Nordic Tour: Niggli and Lundanes win Holmenkollen Sprint
Posted on | September 1, 2012 | Category: News
The first of the Nordic Tour events took place today at the Holmenkollen Ski Centre in Oslo. Sprint qualification races this morning were followed this afternoon by the finals, competed in by the 30 fastest in the morning races. The finals were won by Simone Niggli, Switzerland and Olav Lundanes, Norway.
Simone Niggli, who was placed third in the qualification race, finished first in the final with a 20-second advantage over Emma Klingenberg, Denmark. Home runner Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg was third, 2 seconds slower than Emma. Denmark’s women had a good day with Ida Bobach taking fourth place. World Championships Sprint silver medallist Maja Alm finished 17th.
This was Simone’s eighth World Cup win this season from the nine races held so far, demonstrating her dominance of the women’s elite scene this year. She held the fastest time throughout the final, with Ida Bobach her closest challenger in the early stages, just 10 seconds down at the first TV control.
For 20-year-old Emma Klingenberg, in her last year as a junior, today’s result is her best so far at senior level, after placing 6th in the Sprint finals at both last year’s World Championships and this year’s European Championships. She took the silver medal in Sprint at this year’s Junior World Championships, and was Junior World Champion in Sprint back in 2008, so Sprint is clearly her favoured format.
Qualification race winner Tove Alexandersson, Sweden finished in 6th place equal with her compatriot Helena Jansson.
Lundanes in front throughout – just!
Olav Lundanes was fastest in the men’s qualification, in which two well-known names, Matthias Mueller, Switzerland and Kiril Nikolov, Bulgaria failed to get into the top 30. Lundanes was also fastest to the first and second TV controls in the final, but at the second with a lead of only 2 seconds over Switzerland’s Sprint star Matthias Kyburz who had started one minute before him. And at the finish it was still Lundanes, urged on by the home crowd, winning by just 1 second!
Third place went to William Lind, Sweden, 37 seconds down on the winning time. Thirteenth in the World Cup standings before today, this was a top-class result for him. There was more home cheer for Øystein Kvaal Østerbø who finished fourth.
Most successful nations today were Sweden and Switzerland, both with four podium placings in all.
The Nordic Tour continues tomorrow, again at Holmenkollen, with a shortened Middle Distance race with a winning time of 30 minutes and a 90-second start interval. The start lists are today’s results in reverse order (winner starts last). First start for the men is at 12.10 Norwegian time, and for the women is at 12.19.
Leading results – Sprint final, Holmenkollen
Women
- Simone Niggli SUI 16:22
- Emma Klingenberg DEN 16:42
- Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg NOR 16:44
- Ida Bobach DEN 16:58
- Ines Brodmannn SUI 17:10
- Tove Alexandersson SWE & Helena Jansson SWE 17:21
Men
- Olav Lundanes NOR 15:14
- Matthias Kyburz SUI 15:15
- William Lind SWE 15:51
- Øystein Kvaal Østerbø NOR 15:53
- Matthias Merz SUI 15:58
- Gustav Bergman SWE 16:00
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