seconds) who took silver and bronze respectively.
With his performances in the quarter-finals, Cyr retains his 19and rank in the final standings. Eliminated in qualifying, Olivier Léveillé ended the day at 46and step (+4.10 seconds).
On the women’s side, no Quebecer managed to qualify for the playoffs by finishing in the top-30. Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt is the one who came closest by finishing 40and (+6.78 seconds). She beat Katherine Stewart-Jones (48and+10.43 seconds), Laura Leclair (51and+13.77 seconds) and Cendrine Browne (53and+15.42 seconds).
Browne, who had a difficult day, however, said she was happy to have been able to take part in this special race.
“It didn’t go too well today (Thursday). I’ve been tired for a few days, and the classic sprint is not my cup of tea. But I really wanted to experience this unique race. It was cool! »
Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway won the event in front of her supporters. Sweden’s Jonna Sundling (+0.53 seconds) finished second while Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampic (+1.97 seconds) took the bronze medal.
Athletes will now head to Oslo for the mass start events starting on Saturday.