Swedish sprint sensation Sundling makes it a Davos double

“Fast, compact, perfect conditions for sprinters” was how the race director described the course ahead of the women’s and men’s Sprint Freestyle races at the FIS Cross Country World Cup in Davos, Switzerland on Saturday. And sprinters don’t come any closer to perfection than Jonna Sundling (SWE) and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR).

Having respectively led Sweden and Norway to dominant Team Sprint victories on Friday, the duo proved why they are both Olympic and world champions over the shorter distance with equally commanding performances in the individual races amid increasingly heavy snow in the Swiss Alps.

A renowned frontrunner, Sundling was again quickest in qualifying – by an astonishing 4.28 seconds, suggesting the rest of the field would be fighting for the other podium places.

And the opportunity was certainly there, with the women’s field missing a number of big names including Kristine Stavaas Skistad (NOR), last year’s sprint champion Linn Svahn (SWE) and Johanna Hagstroem (SWE), who won the sprint in Ruka, Finland.

Another star sprinter Emma Ribom (SWE), who won the Team Sprint with Sundling on Friday, slipped at the start of her quarter-final to put her out of contention.

In fact, Mathilde Myhrvold (NOR) was one of only two survivors from last year’s Davos sprint final. She held on to finish second this year, 2.33 seconds behind Sundling.

As she did in Friday’s Team Sprint, the 29-year-old Swede hit the front out of the starting gates and stayed there, again powering up the final climb to put daylight between her and the rest of the field to finish in two minutes, 44.9 seconds.

Sundling’s lead was so big she could even afford to look back, slow down and celebrate her 11^th individual World Cup victory before crossing the line.

“Oh, it was really fun and I haven’t been this happy in Davos so it’s really nice to be successful,” she said.

Indeed, of her 35 previous individual World Cup podiums, none had been achieved in Davos and only one in Switzerland. So, what were the tactics?

Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR) stumbled on the final straight to allow compatriot Julie Myhre to snatch her third podium in as many sprint races this season.

Jessie Diggins (USA), the only other survivor from last year’s Davos final, finished sixth but picked up valuable points in winning her quarter-final and semi-final to retain her lead at the top of the World Cup standings.

Klaebo’s Christmas cracker

Erik Valnes (NOR) and Lucas Chanavat (FRA) were among the big-name sprinters who were back for the men’s individual freestyle after opting out of Friday’s team event but after watching Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo lead Norway to victory they knew something special would be required to topple cross-country skiing’s greatest-ever short-distance racer.

The 28-year-old qualified fastest for the finals, 1.23 seconds ahead of Chanavat, then mixed up his tactics en route to a final, seemingly sizing up the conditions.

Sprint veteran Federico Pellegrino (ITA) failed to progress from quarter-final 2 while Haavard Solaas Taugboel (NOR), who has claimed eight World Cup sprint podiums, crashed out in quarter-final 4.

Chanavat, having cruised through in the same quarter-final and semi-final as Klaebo, decided to make the early running as the men’s final started at a brutal pace.

But the Norwegian was merely biding his time. In a repeat of Friday’s Team Sprint final, he chose the start of the second lap to make his move, accelerating away up the first of two climbs. In a matter of seconds, the race was all but won.

By the time he came round the final corner – a normally treacherous right-hander – the lead was ten metres. On the final straight, Klaebo could afford to look over his shoulder then give a one-finger victory salute to the large Davos crowd, who remained in good voice despite having no home podiums to cheer on Saturday after two on Friday.

The Norwegian’s 1.38-second winning margin and a time of 2:22.8 didn’t reflect just how dominant he was. He even shrugged to the television camera as if to say, “what else did you expect?”

“It was amazing,” Klaebo said. “It’s so much fun racing here, I just like the place. I’m looking forward to celebrating Christmas here – and now with the snow and everything it looks like it’s going to be a great Christmas.”

Chanavat, who held off Valnes to finish second, said: “It was good to finish second and good to be in a bit better shape now. Hopefully it will keep improving for the next race. It’s been a tough beginning of the winter. I was really focusing on this race to be good, because I needed more confidence. The road to Trondheim is starting now and the Tour de Ski is always a good place to compete.”

Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) finished fourth to pick up valuable World Cup points and stay ahead in the overall standings.

The FIS Cross-Country World Cup season continues in Davos on Sunday with the women’s and men’s 20km Classic races.

To watch all the action, click here

For the full results from Davos, click here