Babikov takes 10th, Renner 25th
Last Updated: Friday, February 5, 2010 | 6:24 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Two-time Olympian Sara Renner won a silver medal at the Torino Winter Games in 2006. She came in 25th at the Alberta World Cup on Friday. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)Ivan Babikov lived up to his nickname as the "bulldog" of the Canadian men's cross-country ski team on Friday, as he pushed up painful hills for a 10th place finish against a world class field at the Alberta World Cup.
The 29-year-old downplayed his effort in the 15-kilometre freestyle race, arguing he could have finished better if only there'd been more uphill slopes to pound through.
"In the uphills I felt good. The flat after the uphills was the hardest for me. I love uphills," said Babikov, who became a Canadian citizen in 2007 after moving here from Russia with his wife and son.
"Top 10 at a World Cup. It's pretty good.
"Maybe [I] was like a dog at least today. Maybe not like a bulldog, but a dog."
The race was a success for Italy, renowned for powerful skate skiers, as Giorgio Di Centa claimed the victory with a time of 34 minutes, eight seconds. He was followed by his countryman Pietro Piller Cottrer, while Dario Cologna of Switzerland strode in for third just 11 seconds behind the leader.
Babikov was about 40 seconds behind the victor.
In 2005, in essentially the same competition in Canmore, he placed 4th skiing for Russia.
Babikov has consistently earned a reputation as one of the most fearsome hill climbers in the world.
He declared his technique still could improve and noted he had over a week to go before the Olympic competitions begin.
In January he had the fastest time up in the final stage of the Tour de Ski, a climb up the Mount Cermes ski hill in Italy, despite suffering from flu and exhaustion after seven other races in 10 days.
Head coach David Wood praised his racer as having an exemplary work ethic.
"He's a tough guy. That's an understatement," he said.
"He's not afraid to work hard and to go at his limit all the time. Some people are conservative. They are saving and saving. Ivan doesn't save anything."
He noted that Ivan earned the nickname of bulldog because he loved to kickbox a punching bag during summer training.
"He was kicking it and punching it. They gave this name to him, like you see on the World Wrestling Federation."
The coach said he was concerned about the women's performance, as none of the women managed a top-20 performance.
"I think the girls weren't very good. We have to look at that. Everybody's been training well. If they're not performing up to what they're capable of, we have to look at their rest pretty aggressively."
Sara Renner of Canmore said she felt some fatigue in her legs right from the start of her World Cup cross-country skiing race.
Renner, a silver medallist at the 2006 Torino Olympics, ended up with a 25th place finish out of 66 competitors in the 10-kilometre individual start.
It's a drop from the 14th place finish she achieved during the World Cup circuit in Val de Fiemme, Italy, in January, but better than some of her races before Christmas.
Renner said she gave her maximum effort, but the fatigue in her legs was "a little bit concerning."
Daria Gaiazova, 27, was the next best Canadian, placing 41st in the women's race.
Charlotte Kalla, 23, of Sweden won the women's race with an impressive time of 25 minutes, while World Cup leader Justyna Kowalczyk took second, 10 seconds behind her. Russian Irina Khazova came third with a time of 25 minutes, 17 seconds.
In the men's race, George Grey of Rossland, B.C., also enjoyed one of his season's stronger results, with a 17th place finish, while Devon Kershaw placed 37th and Alex Harvey, 21, of St.-Ferreol-les-Neiges, came 62nd.
Chandra Crawford, a 2006 gold medallist in the freestyle sprint, didn't compete in the race.
She will be skiing in the individual classic sprint on Saturday.
