November 13, 2010 (Muonio, Finland) – Kris Freeman (USA) claimed his first victory of the season over a strong field with a great performance to win the men’s 10km classic in Muonio on Saturday by 12s over Germany’s Tobias Angerer in second and Martin Jaks (CZE) in third. Andy Newell was 55th a minute and half behind Freeman. It was the second win for the USA in Muonio.

In the women’s 5km Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) took the victory over Petra Majdic (SLO) in second with Marianna Longa (ITA) in third. The USA’s Kikkan Randall was the top American in 14th just over a minute behind the winner. Ida Sargent had a good day placing 25th only 30s behind Randall.

We caught up with USST Coach Pete Vordenberg who was stoked with Freeman’s win. “He executed his race as planned pacing and effort wise. He was in great control the whole way. We didn’t give any splits – he skied his own race to plan, went as fast as he could. I was very impressed with the way he carried it out.  It was as professional an effort as I’ve seen,” said Vordy.

So was he expecting to do so well in Finland with back-to-back wins? “We are not focused on results but rather on getting good preparation, which includes these races.  Of course we see these athletes training all summer and we can say – wow, I think they are looking strong so it’s fun to see that, yep, they are,” he commented.

“Of course we prepare to win ski races, that is our job and our goal – but the focus is on the performance, the preparation, the process. The  outcome comes into focus on the result sheet. This time of year especially it is important to understand that there will be some ups and downs. You can see some great skiers on top, and some great skiers closer to the bottom. That’s how it goes in general and especially early season.”

What about Ida Sargent’s strong showings? “She too has been really impressive all summer.  She’ll be joining the World Cup.  She’s worked hard and shown that she is ready to give them hell on World Cup,” added Vordenberg.

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

Men

1. Kris Freeman (USA) 25:30.4
2. Tobias Angerer (GER) 25:42.6
3. Martin Jaks (CZE) 25:45.7
4. Jens Filbrich (GER) 25:47.4
5. Sergey Shiriaev (RUS) 25:47.9

55. Andy Newell (USA) 27:03.9
86. Tim Reynolds (USA) 27:36.7
110. Patrick O’Brien (USA) 28:09.9
113. Leif Orin Zimmermann (USA) 28:11.0
121. Glenn Randall (USA) 28:18.1
140. Dylan McGuffin (USA) 28:35.0
141. Matthew Briggs (USA) 28:35.6
177. Oliver Burruss (USA) 29.11.0
207. Fred Bailey (USA) 30:03.9
212. Michael Lessard (USA) 30:25.8

Women

1. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) 14:03.5
2. Petra Majdic (SLO) 14:22.8
3. Marianna Longa (ITA) 14:25.5
4. Nicole Fessel (GER) 14:26.0
5. Stefanie Boehler (GER) 14:45.8

14. Kikkan Randall (USA) 15:11.3
25. Ida Sargent (USA) 15:29.5
53. Elizabeth Stephen (USA) 16:06.5
56. Hannah Dreissigacker (USA) 16:09.2
59. Morgan Arritola (USA) 16:11.2
105. Adele Epsy (USA) 17:22.2
107. Lauren Jacobs (USA) 17:31.4
110. Chelsea Little (USA) 17:35.4
114. Audrey Weber (USA) 17:55.8