Oberhof, Germany – Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk made a big statement in Sunday’s 9k classic pursuit stage two of the Tour de Ski in Germany, posting a 41.4-second win over Norway’s Therese Johaug and moving into a commanding lead in her bid for a fourth straight Tour title.
The women’s Tour de Ski leader after Saturday’s prologue, Kikkan Randall, of Anchorage, Alaska, was 14th and is now 1:48.3 back going into Tuesday’s New Year’s Day freestyle sprint, where she will be among the favorites.
“Today was a tough one for me. It was really fun to start in the leader’s bib and I did the best I could to make Kowalczyk work to catch me,” said Randall, who celebrates her 30th birthday today. “I was happy to stay ahead for most of the first lap. I tried to hang on to her pace but she was skiing a little bit more powerfully than me.”
Russia’s Maxim Vylegzhanin took the win in the men’s 15k. Defending Tour champ Dario Cologna of Switerland is fourth. Kris Freeman, of Andover, N.H., was top American male in 58th.
Stage three is set for Val Müstair, Switzerland with the New Year’s Day freestyle sprint before the Tour swings to Italy with four stages.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Cross Country World Cup
Tour de Ski – Oberhof, Germany – Dec. 30, 2012
Women’s 9km Classic Pursuit
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 3 | KOWALCZYK Justyna | 1983 | POL | 25:01.4 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 13 | JOHAUG Therese | 1988 | NOR | 25:42.8 | 33.09 |
| 3 | 18 | KYLLOENEN Anne | 1987 | FIN | 25:46.4 | 35.97 |
| 4 | 4 | HERRMANN Denise | 1988 | GER | 25:49.9 | 38.76 |
| 5 | 10 | STEIRA Kristin Stoermer | 1981 | NOR | 25:50.5 | 39.24 |
| 6 | 6 | JACOBSEN Astrid Uhrenholdt | 1987 | NOR | 26:03.3 | 49.47 |
| 7 | 22 | NISKANEN Kerttu | 1988 | FIN | 26:03.8 | 49.87 |
| 8 | 27 | SAARINEN Aino- Kaisa | 1979 | FIN | 26:05.8 | 51.47 |
| 9 | 5 | ROPONEN Riitta-Liisa | 1978 | FIN | 26:06.5 | 52.03 |
| 10 | 19 | LAHTEENMAKI Krista | 1990 | FIN | 26:13.8 | 57.87 |
Men’s 15km Classic Pursuit
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 8 | VYLEGZHANIN Maxim | 1982 | RUS | 39:47.0 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 3 | LEGKOV Alexander | 1983 | RUS | 39:47.1 | 0.05 |
| 3 | 1 | NORTHUG Petter jr. | 1986 | NOR | 39:53.5 | 3.27 |
| 4 | 4 | COLOGNA Dario | 1986 | SUI | 39:53.7 | 3.37 |
| 5 | 6 | HARVEY Alex | 1988 | CAN | 39:54.7 | 3.87 |
| 6 | 5 | CHERNOUSOV Ilia | 1986 | RUS | 40:07.5 | 10.31 |
| 7 | 29 | HEIKKINEN Matti | 1983 | FIN | 40:16.4 | 14.78 |
| 8 | 18 | BAUER Lukas | 1977 | CZE | 40:28.2 | 20.71 |
| 9 | 23 | TURYSHEV Sergey | 1985 | RUS | 40:34.7 | 23.98 |
| 10 | 33 | OLSSON Johan | 1980 | SWE | 40:46.5 | 29.91 |