Cross-country skiing: Jessie Diggins stays in yellow ahead of the return to Italy
The seventh stage of the cross-country skiing World Cup season came to a close in the Engadine (Switzerland) on Sunday. And as the big international caravan heads to Cogne (Italy) for three more days of competition, it’s time to take stock of the different overall rankings on the circuit.
In the women’s race, Jessie Diggins (1483 points) never let go of her yellow bib. Despite foot pain in the classic, the American took advantage of the skating weekend to pocket some precious points, particularly in the sprint on Saturday where she finished sixth.
Astrid Oeyre Slind (1269 points), who also won the closing mass-start skate, was 214 points behind the American. Germany’s Victoria Carl (1237 points) rounded off the top 3 with 246 points. An excellent sixth on Sunday, Flora Dolci (387 points) is the first Frenchwoman in this ranking in thirty-second place.
Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo untouchable in the men’s race
In the men’s events, Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo gave his rivals no chance over the weekend in Switzerland. Winner of the sprint skate and the mass-start in the same style, the Norwegian is more than ever number one in the world with a total of 1459 points. Behind him, Edvin Anger (1058 points) continues to impress despite being 401 points behind.
In the battle for the podium, Hugo Lapalus (976 points) pulled off a fine coup on Sunday afternoon. Le Cluse is now in third place, just 7 points ahead of Erik Valnes (969 points), currently in fourth. His young team-mate Mathis Desloges (722 points) remains firmly in twelfth place, despite only competing in his first full season at this level.
Astrid Oeyre Slind confirms her red distance bib, Jonna Sundling takes the red in the sprint
Astrid Oeyre Slind (969 points), who won a thrilling race on Sunday, also took advantage of her success to extend her lead at the top of the overall distance rankings. The Norwegian now trails Jessie Diggins (860 points) by 109 points and Victoria Carl (755 points) by 214. Thanks to her fine performance, Flora Dolci (384 points) has climbed to eighteenth place, just behind Frida Karlsson (387 points).
In the women’s sprints, Jonna Sundling (532 points) reversed the trend with a solid victory on Saturday. The Swede is wearing red with a narrow 19-point lead over Finland’s Jasmi Joensuu (513 points). American Jessie Diggins (353 points) is still present in third place. In twentieth place, Léna Quintin is the leading French rider with 209 points.
Hugo Lapalus within 100 points of the red distance bib
On the men’s side, the current leader of the overall distance ranking, Simen Hegstad Krueger (783 points), lost out big time. Absent this weekend in the Engadine, the Norwegian saw Frenchman Hugo Lapalus (706 points) claw back precious points to move to within 77 points of first place. Austrian Mika Vermeulen (638 points) completes the podium, 145 points off the lead. Another Frenchman in the top 10, Mathis Desloges (515 points), was tenth , 268 points behind the leader.
In the sprint, following on from his new podium finish on Saturday after Federico Pellegrino’s downgrading, Lucas Chanavat (449 points) pulled off a fine operation to regain third place in the overall speciality rankings. In the lead, Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo (587 points) has consolidated his red bib, whileEdvin Anger (459 points) is just 10 points ahead of the Frenchman.
Mathis Desloges still second best U23
In the U23 rankings, Helen Hoffmann (450 points) was in no danger this weekend in Switzerland. The German retains her green bib with a 92-point lead over Canada’s Liliane Gagnon (358 points) and Sweden’s Maerta Rosenberg (251 points). In fifth place, Julie Pierrel (138 points) is currently the best Frenchwoman in this ranking.
In the men’s category, Edvin Anger (1058 points) dominates the proceedings. The versatile Swede is currently second in the overall standings, still ahead of Villardien Mathis Desloges (722 points). The two men are now separated by 336 points. Italy’s Elia Barp (279 points) is in third place.
In the Nations Cup, while the French are currently eighth in a ranking dominated by the Norwegians, their male counterparts are second behind the armada led by Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo.
The overall World Cup rankings
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Men
The overall rankings for the cross-country skiing World Cup sprint
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Men
Overall rankings for the cross-country skiing World Cup distance
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Men
The overall U23 cross-country skiing World Cup rankings
Ladies
Men
The general ranking of the nations’ cup of the cross-country skiing world cup
Read also
- Engadine: Flora Dolci in the top 10 of the skate mass-start, victory for Astrid Oeyre Slind
- Engadine: Jules Lapierre, Clément Parisse and Hugo Lapalus in the top 10 of the mass-start skate race dominated by Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo
- Engadine: Lucas Chanavat on the podium again in the skateboard sprint won by the inevitable Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo
