Czech racer Katerina Neummanova thrilled the home crowd in Nove Mesto today, blowing away 2nd place finisher Julija Tchepalova (Russia) by 26.2 seconds in the 10km freestyle race. With World Cup overall leader Marit Bjorgen skipping the race to focus on training for the upcoming Olympics in Torino, Tchepalova closed to within 30 points of the overall lead.