Ilar wins 10km Freestyle in Oslo as Swede spoils another Norwegian party

Moa Ilar (SWE) stunned a field full of big names to win the 10km Freestyle Interval Start (Time Trial) on Sunday at the FIS Cross-Country World Cup event in Oslo, Norway.

It was just a third World Cup podium for the 27-year-old and second victory, her previous two Top 3s coming in late 2023.

Having swept all the women’s gold medals at the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Trondheim recently, Jonna Sundling and Frida Karlsson were among the big-name Swedes missing on Sunday, but Ilar ensured they secured another victory on neighbouring Norwegian snow.

Sunny skies and firm tracks provided near perfect conditions at the hallowed Holmenkollen National Ski Centre on the outskirts of Norway’s capital, albeit on a challenging 5km course that featured lots of turns and undulations.

Local fans arrived in their thousands expecting Therese Johaug (NOR) to follow up her 20km Classic victory on Saturday with another dominant display to round off the weekend, but it wasn’t to be.

Johaug finished in fifth place, 17.8 seconds off the pace, sandwiched in between the two other biggest names, Ebba Andersson (SWE, fourth) and Jessie Diggins (USA, sixth).

The Swede, who won three gold medals at the recent world championships, had a point to prove after being denied a podium in Saturday’s 20K after receiving two yellow cards, while Diggins, the overall World Cup leader and reigning Crystal Globe champion, is a 10km Freestyle specialist, with 12 victories in this format – including two this season – during her career.

But none of them could live with Ilar, who set a blistering pace despite her apparently slow rhythmic style and kept it up throughout the race. She was the fastest skier at the 2.6km mark and every other interval thereafter.

“It feels amazing,” Ilar said. “It’s been such a long time and I had amazing skis, the body was really good, and I’m just so happy to be back on the podium.

“Two victories and one third place, that’s my podium scores. But it’s so good to win actually. Ha ha ha!!!"

For a long time, it looked like Ilar, who headed out 36^th among a field of 62, would win with ease, but admitted she was “a bit nervous at the end” as Heidi Weng (NOR) almost snatched victory.

The veteran Norwegian was battling with Victoria Carl (GER) to be the second-fastest woman on the track for most of the race, but put in a sensational late burst to come up just 1.6s short of Ilar. Weng’s second place did at least give the home crowd something to cheer about.

Carl, too, would have been happy with a second podium of the weekend, but with Diggins only three places back, the German was only able to narrow the gap slightly on the American at the top of the World Cup standings, which is still an unassailable 430 points.

"I hope that I can save the flow until the next World Cup," she said. "It's hard because in Tallinn [Estonia] and where we close the season in Lahti [Finland] it's different. And to finish with a 50K is also hard. So I hope with have good conditions, that it's not too soft."

The FIS Cross Country Skiing World Cup continues on 18 March in Tallinn, Estonia with the Men’s and Women’s Sprint Freestyle races.

For the full results from Oslo, click here.