Sweden's Calle Halfvarsson has made it two for two in Lillehammer by winning the 10 km free technique competition on stage 2 of the three day mini tour event.  It was a battle to the finish line in the interval start competition with Halfvarsson's teammate Marcus Hellner.  In the end Halfvarsson completed the course in a time of 23:04.9 to win by just 0.8 seconds ahead of Hellner.  Russia's Sergey Ustiugov made his return to the World Cup podium for the first time this season in third place +6.7 seconds off the lead.  It was an impressive top 10 today with 7 different nations represented and 9 nations in the top 15.  

With his two victories Halfvarsson will begin tomorrow's 15 km classic technique pursuit competition with a 28.1 second lead over Ustiugov.  Hellner will head out third, 9.8 seconds behind the Russian. 

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ATHLETE QUOTES 

Calle Halfvarsson (SWE)
It was really fun to fight with Marcus until the finish. My body felt good. I felt little bit tired in the first lap, probably from yesterday’s sprint. In the second lap I got better and I could ski really fast on the last uphill.

Marcus Hellner (SWE)
I did not have the information about the time between me and Calle. I thought I was fighting with Sundby and Krogh. It was really tight between us. It is a good feeling to be on the podium. The body feels good. I have some work to do with my technique, I hope I can get better.

Sergey Ustiugov (RUS)
I had some troubles with my shoulder. I worked a lot with my physical therapist and I am OK now. I am happy I missed only the races in Ruka. I am happy about 3rd place. The guys on the podium did a great job. It was fun to be competing with them. I feel in a good shape and I will do my best in tomorrow’s pursuit.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS

MEN - 10 km F interval start

1. HALFVARSSON Calle SWE 23:04.9 
2. HELLNER Marcus SWE +0.8 
3. USTIUGOV Sergey RUS +6.7 
4. KROGH Finn Haagen NOR +7.4
5. KRUEGER Simen Hegstad NOR +13.2

Complete results are available HERE. 

Overall Tour Standings 

1. HALFVARSSON Calle SWE 26:03.3 
2. USTIUGOV Sergey RUS +28.1 
3. HELLNER Marcus SWE +37.9

Complete tour standings are available HERE. 

Source: fis-ski.com