Emil Joensson and Justina Kowalczyk won Gran Pri Sprint Tour
Category: Russia
Yekaterinburg
The Uktus mountain
Khanty-Mansijsk
Saarinen, Kowalczyk, Matveeva
Koukal, Joensson, Dal
Sprint Tour 2008
From 1st to 5th of April in Russia took place second international competitions Gran Pri Sprint Tour, sponsored by CRAFT Sportswear. But the winners became foreign skiers Swede Emil Joensson and Justina Kowalczyk from Poland.
Tour included five stages, and first of them, so called criterium, took place in the main city of the Ural Yekaterinburg. There were six laps for racers to go, and in the end of each two last athletes went away from race. In such a long distance for sprinters first finished distance specialists Jean Marc Gallard from France and Justina Kowalczyk. Russian Ivan Alypov went first for the whole race, but didnt manage to count laps and made a great finish spurt at the end of the fifth lap, and, surely, Gallard used this mistake.
At the second day mountain sprint on the famous Uktus mountain advantage had those, who managed to be fastest on dangerous downhills and ski jumps. And it was Emil Joensson and best Russian sprinter Natalia Matveeva, who did their best on the track. In the third stage, 100 meters supersprint in Yugorsk fastest were again Emil Joensson and Russian Evgenia Shapovalova.
Fourth and fifth stages of the Tour took place in the capital of Yugra Khanty-Mansijsk. In the morning took place traditional free style sprint, winners of which became once again Emil Joensson and Natalia Matveeva. And in the evening took place sprint uphill race, where competitors started with handicap defined by the results of first four stages. In mens race Emil Joensson saved his lead and won the Tour, second was Norwegian Jon Kristian Dal, third Czech Martin Koukal. In the womens uphill final Justina Kowalczyk quite quickly caught up Natalia Matveeva, who started first, and became overall Tour winner. Natasha managed to save her second position and Finn Aino Kaisa Saarinen finished at the third place.
All competitors liked the Tour very much, and they said, that were going to came back to the Urals next year.
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