December 31, 2010 (Oberhof, Germany) – In a dramatic finish Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) took the first win of the 2010/11 FIS Tour de Ski at today’s 2.8km freestyle Prologue in Oberhof in -3 C temps, as the snow fell, and in front of a crowd of 2,000 spectators. Charlotte Kalla (SWE) took second place, only 1.5s behind the winner, with Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (NOR) in third.

“It was really hard before the finish and my coach told me I was 1 second behind Charlotte [Kalla], so I was surprised when I saw the result,” Kowalczyk told FIS XC. “You start and finish like in a sprint, and I am very satisfied that I am in the top. It is really nice to be number one in the Tour, definitely a good start. I see Charlotte [Kalla], Astrid [Jacobsen] and [Petra] Majdic as my strongest contenders for the rest of the Tour. I don’t have any specific strategy for tomorrow’s pursuit, I will think about it tonight and you will see tomorrow.”

Finland’s Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) wearing bib #34 and recently returned to World Cup racing following a shoulder injury, was in the hot seat for some time but Jacobsen took over only to be eclipsed by Kalle. Arianna Follis (ITA), the second last skier, could not match the pace and it was up Kowalczyk, who was only 0.5s behind Kalle’s time at the 1.4km mark, and was able to power through the second half of the course into the finish for the victory by 1.5s.

The top three have racked up 15, 10, and 5 points, respectively, towards their sprint ranking in the TdS and Kowalczyk will don the red leader’s bib for tomorrow’s 10km classic Pursuit where she will start 6.5 seconds ahead of Kalla and 14.8 seconds ahead of Jacobsen. USA’s Kikkan Randall, the only North American entrant, finished a respectable 16th.

Today’s Prologue course was “short and sweet – but tough,” said Randall. She said the first section was like a sprint qualifier, and then skiers were faced with a monster climb, followed by a descent and then a slight uphill to the finish.

The American star added that she doesn’t have much experience with prologues at this distance (2.7km) but it’s her best prologue to date. Her focus was to pace properly and conserve enough energy to be strong for the finish. The race was made tougher by the snow conditions. “I felt good out there and I’m happy with 16th place,” she said.

“Kikkan hasn’t done that well in prologues before. She ended last season really well at the World Cup finals tour so it’s exciting to be off to such a good start,” said US coach Pete Vordenberg.

Celebrating her 28th birthday today as well, Randall raved about the fun atmosphere at the 2010/11 Tour de Ski – her first TdS experience – and organizers even played the techno Happy Birthday song in the finish zone.

“There are always fireworks on my birthday but it won’t be the wildest New Year’s Eve,” she quipped, as she looked ahead to tomorrow’s 10km classic pursuit. “Times today were really tight,” and she will be in the mix with a lot of fast women tomorrow. “I’m looking forward to a good day.”

Women’s Prologue results HERE.