Nikolay Morilov leads Russian sweep of podium in World Cup sprint race

Morilov, Fabjan win WCup cross-country sprints

DEMINO, Russia — Nikolay Morilov led a Russian sweep in a cross-country World Cup sprint race Friday for his first victory of the season.

Morilov finished the 1.4-kilometer freestyle event in 2 minutes, 32.7 seconds, beating Alexei Petukhov by 0.2 seconds. Nikita Kriukov was another 0.1 seconds behind.

Overall World Cup leader Petter Northug of Norway and many other top skiers skipped the event.

In the women’s race, Vesna Fabjan of Slovenia edged Magda Genuin of Italy for her second win of the season. Fabjan clocked 2 minutes, 52.9 seconds.