Lahti XC: Smigun, Hjelmeset win classic

Kristina Smigun won the women’s 10-kilometer classic style race at the Lahti Ski Games on Sunday for her first World Cup victory of the season.
LAHTI, Finland — Kristina Smigun won the women’s 10-kilometer classic style race at the Lahti Ski Games on Sunday for her first World Cup victory of the season.
    The Estonian finished the course in 28 minutes, 30.7 seconds, edging Olga Savialova of Russia, who posted 28:57.4. Germany’s Viola Bauer was third with 28:59.6.
    Finland’s Virpi Kuitunen, who clinched the overall World Cup title on Saturday, was 12th.
    Kuitunen has an insurmountable lead with 1,319 points in the overall standings, ahead of Marit Bjoergen of Norway, who finished 16th, with 803 points.
    The Czech Republic's Katerina Neumannova, who finished seventh, is third in the standings with 778 points.
    Norway’s Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset won the men’s 15-kilometer classic, and Tobias Angerer of Germany finished third to extend his lead in the overall standings.
    Hjelmeset clocked 39 minutes, 51.7 seconds. Eldar Ronning of Norway was second, 26.1 seconds behind, and Angerer was just another 0.6 seconds behind Ronning.
    Angerer leads Russia’s Alexander Legkow, who did not start Sunday because of illness, by 378 points. While 400 points can be gained in the remaining four races, Legkow is expected to miss the sprint event in Drammen, Norway, which would give Angerer an insurmountable lead.
    “I reached my goal this season, to win the World Cup again,” said Angerer, who was congratulated as the overall champion by other skiers after the race. “Legkow will not ski the sprint, so it’s done. I’m very happy about that.”
    Angerer won a 30 km freestyle mass start in December, the demanding Tour de Ski in January, and a 15 km freestyle in China in February. He also had three third-place finishes and won a silver and a bronze medal at the World Championships in Sapporo, Japan.

Lahti World Cup cross-country ski result
Men
15-kilometer classic
1. Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset, Norway, 39 minutes, 51.7 seconds.
2. Eldar Ronning, Norway, 40:17.8.
3. Tobias Angerer, Germany, 40:18.4.
4. Frode Estil, Norway, 40:22.3.
5. Jaak Mae, Estonia, 40:44.0.
6. Lukas Bauer, Czech Republic, 40:47.0.
7. Petter Northug, Norway, 40:56.8.
8. Sami Jauhojarvi, Finland, 40:58.7.
9. Jean Marc Gaillard, France, 41:08.2.
10. Vincent Vittoz, France, 41:09.2.
11. Anders Sodergren, Sweden, 41:13.9.
12. Benjamin Seifert, Switzerland, 41:16.3.
13. Ivan Batory, Slovakia, 41:19.1.
14. Mathias Fredriksson, 41:21.2.
15. Rene Sommerfeldt, Germany, 41:27.0.
16. Thomas Diezig, Switzerland, 41:37.1.
17. Vassili Rotchev, Russia, 41:41.3.
18. Tero Simila, Finland, 41:41.5.
19. Oystein Pettersen, Norway, 41:44.4.
20. Priit Narusk, Estonia, 41:48.8.

World Cup standings
Men
1. Tobias Angerer, Germany, 951 points.
2. Aleksander Legkov, Russia, 573.
3. Eldar Ronning, Norway, 547.
4. Tor Arne Hetland, Norway, 521.
5. Vincent Vitoz, France, 418.
6. Petter Northug, Norway, 412.
7. Jens Arne Svartedal, 374.
8. Simen Ostensen, Norway, 343.
9. Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset, Norway, 329.
10. Franz Goring, Germany, 317.

Women
10-kilometer classic
1. Kristina Smigun, Estonia, 28 minutes, 30.7 seconds.
2. Olga Savialova, Russia, 28:57.4.
3. Viola Bauer, Germany, 28:59.6.
4. Kristin Steira Stormer, Norway, 29:09.1.
5. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, Finland, 29:09.4.
6. Petra Majdic, Slovenia, 29:10.8.
7. Katerina Neumannova, Czech Republic, 29:20.9.
8. Seraina Mischol, Switzerland, 29:24.0.
9. Riitta-Liisa Roponen, Finland, 29:26.7.
10. Justyna Kowalczyk, Poland, 29:30.4.
11. Stefanie Bohler, Germany, 29:30.5.
12. Virpi Kuitunen, Finland, 29:31.5.
13. Ella Gjomle, Norway, 29:40.4.
14. Vibeke W. Skofterud, Norway, 29:43.0.
15. Anna Dahlberg, Sweden, 29:44.3.
16. Marit Bjoergen, Norway, 29:44.6.
17. Claudia Kunzel-Nystad, Germany, 29:46.3.
18. Kristin Murer Stemland, Norway, 29:47.1.
19. Kari Venalainen, Finland, 29:50.8.
20. Masako Ishida, Japan, 29:57.6.

World Cup standings
Women
1. Virpi Kuitunen, Finland, 1,319 points.
2. Marit Bjoergen, Norway, 803.
3. Katerina Neumannova, Czech Republic, 778.
4. Aina-Kaisa Saarinen, Finland, 631.
5. Petra Majdic, Slovenia, 625.
6. Valentina Shevchenko, Ukraine, 495.
7. Riitta-Liisa Roponen, Finland, 488.
8. Justyna Kowalczyk, Poland, 398.
9. Arianna Follis, Italy, 384.
10. Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, Germany, 361.