Otepaeae X-C: Swedes win, Newell paces U.S men

Otepaeae X-C: Swedes win, Newell paces U.S men{mosimage}OTEPAA, Estonia – Sweden’s Bjorn Lind and Lina Andersson won sprint events Sunday in a World Cup cross-country ski meet.

Lind broke from the pack on the final uphill stretch before the ski stadium to win the men’s classic style final ahead of Norway’s Tor Arne Hetland.

”I was a little surprised to win by such a big margin,” Lind said. ”My tactic was to attack at the end of the course because it’s so long here. I feel very strong. The reason is that I haven’t been sick and I’ve been able to practice as I planned this season.”

Lind leads Hetland 325 points to 300 in the sprint standings. Overall, Tobias Angerer of Germany kept the lead with 485 points. Hetland has 455 in second place.

The women’s final was closer, with Andersson finishing just ahead of Manuela Henkel of Germany for only her second career World Cup triumph.

”I was only watching the finish line and gave everything I had,” Andersson said. ”I’m grateful it was enough.”

Marit Bjoergen of Norway, who wound up fifth, stayed atop the overall standings with 585 points. Andersson is not in the top 10 overall, but fourth in the sprint standings also led by Bjoergen.

American Andy Newell was 27th in the men’s 1.5-kilometer test. Newell qualified 21st but went out in the quarterfinals. Torin Koos was a near-miss to race finals, finishing 32nd in the prologue.

U.S. head coach Trond Nystad said, ‘This is a tough course with a lot of climb, but Andy showed again he’s got the speed to go with the big guys, and now he’s learning the tactics for pack racing … and that just takes racing. He’s getting there … and Torin was close, so they keep moving forward.’

– The Associated Press/USSA

World Cup cross-country results

Men
Sprint
1. Bjorn Lind, Sweden.
2. Tor Arne Hetland, Norway.
3. Vassili Rotchev, Russia.
4. Jens Arne Svartedal, Norway.
5. Eldar Ronning, Norway.
6. Thobias Fredriksson, Sweden.
7. Yuichi Onda, Japan.
8. Nikolai Pankratov, Russia.
9. Johan Kjolstad, Norway.
10. Mikhail Deviatiarov, Russia.

Overall standings
After 12 of 24 races
1. Tobias Angerer, Germany, 485 points.
2. Tor Arne Hetland, Norway, 455.
3. Vincent Vittoz, France, 353.
4. Bjorn Lind 331.
5. Vassili Rotchev, Russia, 299.
6. Jens Arne Svartedal, Norway, 286.
7. Pietro Piller Cottrer, Italy, 236.
8. Eldar Ronning, Norway, 228.
9. Peter Larsson, Sweden, 217.
10. Frode Estil, Norway, 207.

Sprint standings
After four of nine races
1. Bjorn Lind, Sweden, 325.
2. Tor Arne Hetland, Norway, 300.
3. Peter Larsson, Sweden, 217.
4. Thobias Fredriksson, Sweden, 174.
5. Mikael Ostberg, Sweden, 132.
6. Johan Kjolstad, Norway, 124.

Women
Sprint
1. Lina Andersson, Sweden.
2. Manuela Henkel, Germany.
3. Ella Gjomle, Norway.
4. Virpi Kuitunen, Finland.
5. Marit Bjoergen, Norway.
6. Seraina Mischol, Switzerland.
7. Petra Majdic, Slovenia.
8. Emelie Ohrstig, Sweden.
9. Aino Kaisa Saarinen, Finland.
10. Kati Venalainen-Sundqvist, Finland.

Overall standings
After 12 of 24 races
1. Marit Bjoergen, Norway, 585.
2. Julia Tchepalova, Russia, 460.
3. Claudia Kunzel, Germany, 408.
4. Beckie Scott, Canada, 360.
5. Hilde G. Pedersen, Norway, 338.
6. Virpi Kuitunen, Finland, 335.
7. Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, Germany, 305.
8. Kristina Smigun, Estonia, 295.
9. Katerina Neumannova, Czech Republic, 290.
10. Majdic 266.

Sprint standings
After four of nine races
1. Marit Bjoergen, Norway, 185.
2. Claudia Kunzel, Germany, 185.
3. Anna Dahlberg, Sweden, 177.
4. Lina Andersson, Sweden, 173.
5. Manuela Henkel, Germany, 157.
6. Alena Sidko, Russia, 123.

Nations standings
Men
1. Norway, 2,628 points.
2. Sweden, 1,630.
3. Germany, 1,445.
4. Russia, 1,009.
5. Italy, 908.
6. France, 892.

Women
1. Norway, 1,837.
2. Russia, 1,751.
3. Germany, 1,578.
4. Finland, 963.
5. Sweden, 948.
6. Canada 681.