OBERSTDORF, Germany — Sergey Ustiugov made if 4 for 4 by winning the 15-kilometre pursuit Wednesday at the Tour de Ski while Canadian Alex Harvey finished third.
Ustiugov, a 24-year-old Russian, is the first cross-country skier to win four stages in a row on the tour. He again left former tour winner Martin Johnsrud Sundby in second, finishing in 37 minutes 58.5 seconds to beat the Norwegian by 37.2 seconds.
"Early in the race I did not feel so good. I was watching for Martin to catch me," Ustiugov said. "But when he did not come I decided to go for it."
Harvey, from Saint Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., was 1:08.8 behind.
"It feels really good. I was really close yesterday in fourth and have been in the top-10 a lot since the beginning of the season so it is a bit of a relief," said Harvey.
"Being in the top-10 this many times you feel like it is a matter of time until you finally get on the podium, but you also get a little antsy too. I had targeted yesterday’s race as the one for me on the Tour, and to finish fourth was a bit of a heartbreaker. But, I have been motivated by the results early in the season, which has also given me confidence in my ability. It’s just nice to finally get a podium."
Ustiugov increased his tour lead to 42.2 seconds over Sundby, who still leads the overall World Cup standings with 728 points. Finn Haagen Krogh is second with 455 points and Ustiugov is next with 450.
Earlier, Stina Nilsson of Sweden claimed her second victory in as many days by winning the women’s 10K race, finishing in 27:42.7. She finished ahead of Norwegian teammates Heidi Weng and Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg.
Nilsson leads Weng by 6.7 seconds.
"It was very tough," Weng said. "There was some new snow in the tracks. I knew Stina would be fast in the last meters."
Weng leads the overall World Cup standings with 832 points. Oestberg is second with 766 points and Krista Parmakoski of Finland is third with 594, followed by Nilsson with 531.
