ANDREW Musgrave described as "pretty shocking" the performance which saw him finish 28th in the men's 15km freestyle cross-country race at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Poole-born Musgrave had hoped to build on his superb display in the skiathlon when he challenged for a medal before finishing seventh. But he struggled to make an impression in an event he generally prefers.

The 27-year-old finished two minutes and seven seconds down on gold medallist Dario Cologna of Switzerland, with Norway's Simon Krueger and Russia's Denis Spitsov taking silver and bronze, respectively.

Musgrave said: "That was pretty shocking. I started off conservatively but felt heavy the whole way round and never got going.

"I'm gutted. That was the race I've been targeting. I knew on a good day I could be fighting for a medal but never thought I'd go as slow as that."

Musgrave joked he would take a radical approach to preparations for his next event, the men's 50km.

He added: "I need to think about something else for a couple of days. I don't know what I'm going to do – play air hockey, eat cake, have a doughnut – anything to stop thinking about skiing. I need to take my mind off this."

The Brit's compatriot, Andrew Young, finished 57th in his last race of these Olympics, while Callum Smith crossed the line in 75th.