Sundling stumbles as Svahn sprints to fourth straight victory

The sun was out and so were the crowds on Saturday as the stars of cross-country skiing gathered for the men’s and women’s freestyle sprints on the second day of racing in Goms, the latest stop on the FIS World Cup tour.

But despite the benign weather conditions in the Swiss Alps near the border with Italy, the course was anything but. Described as “really hard” by men’s World Cup sprint leader Erik Valnes (NOR), the Goms layout lived up to its billing. Two sharp climbs, each followed by equally steep downhills, are followed by sharp high-speed turns that claimed several fallers. Throw in broken poles, tangled skis and two competitors falling flat on their faces out of the starting blocks, and Saturday’s sprints had everything.

But in the end, it was two familiar faces at the top of the podium – sprint superstars past and present. Linn Svahn (SWE) made it four sprint victories in a row, and five World Cup wins since late December, while Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) returned to form with a thrilling victory in the men’s race.

If the names of the winners were predictable, though, the races were certainly not.

It seems only another serious injury – like the one she suffered in 2021 – can stop Svahn in the sprints at the moment, but once again it was Olympic and world champion Jonna Sundling (SWE) who was fastest in morning qualifying, closely followed by her compatriot.

Only this time Sundling didn’t fade as she has in recent sprints. She won her quarter-final ahead of home favourite Nadine Faehndrich (SUI) and did likewise in her semi-final, crossing the line just ahead of Svahn.

The stage was set for a showdown between the two in the final, with Faehndrich the only non-Swede making it through. But the Swiss couldn’t live with the blistering pace set by Sundling and Svahn.

It was Sundling who made most of the running until she inexplicably tripped on her own skis on the second and final climb, leaving Svahn with a clear run to the finish.

“First of all, it’s amazing to be here,” Svahn said. “A lot of people came to cheers for us, especially Nadine, I think. But with five girls from Sweden in the final, it’s a crazy good team result.

Sundling did well to recover. She got to her feet and only just missed out on second place in a photo finish with Maja Dahlqvist (SWE), the last woman before Svahn to win four consecutive World Cup sprints.

While Svahn extended her lead in the sprint standings, she also closed the gap on Jessie Diggins (USA) in the overall race for the Crystal Globe. The Tour de Ski winner failed to qualify for the final after falling in her semi-final coming into the stadium section of a thrilling Goms course.

Klaebo edges Chanavat in freestyle thriller

With illness keeping Klaebo out of several events this season, Erik Valnes topped the sprint standings going into Saturday’s race, followed closely by his compatriot and the in-form Lucas Chanavat (FRA).

All three qualified comfortably for the final, but with Valnes’s strength laying in the classic technique, he was always off the pace on what proved to be an epic final – with an atmosphere to match thanks to the presence of Valerio Grond (SUI).

The home favourite made a bold move on the first climb – a brutal incline of 44 metres – but paid for it on the second as Chanavat hit the front with Klaebo in the Frenchman’s slipstream.

Clearly readying himself for race to the finish, the Frenchman slowed the pace slightly, momentarily allowing Grond and Håvard Solås Taugbøl (NOR) a sniff of victory. But they couldn’t live with the big two, who powered down the home straight, Klaebo stretching across the line just eight hundredths of a second in front to make it 43 World Cup sprint victories.

“The final was really tough,” Klaebo said. “Chanavat was really strong today and I felt like he was really pushing hard the whole day. I’ve been competing against him since the quarter-final and now I’m tired, but it’s good to be back."

Like Diggins, men’s overall World Cup leader Harald Østberg Amundsen (NOR) didn’t reach the final. In fact, he only made the quarter-finals, allowing Valnes to close the gap slightly in the standings.

Racing concludes in Goms on Sunday with the men’s and women’s 20km Freestyle Mass Start.

Click here for the full results from Goms