Cross-country skiing : Therese Johaug unrivalled in Lillehammer
Therese Johaug reminded everyone that she was still the boss despite a two-year absence. This Sunday, in the closing skiathlon of the Lillehammer (Norway) cross-country skiing world cup, the Norwegian didn’t pull any punches.
Winning by a margin of more than 42 seconds over her nearest rival, the world multi-medallist quite simply reigned supreme in the race. The Scandinavian started strongly in the classics and never let up. Setting a very high pace, she simply cracked every one of her rivals over the course of the 20 kilometres.
The four-time Olympic champion, who was probably competing in her last race on the circuit before focusing on her preparation with the world championships in Trondheim (Norway) as her ultimate goal, never looked back. The end of the competition undoubtedly allowed her to observe her body’s reactions to the effort.
Behind her, the battle for the two remaining places on the podium raged on. Heidi Weng, who has been in great form this early in the season, was the strongest in the final hectometres. The Norwegian followed up with another top 3 finish, notably ahead of American Jessie Diggins, who was once again heroic in hanging on to finish on the podium.
Flora Dolci’s fine comeback
After struggling in the classic section, Flora Dolci achieved a fine result to round off the second weekend of the winter season. Twenty-sixth at the time of the ski change, the Haut-Alpine racer made a solid comeback to cross the finish line in fifteenth place on the day.
Delphine Claudel struggled in the classic at the start of the race, but had a fine second half in her preferred style. The Vosges native finished twenty-sixth, just four minutes behind the untouchable Therese Johaug. The last French rider in the race, Juliette Ducordeau , finished fortieth.
The full rankings
The overall distance ranking
The overall World Cup standings
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