Johaug kicks back to win 20km in Oslo: 'I was just smiling out there'

The Trondheim (NOR) 2025 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships ended last weekend, but the Norwegian Cross-Country party continued on Saturday as the Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup came to Oslo (NOR).

In the sun over the iconic Holmenkollen ski stadium, home hero Therese Johaug (NOR) won the Women's 20km Interval Start Classic in a dominant fashion to get some redemption for failing to make it to the top of the podium in Trondheim.

Johaug, who had to settle for three silver medals and a bronze at her comeback World Championships, missing gold by the smallest of margins behind Ebba Andersson (SWE) in the Skiathlon and 10km Classic, beat teammate Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR) by 16.5 seconds to claim her sixth World Cup victory this season as Victoria Carl (GER) completed the podium, 53.4s behind the winner.

It was the 88th World Cup triumph in the career for the three-time overall World Cup champion, who lives some hundred meters from the Holmenkollen tracks, where she has done most of her training sessions.

"It was amazing. I had really been looking forward to this race in my home area, Holmenkollen," Johaug said.

"I have been training so much here and it really looked forward to go here after Trondheim. Today I had really good skis and a good body and I'm just smiling out there."

According to the 14-time World champion, her missed gold medals in Trondheim had been down to not having the margins on her side, rather than not being in shape.

Andersson, who had added a Relay gold medal to her Skiathlon and 10km triumphs in Trondheim, looked like she had brought her good shape with her to the Norwegian capital and started strongly, beating the times of Anja Weber (SUI), the best skier ahead of her, by a larger and larger margin as she came closer to the 18.6km finish.

But Andersson had start number 26 and Johaug, with bib 42, knew exactly what times to beat to keep the Swede behind her. Instead, it turned into a battle with 37-year-old teammate Slind, who also had a point to prove after the World Championships.

Slind, who had failed to make it onto an individual podium in her hometown Trondheim, started four positions behind Johaug and was 1.1 second behind her after 8.7km. In the last 4km of the race, however, Johaug put her foot on the gas pedal and beat Slind by more than 10 seconds, having only been 4.1 seconds ahead at the 14.9km mark.

"It was a hard fight with Astrid today, she was so strong today, but I felt that I had a little bit more in the end, so it was really fun to take the step up to the top of the podium today," Johaug said.

The victory meant Johaug got to meet Norway's king Harald V after the race. At the World Championships, the host country's royals had to shake hands with a lot of Swedes as they won all six gold medals in the women's competition.

"It was my goal today to say hello to him," Johaug laughed.

She had previously said that Oslo would be her last weekend of World Cup racing before going back to retirement, but has opened the option of competing in this season's last competitions, in Lahti, Finland, next weekend.

"I will have to decide about Lahti soon," Johaug said.

When the Norwegian top duo crossed the line, Andersson was pushed down to third place, 31.9 seconds behind Johaug. Andersson was however later disqualified after a technical error got her this season's second yellow card, and Carl, No.2 in the overall World Cup standings behind Jessie Diggins (USA), took over the podium spot.

Kerttu Niskanen, who also had a difficult World Championships where the Finnish women did not make it to a podium for the first time in an edition of the competition since the 1950s, finished in fourth place, less than a second slower than Carl.

Heidi Weng made it three Norwegians in the top-five, 1:02.2 after Johaug, as Katerina Janatova (CZE) continued her strong season with a sixth place.

Best among the Swedes was Mor Ilar (SWE), who finished in seventh place, 1:23.9 after Johaug. Nora Sanness (NOR), Emma Ribom (SWE) and Diggins completed the top-10.

The Oslo World Cup stage concludes on Sunday with the Men's and Women's 10km Interval Start Free.

Click here for full results from the Women's 20km Interval Start Classic and here to follow FIS Cross-Country on Youtube.