January 05, 2013 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) is clearly in charge and will win her fourth Tour de Ski tomorrow barring any unexpected problems as she soloed in yet again for the victory in the women’s 10km CL with Norway’s Kristin Stoermer Steira besting her teammate Therese Johaug for second. The wheels came off for Charlotte Kalla (SWE) as she struggled with tough wax conditions and dropped from second overall to fifth.

Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) takes another win... © Nordic Focus

The US camp continued with solid skiing placing three in the top 30 as Kikkan Randall was a strong 11th followed by Jessie Diggins in 25th, Liz Stephen in 29th and Holly Brooks in 47th. Randall sits 7th overall which augurs well as she was 10th last year with the final stage up Alp Cermis tomorrow.

“Today’s race was solid. My energy was good and I felt like I skied a steady pace the whole race, with good energy still left in the final km,” said Randall. “Skis were kicking great up the climbs but may have been a little slow on the downhills and flats and that took some extra energy to move through the pack.”

(l) Kikkan Randall (USA) and Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (FIN)... © Nordic Focus

Diggins at her first TdS was surprised at her energy levels following six stages at the Tour. “I actually thought I’d be even more tired than I am now, after imagining skiing so many races in a row,” Diggins told Trax. “But I think our team has held up well and been smart about recovery and getting ready for the next race as soon as possible!

“It’s been amazing doing the tour with Kik, Liz and Holly, and I’m so grateful to them for sharing what they know so that I don’t have to ski my first Tour without a knowing how it works. It’s been a fun run for sure and it’s going to feel even better once we’ve finished!”

Jessie Diggins (USA) © Nordic Focus

Finishing in 29th Stephen wanted more with one stage to go. “I am feeling so much better today than I was the last two days, though the result today was not what I was hoping for.  I had a bit of a frustrating day out there with very great grip on the uphills but was a bit slow on the downhills, so struggled to hold a good position.

“I also had a pretty bad start, so was trying to make up time, but was having trouble finding any spots where I was able to pass people.  However, that said, the body is showing back up, so that is a good sign for tomorrow and it is important to have a body that is feeling good for these courses in Val di Fiemme, as they are relentless. The plan for tomorrow is to leave it all out there. I just want to get fired up and go ski my ass off up the hill and see what happens.”

The final gruelling climb up Alp Cermis is all that’s left – and what’s Randall’s plan? “I’ve got some really strong skiers just ahead of me and it will be really important to try and latch on to them before we hit the climb. The final stage hasn’t been my strongest in the past but I’m hoping with my stronger skate legs this year, I can improve my stamina in the 2nd half of the climb and fight for some positions deeper into the top 10!”

Results HERE.
Overall standings after Stage 6 HERE.