Skiathlon champion Andersson cruises solo to 'replay' 30km victory

Ebba Andersson crowned a glorious campaign at the 2023 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia, with a gold in the women's 30km mass start classic on Saturday.

The stadium speakers played ABBA's "The winner takes it all" as the Swedish 25-year-old skiathlon world champion crossed the finish line to claim her second title of the championships, 53 seconds before runner-up Anne Kjersti Kalvaa from Norway. Sweden's Frida Karlsson took bronze.

Andersson stayed with the rest of the field for the first 12km. Then she put the pedal down and got herself a gap that she would only extend for the rest of the race, leaving the skiers behind her to fight for silver and bronze.

"It feels amazing to once again become a world champion," said Andersson.

"It was an amazing day. I felt strong from the very beginning and just tried to stay calm in the first laps. After that I tried to go a little bit faster and I felt that 'OK, this is my day, now I just have to push it a little bit faster'. I also had amazing skis so I really enjoyed it out there."

At the last world championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, in 2021, Andersson finished fourth in the event, missing the podium by 1.5 second. This time, she had a big margin on her side. The move to get herself a big lead mid-race and go alone for the victory for a big part of the course reminded Andersson of how she had won the skiathlon gold medal on Saturday 25 February.

"It almost feels like a replay of last Saturday when I got it (the world title) last time," she said.

"When I got the gap to the others it was just to stay calm and keep focused on my skiing and go as fast as I could to the finish line."

Behind Andersson, Kalvaa and Karlsson formed a chasing group with Sweden's Linn Svahn, USA's Rosie Brennan and Finland's Kerttu Niskanen. They stuck together until the last three kilometres of the race when Karlsson made a push and Kalvaa followed her.

Knowing what challenge the 2022-23 Tour de Ski champion Karlsson could be on the home straight, Kalvaa made a big turn of pace in the last 50 metres of the last climb, which turned out to have been timed with precision. Her seven-second gap down to Karlsson shrunk drastically as the 2021 30km mass start classic bronze medallist came into the final stretch, but Kalvaa managed to stay in front, claiming the silver 1.2 seconds before the Swede.

"I had amazing skis today and I felt really good. The last two laps I was just trying to get all the energy I needed to get an attack and get a gap," Kalvaa said.

"When we were going to the top the last time I just thought that 'I have to try now'. I just gave it all, I thought they were coming and getting me in the last few hundred metres there."

Kalvaa said she had not known where Karlsson was when they came into the last sprint.

"I didn't hear anything because of the crowd, so I just gave it all and luckily it was enough."

The silver was Kalvaa's third world championships medal, all of which she has claimed in less than a week. After starting her campaign in the Slovenian Alpine valley with an eight-place in the skiathlon, she went on to finish second in the team sprint and winning gold in the women's 4x5km relay, finishing it off with another strong display in the 30km mass start.

"It's amazing. It's a dream come true, I have no words," Kalvaa said.

Karlsson did not look too upset about leaving Slovenia with her first individual world title yet to be taken. The 23-year-old celebrated her tenth world championships medal – four of which she earned in Planica – with teammate Andersson on the podium.

And even though Sweden's women were disappointed after having had to settle for a third place in Thursday's relay, they could wrap up the competitions in Planica on a happy note. Sweden claimed three of the four top spots in the last race as Svahn beat Brennan in a photo finish for the fourth place, Niskanen finishing sixth.

As the women's competitions concluded, the Nordic cross-country power house had won four of the six events and 11 of the 18 medals to fight for, before medal standings runner-up Norway with one gold, two silver medals and a bronze.

Their medal tally makes Planica 2023 Sweden's best ever world championships, even though their men have yet to claim their first podium spot.

Last chance to do that is in the men's 50km mass start classic that concludes the world championships on Sunday.

Click here for full results of the women's 30km mass start classic.