Ribom 'super happy' to be back winning in Ruka

Sweden's Emma Ribom started last season by winning the first event of the Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Ruka, Finland.

On Friday she repeated the feat, bagging her second Ruka classic sprint win in a row to claim the third World Cup victory of her career, looking like there could be more glory coming for her this season.

The 25-year-old fought it out with training partner Jonna Sundling (SWE) in the final, but for the first time, the Olympic and world sprint champion was beaten by her apprentice. When Ribom had finished first in Ruka and Lillehammer, Norway, last year, Sundling had not been in the race.

Norway's Kristine Stavaas Skistad, who ended last season with five consecutive sprint victories, struggled in Ruka's challenging uphill section and had to settle for a third place.

"It's been a good day," Ribom said, happy to be back where she claimed her career-first World Cup win one year ago.

"I've been feeling strong the whole day and it's so fun to be back here in Ruka. I'm super happy."

Ribom said she had felt so strong that she had been looking forward to the final climb of the Ruka hill, where she and Sundling got a gap to the rest of the pack.

"My tactics was to do the hill well l and have some power left for the last hundred metres and I felt so strong today so it was fun to race," she said.

Finland's Jasmi Joensuu (FIN) got the best time in the qualifications, and had good times in her quarter- and semifinal, giving the home fans along in the northern-Finnish town big hopes for the last race of the day.

In a star-studded final, however, Joensuu first made a false start and then did not have enough energy to match the top-five skiers, finishing in sixth place.

Frida Karlsson and Linn Svahn, in fourth and fifth place respectively, made it four Swedes in the top-five and a good first day of the season for the team.

"We are a strong team so it's really cool to be a part of it," Ribom said.

The only possible worry for the Swedish coaching staff was that Maja Dahlqvist, who has won the sprint crystal globe the past two seasons, finished 34th in the qualifications and failed to qualify for the quarterfinals.

USA had three skiers in the semifinals but Julia Kern, Rosie Brennan and Jessie Diggins finished just outside of the qualifying positions.

In the men's season premiere, Norway's Erik Valnes showed he also likes the snow in Ruka, where he claimed his first individual World Cup victory three years ago.

On Friday, the 27-year-old won his second one after an impressive push in the last downhill of the classic sprint final, 0.83 second before runner-up Richard Jouve from France. Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo finished third.

"It's been amazing," Valnes said.

"I was struggling a little in the quarterfinal, then the semifinal was really good so I was pretty determined after that. I was really happy to make such a strong last climb."

Valnes had won his semifinal 0.42 second before Klaebo and decided to continue with the same tactic in the battle for the podium spot. According to Valnes, the it was all about picking the right-side track in the last hill.

"That's what I did in the semifinal," Valnes said.

"That was pretty much it and it worked really well."

For Jouve, who finished sixth in the sprint rankings last season, the second place was a great start to the winter.

"My feelings got better and better throughout the day," the 29-year-old said.

"My team had prepared great skis for the first raceof the season and that gives you confidence for the rest of the weekend.

"Finishing second in the opening of the season is good for the head, it starts the season well, the form is there and I hope that it will continue."

Norway had seven skiers among the 12 semifinalists, Ansgar Evensen and Matz William Jenssen also qualifying for the final where they had to settle for the fifth and sixth places respectively. Italy's Federico Pellegrino won his semifinal but missed the podium seven tenth of a second behind Klaebo.

Klaebo, who had missed the pre-season competitions due to havng caught Covid-19, was denied a 41st World Cup sprint win in his first race of the reason but thought it was "an OK start".

"It was not my best race. I struggled a bit before the last uphill and made a few mistakes there. Valnes was really strong today, and so was Jouve, so I am pretty satisfied with the third place," Klaebo said.

The five-time Olympic champion saw the podium finish as a sign that he is on the right path.

"It's getting better," he said.

"I think that's one of the reasons for me to be satisfied as well. The last two weeks haven't been really good. I've struggled a little bit, I had a goal just to be back here racing and I'm able to be here now and finish at a third place.

Klaebo will for sure be aiming to climb to the top of the podium at the next sprint competitions in Ostersund, Sweden, on 9 December, as Valnes could be giving him a run for the money this season.

"I'm just looking forward to being done with the weekend and getting those races in my body, focusing on upcoming races, and in a few more weeks I will be back to normal," Klaebo said.

Sweden's Marcus Grate had the best time in the qualifications, 0.65 second faster than second-placed Valnes, and looked like he could get a good result but fell in the quarterfinal and missed the chance to fight for the podium spots. Norway's Paal Golberg, who finished second in the overall World Cup standings last year, was also eliminated in the quarterfinal.

The first World Cup weekend of the season continues on the Saturday with the 10km individual classic races.

Click here for full results from the women's classic sprint and here for full results from the men's race.

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