Cross-country skiing : Nadine Faehndrich kicks off her Val di Fiemme competitions with a fine victory
The cross-country skiing World Cup athletes were competing on a track specially redesigned in recent months for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina (Italy) on Friday in Val di Fiemme (Italy). In the final stages of the classic sprint, which serves as the fifth stage of the Tour de Ski, victory went to Nadine Faehndrich.
Fifth in the qualifying round a few hours earlier, the Swiss rider negotiated her quarter-final and semi-final perfectly, demonstrating her bluffing intelligence. More at the front of the competition on the final lap of the day, the 29-year-old cross-country skier never wavered until the line.
It was her first World Cup success for over two years. The last time the native of Schwarzenberg (Switzerland) raised her arms at the highest level in the world was at the Tour de Ski in Val Müstair (Switzerland) on 31 December 2022. She is also wearing the silver leader’s jersey in the points classification, which she will try to keep until thetop of Alpe Cermis (Italy).
Back in the final after a less than expected start to the season, Linn Svahn found her way back onto the podium by taking second place on the day behind Nadine Faehndrich. She hadn’t been on the podium since last season at the classic sprint in Falun (Sweden) on 15 March.
Behind the Swede, Heidi Weng finished in a blaze of glory to claim a podium finish that enabled her to close the gap in the overall tour standings. Surprisingly eleventh in the prologue, the Norwegian then went on to complete one lap after another to claim her first top 3 finish in the discipline since 18 February 2020.
Finland’s Jasmin Kähärä, Germany’s Laura Gimmler and Norway’s Lotta Udnes Weng rounded off the top 6 after a solid battle on the track.
No semi-final for Léna Quintin and Mélissa Gal
In the French clan, the two Blues who qualified for the finals failed to progress beyond the first round. Sixth-placed Léna Quintin could do nothing and saw her journey come to an end at this stage.
Mélissa Gal was downgraded following a collision with American Julia Kern in her quarter-final, in which she crossed the line in fourth place without being selected as the lucky loser.
The full rankings
The general classification of the Tour de Ski
The overall sprint ranking
The overall World Cup standings
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