Lahti XC: Kuitunen wins, clinches overall title

Virpi Kuitunen of Finland won the freestyle cross-country ski sprint Saturday at the Lahti Ski Games to clinch the women’s World Cup overall title.

LAHTI, Finland — Virpi Kuitunen of Finland won the freestyle cross-country ski sprint Saturday at the Lahti Ski Games to clinch the women’s World Cup overall title.
    With five events remaining, Kuitunen has 1,297 points. Norway’s Marit Bjoergen is second with 788. Bjoergen fell in her semifinal Saturday and eventually finished eighth.
    With 100 points for a win, Bjorgen can’t catch Kuitunen. Bjorgen was the defending overall champion and also won in 2005.
    “It felt fantastic to thank this fabulous crowd with the title,” Kuitunen said. “There was no better place where to win it. Now and then I yawned, feeling the aftermath of Sapporo, but the crowd surely woke my up when I was going to the starts.”
    The 30-year-old Kuitunen has won seven of her 13 races during the season, and has two runner-up finishes.
    In the sprint, Kuitunen held off compatriot Riitta-Liisa Roponen, with Anna Dahlberg of Sweden in third. Kikkan Randall of the United States, a 24-year-old skier from Alaska, won the B final to finish seventh overall.
    Randall, who was second to Bjoergen in their quarterfinal heat, didn’t qualify for finals from her semis heat. That put her in the B final (places 7-12), where she had the fastest time.

Norway’s Northug win’s men’s sprint
    In the men’s final, Norway's strong team made a podium sweep with new star Petter Northug finishing ahead of world champion Jens Arne Svartedal and Eldar Ronning. Yuchi Onda of Japan was fourth.
    It was a second career World Cup win for the 21-year-old Northug.
    “This was my first in the sprint. I tried to stay in front and control the group,” he said.
    Svartedal did not feel like a loser.
    “I’m very surprised I made the podium in a skating sprint,” he said. “I’m at my best in the classic style. But I skied very well, used perfect tactics and had good skis.”
    The sprint did not have any great impact on the men’s overall standings, led by title holder Tobias Angerer of Germany.
    Andy Newell had the top U.S. men’s result, finishing 14th, with Torin Koos 21st.
    The Lahti Ski Games continue Sunday with the men’s 15 km classic race and women’s 10 km CL.

VIESSMANN CROSS-COUNTRY WORLD CUP
Lahti Ski Games
Lahti, Finland — March 10, 2007

Men
Sprint, 1.4 kilometers
1. Peter Northug, Norway.
2. Jens Arne Svartedal, Norway,
3. Eidar Ronning, Norway.
4. Yuichi Onda, Japan.
5. Johan Kjolstad, Norway.
6. Dusan Kozisek, Czech Republic.

B final
7. Emil Jonsson, Sweden.
8. Nikolay Morilov, Russia.
9. Tobias Angerer, Germany.
10. Trond Iversen, Norway.
11. Josef Wenzl, Germany.
12. Thobias Fredriksson, Sweden.
–
14. Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, Vt.
21. Torin Koos, Leavenworth, Wash.

World Cup standings
1. Tobias Angerer, Germany, 891 points.
2. Aleksander Legkov, Russia, 573.
3. Tor Arne Hetland, Norway, 521.
4. Eidar Ronning, Norway, 467.
5. Vincent Vitoz, France, 392.
6. Petter Northug, Norway, 376.
7. Jens Arne Svartedal, 374.
8. Simen Ostensen, Norway, 343.
9. Evegeni Dementiev, Russia, 310.
10. Franz Goring, Germany, 310.

Women, 1.2 km
1. Virpi Kuitunen, Finland.
2. Riitta-Liisa Roponen, Finland.
3. Anna Dahlberg, Sweden.
4. Petra Majdic, Slovenia.
5. Arianna Follis, Italy.
6. Katerina Neumannova, Czech Republic.

B final
7. Kikkan Randall, United States.
8. Marit Bjoergen, Norway.
9. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, Finland.
10. Alena Sidko, Russia.
11. Justyna Kowalczyk, Poland.
12. Ella Gjomle, Norway.
–
44. Laura Valaas, Wenatchee, Wash.

World Cup standings
1. Virpi Kuitunen, Finland, 1,297.
2. Marit Bjoergen, Norway, 788.
3. Katerina Neumannova, Czech Republic, 742.
4. Aina-Kaisa Saarinen, Finland, 586.
5. Petra Majdic, Slovenia, 585.
6. Valentina Shevchenko, Ukraine, 487.
7. Riitta-Liisa Roponen, Finland, 459.
8. Arianna Follis, Italy, 378.
9. Justyna Kowalczyk, Poland, 372.
10. Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, Germany, 361.