Norwegian Petter Northug Jr took another 50km victory in his homeland to move 383 points ahead in the overall FIS Cross-Country World Cup standings with just one event and 450 points left to play for.
Emil Joensson of Sweden pipped Northug, who was suffering from illness, to the Sprint win in Drammen by 1.9 seconds on the Thursday, but in the longer race in Holmenkollen on Saturday, the 24-year-old was once again unstoppable, finishing in 2h 9m 18.5s, three seconds ahead of a battling Pietro Piller Cottrer of Italy and a full half-minute in front of Frenchman Vincent Vittoz in third.
The victory was Northug’s first in Holmenkollen, and meant that he took the distance discipline title with an unassailable 659 points. In the overall World Cup picture, he now has 1285 points to Lukas Bauer’s 902 points in second place. The final races of the season are in Falun, Sweden, next weekend.
'This is Holmekollen, and I wanted to win this 50km in front of the home crowd' – Petter Northug Jr
“It was a very exciting race today,” commented Northug. “When Pietro [Piller Cottrer] came, he was really fast. He almost killed me in the last uphill, but I made it and won.
“I was sick some days ago, and [the Sprint in] Drammen was my first sharp race. It was good preparation for today to race there. It was not hard for me to find motivation, as this is Holmekollen, and I wanted to win this 50km in front of the home crowd.”
Follow Northug’s progress at his official website, tronderweb.no/teamnorthug
Petter Northug quotes courtesy of Sandra Spitz/fiscrosscountry.com
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