In the men's classification, the battle is primarily between favorites and rivals Dario Cologna from Switzerland and Norwegian Petter Northug. The Swiss skier leads by one second after a total of more than one and a half hours of racing. Both Northug and Cologna compete on the Rottefella Xcelerator binding system. With the distance to third placed Russian Alexander Legkov at about 45 seconds, we believe the gold will be fought out between "our" skiers. Cologna has won the Tour de Ski twice, and is defending the title, while Northug has finished second three years in a row, and could be the first Norwegian to win the competition.
In the women's class, favorites Justyna Kowalczyk from Poland and Norwegian Marit Bjorgen are battling for the victory, as expected. The Polish skier, who has won the competition the last two years, leads by about 30 seconds, and is favorite to complete her hat-trick. However, Bjorgen is reported to be in great shape, and is also motivated to be the first Norwegian to win the competirion. Both the leading women compete on the Rottefella Xcelerator binding.
We'll be cheering for all our racers in the next week, and look forward to the conclusion in Val di Fiemme.