Novák finished 15th in Falun, Razýmová was 18th

Russian Alexandr Bolshunov won the 15 km classic race

sntv

Novák remained in the numerous leading group in sunny but freezing weather and reached the finish line with a loss of less than eleven seconds to Bolšunov. The 24-year-old Czech national team recorded the second best result in the distance race after last year’s 14th place in the free fifteen in Falun. This season, his maximum is ninth place in the New Year’s sprint in Val Müstair.

The pace of the group leader suited Novák. “But the hard thing was that we went in a large group, so sometimes I stayed blocked somewhere and could only wait until we left again,” he said in a press release. At temperatures dropping to minus 12 degrees Celsius, the snow was frozen and fast. “That’s why the slopes were very crazy today. On the contrary, the trail was quite shallow, so the skis sometimes flew out of it. That’s why there were a lot of falls,” Novák described.

Linn Svahn won the 10 km race

sntv

He regretted that the conclusion did not go better. “I cooked on the hill in front of him. But overall, I am satisfied with the 15th place and the loss,” Novák added. At the Swedish center, he did not intervene in Friday’s race for 15 km freely, because due to administrative complications at the airport associated with measures against covid-19, he did not arrive in Falun until the evening before the race.

Although Bolshunov fell around the tenth kilometer together with several other opponents, he erased the loss and in the end left behind four Norwegian skiers. With the eighth triumph of the season, the winner of the Tour de Ski further strengthened his sovereign lead at the head of the World Cup. He also won in Falun on Friday.

In the women’s race, Razýmová did not stay in the leading group and from the first lap she moved to the interface of the second and third ten. She lost over 38 seconds to the victorious Svahnová.

From the beginning, Johaug tried to dictate the pace, and on Friday, for the first time in almost five years, she did not win the distance race in free technique. However, the Norwegian star could not escape the opponents and was not enough in the finish. In addition to Svahnová, she was overtaken by Russia’s Julia Stupaková, and only with all her might Johaug defended her third place in front of the advancing German Katharina Hennigová. Even so, it was the worst position for her in the distance race since last year’s Tour de Ski, where she also finished fourth in the classic ten with a mass start.