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Lukáš Bauer wins the grueling Tour de Ski

By František Bouc
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
January 9th, 2008 issue

ISIFA
Lukáš Bauer slowed down just enough to grab a Czech flag from a fan in finishing the tour with a commanding lead.
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When Lukáš Bauer reached the top of the last slope and was a few hundred meters from the finish of an eight-stage cross-country race — the Tour de Ski, which ended in Alpe Cermis, Italy, Jan. 6 — he slowed, picked up a Czech flag from a fan and finished the race with the national colors waving above his head.
The patriotic gesture cost him almost 80,000 Kč ($4,500).
Bauer knew he wouldn’t lose his commanding lead in the competition’s overall standings with the end so close at hand, and so he chose not to try for the day’s fastest time against Rene Sommerfeldt of Germany and Georgio Di Centa of Italy, forgoing the financial bonus that would come with winning the stage.
“Once I was past the most difficult part of the race, I thought for a bit that I could win the last stage outright as well,” Bauer said afterward. “But, when I saw so many Czech flags alongside the route, I made an immediate decision: ‘Forget it. Enjoy the last meters of the race instead.’”
It must have been an enjoyable race for Bauer. The 30-year-old, who previously won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, dominated the prestigious Tour de Ski event, a series of eight races in 10 days. Bauer led the event and finished 2.47 minutes ahead of second-place Sommerfeldt.
“When I arrived at the finish line, I was glad I held all the opponents behind me and that I won the tour,” Bauer told The Prague Post. He then added promptly: “Actually, I was glad it was all over. At times, I was close to withdrawing from the tour and letting it go.”
Prize fighter
The Tour de Ski’s complicated format for awarding prize money and bonus points angered Bauer in the tour’s early stages, which took place in the Czech Republic.
Bauer won the opening race in Nové Město na Moravě in late December and kept the lead in other stages. After each stage, he received a bonus as the tour’s leader. However, the International Skiing Federation (FIS) ruled after the third leg, again in Nové Město na Moravě Jan. 3, that Bauer had to return 2,000 Swiss francs ($1,792/31,796 Kč) previously paid to him in prize money.
The award money was paid out against the rules, the FIS said. Instead of going to the tour’s leader, the daily bonuses should have been paid to stage winners, even if they ranked low in the overall standings.
“The tour is a new race and so there’s still some confusion,” said race head Jorg Capol. “Bauer should not have received those checks.”
When Bauer heard the news, he considered withdrawing from the tour.
“He stood up and left the room in the middle of a team briefing,” said coach Miroslav Petrásek.
“I wanted to pack up my stuff and go,” Bauer said. “I found it ridiculous to be the race’s leader, have a check in my pocket and then be ordered to return it.
“After the third stage, the crowd celebrated me as the winner and then I learned in the evening that I ranked 13th in the stage, meaning I’d lose points and also money. It was just too much for me to cope with.”
A discussion with Petrásek and a phone call with his family convinced Bauer to continue. He then won the fourth stage outright.
“It was the only possible response to the situation: to show them that I was the real winner,” Bauer said.
Thanks to winning the tour overall, Bauer earned 150,000 Swiss francs and 400 World Cup points. He is now well positioned to compete for the World Cup’s overall title. He would be the first Czech to win that crown.

František Bouc can be reached at fbouc@praguepost.com


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