Antoine Cyr skied to a 20th place finish Friday in the World Cup Classic 10km in Falun, Sweden, in grueling conditions for all athletes.

“If you want nightmarish classic conditions, give the techs a 2 or 3 degrees with snow and they’ll have a good challenge!” commented the cross-country skier after the race presented in the individual start.

“It was a bit more complicated for them, but at the end of the day they were able to give us competitive skis. I think we did well. This 20th place is a step in the right direction. »

Cyr finished the event in 25:8.8, 1 minute and 13.5 seconds behind the winner, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway. The latter won with a lead of 10.7 seconds over his compatriot Martin Loewstroem and 20.7 seconds over Harald Oestberg Amundsen, also from Norway.

The Quebecer set one of the ten best times in the first intermediate passage, but it was above all in the various climbs of the course that he stood out.

“A 10 kilometer is really fast and if you are far in the first split times it can become a complicated race. I’m in good shape and it was in the steep sections that I felt better, so I took the opportunity to give more. On the dishes, it was a little harder. It was enough to use my strengths and it gives me a pretty good result, ”he analyzed.

Also in action, Olivier Léveillé stayed in the same waters from start to finish and finished 37th (1 minute and 49.1 seconds).

On the women’s side, Katherine Stewart-Jones was the only Canadian to start the 10 kilometer classic. The Chelsea athlete placed 40th with a time of 29:45.9 (2 minutes and 37.4 seconds).

Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen took gold, while Germany’s Katharina Hennig (15.9 seconds) and Norway’s Anne Kjersti Kalvaa (22.3 seconds) finished second and third.

The Falun World Cup will resume on Saturday with the sprint events. A 4×5 kilometer mixed relay will take place on Sunday.