January 04, 2015  (Obertsdorf, GER) – Norway’s Marit Bjoergen stamped her authority once again on the Tour de Ski extending her margin over her closest rival to 1:01.2 as she claimed the women’s 10km CL pursuit today in Obertsdorf. Completing the Norge podium were Heidi Weng in second and Therese Johaug in 3rd. Sweden’s Stina Nilsson cracked the top 5 with the 4th fastest time of the day.

Marit Bjoergen (Nor) © Nordic Focus

The USA’s Sadie Bjornsen and Liz Stephen continued their charge at the front landing 14th and 15th respectively while their teammates were further back as Ida Sargent was 40th and Kikkan Randall was 44th followed by Sophie Caldwell in 55th and Jessie Diggins in 56th.

“My goal for today was to stay focused on my performance and my competition. I had perfect skis and very good grip on the climbs,” commented Bjoergen.

We caught up with Bjornsen while she was en route to Switzerland, “On the road. What a fun race to experiment with different paces and strengths. Things were spectacular until 5k, when I had to start hanging on for dear life.

Sadie Bjornsen (US) © Nordic Focus

“As the tracks fell apart, I found myself stiffening up to try to find some kick- so I wasn’t able to keep up the “dream race”. It is coming though…this tour business is pretty fun!! Off we go to Switzerland!

For Stephen it was another satisfying day as she loves the Tour and is ready for more giving us an inside look as some of the other issues besides the weather that can plague organizers.

“I was feeling quite good going into today’s race. It’s fun to be starting so far up in the front for a race like today, and my body recovered well after yesterday.

“The conditions were definitely tricky, as it poured rain and was super windy from noon yesterday until about 4 this morning so the organizers had a lot of work to do putting the course back together again after such a tough night.

“Banners were blown away, tv camera stands blown down and cameras broken beyond repair, not to mention bows and debris in the trail. It’s amazing that the race conditions were as good as they were today. Again, my skis were amazing and I was able to ski the way I wanted to.

“I’m definitely happy with my result. It’s a long Tour still ahead and a lot can happen, but I am really happy with my first two stages for sure. Really fun to have Sadie to ski with too,” she told Trax by email.

Final podium © Nordic Focus

US star Randall had a tough second lap and struggled to finish ending up an uncharacteristic 44th but says she’s moving in the right direction and looks forward to the sprint in Val Mustair. Time will tell for defending Sprint Cup globe champ who has not come close to her results in previous years.

“I went into today’s race feeling optimistic about building off of yesterday’s good start.  With the tight start times, I knew it would be a good chance to ski with strong classic skiers.

“I had a solid first lap, moving up a couple places.  But heading into the 2nd lap i wasn’t able to hold the same pace and started slipping on the climbs.  It was a struggle then until the finish. 44th place.

“I was hoping to be stronger today.  I was mostly focused on the effort and pace over the results and I ended up a little below my expectations.  However, I know that today’s race was a good workout that will help me keep moving forward.  Just have to be patient.

“I’m really looking forward to the skate sprint on Tuesday in Val Mustair, our next race race after tomorrow’s rest day. It is a good course for me and I’ve heard they’ve added a jump! My skate sprinting has been feeling stronger and stronger! The tour is all about racing and then moving right on to the next day.  So, on to Switzerland,” wrote the triple globe winner.

Full results here.