January 22, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Norway’s Marit Bjoergen continued her World Cup onslaught with a decisive victory on Saturday in the women’s 10km Classic individual start by a 32-second margin over World Cup leader Justyna Kowalczyk (POL).

Bjoergen’s team mate Therese Johaug finished third and is becoming a familiar face on the podium as she bested Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) who’s making gains since her shoulder injury earlier this year, in fourth.

Bjoergen’s pace cannot be matched it seems and with the Oslo Worlds around the corner the odds favour her to win all six women’s events although she may take a pass on the team sprint. It was her 43rd WCup win and she has now topped fellow Norwegian, Bente Skari’s record of 42 World Cup victories for women – Skari was on site for the historic occasion as the TD for the race.

According to FIS XC Russia’s Elena Vaelbe has the most women’s WCup wins with 45 but Statistical Skier sheds some interesting light on these records as the criteria for wins is apparently not consistent – read more HERE.

Kowalczyk was leading at the 2.5km mark on the 5km course, but Bjoergen soon asserted herself and by the end of the first lap she had a 13-second lead as Kowalczyk faltered.

“I knew how Marit is skiing,” Kowalczyk told FIS XC post-race. “But there are tough uphills on the course and I am not the strongest there.”

Bjoergen never looked back once again trouncing the field altho’ she claimed to have been nervous about her first distance race since La Clusaz. “I was little bit nervous today. I have not done along distance race since La Clusaz and I was not sure about my shape.”

Canada’s Daria Gaiazova finished in 43rd while Emily Nishikawa, debuting at her first Euro World Cup in preparation for the upcoming Junior/U23 World Championships, placed 46th.

“Today’s race was a really cool experience, the crowd was so loud especially on the big climb which was awesome,” said Nishikawa by email. “The course was super tough and I’m still feeling the jet lag a little, but I was really excited to be out there. Today’s race was a great tune up for the U23 Champs, I’m looking forward to more racing next week!”

Kowalczyk remains the overall WCup leader with a sizeable lead over Bjoergen while Arianna Follis (ITA) is in third with Johaug in 4th. In the distance World Cup ranking Kowalczyk has a lead of 162 points over Bjoergen with Johaug in 3rd.

“It was a good race today,” said Johaug. “My shape is very good. The course here is very tough with many uphills. I had information about how Justyna was racing – in the end she was faster.”

Full results HERE.
Full results detail HERE.
Overall standings HERE.