Cross-country skiing : Sweden showed no fear in the mixed relay
It was in Switzerland’s Engadine valley that the cross-country skiing world cup caravan set off this weekend. A week after the French stage in Les Rousses (Jura), which opened with an individual skate race, the hostilities began on Friday with a mixed relay.
The Swedes reigned supreme in this event, which was recently added to the circuit’s programme. Well launched by the experienced Jens Burman, Emma Ribom also put in a solid 5km relay to allow her team-mates on skateboards to do the work.
On cloud nine for the past few weeks, and even more so since his solid victory in the Jura classic sprint last Saturday, Edvin Anger made a big difference during his passage. The tall, powerful Scandinavian cracked his main rivals so that Moa Ilar could take the start with confidence.
Never troubled and never at a loss for words, the 27-year-old cross-country skier rounded off her team’s performance in style by crossing the line just under 30 seconds ahead of the Norwegian team of Paal Golberg, Nora Sanness, Iver Tildheim Andersen – impressive in skating – and Kristin Austgulen Fosnæs.
In a thrilling final, Switzerland clinches a podium finish on home soil
The battle for third place on the podium was fierce. For a long time, the Austrian team of Mika Vermeulen, Teresa Stadlober, Benjamin Moser and Katharina Brudermann were in a position to claim this last position on the box, but lost ground towards the end of the race.
The Swiss team of Jonas Baumann, Anja Weber, Jason Rueesch and Nadine Faehndrich came back from the devil thanks to a strong finish. In the sprint, the home team edged out the second young Norwegian team comprising Martin Kirkeberg Moerk, Johanne Hauge Harviken, Andreas Fjorden Ree and Anne Kjersti Kalvaa.
It should be notedthat no French team was lined up at the start following a strategic choice on the part of the French staff.
The full rankings
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