Petter Northug used a sudden burst of speed on the final lap Friday to lead Norway to the gold medal in the men's 4X10-kilometer cross-country relay at the Nordic World SKi Championships.

SAPPORO, Japan — Petter Northug used a sudden burst of speed on the final lap Friday to lead Norway to the gold medal in the men's 4X10-kilometer cross-country relay at the Nordic World SKi Championships.
    Northug blew past Sweden's Anders Sodergren and Russia's Eugeni Dementiev on the final uphill as defending champion Norway claimed the gold medal with a time of 1 hour, 30 minutes, 49.2 seconds.
    Russia finished second 3.2 seconds back while Sweden took the bronze, 3.5 seconds off the lead.
    ''I pushed real hard,'' said Northug. ''I wanted to prove to the world that I have a good finish and I think I did that today.''
    After leaving his opponents in his tracks, Northug raised his arm in the air and saluted Norway's fans just before crossing the finish line.
    The team of sprint bronze medalist Eldar Ronning, Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset, Lars Berger and Northug gave Norway its eighth men's relay in the last nine championships.
    After winning only one medal in nordic skiing events at the Torino Games, Norway already has restored national pride and leads this meet with 12 medals. Germany trails with seven while Finland has six.
    ''We're very satisfied,'' said Ronning who skied the first leg. ''It's unbelievable to be on the Norway team right now. To be a world champion is a dream I've had since being a boy, so this is a perfect day for us.''
    Friday's event quickly became a three-team race with Norway, Russia and Sweden jostling for the lead from the second leg on.
    Russia's Alexander Legkov gave his team a slim lead over Norway and Sweden at the final changeover. Sodergren put Sweden ahead briefly before Northug's surge into the lead settled the matter.
    Sweden was forced to make two late changes to its lineup because of illness and Sodergren said he was pleased with the team's performance under difficult circumstances.
    ''We had two guys out there who had no experience in relay and they did very well,'' said Sodergren. ''Considering what happened, we're very pleased with the result.''
    Germany finished fourth while Olympic champion Italy finished a disappointing ninth.
    The United States did not enter a team in the relay as it prepared for the final men's race, Sunday's 50 km classic.
   The 2007 championships mark the first time the meet is being held as an independent event in Asia. In 1972, when the Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo, they doubled as the FIS World Ski Championships.

Sapporo World Championships men's 4X10-kilometer relay results
1. Norway, 1 hour, 30 minutes, 49.2 seconds.
2. Russia, 3.2 seconds behind.
3. Sweden, 3.5.
4. Germany, 50.5.
5. France, 1:28.8.
6. Finland, 2:06.3.
7. Kazakstan, 2:07.2.
8. Czech Republic, 2:07.6.
9. Italy, 3:20.1.
10. Switzerland, 3:20.4.

Click here for complete results.