Alex Harvey reaches Tour de Ski podium with 3rd-place finish

Canadian Alex Harvey reached the Tour de Ski podium on Wednesday in Oberstdorf, Germany, finishing third in the 15-kilometre pursuit.

Harvey's performance means he kept hold of the third-overall spot in the Tour de Ski and sits sixth in the overall World Cup standings.

"It feels really good. I was really close yesterday in fourth and have been in the top-10 a lot since the beginning of the season so it is a bit of a relief," said Harvey.

"Being in the top-10 this many times you feel like it is a matter of time until you finally get on the podium, but you also get a little ancy too. I had targeted yesterday's race as the one for me on the Tour, and to finish fourth was a bit of a heartbreaker. But, I have been motivated by the results early in the season, which has also given me confidence in my ability. It's just nice to finally get a podium."

Harvey was outdone by Sergey Ustiugov, who is a perfect four-for-four after winning the latest stage.

The 24-year-old Russian is the first cross-country skier to win four stages in a row on the tour.

Ustiugov again left former tour winner Martin Johnsrud Sundby in second, finishing in 37 minutes, 58.5 seconds to beat the Norwegian by 37.2 seconds.

"Early in the race I did not feel so good. I was watching for Martin to catch me," Ustiugov said. "But when he did not come I decided to go for it."

Harvey, of St-Férréol-les-Neiges, Que., finished 1:08.8 behind.

Ustiugov increased his tour lead to 42.2 seconds over Sundby, who still leads the overall World Cup standings with 728 points. Finn Haagen Krogh is second with 455 points and Ustiugov is next with 450.

Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont., finished 21st while Graeme Killick of Fort McMurray, Alta., came in 43rd. 

As the Tour now takes a rest day to travel to Italy for the final three races, Harvey sits in third place overall 1:18.8 seconds behind the leader Ustiugov. Sundby is in second 42.2 seconds behind.

"I am in great position heading into the final weekend. The technicians have been awesome with giving me great skis everyday," said Harvey. "It is one of the most consistent seasons of my career for sure. The equipment is good. The training is good and there hasn't been a bad day yet so everything is coming together and I want to keep it going."

Earlier, Stina Nilsson of Sweden claimed her second victory in as many days by winning the women's 10K race, finishing in 27:42.7. She finished ahead of Norwegian teammates Heidi Weng and Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg.

Nilsson leads Weng by 6.7 seconds.

"It was very tough," Weng said. "There was some new snow in the tracks. I knew Stina would be fast in the last meters."

Weng leads the overall World Cup standings with 832 points. Oestberg is second with 766 points and Krista Parmakoski of Finland is third with 594, followed by Nilsson with 531.