December 30, 2005 – Swede Bjoern Lind and Alena Sidko of Russia won World Cup free technique sprints Friday while Torin Koos (Leavenworth, WA) was 15th in the men’s race with Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) 21st after a spill while leading into the final half-kilometer.

Lind out-stretched fellow Swede Peter Larsson, who won the season-opening sprint last October in Dusseldorf, Germany, with Norwegian Johan Kjoelstad in third place. Sidko finished ahead of another Swede, Anna Dahlberg with Claudia Kuenzel of Germany third.

Skiers raced over the course in the prologue time trial where Newell qualified third and Koos 28th. They were paired in the same six-man finals heat.

“We had some fun a while but we’re taking small steps, and that’s our game plan,” U.S. Sprint Head Coach Vidar Loefshus said. “Andy was leading with about 400 meters left, and then he had an accident, and you can’t have small accidents in the sprints. He got tangled up, someone hit a pole, then someone else hit his pole and he went down…and Torin was stuck in the middle of the pack.

“But Andy’s learning, they’re both getting there…and this was disappointing, but another good step forward for them,” Loefshus said.

The next men’s sprint will be Jan. 8 in Otepaeae, Estonia, a classic race, with another classic sprint Jan. 22 in Oberstdorf, Germany. The Olympic sprints are freestyle but the new-this-winter team sprint will be classic technique.

VIESSMANN CROSS COUNTRY WORLD CUP
Nove Mesto, CZE – Dec. 30, 2005
Men’s 1.2K FR Sprints (4 make finals)
1. Bjoern Lind, Sweden
2. Peter Larsson, Sweden,
3. Johan Kjoelstad, Norway
4. Mikael Oestberg, Sweden
–
15. Torin Koos, Leavenworth, Wash.
21. Andy Newell, Shaftsury, Vt.
—
Women’s 1.2K FR Sprints
1. Alena Sidko, Russia
2. Anna Dahlberg, Sweden
3. Claudia Kuenzel, Germany
4. Natalia Maleeva, Russia
–
(No American women raced)