Sundling pips Skistad in dramatic Drammen Sprint duel

Jonna Sundling (SWE) beat Kristine Stavaas Skistad (NOR) in a neck-and-neck race to the finish line, claiming victory in the Women’s Sprint Classic at the Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Drammen, Norway, on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Swede won her second consecutive World Cup Sprint, and her fourth race this season, finishing 0.77 seconds ahead of the home favourite. Switzerland's Nadine Faehndrich completed the podium, 1.59 seconds after the winner.

Skistad, 27, had won the event on the high street of her hometown the past two times and took an early lead in the final, with Sundling following right behind her.

After a short stint at the front from Germany’s Laura Gimmler, Skistad and Sundling surged to the front in the home straight, the two Sprint stars battling it out for victory until the very last strides.

”It was until the last meter and I was like, ’OK, I need to continue all the way until the finish line’, and it was tough but I’m happy that I was the first person over the line’,” Sundling said.

She had no problems with the big crowds along the track cheering for her opponent – and the silence that fell after her victory.

She won the Drammen Sprint Free in 2020, but has had to settle for second place in her two past visits to the Norwegian town, behind Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR) in March 2022 and behind Skistad one year later.

Sweden’s Johanna Hagstroem finished fourth, 3.05 seconds behind her teammate. Gimmler finished fifth, ahead of the final’s second Norwegian, Ane Appelkvist Stenseth.

Sweden’s Linn Svahn had the best time in the qualification, beating No. 2 Sundling by 2.52 seconds. But the Swedish Olympic champion, who had won two of the last three Sprints and finished second in Lahti, Finland, on Saturday, did not make it onto a fourth consecutive World Cup Sprint podium.

The 26-year-old fell in the slushy snow in her quarter-final, receiving a yellow card, and used up a lot of energy powering back to second place after going down in a pile-up with several other skiers. In her semi-final, Svahn got locked in between Sundling and Skistad and had to settle for third place, 0.12 seconds behind runner-up Sundling as Skistad won, missing out on a fight for the podium places.

The top of the Overall World Cup standings remains unchanged. Jessie Diggins (USA) is on top with 1961 points, followed by Moa Ilar (SWE), who is 275 points behind. Ilar had been eliminated in the quarter-final, while Diggins made it to the semi-final where she finished fifth.

Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist, who never came close to the front of the group in her semi-final, finishing sixth and last, remains third in the Overall World Cup standings and first in the Sprint World Cup, with one Sprint left of the season.

Hagstroem, however, closed the gap to the leader and is in second place with 708 points – 12 behind Dahlqvist. Faehndrich, in third place, also has a chance to win the Sprint Crystal Globe. The Swiss skier, who will retire after the season, is in third place on 700 points.

The World Cup action continues in Norway on Saturday, with the Men’s and Women’s 50km Mass Start Free at Oslo’s iconic Holmenkollen venue. The men will start first at 10:00 local time, 45 minutes ahead of the women, meaning that the races will partly take place on the course at the same time. Read more about the new format here. 

Click here for full results from the Women’s Sprint Classic, here to see the Women’s Sprint Standings and here to follow FIS Cross-Country on Youtube.