New year launched with exciting Tour de Ski Sprint in Val Müstair (SUI)
Jan 01, 2021·Cross-Country
The 15th edition of the prestigious Tour de Ski started off with a spectacular Sprint F in Val Müstair (SUI). In 10 days, 8 competition days await the Cross-Country elite.
Linn Svahn (SWE) and Federico Pellegrino (ITA) performed at a glance in the opening competition on the challenging Sprint F course at high altitude.
Svahn, one of the top favourites for todays Sprint starts at her first ever Tour de Ski and was the pace setter for all her heats. “I am so happy to have reached my expectations today because I was not sure how my body was going to handle this altitude. Now I have to focus now day by day but first I have to try to recover my legs again after this really tough race,” said the young Swede shortly after the finish line.
The hilly Sprint course included besides a short, intensive uphill and waves also a steep downhill that was followed by a sharp corner. This section became the decisive point for the remaining podium spots in the women’s Sprint. As Anamarija Lampic (SLO) and Nadine Fähndrich (SUI) chased down the steep section Lampic was able to take more momentum into the corner but drifted out so that Fähndrich had no space to react when the ski ends and tips the skiers touched, ending in a fall for the Swiss. For this move, Lampic was “ranked as last” and Jessie Diggins (USA) and Frida Karlsson (SWE) move up in the ranking to 2nd and 3rd place. “It is surely not my favourite way how I want to get on the podium but I am still happy with todays race. I managed to ski around Fähndrich in this section but did not know what had happened. I am very happy with the start of the Tour and I am excited for the following races,” said Karlsson after her unexpected participation in the winners ceremony.
For the Italian Federico Pellegrino, the victory in todays Sprint F was a crucial milestone in his goal setting for this season. The current Sprint World Cup leader and winner of the previous Sprint F World Cups in Davos and Dresden managed to trigger his energy into the right spots at the right time on the demanding course of Val Müstair.
Not even Tour de Ski overall favourite Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) managed to react on time but never lost his top-spot to the Sprint expert and gains a first podium spot on 2nd rank.
At first the finals were driven by the French team with Richard Jouve and Lucas Chanavat as they took over the lead and poved to earn their spots in Sprint finals. However only Jouve managed to keep up with Pellegrino and Bolshunov as they speed up early in the finals and defended his position, letting him earn the last remaining podium spot.
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