The last period of the World Cup is now underway and will be a really exciting. On the men’s side, 900 World Cup points are still up for grabs (260 points in Lahti, 100 points in Drammen, 190 points at the 50 km race in Oslo and 350 points during the World Cup Final).
The men’s overall World Cup title seems to be secured by Dario Cologna (SUI, 1683 pts), who is currently in the lead with 484 points ahead of Petter Northug (1199 pts), who will skip the World Cups in Lahti. Sitting third is the Canadian Devon Kershaw with a total of 1059 points and a 141 point gap to Petter Northug. However, Marcus Hellner (SWE, 906pts), Alexander Legkov (RUS, 845pts) and Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS, 727pts) all still have chances to step on the overall World Cup podium.
The distance World Cup shows the same battle. Cologna is in the lead with Petter Northug 132 points behind. In the sprint World Cup, the strong Swedish sprinter Teodor Peterson is about to become the successor of Emil Joensson (SWE). The runner-up in the ranking is Alexey Petukhov from Russia who is currently 51 points behind Petersen. Also with chances for victory is Nikolay Morilov (RUS, 66 points behind), currently ranking third. But Dario Cologna is not too far behind, either. The overall dominator of the World Cup season is just 90 points behind Peterson and has an eye on the sprint World Cup overall standing as he has never won that before. A total of 250 World Cup points can be still earned for the sprint World Cup.
On the ladies side, the heat is on. Since the Tour de Ski, Marit Bjoergen and Justyna Kowalczyk have been fighting hard in the overall World Cup ranking and the yellow bib has changed hands in nearly every race. Kowalczyk took the lead in Szklarska Poreba but Marit Bjoergen is only 14 points behind. The speculations are hot – is the remaining race program better for Bjoergen or for Kowalczyk? Does the huge Norwegian service team create an advantage for Bjoergen? …As always speculations are only speculations and the two top skiers will give us the answer soon. In the last period a maximum of 840 World Cup points remain available (230 points in Lahti, 100 points in Drammen, 160 points at the 30 km in Oslo, and 350 points at the World Cup Final).
The distance overall World Cup overall is currently led by Marit Bjoergen with 52 points margin over Justyna Kowalczyk. Therese Johaug ranks third.
In the sprint World Cup, the Cross-Country family might see a historical moment. The US skier Kikkan Randall has a comfortable lead of 129 points ahead of her strongest contender Natalia Matveeva (RUS). It would be the first ever sprint World Cup trophy for a US Cross-Country athlete.
Please remember that the top six of the World Cup ranking and the Rookie of the Year – the best U23 athlete – will receive prize money for their great performances during the entire season. A total of 195’000 CHF will be distributed, 97’500 CHF per gender. The overall winner will get 34'125 CHF.
You can see the cup standings HERE.
