Toblach, Italy – Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk remained in the Tour de Ski lead on Thursday with a comfortable win in the 15k freestyle pursuit, but the field closed the gap with Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla 23.3 back and Therese Haug of Norway 28.7 back. Alaska’s Kikkan Randall dropped from fifth to eighth, leaving her just 59.3 seconds out.
“Another solid day as we are now halfway through this Tour de Ski! My legs were a little stiff out there, but I was able to get in a good pack and it was fun to actually be able to take some time back on Kowalczyk,” Randall said. “I had hoped to race more with Charlotte Kalla but she was really strong today.
“The course was bomb proof and super fast. I had a little fall early in the race when I tripped myself but thankfully it wasn’t at a really crucial point,” Randall commented.
Liz Stephen, of E. Montpelier, Vt., had a strong day, moving up to 19th while Minnesota’s Jessie Diggins is now 27th in her first Tour.
Petter Northug of Norway took the men’s 35k win and the Tour lead in a closely fought battle. Kris Freeman, of Andover, N.H., was 43rd for the American men, followed by Aspen’s Noah Hoffman in 57th and Andy Newell, of Shaftsbury, Vt., 67th.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Cross Country World Cup
Tour de Ski – Toblach, Italy – Dec. 3, 2012
Women’s 15km Freestyle Pursuit
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 1 | KOWALCZYK Justyna | 1983 | POL | 37:15.1 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 7 | KALLA Charlotte | 1987 | SWE | 37:33.4 | 9.83 |
| 3 | 2 | JOHAUG Therese | 1988 | NOR | 37:33.8 | 10.04 |
| 4 | 3 | STEIRA Kristin Stoermer | 1981 | NOR | 37:34.3 | 10.31 |
| 5 | 6 | KYLLOENEN Anne | 1987 | FIN | 37:58.2 | 23.14 |
| 6 | 4 | HERRMANN Denise | 1988 | GER | 37:58.4 | 23.25 |
| 7 | 8 | JACOBSEN Astrid Uhrenholdt | 1987 | NOR | 37:59.1 | 23.62 |
| 8 | 5 | RANDALL Kikkan | 1982 | USA | 37:59.4 | 23.78 |
| 9 | 14 | LAHTEENMAKI Krista | 1990 | FIN | 38:40.9 | 46.07 |
| 10 | 18 | WIKEN Emma | 1989 | SWE | 38:41.2 | 46.23 |
Men’s 35km Freestyle Pursuit
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 3 | NORTHUG Petter jr. | 1986 | NOR | 1:16:32.7 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 5 | LEGKOV Alexander | 1983 | RUS | 1:16:33.4 | 0.18 |
| 3 | 2 | COLOGNA Dario | 1986 | SUI | 1:16:33.6 | 0.24 |
| 4 | 1 | VYLEGZHANIN Maxim | 1982 | RUS | 1:16:34.3 | 0.42 |
| 5 | 6 | CHERNOUSOV Ilia | 1986 | RUS | 1:17:58.4 | 22.39 |
| 6 | 4 | HARVEY Alex | 1988 | CAN | 1:17:58.5 | 22.42 |
| 7 | 7 | HELLNER Marcus | 1985 | SWE | 1:18:00.0 | 22.81 |
| 8 | 8 | BAUER Lukas | 1977 | CZE | 1:18:00.5 | 22.94 |
| 9 | 18 | KROGH Finn Haagen | 1990 | NOR | 1:18:19.0 | 27.77 |
| 10 | 19 | PERL Curdin | 1984 | SUI | 1:18:19.8 | 27.98 |