April 10, 2011 (Rovaniemi, Finland) – Slovenia’s Petra Majdic and France’s Jean-Marc Gaillard won the second edition of Tour de Barents, which ended on Sunday in Rovaniemi, Finland. The battle for the victory on the men’s side was extremely tight between French skiers Maurice Manificat and Gaillard.

In the end Gaillard took home the victory with only a 0.2-second margin. “One meter before finish I knew I would win. Maurice was probably stronger than me, but maybe experience gave me this victory,” said Gaillard. Matti Heikkinen (FIN) started fast with the yellow bib on the final stage, but ended up in third place. “Matti started really fast and I had to wait for Maurice so that we could catch him together,” explained Gaillard.

Majdic Unbeatable
It was no surprise that Petra Majdic won the second edition of Tour De Barents, which marked an end to her successful career. Majdic enjoyed the final Ounasvaara Climb challenge. “The course was great and in very good shape. The climb here was better than final climb at the Tour De Ski, because here you can really ski up it,” smiled Majdic as she praised the organizers.

“It was great to travel on the bus with other athletes at this tour where everything was organized at its best for the skiers.” Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen secured second place ahead of compatriot Krista Lähteenmäki. Slovakia’s Alena Prochazkova finished fourth.

Niskanen and Agreiter Celebrate Junior Wins
Iivo Niskanen dominated the K-Citymarket Junior Tour and was also the fastest on final stage. Perttu Hyvärinen finished second  in the overall standings with Norway’s Daniel Carloe Skjönsfjell in third. On the junior women’s side Italy’s Depora Agreiter showed her free technique skills by taking over the lead on the first lap and winning the overall tour. Second place was a tight fight in the stadium as Emilie Kristoffersen (NOR) claimed second place ahead of Finland’s Marjaana Pitkänen.

Majdic Says Goodbye
After the competition spectators witnessed a memorable moment when all skiers joined together for a lap of honour around the stadium. It was meant both to thank the audience but also to respect the careers of Petra Majdic, Pirjo Muranen and Jaak Mae, who ended their skiing careers at the Tour De Barents.

“In Falun I was just so happy. At this gathering it felt more emotional – now it’s really over,” commented Majdic who was surprised by the skier’s and organizer’s gracious act.