Hennig hopes first World Cup victory can inspire next generation of German skiers

Germany's Katharina Hennig earned her first World Cup victory as she finished first in the women's mass start 15km classic in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on Saturday.

While many were looking to see whether overall 2022-23 Tour de Ski leader Frida Karlsson from Sweden would kick back from her early exit in Friday's sprint, or if Norway's Tiril Udnes Weng would continue her fine form to close the gap to the frontrunner, it was the German 26-year-old who performed a tactically clever race to grab the podium top spot.

"It was a very tough race and my body felt like expected after the last day and the four [sprint] runs I had. But I'm so happy to have my first victory here in Val di Fiemme," Hennig said.

It was her sixth individual World Cup podium – three of which have come at classic mass starts in Val di Fiemme.

"This is one of my favourite tracks in the World Cup. Especially having a lot of family and my boyfriend at the track and that was very motivating," she said.

Hennig and Karlsson stayed in the front group for the whole race, coming into the last 1.5km with Kerttu Niskanen from Finland and USA's Rosie Brennan all within one second of each other.

But while Niskanen – another big challenge to Karlsson for the overall tour win – ended up pulling the pack of four into the home straight, Hennig stayed in the slip stream, overtaking the Finnish hope in the sprint. Karlsson, who is strong on the double poling, made a last attack with a last attack to claim the second place as Niskanen finished third.

"My tactic was mostly to save energy as good as possible because I had four races yesterday," Hennig said.

"I didn't know how my body would feel today. But I felt very good and I know that it's the most important to have a good home straight here."

Hennig hopes that the first World Cup victory for a German woman since 2009 can inspire younger generations in her home country, so that it can happen more often in the future.

"I think it means a lot [for Germany]", she said.

"I know that there are a lot of people who cheered at the television and I think that they are very happy. Especially the little cross-country skiers are [probably] very motivated."

Overall Tour de Ski No.2 Weng could not build on the momentum from Friday's sprint and had to settle for a seventh-place, almost half a minute behind Hennig. That means that Karlsson extends her lead in the tour from 41 seconds to 1:12 down to Weng, 1:37 before No.3 Niskanen, coming into the final climb event. Hennig, now two minutes after Karlsson, will also be fighting for a spot at the podium as the tour concludes on Sunday.

Click here for the full results from the women's 15km mass start classic.