Niskanen (FIN) claims first World Cup win of the season

Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen won the women’s 10km individual start classic race at the Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup at Beitostølen, Norway, on Saturday in a strong display of pace control.

Having stayed in the top three for the first 3km, the 34-year-old had the best time coming out of the first 5km lap and kept her lead for the remainder of the race. Norway’s Anne Kjersti Kalvå finished second, 12.7 seconds behind the winner, as Sweden’s Frida Karlsson claimed the third place.

It was Niskanen’s first World Cup win this season and the fourth in her career – all of which have come at the same distance. After her triumph, the 10km classic specialist however claimed that this is not her strongest event.

“Of course my favourite is classic and maybe 30km is the best one but I also like the 10km,” Niskanen said.

The win meant a redemption for her only previous competition at Beitostølen, in December 2018, when she had to settle for a 33rd-place in the 15km free.

“Last time that I was here I was really tired and out and now I’m back here to take a win feels really, really good,” Niskanen said.

“Today was a really good day. The skis were working well and my skiing felt good, so I am really happy for this victory.”

For 30-year-old Kalvå, who battled it out with Karlsson, the second-place meant a milestone first World Cup top-three finish.

“It was so amazing. It’s huge for me to finally step up on the podium so it was a really good day,” she said.

“It was a hard race, it’s cold and tough conditions today but I managed to stay calm and just do a good race.”

Karlsson had come to Norway as No.2 in the World Cup distance rankings behind teammate Ebba Andersson, who was out of action due to illness. She set off at a high speed and was 7.7s faster than the rest after 2.6km, but could not keep the pace for the whole race, securing her third-place after a push in the final kilometres which gave her a 6.5s margin to Germany’s Katharina Hennig.

Struggling with the cold, Karlsson missed the podium ceremony as she had to go straight from the race to be looked after by the medical team.

Click here for full results of the Women’s 10km Individual Start Classic.