December 20, 2008 (Dusseldorf, Germany) – The USA’s Andy Newell qualified first on Saturday in the men’s free Sprint at round #5 of the Veissmann FIS World Cup XC in Dusseldorf, Germany. Roddy Darragon (Fra) was second and Renato Pasini (Ita) was third. Canada’s Phil Widmer qualified 15th to advance while Sean Crooks (Can) in 37th, Torin Koos (USA) in 40th and Stefan Kuhn (Can) in 53rd did not advance.

Mashus skier Lina Andersson from Sweden qualified first in the women’s Sprint ahead of Natalia Matveeva (Rus) in second and Arianna Follis (Ita) in third. Canada’s Perianne Jones in 28th advanced while the USA’s top sprinter Kikkan Randall qualified 40th and did not advance. Only the top 30 skiers move on to the next rounds.

Full men’s qualifications here.
Full women’s qualifications here.

Qualifications

Men

1. Andrew Newell (USA) 3:03.77
2. Roddy Darragon (Fra) 3:04.04
3. Renato Pasini (Ita) 3:04.68
4. Eirik Brandsdal (Nor) 3:05.26
5. Alexey Petukhov (Rus) 3:05.39

15. Philip Widmer (Can) 3:07.88
37. Sean Crooks (Can) 3:11.19
40. Torin Koos (USA) 3:11.63
53. Stefan Kuhn (Can) 3:14.03

Women

1. Lina Andersson (Swe) 1:49.11
2. Natalia Matveeva (Rus) 1:49.25
3. Arianna Follis (Ita) 1:49.41
4. Mia Eriksson (Swe) 1:49.71
5. Natalja Naryshkina (Rus) 1:49.88

28. Perianne Jones (Can) 1:53.31
40. Kikkan Randall (USA) 1:54.96