LAHTI, Finland (AP) -- Lukas Bauer and Virpi Kuitunen won classic-style World Cup cross-country ski races Sunday and closed in on the overall titles.

Bauer won the men's 15-kilometer race in convincing style in 36 minutes, 35 seconds -- 20.6 seconds ahead of Rene Sommerfeldt of Germany. It was Bauer's seventh win of the season.

Bauer, whose highest previous overall finish was fifth in 2003, has a 428-point gap to Sommerfeldt -- 1,196 points to 768 -- with a maximum of 500 at stake from the last events. Bauer credited a tonsils operation and team support for his improved form.

Kuitunen finished in 28:06.3, beating Valentina Shevchenko of Ukraine by 4.7 seconds.

"I was not as strong as normal in the classic style,'' Kuitunen said. "But as I held the pace of the leaders, who changed a lot, and then advanced to second (at 7.8 kilometers), I hoped my pace was enough for a win -- and that happened.''

Kuitunen's closest rival in the overall standings, Norway's Astrid Jacobsen, finished sixth, losing 60 points to the Finn. Third-place Charlotte Kalla of Sweden finished 25th.

Kuitunen, who went scoreless in the sprint Saturday, now has 1,201 points at the top of the standings. Jacobsen has 1,062 and Kalla 939.

AP-ES-03-02-08 0919EST

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