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Tight duels for Tour de Ski 2012 victory
After six of the nine stages, the winners of the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski 2012 performance by Craft Sportswear are still a long way from being decided. In both ladies' and men's competitions, tight duels are under way for victory on top of Alpe Cermis.
After claiming the leader's red jersey already in the prologue in Oberhof on the first day, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) went on to win all the ladies' first three stages, the two in Oberhof and the sprint in Oberstdorf. Marit Bjoergen (NOR), the pre-Tour season dominator and Kowalczyk's biggest challenger for Tour victory, found back her winning momentum in the skiathlon in Oberstdorf and continued in her winning ways as the Tour moved to Toblach for the 5th stage.
Meanwhile in the men's Tour, the leader's jersey has changed hands a few more times. The initial prologue victory went to Norway's Petter Northug after a tight fight with Maurica Manificat (FRA). After the second stage in Oberhof, Germany's Axel Teichmann wore the red bib which he lost again to Northug as the Tour moved to Allgäu where the Norwegian defended his position in the sprint and then won the skiathlon. The two-time Tour winner Dario Cologna (SUI) first claimed the leader's bib after the fifth stage, the 5km race in Toblach.
In the Toblach sprint, Bjoergen took her third stage win in a row, and reduced the gap between herself and overall leader Justyna Kowalczyk to 4.8 seconds. With a 15 km free technique race on Thursday's agenda, Bjoergen will have an advantage, as this is not Kowalczyk's strongest event. However, Justyna Kowalczyk has surprised the followers more than once and is likely not to hand the lead to Bjoergen without a true fight. The rest of the field are already more than two minutes behind the leading duo, with Therese Johaug (NOR) trailing by 2.22 minutes. However Johaug remains dangerous on Alpe Cermis where she beat most of the men even in last year's final stage!
Dario Cologna is still the men's overall leader, whilst Petter Northug claimed back the overall sprint leader bib in the sixth - a free technique sprint - stage in Toblach (ITA). The gap between Northug and Cologna is now 13.5 seconds, much closer than what it was last year at this stage. With a 32 km free distance handicap race tomorrow, where the men will ski from Cortina to Toblach, everything can still happen. The weather forecast predicts snowfall, and the two Tour favorites are most likely to work together as a team and push each other so as not to lose time on the group of followers consisting of Alexander Legkov (RUS), Devon Kershaw (CAN), Maxim Vylegzhaning (RUS) and Maurice Manificat.
Three stages remain in this Tour de Ski edition as after the Cortina-Toblach race a rest day is on schedule on Friday before the final stages in Val di Fiemme this weekend. The Final Climb onto Alpe Cermis takes place on Sunday, 8th January 2012.
For up-to-date information on the latest in the Tour de Ski, visit www.fiscrosscountry.com
(Photo NordicFocus)