Dario Cologna won the Engadin Ski Marathon for the third time.

He relegated Anders Gløersen (NOR) and Ilia Chernousov (RUS) to 2nd and 3rd place in the final sprint.

Perfect conditions and bright sunshine made for an excellent race; the winner’s finishing time of 1:27,46 clocked in at three minutes above the record.

After having won the great classic from Maloja to S-chanf in 2007 and 2010, Dario Cologna took home his third victory on Sunday.

It was a fast race, as expected, and Cologna held tactically good positions throughout the race.

The young Swiss duo Dajan Danuser and Beda Klee still managed to break away and at times had a lead of well over 100 metres.

«The Swiss team knew ahead of the start that Danuser and Klee would try to break away,» said Dario Cologna to the media at the finish.

It came as no surprise to Cologna, though, that the youngsters did not manage to stay ahead of the field until the end.

«It’s a daring move, but unfortunately, you seldom get to reap the fruits of your efforts.»

After the field had joined the lead, Anders Gløersen began setting a faster pace; by the final stretch, Cologna had manoeuvred himself into the top three.

He then started the attack with a sprint up the final hill in the stadium, with the Norwegian Anders Gløersen and the Russian Ilia Chernousov, the winners of 2014 and 2015 respectively, close behind.

It was neck and neck, and Cologna was sure of his victory on the finishing line only.

* Se også: Slik gikk det i dameklassen (norsk seier)

—

Engadin Skimarathon
Engadin/St. Moritz, Sveits – 12. mars 2017

Menn – 42 km, fri teknikk
1. Cologna Dario, Sveits 1:27.46,0        
2. Anders Gløersen, Norge 1:27.46,6
3. Ilia Chernousov, Russland 1:27.46,7

* Komplette resultater