Düsseldorf: Newell 19th, Wenzl, Matveyeva win

American Andy Newell finished 19th in Saturday’s sprint in Düsseldorf as the FIS cross-country World Cup opened in front of thousands of spectators along the Rhine. Torin Koos failed to qualify for the finals.

DÜSSELDORF, Germany — Man proposes and God laughs, somebody said. That’s what happened Saturday as the 2008 cross-country World Cup season got under way before the customary mega-crowd along the Rhine in Düsseldorf, Germany.
    Americans Andy Newell and Torin Koos were feeling ready to roll, but they ran into problems while German semi-newcomer Josef Wenzel stormed to his first World Cup win in the men's 1.5-kilometer freestyle sprint. Russian Natalia Matveyeva won the women's sprint with Marit Bjoergen of Norway second; no U.S. women raced, but Olympic champion Chandra Crawford of Canada, who struggled a year ago, was a respectable 10th under brooding skies.
    Wenzel is 22 and the sprint silver medalist at the 2006 Under-23 World Championships, but coming into this season he never had a top-five World Cup finish and only two top 10s.
    Wenzl covered the sprint final in 3 minutes, 7.4 seconds on artificial snow in downtown Düsseldorf. Swedish Olympic champion Bjorn Lind was second, 0.3 seconds back. Jon Kristian Dahl of Norway was third, 0.4 back, in a race watched by 80,000 spectators.
    “I hoped for a win, but I didn’t expect it,” said Wenzl, who also won his three qualifying races to reach the final.
    While Norway and Sweden have dominated the sprints and have arguably the highest profiles in men’s racing, Germany continues to produce the winners. Germans have taken the last four men’s overall titles (Rene Sommerfeldt in 2004, Axel Teichmann in ’05 and Tobi Angerer for the last two seasons). Now Wenzel jump-starts their season; a sprint specialist, he won’t be around as overall champion at season’s end, but he’s a new face on the podium and an energizing force.
    Newell qualified 14th and was ready to go, but he got his pocket picked coming out of the stadium when, he conceded, he made a mistake on a turn — going wide and dropping to fourth among the six in his quarterfinal heat. In the end, his time made him a disappointing 19th.
    “Andy got off to a good start [in quarterfinals], but said he made a tactical error,” said sprint coach Chris Grover. “He tried to go outside on a corner after the start/finish area and a couple of guys [in the field of six] snuck inside, and then he was trying to make up 10, 15 meters the rest of the way.
    “He’s skiing well, but if you’re not in the [top] two going into those last two corners, it’s so hard to overtake in those last 150 meters. He missed it by a couple of tenths.”
    “So, now we get ready for [Sunday’s team sprint] and build on today,” added Grover. “Andy’s skiing well. Torin didn’t have a good day today but he knows he’s solid, too, so they’re looking to do well in the team event.”
    Matveyeva may have taken the win — the first of her career — but veteran observers were nodding knowingly about Bjoergen’s return, even if she was 0.9 seconds off the Russian at the end. She’s struggled for two seasons — she has a disappointing Olympics in Torino in 2006, barely held off Canadian great Beckie Scott for the overall crown that winter, and was runner-up to Finn Virpi Kuitunen, but nearly 450 points back a year ago. She wasn’t top three in either distance or sprint races. Once again, Bjoergen will be watched for dominance when the individual races resume in late November in Beitostolen, Norway. Sweden’s Anna Dahlberg was third, 1.1 back.
    Team sprints — a tag-team format with each skier having to finish six rounds — are set for Sunday, weather permitting.
    Despite the huge crowds the event draws, there is talk of ending the Düsseldorf World Cup after six years. The TV audience response has been poor because the winter sport season in Germany is still two months away.

Düsseldorf cross-country World Cup

Men
Freestyle sprint
(1.5 kilometer)
1. Josef Wenzl, Germany, 3 minutes, 7.4 seconds.
2. Bjorn Lind, Sweden, 0.3 seconds behind.
3. Jon Kristian Dahl, Norway, 0.4.
4. Petter Northug, Norway, 1.2.
5. Marcus Hellner, Sweden, 2.1.
6. Nikolai Morilov, Russia, 7.3.

World Cup standings
(After 1 of 31 races)
1. Josef Wenzl, Germany, 100 points.
2. Bjorn Lind, Sweden, 80.
3. Jon Kristian Dahl, Norway, 60.
4. Petter Northug, Norway, 50.
5. Marcus Hellner, Sweden, 45.
6. Nikolai Morilov, Russia, 40.

Women
Freestyle sprint
(0.8 kilometer)
1. Natalia Matveyeva, Russia, 1 minute, 48.1 seconds.
2. Marit Bjoergen, Norway, 0.9 seconds behind.
3. Anna Dahlberg, Sweden, 1.1.
4. Arianna Follis, Italy, 1.5.
5. Seraina Mischol, Switzerland, 2.1.
6. Pirjo Muranen, Finland, 6.5.

World Cup standings
(After 1 of 31 races)
1. Natalia Matveyeva, Russia, 100 points.
2. Marit Bjoergen, Norway, 80.
3. Anna Dahlberg, Sweden, 60.
4. Arianna Follis, Italy, 50.
5. Seraina Mischol, Switzerland, 45.
6. Pirjo Muranen, Finland, 40.