Perfect start! Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov wins first stage of FIS Tour de Ski
Russian cross-country skier Sergey Ustiugov got off to a perfect start at the prestigious International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup event – Tour de Ski – confidently winning the first stage of the seven-tour event on Saturday.
The two-time world champion dominated the men’s 14km freestyle mass start race in Switzerland clocking a time of 33 minutes 19.1 seconds.
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The reigning Tour de Ski champion, Johannes Klaebo of Norway, finished second losing just four seconds to the winner.
One more representative of Russia, Alexander Bolshunov, showed the third best result at the finish, trailing less than a second to Klaebo.
By taking the solid victory Ustiugov has become the third male skier to win a Tour de Ski stage in four consecutive seasons, after Norway’s Petter Northug and Alexey Poltoranin of Kazakhstan.
Todays crew who took over the commando in the final stretch of the 15km F and first stage of the #tourdeski! Congratulations, 1 down - 6 to go! 🎯#fiscrosscountrypic.twitter.com/EXJkNQgw16
— FIS Cross-Country (@FISCrossCountry) December 28, 2019
The prestigious multi-stage tour kicked off on Saturday in the Swiss mountain resort of Lenzerheide. The world’s best skiers will compete there till Tuesday before heading to Italy’s Toblach where the next stages will be held.
The race will conclude on January 5, in Val di Fiemme, Italy with the title contenders taking part in a breathtaking final climb stage in the alpine skiing course on Alpe Cermis.
Along with the Tour de Ski crown the athletes will also fight for vital points which will be added to the overall FIS Cross-Country World Cup standings.
