January 07, 2012 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) was taking no prisoners as she powered to victory in the women’s 10km CL in Val di Fiemme on Stage 8 of Tour de Ski  and reclaimed the overall lead. Marit Bjoergen (NOR) was a strong second but was left wondering if she can beat her Polish rival who claimed both bonus second preems as she duked it out with Bjoergen on her way to the top spot on the podium.

Behind the battle raged for top placings as USA’s Randall suffered in the second half after a strong start losing ground to Charlotte Kalla (SWE), Krista Lahteenmaki (FIN), Marthe Kristoffersen (NOR) and Katrin (GER) to finish a solid 12th on the day and now sits 8th overall. It was a bitter-sweet finish as today was one of Randall’s better classic races but things heated up on the penultimate stage.

“My hard wax skis were awesome today. I actually woke up with a lot of energy this morning. It was fun to ski at the front but I couldn’t respond when the pace picked up,” Randall told us, “I wanted to try and grab some bonus seconds but gave up some time in the last 2km.

“I wanted to be aggressive and in the mix today. That may have hurt me a little bit in the end but I’d rather feel the pace for 5km and then fade rather than to be too conservative in the beginning. It was still a decent 10km classic race for me and so much better than my race here last year!”

At the finish Randall was just behind Norway’s Therese Johaug (NOR) who placed 11th on the day and sits 3rd overall with a comfortable lead of 1:13 over Kalla now in 4th overall. Lahteenmaki is 12s behind Kalla in 5th, then it’s Kristoffersen in 6th another 21s back, with Zeller in 7th at 6s behind her and then Randall is less than a second behind Zeller.

Kowalczyk appeared invincible as Bjoergen challenged but Kowalczyk was determined to lead and win. As in the previous races the two dropped the field after the half way point and raced alone at the front, unlike the men’s 20km race where a field of 10-12 skiers or more were at the front challenging each other most of the race.

American Liz Stephen was just out of the points today placing 34th and sits 32nd overall. “My skis were great,” Stephen told Trax. “I love mass starts and my strategy was to go hard, try and hang with the pack, and enjoy every second of this race and event. My energy is good and I’m excited about tomorrow with a shot at a top-30 finish.”

Holly Brooks is also hanging in finishing 45th on the day and is 43rd overall. “Today was hard and I am feeling pretty tired but it was a level playing field today. I’m ready to race the last stage of the Tour and looking foward to Alpe Cermis tomorrow and then taking a break.”

The fireworks continue on Sunday as the Tour wraps up with one of the toughest stages the sport has ever seen – a 9km climb up Alpe Cermis.

Women’s 10km CL results HERE.
Women’s 10km CL results detail HERE.
Women’s TdS Overall HERE.