Fourteenth placed Kikkan Randall of the United States skis during the women's 9 km pursuit handicap race at the cross country Tour de Ski competition in Oberhof, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)
December 30, 2012 - 8:42 AM
OBERHOF, Germany - Maxim Vylegzhanin edged Russian teammate Alexander Legkov on Sunday in a 15-kilometre classical pursuit to win the second stage of the Tour de Ski while Canadian skier Alex Harvey came up short in a sprint finish for bronze and settled for fifth place.
Vylegzhanin took the overall lead in the seven-leg World Cup event with the victory. He crossed the line 0.1 seconds ahead of Legkov, with prologue winner Petter Northug of Norway trailing 6.5 seconds behind in third.
Northug was 0.2 seconds ahead of Dario Cologna of Switzerland and 1.2 seconds ahead of Harvey, from St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que.
Ivan Babikov of Canmore, Alta., was 19th, Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont., was 27th and Len Valjas of Toronto was 33rd.
Vylegzhanin now leads Legkov by 5.1 seconds going into a sprint stage Jan. 1 in Val Muestair, Switzerland, before the tour moves to Italy.
Defending champion Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland won the women's 9K pursuit by 41.4 seconds over Therese Johaug of Norway. Johaug trails Kowalczyk 46.4 seconds in tour standings.
Anne Kylloenen of Finland was third in the race, while prologue winner Kikkan Randall of the United States dropped back to 14th.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012