The eagle has landed: Bolshunov defends Tour de Ski title
Jan 10, 2021·Cross-Country
Throughout strenuous 7 stages within 9 days, Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) had built up a comfortable head start of 3:22 minutes for the final stage of the Tour de Ski 2021. The margin needed to be defended on the Final Climb to Alpe Cermis, the traditional grand final of the Tour de Ski.
After a fast-paced fight for the Tour Point ranking in the stadium of Lago di Tesero, the racers headed out towards the foot of Alpe Cermis where Gleb Retivykh (RUS) took the leading position and set the pace. Heading into the climb, the French team with Clement Parisse and Jules Lapierre paced Maurice Manificat, who had his eyes set to defend his second Overall Tour rank. The trio, chased by Andrey Melnichenko and Bolshunov, managed to stay in the lead until the steepest section of the climb where Denis Spitsov leaped out of the group. With increased speed, he managed to make a gap to the successors which he kept until the finish line. With his maiden World Cup victory up to Alpe Cermis, Denis Spitsov marked an outstanding milestone to his career and improved his end result to the third place in the Tour Overall standing.
In the final 500m before the finish, Alexander Bolshunov called up all remaining energy and passed Manificat who strongly kept pace. 13 seconds after Spitsov, Bolshunov crossed the finish line, repeating his victory in the Tour de Ski Overall standing before Maurice Manificat who ends third in the Final Climb and second in the Tour Overall standing.
Top-3 Tour de Ski 2021 Overall
Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) 3:32:32
Yulia Stupak (RUS) + 3:23
Ebba Andersson (SWE) +3:36
Top-3 Final Climb
Denis Spitsov (RUS) 32:41
Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) 32:54
Maurice Manificat (FRA) 32:56
Top-3 Point Standing
Alexander Bolshunov (RUS)
Gleb Retivykh (RUS)
Federico Pellegrino (ITA)
