– She has a cold head. It is impressive that she runs away with the victory in the end, says news’s cross-country expert Therese Johaug. Skistad was strongest in the sprint against Swedes Linn Svahn and Emma Ribom. – It is super fun. It was good to beat the Swedes now, says Skistad to news after the finish. Target photos were needed to separate Ribom, Svahn and Skistad in Friday’s sprint in free technique. As a result, Norway’s leading sprinter had to wait and see if the time was good enough. Skistad had the hundredths on their side and the 24-year-old could celebrate his career’s sixth individual victory in the World Cup. Svahn came second, 15 hundredths behind Skistad, while Ribom took third place, only one hundredth behind teammate Svahn. Kristine Stavås Skistad showed its best side in Granåsen. Photo: NTB Both Kristine Stavås Skistad and Lotta Udnes Weng qualified for the final on time, after finishing third in each of their semi-final heats. Udnes Weng was never close in the final and ended up last, over nine seconds behind Skistad. There were also Norwegian cheers among the men. Five out of six finalists were Norwegian and none managed to punish Johannes Høsflot Klæbo in his own hometown. For the second time in a row, Klæbo won a World Cup sprint. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has won nine of the last ten sprint competitions in the World Cup. Norwegian men’s cross-country skiing has 16 straight victories (all distances) at this level. Photo: NTB – He has almost played with the competitors. He is the king of cross-country skiing at the moment, said news’s expert Torgeir Bjørn after seeing a superb Klæbo cross the finish line. – It tastes good. Of course, it’s nice to make it happen and succeed, says Klæbo to news. Swedish dominance Johaug singled out Linn Svahn and Jessie Diggins as favorites before the final. The Swedes have won all but one World Cup race this season, when Jessie Diggins won the 10-kilometer race in Gällivare. Emma Ribom has secured a Swedish victory in the first two sprint races of the season. Both times Skistad was on the podium (2nd place last time in Östersund). Friday’s victory was thus the first World Cup victory for the Norwegian women this season. – It was really time to beat the Swedes. It feels great, says Skistad. Skistad has said herself that she cultivates the Norwegian-Swedish rivalry, and therefore it tastes extra good that it is precisely those who are beaten in the sprint. – It was important to beat them. I have struggled a bit with the Swedes this season, but they were strong today too, so I had to dig really hard, she continues. The podium (from left) 2nd place Swedish Linn Svahn, 1st place Norwegian Kristine Stavås Skistad and 3rd place Swedish Emma Ribom on the podium after Friday’s World Cup sprint. Photo: NTB Twelve Norwegian runners at the start As the host country, Norway could field no fewer than twelve runners at the start. That’s twice as many as the team usually has in the World Cup. Mathilde Myhrvold was the third best Norwegian woman in Friday’s sprint, when she finished in the semi-final. Ane Stenseth Appelkvist, Anne Kjersti Kalvå and Maria Hartz Melling reached the quarter-finals. The weekend’s competitions function as a trial WC for the WC in Trondheim 2025. The races are also part of the World Cup.
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Skistad with the season’s first World Cup victory after a monster sprint – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
