Antoine Cyr narrowly misses the podium with best Canadian Sprint World Cup result since 2019
Drammen, Norway — Antoine Cyr finished fourth behind a Norwegian podium sweep at today’s World Cup classic sprint race in Drammen, Norway.
The 4th place result is a personal best for Cyr and the best Canadian World Cup result since the retirement of skiing great and mentor Alex Harvey.
“This was my personal best on World Cup. I’m delighted with this one. It feels so good to be in the final and playing with the best in the world,” said Cyr.
The 25-year-old from Gatineau, Quebec placed 11th in the qualifier situating him solidly in the quarter final heats. In the fastest quarter final heat of the day, Cyr beat out American James Schoonmaker in a tie-breaking finish to grab the second-place spot. Advancing to the semi-finals, Cyr finished 3rd, in what again would be the fastest of the day, nabbing a lucky loser spot into the sprint final of six. In the final heat, Cyr kept behind the leaders; then, in a double-pole sprint to the finish, he nabbed fourth place from French skier Richard Jouve.
Cyr’s fourth-place finish comes after placing 20th in the 50 km classic race two days ago in Oslo, Norway. Cyr will finish the season with upcoming races in Falun, Sweden.
Three other Canadians raced in Drammen today: Pierre Grall-Johnson, of Ottawa, Ont., finished 45th, Xavier McKeever, of Canmore, Alta., was 46th, and Sasha Masson, of Whitehorse, YT was 58th.
Johannes Klaebo finished first in 2:35:89, Haavard Taugboel finished in second 1.09 behind, and Even Northug in third 1.32 behind.