Karlsson catapults Sweden to first back-to-back relay victories

Sweden won the women's 4x7.5km relay classic/free at the Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Oberhof, Germany on Sunday, making it the first time the Scandinavian power house claims two consecutive relay victories.

Having got their first relay victory in 14 years in Gaellivare, Sweden, on 3 December, the Swedish women made it two in a row in a dominant fashion after a strong start from Linn Svahn (SWE) and Frida Karlsson (SWE) in the classic legs. Germany won the second place and Finland finished third.

"It's always nice to compete for each other and race for each other," said Svahn, who climbed to the top of the podium with Karlsson, Ebba Andersson and Jonna Sundling.

Svahn, who won the classic sprint on Friday, had given her team a 10.6-second lead after the first 7.5km.

"We wanted to do a good first leg and give Frida free lane because she always goes fast," Svahn said.

"She can go like a sprinter for 7.5km. We didn't want anyone to go behind her so that was my plan."

The plan worked out and Karlsson crushed her opponents in the second leg, maintaining the shape that gave her a second place in the sprint on Friday and her first World Cup victory in more than a year in Saturday's 20km mass start. Handing over to Ebba Andersson, Sweden's lead had increased to 59 seconds.

"I got a good position from Linn and I just wanted to give all that I had for 7.5km and give Ebba a good start as well," Karlsson said.

Andersson, the only skier from the team winning December's relay, made no mistake and kept home favourite Pia Fink (GER) behind her in the first of two finishing freestyle legs. With 7.5km left to race, the leaders had a gap of 1:06.5 as Sundling took over.

"I just tried to keep up the pace that the other girls had done before and give Jonna a good gap to the other teams," Andersson said.

However, Germany's anchor Victoria Carl had different plans and kept coming closer to the Olympic sprint champion. Supported by the home crowds, she beat Sundling by more than half a minute in the first 5km and had shrunk the margin to the leader to 18.9 seconds with 600m left of the race.

But Sundling kept it together and could finish 17.5 seconds before the strong German finisher, relieved to not have let her teammates down.

"It was really fun to compete today and to do it with these girls," Sundling said.

"They gave me a really good gap, which I needed today because Carl was skiing so fast."

Carl, who won her first World Cup victory in December, beat Sundling by 49 seconds.

"I feel very good. In the last long uphill I just flew, I saw Jonna and that just pushed me a lot," said the German 28-year-old.

In the beginning of her race she had believed that she could edge past the Swede.

"But the gap was too big or the track was too short," Carl said.

Germany, who had been runners-up in December too, were still happy for another podium position on home soil. Celebrating with Fink, Katherine Sauerbrey and Katharina Hennig, who had taken the mass start second place on Saturday, Carl and the home fans ended the first World Cup weekend in Oberhof for 11 years in a celebratory mood.

"It's amazing, we are very happy, we are back in the world (top)," Carl said.

Finland, without Saturday's 20km mass start runner-up Kerttu Niskanen, claimed the third place 2:11.3 behind the winners. Anne Kyllonen (FIN) had not been able to respond to Karlsson's second leg, giving the leaders more than one and a half minute's advantage for the second half of the race.

Halfway through the race it looked as though Sweden's second team, with Emma Ribom, Sofia Henriksson, Moa Lundgren and Maja Dahlqvist could get involved in the fight for the podium positions, but Krista Parmakoski (FIN) and Jasmi Joensuu (FIN) increased the gap to celebrate on the podium podium with Kyllonen and Johanna Matintalo (FIN).

In December, world champions Norway missed the podium in a World Cup relay for the first time since 2007. On Sunday it happened again as Kristin Austgulen Forsnaes, Mathilde Myhrvold,, Margrethe Bergane and Tiril Udnes Weng had to settle for a fifth-place, three minutes and 40 seconds behind Sweden, 15 seconds before sixth-placed Italy.

Click here for full results from the women's 4x7.5km relay classic/free.

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