On Sunday morning, Petter Northug won Toblach-Cortina, a long-distance skiing race in northern Italy. The race in freestyle technique was decided in a sprint, with Jason Rüesch, from Switzerland, finishing second and Björn Sandström, the new Swedish 15km champion, in the third position.

“It was a really good race. The conditions were excellent, as was the weather. It has been a long time since my last competition in skating, as now I only compete in double poling. My form is improving day by day,” says Petter Northug and continues: 

“The last kilometer, I felt very good, I was in a group, and I knew I could go fast. It’s a good feeling to win, and it’s been a long time since my last win. I have many good memories of this course, obviously my victory in the Tour de Ski. I’ve always liked the Cortina-Dobbiaco track in the Tour de Ski, so being able to do it in reverse is a lot of fun. It is a track that is very suitable for a popular race. The last few meters are fantastic when the view opens onto the panorama, and the sun welcomes you. Now I focus on my next goal, the Jizerská Ski Classics competition in the Czech Republic. Tonight (yesterday), I’m leaving for the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof for work. It was a pleasure to compete with athletes from many nations; even in my hotel, I met Swedish and Finnish athletes; I understood that this race is really popular among Scandinavian cross-country skiers,” concludes Petter Northug to Newspower.it.

Also Read: Petter Northug Ready For Comeback

Top 5 Men – Toblach-Cortina 42km FT

1. Petter Northug, Team Northug Crucible, 1:42:08
2. Jason Rüesch, Switzerland, 1:42:08
3. Björn Sandström, Sweden, 1:42:09
4. Gerard Agnellet, Haute-Savoie Nordic Team, 1:42:10
5. Paolo Fanton, Team Futura Trentino Dolomiten Trauma Clinic, 1:42:12

On the women’s side, the Finnish Tiia Olkkonen sprinted ahead of Coralie Bentz from France and won the race. Bentz finished second, and the Olympic and World Champion, Justyna Kowalczyk, finished in the third position. 

Top 5 Women – Toblach-Cortina 42km FT

1. Tiia Olkkonen, Finland, 1:50:42
2. Coralie Bentz, Team Haute-Savoie Nordic Team, 1:50:42
3. Justyna Kowalczyk, Team Robinson Trentino, 1:52:04
4. Julia Kuen, Team Futura ASD White Fox, 1:53:24
5. Margie Freed, USA, 1:53:56

On Saturday, there was a classic race on the same course. The Pro Tour Team Internorm Alpenplus Trentino was superior in both the men’s and women’s classes.

Top 5 Men – Toblach-Cortina 42km CT

1. Mauro Brigadoi, Team Internorm Alpenplus Trentino, 2:04:24
2. Francesco Ferrari, Team Internorm Alpenplus Trentino, 2:04:32
3. Tyler Kornfield, Team Robinson Trentino, 2:06:20
4. Emanuele Bosin, Team Futura Trentino Dolomiten Trauma Clinic, 2:06:24
5. Verneri Suhonen, Team Electrofit, 2:06:30

Top 5 Women – Toblach-Cortina 42km CT

1. Malin Börjesjö, Team Internorm Alpenplus Trentino, 2:20:17
2. Anna Schmidhofer, Ski-Willy Marathon Team Austria, 2:24:29
3. Nicole Donzallaz, Vltava Fund Ski Team, 2:25:20
4. Leonie Harivel, SC Agy, 2:30:42
5. Karin Weltert, xc-ski.de A|N Skimarathon Team, 2:32:09