March 19, 2010 (Falun, SWE) – The FIS Veissemann XC World Cup finale continued with the crowning of the King and Queen of Mördarbacken, the “Killer Hill”, in Falun, Sweden. Today’s Prologue was an individual start classic event, 2.5km for women and 3.3km for men. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), who powered to the top of the final climb to win the Tour de Ski, did it again, winning by 8.7 seconds over Marit Bjoergen (NOR) followed by Charlotte Kalla (SWE) another 8.2 seconds behind Bjoergen for third.

Dario Cologna (SUI) also loves to climb, and he reached the top 4.9 seconds ahead of Mats Larsson (SWE) who claimed second with a 1.1-second margin over Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS).

The Canadian men didn’t have the team’s Olympic snap but showed improvement over their recent World Cup efforts with Alex Harvey finishing 21st at 20.2 seconds behind Cologna, with Devon Kershaw in 29th, another eight seconds back. Ivan Babikov battled to a 46th place result and Graham Nishikawa was 49th.

Kikkan Randall (USA) was the lone American entered placing 36th while Daria Gaiazova was the only Canadian women competing on the demanding course and finished in 45th. The hill was so steep that even the best skiers were forced to herringbone on the course. And at 2.5km and 3.3km, the distance is a challenge as it’s longer than a sprint but not quite a distance race.

The winners of the World Cup finale race series will be determined from the cumulative time of Wednesday’s sprint in Stockholm, today’s prologue in Falun, plus the two distance races in Falun this weekend. Saturday features the women’s 10km and the men’s 20km Pursuit.

With files from Cross Country Canada

Women’ 2.5km Classic Prologue Full results here
Men’s 3.3km Classic Prologue Full results here

Results (brief)

Women

1. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) 8:07.9
2. Marit Bjoergen (NOR) +8.7
3. Charlotte Kalla (SWE) +16.9

36. Kikkan Randall (USA) +1:08.2
45. Daria Gaiazova (CAN) +1:36.0

Men

1. Dario Cologna (SUI) 9:55.3
2. Mats Larsson (SWE) +4.9
3. Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS) +6.0

21. Alex Harvey (CAN) +20.2
29. Devon Kershaw (CAN) +28:5
46. Ivan Babikov (CAN) +46.0
48. Andrew Newell (USA) +48.7
49. Graham Nishikawa (CAN) +51.0
53. Brian Gregg (USA) +55.6