Ustiugov increases Tour leader with stage 2 victory

Sergey Ustiugov of Russia has won the men's 10 km classic mass start competition on stage two of the 2017 FIS Tour de Ski.  The demanding 2.5 km course stretched the 79 person field out and heading into the final lap the lead group was down to about 20, which quickly became less than 15 as the field reacted to the strong attack from Ustiugov with less than 1 km remaining.  In the end of was Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway who took second +1.9 seconds back with Didrik Toenseth also from Norway for third +2.3 seconds behind.  Switzerland's Dario Cologna thrilled the home crowd as he skied near the front for the entire race.  Two misses with his left pole on the final climb destroyed his momentum and thwarted a strong push for a podium position and he settled for 5th place +5.5 seconds off the lead.

Today's victory increased the overall Tour lead for Ustiugov heading into the first rest day of the Tour shifts to Oberstdorf, Germany for stages 3 and 4.  With his second place finish today Sundby now trails Ustiugov in second place by +18.9 seconds.  Another strong performance from Canada's Alex Harvey has moved him into third place in the overall standings +59.6 seconds behind.  Cologna move his way up from 13th place after stage 1 to now sit in 6th position.  Sweden's Marcus Hellner was also a mover jumping from 18th in the standings after the sprint to 9th now after a 7th place finish in today's competition.  Tour favourite Finn Haagen Krogh has a tough day on stage 2 and fell from second place after the sprint to now sit 11th in the overall standings.

The Tour will resume January 3-4 with a Skiathlon competition on stage 3 and a free technique Pursuit on stage 4 in Oberstdorf.

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ATHLETE QUOTES

Sergey Ustiugov (RUS)
I had great skis. The service team did a great job. The pace was very high from the beginning. I did not expect I would be leaving Val Müstair with two wins and the lead in the Tour de Ski.

Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR)
I wanted to be in the front to stay away of trouble. I lost some seconds on Sergey. It was an OK race from me. It was not the most important stage of the Tour de Ski.

Didrik Tønseth (NOR)
It was a good race. I had great skis. I felt good also yesterday but I had some problems in my quarterfinal. I did not get as many bonus seconds as I wanted but in total I am very happy with 3rd place. Last lap was the hardest. Martin went to the lead and picked up the pace.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS

MEN 10 km C

1. USTIUGOV Sergey 1992 RUS 24:50.0
2. SUNDBY Martin Johnsrud 1984 NOR +1.9
3. TOENSETH Didrik 1991 NOR +2.3
4. ROETHE Sjur 1988 NOR +3.3
5. COLOGNA Dario 1986 SUI +5.5

Complete results are available HERE.

TOUR DE SKI Standings - After Stage 2

1. USTIUGOV Sergey RUS 26:26.2
2. SUNDBY Martin Johnsrud NOR +18.9
3. HARVEY Alex CAN +59.6
4. LARKOV Andrey RUS +1:01.5
5. IVERSEN Emil NOR +1:09.2

Overall Tour standings are available .