January 16, 2010 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Only one week after winning the women’s overall at Tour de Ski in a come-from-behind surge up Alpe Cermis on the final stage, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), returned to the FIS XC World Cup to win the women’s 10km classic in Otepaa, EST, one of her favourite courses. Canada’s Daria “Dasha” Gaiazova, who recently swept the Canadian Olympic selection races, had a great race placing 20th in a star-laden field.

World Cup overall and distance leader, Kowalczyk, lead from start to finish but was kept honest by Marit Bjorgen (NOR) who closed in on her on the 2nd lap but couldn’t catch the feisty Polish skier, ending up second, at +4.2seconds. Finland’s Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, third overall behind Petra Majdic (SLO), had the strength to edge Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla on her second lap to claim third.

Post-race Kowalczyk commented, “I felt good today but I am also really tired. I had a cold after Tour de Ski and I was thinking maybe I could still win here. Otepaa is my special place: the course is the hardest in the world, the people are great. It’s always nice here and I trained here sometimes during the summer. Tomorrow I’ll compete in the sprint but can’t say what will happen. Next week I’ll race in Rybinsk, then we have training camp in Canmore for the World Cup there before leaving for Whistler.”

Home-snow favourite, Estonia’s Kristina Smigun-Vaehi was ninth at +1:40.1. There were no Russians in the top 10 – Julia Tchekaleva was 11th, and her teammates were in 25th, 29th and 45th respectively.

“It was a good race for me. I have not been competing since Rogla – it was good to start again and I think my condition is good,” said Norway’s Bjorgen. “I trained a lot during and after Christmas and it’s good to be back competing – I like Otepaa, there are a lot of people around the track. I’ll race tomorrow and then next week we have our national championships, so I am not going to Rybinsk. Then the Olympic Games will be here.”

It was a spectacular day for Gaiazova, a rising star in the Canadian camp, garnering World Cup points with top-20 result, and confidence that she’s ready for top level competition, and ready for the 2010 Olympics. Gaiazova is 87th overall in the WCup standings while team mate Sara Renner leads the North Americans in 35th with the USA’s Kikkan Randall next in 54th.

The conditions were perfect for a classic event, with temperatures around -8 degrees C on a packed snow track. The World Cup continues on Sunday with the men’s and women’s Classic Sprints, the final classic sprint events before the Olympics in Vancouver next month.

With files from FIS XC.

Women’s full results here.
Women’s Overall Distance here.
Women’s Overall here.

Results (brief)

1. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) 26:52.7
2. Marit Bjoergen (NOR) +4.2
3. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) +29.9
4. Charlotte Kalla (SWE) +32.4
5. Petra Majdic (SLO) +44.9

20. Daria Gaiazova (CAN) +2:36.8