Linn wins again: Svahn leads Swedish sprint sweep in Oberhof

Oberhof hosted a FIS Cross-Country World Cup sprint race for the first time in 11 years on Friday, but in the first event since the Tour de Ski it was two other stats that had everybody talking.

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) returned to the circuit after missing the Tour through illness but his comeback didn’t quite go to plan as he failed to make a World Cup sprint final for the first time since 2018.

While in the women’s race, Kristine Stavaas Skistad (NOR) failed to make the podium for the first time in 12 World Cup sprint races, coming off second best in her rivalry with Sweden’s women, who took a 1-2-3.

There was a better end to the day for Norway, though, who occupied the top four spots in the men’s race in sub-zero temperatures in central Germany.

Finishing power prevails on “brutal” course

Norway’s Evan Northug described Oberhof’s 1.3-kilometre sprint course as “brutal” ahead of Friday’s races and it’s easy to see why.

A stronghold of the former East Germany team, at around 1,000 metres up it doesn’t quite have the lung-busting altitude of courses such as Davos, Switzerland, but Oberhof more than makes up for it in technical difficulty.

A sharp left-hand turn early on is followed by a steep downhill, steep uphill then sharp double right-hander as the racers try to establish prime position, hoping the wax on their skis holds up. Then, at the highest part of the course, another double right-hander leads to a long, straight sprint finish tailor made for the strongest double-polers.

And so it proved in both races.

Olympic champion Jonna Sundling, as she often has this season, posted the fastest time in morning qualifying (by 2.66 seconds), while Skistad, who tends to ease herself into sprint events more gradually, only just snuck through to the semi-finals as one of the two fastest losers.

She then finished fourth in the first semi-final but a stacked field leading and a fast time meant she again made it through as one of the best of the rest. She was joined in the final by Laura Gimmler (GER) who took advantage of a blanket finish in semi-final 2 to finish second, much to the delight of the home crowd.

These two would be no match for the super Swedes, though, particularly Svahn. Along with Sundling and Frida Karlsson, she was part of a triple breakaway midway through the race.

The 24-year-old missed two full seasons with a serious shoulder injury, but spent much of her rehab making sure it would never happen again by working on her upper body strength. How it’s paying dividends now.

She powered away down the home straight to claim her fourth sprint victory in a row.

“It was a fun race,” Svahn said. “It’s good to be back competing again and wow, I had amazing skis today! And a triple for Sweden – it’s really nice to have that again. It took us until January this season but it’s so nice to be on the podium with the girls.”

Karlsson finished 0.33 back, visibly delighted with her recent improvement over the shorter distance. “I didn’t expect this when I woke up this morning,” she said. “Cool to make it onto the sprint podium.”

Valnes victorious, Klaebo playing catch-up

Even after missing large parts of the season – first through Covid, then with flu – sprint king Klaebo would have been expected to be back with a bang, especially having posted the second-fastest time in morning qualifying and cruising to victory in the first and slowest of the five quarter-finals.

But in a tough first semi-final featuring Valnes and Lucas Chanavat, another sprint winner this season, the cross-country legend struggled for position then slipped as he entered the penultimate corner. Third place wasn’t enough in the end, with both fastest losers coming from the second semi-final.

“It was s**t,” Klaebo admitted. “I have really tried to get back in training. But this was a bad start to the weekend.”

In the final, it was 23-year-old Ansgar Evensen who made the running ahead of compatriots Northug, Valnes and Tour de Ski winner Harald Oestberg Amundsen.

But it was the finishing power of Valnes that won through eventually. He finished 0.40 seconds of Evensen, who claimed his first World Cup podium. Northug was nearly three more seconds further back in third.

“It was really tough today; challenging to get good grip on the skis so I had a little struggle, but I’m really happy now and hope to continue the same way.”

Valnes narrowed the gap on Amundsen at the top of the overall World Cup standings and retained the red bib as the sprint leader. But with Klaebo’s fitness and form likely to improve, none of his fellow Norwegians will be resting easily.

Jessie Diggins (USA), who only reached the semi-finals in Friday’s sprint, is still more than 300 points ahead of Svahn in the race for the crystal globe, with the Swede on top of the sprint standings.

The action continues on Saturday in Oberhof with the men’s and women’s 20km Mass Start Classic.

For the full results from Oberhof, click here