DOBBIACO, Italy (AP) — Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland won her third stage in the Tour de Ski on Friday and extended her overall lead as she closes in on a fourth consecutive title.
Kowalczyk won the 3-kilometer classical race in 10 minutes, 8.1 seconds. Krista Lahteenmaki of Finland finished second, 16.5 seconds behind, and Astrid Jacobsen of Norway was third.
Kowalczyk increased her overall lead from 23.3 seconds to 1:00.03 seconds ahead of Charlotte Kalla of Sweden, who finished ninth in the stage.
In the 5K men’s event, Alexey Poltoranin of Kazakhstan won in 12:37.9, 8.0 ahead of overall leader Petter Northug Jr. of Norway, and 8.2 ahead of two-time defending champion Dario Cologna of Switzerland.
Northug holds a 16.1-second lead over of Cologna with two stages to go.
