Kristine Stavå’s Skistad had a tough time against the Swedes and took 3rd place in Saturday’s freestyle sprint in Minneapolis.
Skistad was already on the verge of breaking out in the semi-finals after finishing third in the heat with, among others, Jonna Sundling and Linn Svahn. The 25-year-old secured a place in the final as a “lucky loser”.
In the final, she again had a tough time against Sundling and Svahn. The former won the race.
Lotta Udnes Weng, Anne Kjersti Kalvå, Tiril Udnes Weng and Mathilde Myhrvold all disappeared in the quarter-finals. Heidi Weng got the exit in the prologue.
– That is bad. It’s a track that should suit me well, so it’s boring, said Tiril Udnes Weng to Viaplay.
For World Cup leader Jessie Diggins, Saturday’s sprint was extra special. She ran her very first World Cup race in her home environment, and the ski arena is only a stone’s throw away from where she grew up. During the warm-up, the American was moved to tears.
– She has talked a lot about how special this will be, and she has been looking forward to this for many years, said Viaplay expert Niklas Dyrhaug.
The Swedish cross-country girls have excelled in sprints so far this season. Before Saturday’s sprint, seven of the first nine competitions in the discipline had ended with Swedish triumph. Linn Svahn traveled to the USA with five sprint victories in her bag, while teammate Emma Ribom has run away with two victories.
Skistad is the only woman who has been able to chastise the Swedes with triumphs in Granåsen and Canmore.
(©NTB)