January 25, 2012 – With each of them clinching their third victory at the Tour de Ski, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) and Dario Cologna (SUI) secured the respective cross-country crowns for themselves. Fischer, ski sponsor to both athletes, recently caught up with the winners to ask them three key  questions following their Tour victories.

Which Tour de Ski victory is the one you will remember most fondly?
Justyna Kowalczyk: It’s difficult to say. In the first one, when I had a neck-and-neck race with Petra Majdic, that was the toughest for me. This year I felt very good right throughout the Tour.

Dario Cologna: It’s always great to win the Tour de Ski. The first time round I wasn’t the only one who was taken by surprise. It was my first big win. But this year was something really special, too, because it was my biggest goal.

How did you experience the final climb?
Justyna Kowalczyk: I was very tired and the last kilometres were extremely tough for me. I just kept thinking to myself that I have to keep going and all the Polish fans cheering me on made me push harder.

Dario Cologna: The climb is very steep and my legs were feeling very heavy of course. Having said that, I still managed to enjoy it a little and take things in. When I crossed the finish line as the winner I soon forgot about all the tiredness and pain.

How did you recover from the Tour and what is your goal for the rest of the season?
Justyna Kowalczyk: To begin with all I wanted to do was sleep. I skipped the sprint in Milan and then things simply moved on. My next major goal will be the World Cup at home.

Dario Cologna: First of all I went home where I chilled out without thinking too much about cross country. The heat is on again now of course, with the overall World Cup title being my next biggest goal.