Dahlqvist Claims First World Cup Victory Since 2021 with 'Win or Die' Sprint

Maja Dahlqvist (SWE) won her first Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup victory in more than three years as she finished first in the Women’s Sprint Classic in Cogne, Italy, on Saturday.

The 30-year-old, whose last individual World Cup triumph came in Dresden, Germany, in December 2021, ended an over 1,100-day wait for a win by beating runner-up Nadine Faehndrich (SUI) by 0.94 of a second. Germany’s Laura Gimmler secured third place, finishing 1.25 seconds behind the winner.

“It was about time so it feels really good. It was a really good day for the waxers and for me,” Dahlqvist said.

Prior to this season, Dahlqvist had relocated to Trondheim, Norway, in an effort to improve her skiing, training alongside Norwegian Ane Appelkvist Stenseth, who was among the strongest competitors on Saturday. Stenseth, who posted the second fastest qualification time, won her semifinal with an explosive start and led the final initially. However, in the second half of the race, she could not maintain the pace and eventually settled for a career-best fifth place.

Dahlqvist, who had been skiing with Stenseth all summer, explained her strategy: "I was just thinking that I should take Ane's back the whole time, because I know how strong she is in the double poling, then in the last half of it just go all in and win or die." Her tactics paid off, allowing her to take the lead, maintain her advantage, and ultimately push through in the final stretch to secure the win, marking the sixth World Cup victory of her career.

The long-awaited victory is especially timely as the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships are set to begin in Trondheim at the end of the month. Dahlqvist expressed her excitement about competing on home snow. In addition, she recently contributed to Sweden’s success by helping the team sprint, alongside Johanna Hagstroem, to a second-place finish in Friday’s Team Sprint Classic.

Germany’s Laura Gimmler, who celebrated on the podium with her teammate Coletta Rydzek after a joyful embrace, also made headlines by earning her first individual World Cup podium finish, beating Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR) for the spot.

Finland’s Jasmi Joensuu, who had won the Team Sprint in her debut pairing with Kerttu Niskanen (FIN), reclaimed the lead in the World Cup sprint standings from Sweden’s Jonna Sundling, despite finishing 11th after a strong qualification.

The World Cup action in Cogne will conclude on Sunday with the Men’s and Women’s 10km Interval Start Free races.

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