Canada’s Chris Klebl skied to his second-straight silver medal at the IPC Cross-Country Skiing World Cup in Cable, Wisconsin on Monday.

The 40-year-old Klebl, of Canmore, Alta., powered his way around the challenging Wisconsin track – site of the famous American Birkebeinger ski race – to finish in second spot with a time of 33 minutes, 26.7 seconds on the 10-kilometre course.

“It was a good day and we had really good skis,” said Klebl, who added the conditions were windy and cold.

Klebljoined the Canadian squad after moving to Canmore, Alta., last year from the United States. Growing up in Austria, he became paralyzed from the waist down in 1995 in a snowboarding accident. The two-time Parlaympian started competing in cross-country skiing in 2005, and finished fourth overall on the World Cup in 2011 with one World Cup bronze medal.

It was just the second race of the season for the 2011 World Champion since breaking his leg in November.

While his quick comeback to top form is nothing short of stellar, Klebl was no match for Russia’s Roman Petushkov who finished nearly 90 seconds ahead of the Canuck with a time of 33:26.7.

“Petushkov was in a league of his own today, but fortunately I maintained the gap and opened the lead throughout on the third place,” said Klebl, who only had one informal race against friends in Colorado this season to measure his fitness. “You just never really know where you’re at. When the injury happened I was super fit and having surgery instead of a cast was a bonus because I only lost 10 real days of training.”

Italy’s Enzo Masiello was third at 33:59.0.

Two Quebec-based Canadians were also in the men’s sit-ski race. Sebastien Fortier was 14th at 37:56.4, while Yves Bourques finished 18th (42:35.2).

Saskatoon’s Colette Bourgonje was the top Canadian in the women’s five-kilometre sit-ski event. The legendary Paralympian finished at 22:46.5 – three minutes, 31 seconds off the golden pace set by Norway’s Mariann Marthinsen (19:19.2).

Quebec’s Christine Gauthier was 10th at 31:11.1, while Ontario’s Christy Campbell placed 13th with a time of 35:47.2.

OtherCanadian results on Monday included: Ontario’s Caroline Bisson was fifth (21:08.5) and Erica Noonan sixth (21:47.2) in the women’s five-kilometre standing category; Mark Arendz, of Springton, P.E.I., was 13th (31:37.2), and Louis Fortin, of New Brunswick, 21st (39:53.3) in the men’s 10-kilometre standing division; while Ontario’s Margarita Gorbounova and guide Brian Berry placed sixth at 19:22.4 in the women’s visually impaired division.

Cross Country Canada is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada, which is the nation’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually. Its 51,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities, including those on Canada’s National Ski Teams and Para-Nordic Ski Teams. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Haywood Securities Inc., AltaGas, Teck Resources Ltd. and Statoil – along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and Own the Podium, Cross Country Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic and world champions. For more information on Cross Country Canada, please visit us at www.cccski.com.

FOR COMPLETE RESULTS: http://www.ipc-nordicskiing.org/Results

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Cross Country Canada
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