Joel Lafrance of Minneapolis won the Pepsi Challenge 50-kilometer freestyle Saturday at Giants Ridge, beating out Duluth's Nikolai Anikin by 45 seconds.
Lafrance was timed in 2 hours, 31 minutes, 48.4 seconds to claim top honors. Anikin came in at 2:32.34.1, while Zach Varty of Elk River, Minn., was third and Duluth's Peter Coenen was fourth.
Jan Guenther of Long Lake, Minn., skiing in the 55-64 age group, was the women's winner in 3:02:14.6. Mari Hardel of Minneapolis was the runner-up, with Duluth's Megan Bettendorf coming in third.
In the 50K classic, John Schwinghamer of Mora, Minn., was 5 1/2 minutes ahead of runner-up Travis Hinck of Golden Valley, Minn. Third place went to Brent Smith of Carlton, competing in the 55-64 age group.
The women's 50K classic winner was Duluth's Molly Watkins, who crossed the line in 3:24:53.2.
