Nopesport

Simone has collected a couple more of these this week

Another great set of performances from the GB women today saw three top 20 results on a tough Classic race which saw only the winner finish anywhere near the estimated winning time of 75 minutes. Heather Monro took 8th place with a time of 89 minutes dead, almost 13 minutes behind winner Simone Niggli-Luder, who won by over 5 minutes to add to her gold in the sprint and guarantee top spot again in the World Cup series. Heather's time was only 2:15 off 3rd place which went to German Karin Schmalfeld with Russian Tania Ryabkina taking her second silver of the week after 2nd place in the Middle Distance. Ryabkina's result sees her overtake Emma Engstrand to take 2nd place in the series. Helen Winskill took 13th in a time of 93:25 while [nope] young team member Mhairi Mackenzie took 19th place in 95:48 - a fantastic result for a junior, especially after her injury layoff during the summer. Sarah Rollins finished up in 28th with a time of 101:50.

In the Men's race, times were again slower than expected with Norwegian Holger Hott Johansen, taking both Gold and the overall series with a time of 107:50. Finn Mats Haldin took silver in a time of 109:17 - 30 seconds clear of Andrey Khramov in 3rd, which was enough to see the Russian move into 2nd in the overall standings. Jamie Stevenson finished just outside the top 10 in 11th place with a time of 112:43, only 3 minutes off bronze medal position. Dan Marston finished in 26th place while Matt Speake finished in 36th place, just one place and 45 seconds ahead of teammate Ewan McCarthy.

Men (15.5km 825m climb):
1.Holger Hott Johansen NOR 107:50
2.Mats Haldin FIN 109:17
3.Andrey Khramov RUS 109:48
...
11.Jamie Stevenson GBR 112:43
26.Dan Marston GBR 119:47
36.Matthew Speake GBR 130:00
37.Ewan McCarthy GBR 130:45

Women (9.2km 525m climb):
1.Simone Niggli-Luder SUI 76:41
2.Tania Ryabkina RUS 81:24
3.Karin Schmalfeld GER 86:46
...
8.Heather Monro GBR 89:00
13.Helen Winskill GBR 93:25
19.Mhairi Mackenzie GBR 95:48
28.Sarah Rollins GBR 101:50

In the final standings of the World Cup series it was Simone & Holger who were crowned champions having come through their courses unscathed to defend the positions they held from after the Middle. Emma Engstrand, starting as 2nd seed, had a disastrous run today with a 7 minute error at number 3 and almost 5 minutes lost at both 17 and 18. These errors saw her finish in 36th position and drop down to 5th place overall with Tanya Ryabkina, Karolina Arewång-Höjsgaard and Jenny Johansson all overtaking her. The British Women's fine results this week has seen all four make the top 50. Heather dropped from 6th in 2002 to 10th while Sarah and Helen both climbed to 17th and 31st respectively. Mhairi finished up in 50th place after only 2 results.

In the men's standings Andrey Khramov overtook Øystein Kvaal Østerbø to take 2nd place on the same points as the Norwegian. Finns Jarko Huovila and Mats Haldin finished in 4th & 5th places. Britain were represented by Jamie Stevenson in 7th place, climbing from 10th in 2002 while Dan Marston climbed into the top 50 taking 47th place overall.

Final World Cup 2004 Standings:
Men:
1.Holger Hott Johansen NOR 229pts
2.Andrey Khramov RUS 207pts
3.Øystein Kvaal Østerbø NOR 207pts
...
7.Jamie Stevenson GBR 166pts
47.Dan Marston GBR 57pts

Women:
1.Simone Niggli-Luder SUI 286pts
2.Tatyana Ryabkina RUS 251pts
3.Karolina Arewång-Höjsgaard SWE 232pts
...
10.Heather Monro GBR 188pts
17.Sarah Rollins GBR 129pts
31.Helen Winskill GBR 85pts
50.Mhairi Mackenzie GBR 35pts

Tomorrow sees the the finale to the week, the relay and it'll be interesting to see how much today's long classic distance has taken out of the runners. Full results from today will soon be available here while World Cup Standings are available here.

Classic & WC Series winner Holger Hott Johansen