Anders Aukland (NOR) won the 63km classic Tartu Ski Marathon, the Estonian entrant in the World Loppet series. Aukland bested brother Joergen by six seconds in the race which is also part of the FIS Marthon Series. Jerry Ahrlin (SWE) was third, three seconds out of second place.
Another fixture at the top of the FIS Marathons standings, Stanislav Rezac (CZE) was fourth and Swede Oskar Svärd 5th.
Olympic Champion Thomas Alsgaard (NOR) was 8th, +1:36.
The lead pack remained at 12 with under 10 kilometers to go.
In the women’s race, Sandra Hansson (SWE) defeated Hilde Pedersen (NOR) by just under a minute. Hansson began to pull away with 10km to go, and gradually opened up the gap. Zuzana Kocumova finished third.
5200 people participated in the weekend’s festivities, including 3665 who completed the 63 kilometer classic event.
