April 01, 2013 – Poland’s Cross-Country skiing star Justyna Kowaczyk won the first edition of the ladies’ BMW xDRIVE Trophy and left Falun, Sweden in a brand new BMW X1.

Kowalczyk collected 332 points and clearly topped the rankings 136 points ahead of Kristin Stoermer Steira (NOR) who had 196 points. Therese Johaug claimed third place.

“It is great to win the BMW xDRIVE Trophy and the vehicle. It was an extra motivation for me. I had a great season and I am happy I claimed my fourth overall World Cup title. I will auction off the car and all the money raised will go to a children’s charity,” Justyna Kowalczyk said.

On the men’s side Petter Northug Jr. of Norway accumulated the most points in the standings. It was tight fight between Norway’s best male Cross-Country skier and Alexander Legkov of Russia who took second place. Alexey Poltoranin took third.

“I was very motivated to win the Trophy. It was one of the reasons I travelled to Sochi before the World Championships. It is great to win the Trophy and the car. I will give it to my father,” Petter Northug claimed.

Johannes Seibert, Vice President Marketing for BMW Germany: “On behalf of BMW, I congratulate Justyna Kowalczyk and Petter Northug Jr. on winning the BMW xDrive Trophy. These two athletes have delivered outstanding performances throughout the entire season, and certainly deserved to win this new competition and the BMW X1. With the newly initiated sprint ranking, FIS and BMW managed to make Cross-Country skiing even more attractive to spectators and athletes.”

“The BMW xDrive Trophy has been a success. It gave mass start competitions extra animation,” stated FIS Cross-Country Race Director Pierre Mignerey.
The winners of the new trophy are the athletes (male & female) who have collected the most bonus seconds or/and bonus points during the season. One bonus World Cup point equals one bonus second.