Cross Country: Norwegians dominate in Otepaeae

Norwegian men took the top five finishes in a World Cup cross country sprint today in Otepaeae, Estonia. They were led by Ola Vigen Hattestad in first, followed by teammates Oystein Pettersen in second, and Boerre in third.Norwegian men took the top five finishes in a World Cup cross country sprint today in Otepaeae, Estonia. They were led by Ola Vigen Hattestad in first, followed by teammates Oystein Pettersen in second, and Boerre in third.

American Torin Koos grabbed the last top-20 spot, followed by Teammate Andy Newell in 24th. “We had good skis, we had good qualifying, but where we’re at right now, we’re not strong enough to podium on this kind of course,” U.S. cross country head coach Peter Vordenberg said. 

Slovenia’s Pera Majdic took the women’s race ahead of three Finns, including Aino Kaisa and Virpi Kuitunen in second and third, respectively.

The top American woman was Kikkan Randall in 16th. 

Both Hattestad and Majdic have won four World Cup sprints this season.

The cross country World Cup now heads to Rybinsk, Russia for competition next week.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 VIESSMANN CROSS COUNTRY FIS WORLD CUP
Otepaae, Estonia – Jan. 25, 2009
Classic Sprint

Men’s 1.4K
1. Ola Vigen Hattestad, Norway
2. Oystein Pettersen, Norway
3. Boerre Naess, Norway
4. Tor Arne Hetland, Norway
5. Eldar Roenning, Norway
–
20. Torin Koos, Leavenworth, WA
24. Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, VT

Women’s 1.2K
1. Petra Majdic, Slovenia
2. Aino Kaisa Saarinen, Finland
3. Virpi Kuitunen, Finland
4. Pirjo Muranen, Finland
5. Alena Prochazkova, Slovakia
–
16. Kikkan Randall, Anchorage