Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt and Olivier Léveillé were at the start of the mixed team sprint at the Falun World Cup on Sunday in Sweden. The Quebecers ended the day in eighth place, thanks in particular to a solid start to the day in qualifying which gave them momentum for the final.
Posted at 2:31 p.m.
Ranked 17and Before the start, the Quebec duo surprised from the start of the day by clinging to sixth place in qualifying, just ahead of Canadians Dahria Beatty and Graham Ritchie. Bouffard-Nesbitt first set the eighth time, before seeing Léveillé explode by stopping his personal time at 1 min 47.6 s to gain two places.
“It was very pleasant, we really had fun. Our qualification went well and we had a good advantage for positioning at the start of the final. We are really happy with the way it went. Both Canadian teams did very well today [dimanche] “, mentioned Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt in an interview with Sportcom.
“I hadn’t done a mixed event for at least four years. This is the kind of effort that I like to do. I had a lot of energy and qualifying went really well for both of us,” said Léveillé.
In the final, things got off to a good start for Quebecers. Olivier Léveillé was still in top form on the Swedish course. Bouffard-Nesbitt, however, began to feel pain in the middle of the race when 11 rallies were scheduled for this final, where two pairs were eliminated at every two stints.
Léveillé managed to hold on, to the delight of her teammate, but the Quebecers had to settle for eighth place, being eliminated just before the 10th.and exchange.
“We wanted to do at least three laps each. That would have given us a 12and place, which would have been good and realistic for us, but we managed to do even better! The first stints went well, we almost made it to the very end. »
With an eighth place in the World Cup, we are really happy.
Olivier Leveille
“My first two laps went well, I felt great. I lost my legs in the third and fourth lap, it was so painful! Luckily, Olivier was skiing very well, he managed to pull us up when things were not going so well on my side,” added Bouffard-Nesbitt.
Team Sweden 1, consisting of Jonna Sundling and Calle Halfvarsson, took top honors in the mixed team sprint in front of their home fans. The crowd favorites edged out the two Norwegian teams on the podium. Tiril Udnes Weng and Martin Lowestroem Nyenget (+10.09 seconds) took the silver medal while Lotta Udnes Weng and Harald Oestberg Amundsen (+10.16 seconds) took bronze.
Dahria Beatty and Graham Ritchie finished the day in seventh place.
Also in action, Antoine Cyr, Katherine Stewart-Jones, Philippe Boucher and Jasmine Drolet teamed up in the mixed relay where they took twelfth place (+1 min 45.2 s). The Americans won the gold medal ahead of the Finns and Norwegians in this 4×5 kilometer event.
An unforgettable end to the season
Six years after her last participation in a World Cup stage, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt has made a successful return to the circuit after taking part in the Beijing Olympics. The Morin-Heights athlete has taken part in five races over the past month, including two this weekend in Falun. An experience that fills her with happiness.
I couldn’t be happier with my end to the season, it was a big goal for me to return to the World Cup circuit.
Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt
“I’ve been consistent in my runs, I’ve stayed healthy, so that’s a huge achievement,” shared the 29-year-old cross-country skier.
Bouffard-Nesbitt came very close to achieving its goal of top 30 in an individual race on Friday when she took 31and sprint rank. She intends to build on what she has achieved since the Olympics to continue her momentum next season.
“I don’t miss much to reach a top 30, I’m happy to prove that I have my place in the World Cup after so many years. I am the oldest in the team, but I have less experience than my teammates on the circuit. We get along well and we manage to help each other. »
“The motivation is still there, I’ve had a lot of difficulty and bad luck in recent years, but I’m very confident for the next season, it’s extremely exciting,” she concluded.
The Canadian cross country skiers will return to Canada at the start of the week and head to Whistler, British Columbia for the hosting of the Canadian Championships which begin on March 20.