Petra Majdic (SLO) told reporters that she has been practicing shooting her foot at the line over the past two weeks. Today that work paid off when she beat out Astrid Jacobsen (NOR) in a photo finish in the women's World Cup Sprint in Canmore. The two were neck and neck for the entire 200+ meter gradual uphill to the finish, but it was the tall Slovenian who topped the podium. “It was a perfect race for me today,” she said.
Jacobsen, the World Cup Sprint leader, held that top spot today and was satisfied with her second place result.
Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) followed up her victory in yesterday's pursuit with a third place in the sprint – her first time on the podium in a classic sprint. Virpi Kuitunun (FIN) was fourth – after winning the qualifying round and looking very strong in the early heats. Teammate Pirjo Muranen was 5th and Alena Prochazkova (SVK) took the final spot in the women's A final.
Racing was fast and furious with several photo finishes and many races contested down to the final meters. The long gradual uphill finish stretch created the opportunity for skiers to move up at the end. This was definitely a day when strong double poling was a must.
Canadian Chandra Crawford qualified in 25th and advanced to the women's B-finals. Crawford was strong through the first two rounds, starting aggressively and battling hard to advance. She was clearly out of gas for the final run of the day and faded to 12th after another good start.
