Sport News
Germany's Tim Tscharnke wins 15 km classic in photo finish
In the closest competition of the season with 5 men separated by just 0.7 seconds it was Tim Tscharnke of Germany who came out on top. In a photo finish with Kazakhstan's Alexey Poltoranin, Tscharnke recorded his first World Cup victory since Canmore in December 2012. Just +0.4 behind in third was Dario Cologna of Switzerland.
Cologna fell midway through the competition but managed to battle his way back to the front of the lead group and challenge for the win. Fourth and fifth place was also decided by photo finish between two Russian athletes Stanislav Volzhentsev and Alexander Bessmertnykh +0.7 seconds back from Tscharnke's winning time of 46:48.8.
Stage six of the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski performance by Craft Sportwear saw the first men's podium this season without a Norwegian present and it also marked the first time a German male skier was inside the top 16 (Tscharnke 1st, Thomas Bing 6th, Jonas Dobler 15th).
Petter Northug Jr (NOR) still leads the overall Tour standings despite a 21st place finish today. His lead is now +3.1 over Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) who was 8th place today. Sweden's Calle Halfvarsson still sits in 3rd place +26.8 back. He was 27th today in the 15 km classic.
ATHLETE QUOTES
Tim Tscharnke, GER
I felt much stronger today than at the beginning of the Tour. We had been training hard before the Tour de Ski. I got better and better every stage. It’s a little bit surprise for me to win today. Thomas (Bing) and me wanted to be in the front of the pack. We helped each other. We did not focus on sprints, we just wanted to go for a good position in the finish.
Alexey Poltoranin, KAZ
I had again a good race today. I was in a good shape. I am very satisfied about my performance. I managed to stay away from trouble. Tomorrow I will just ski for the World Cup points.
Dario Cologna, NOR
It was a good race with good fights for the victory. It is good to be fighting for the Tour de Ski podium. I had to spend some energy to come back after the crash but I managed to finish on the podium. It will be difficult to go for podium in the Tour but you never know what can happen on the climb.
Petter Northug, NOR
Today the plan was to fight for bonus seconds. I knew many skiers were saving energy for the finish. The last bonus sprint cost me a lot of power. It will be a hard fight for the podium tomorrow. It has been a tough Tour de Ski. If you have a really bad day you can easily lose many minutes.
OFFICIAL RESULTS - 15 km classic
1. TSCHARNKE Tim GER 46:48.8 PF
2. POLTORANIN Alexey KAZ 46:48.8 PF
3. COLOGNA Dario SUI +0.4
4. VOLZHENTSEV Stanislav RUS +0.7
5. BESSMERTNYKH Alexander RUS +0.7
TOUR DE SKI OVERALL STANDINGS
1. NORTHUG Petter Jr. NOR 2:57:15.5
2. SUNDBY Martin Johnsrud NOR +3.1
3. HALFVARSSON Calle SWE +26.8
4. BELOV Evgeniy RUS +35.3
5. COLOGNA Dario SUI +1:46.6
Petter Northug Jr (NOR) still leads the overall Tour standings despite a 21st place finish today. His lead is now +3.1 over Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) who was 8th place today. Sweden's Calle Halfvarsson still sits in 3rd place +26.8 back. He was 27th today in the 15 km classic.
ATHLETE QUOTES
Tim Tscharnke, GER
I felt much stronger today than at the beginning of the Tour. We had been training hard before the Tour de Ski. I got better and better every stage. It’s a little bit surprise for me to win today. Thomas (Bing) and me wanted to be in the front of the pack. We helped each other. We did not focus on sprints, we just wanted to go for a good position in the finish.
Alexey Poltoranin, KAZ
I had again a good race today. I was in a good shape. I am very satisfied about my performance. I managed to stay away from trouble. Tomorrow I will just ski for the World Cup points.
Dario Cologna, NOR
It was a good race with good fights for the victory. It is good to be fighting for the Tour de Ski podium. I had to spend some energy to come back after the crash but I managed to finish on the podium. It will be difficult to go for podium in the Tour but you never know what can happen on the climb.
Petter Northug, NOR
Today the plan was to fight for bonus seconds. I knew many skiers were saving energy for the finish. The last bonus sprint cost me a lot of power. It will be a hard fight for the podium tomorrow. It has been a tough Tour de Ski. If you have a really bad day you can easily lose many minutes.
OFFICIAL RESULTS - 15 km classic
1. TSCHARNKE Tim GER 46:48.8 PF
2. POLTORANIN Alexey KAZ 46:48.8 PF
3. COLOGNA Dario SUI +0.4
4. VOLZHENTSEV Stanislav RUS +0.7
5. BESSMERTNYKH Alexander RUS +0.7
TOUR DE SKI OVERALL STANDINGS
1. NORTHUG Petter Jr. NOR 2:57:15.5
2. SUNDBY Martin Johnsrud NOR +3.1
3. HALFVARSSON Calle SWE +26.8
4. BELOV Evgeniy RUS +35.3
5. COLOGNA Dario SUI +1:46.6
Source: fis-ski.com
