Bieg Piastow

Petr Novak (CZE) and Tatjana Mannima (EST) victorious in the 51km CT Bieg Piastow (POL)!

The race day started with -1°C and some foggy weather, however during the race, the sun made its way through the fogg and made the race a great experience for everyone.

On the men’s side, the race developped relatively quickly and by 26km, only seven men, including the later first ones, were left together in the leading pack. When there were only 10 more kilometers to go, Stanislav Rezac and Petr Novak (both CZE) made their move and left Benoit Chauvet (FRA), the only one of the former seven racers who was still with them at that point, alone. It looked as if the finish of this year’s La Transjurassiene would be repeated, however, this time, Petr Novak took his chances at a little uphill before the finish and kept on pushing, leaving Rezac to finish second behind him. Chauvet faught on alone and was able to secure the third place. Both Czechs have won the race already several time, leaving them with a knowledge advantage about the course over their contestants.

On the women’s side, all girls skied together for around 25km. When the racer in front of her went for a drink at the feeding station in the stadium after the first lap, Holly Brooks (USA) was caught behind him and had to let the other girls go. She wasn’t able to close the gap thereafter. So it was up to Tatjana Mannima (EST), Klara Moravcova (CZE) and Aurelie Dabudyk (FRA) to battle out the podium places. The Estonian, who already won two FIS Marathon Cup races in classic technique, went on to win also the third one – however less comfortably as the other two, having had to fight the other two girls in the finish sprint. Moravcova took second place in the end and Dabudyk third.

In total over 1500 skiers took part in the 51km CT race, coming from 27 countries. Originally, the track was planned for 50km, however great snowconditions made it possible to extend the race for about one kilometre. The track consisted only of natural snow and winded its course through the Jizera forest.

Novak (CZE) continues as leader of the overall FIS Marathon Cup on the men’s side, Mannima (EST) takes over the lead again!

With his victory today, Petr Novak (CZE) can extend his lead in the overall FIS Marathon Cup to now 404 points. In second place lies Benoit Chauvet (FRA, 315 points) and Sergio Bonaldi (ITA, 223 points) is in third position.

On the women’s side, the fight for the overall FIS Marathon Cup victory continious: With her victory today, Tatjana Mannima from Estonia could once again take over the lead in the cup. She now leads with 427 points in front of Holly Brooks (USA, 410 points) and Aurelie Dabudyk (FRA, 354 pints). With two races left, it will be a tough fight for the overall victory until the end.

The complete result list from today’s race & the actual overall FIS Marathon Cup standing:

https://www.worldloppet.com/fmcresults.php