On day two of the pre-Olympic World Cups in Pragelato, the phenomenally strong German team of Viola Bauer and Claudia Kuenzel took charge of the classic team sprint. The Germans motored their way to victory, with Kuenzel coming in 1.9 seconds ahead of Sweden I (Emelie Oehrstig and Anna Dahlberg) on the final anchor leg. Sara Renner and Beckie Scott just missed the podium, only two seconds adrift of third place Finland.
Tara Whitten and Milaine Theriault joined forces to enter a second team for Canada, and ended the day in 10th place. For the U.S. team of Kikkan Randall and Wendy Wagner, it was a tough day back in 13th place–brightened somewhat by Wagner nailing the second fastest leg time in the second leg of the semifinal.
The next World Cup races will be held in Reit im Winkl, Germany, February 12th and 13th. These will be the last World Cup races before the 2005 World Championships in Oberstdorf, which begin February 17th.
Full results from today's race can be seen at this link:
