Kristine Stavås Skistad Celebrates First World Cup Victory of the Season

Kristine Stavås Skistad is back after her struggles and celebrated her first triumph of the World Cup this season in the sprint competition in France.

Skistad participated in her first World Cup race since Lillehammer in early December. She underwent abdominal surgery in November, which kept her sidelined for much of the season.

"Today’s victory was a welcome return for the 25-year-old," said Skistad. She remained in control throughout the race and excelled in the final stretch.

This victory marks her eleventh World Cup title, the first since Falun in March of last year. Skistad has been on the podium 17 times in total.

Notably absent from the final were notable competitors Nadine Fähndrich and Johanna Hagström, who both previously won sprint races this season but failed to qualify in the semifinals.

Among the other Norwegian competitors, Ane Appelkvist Stenseth and Hedda Østberg Amundsen exited in the semifinals, while Hedda Bakkemo, Elena Rise Johnsen, and Ingrid Bergene Aabrekk fell short in the quarterfinals.

On Thursday, Skistad was crowned national champion in sprint, and she openly discussed her challenges over the past months, indicating that the journey had been the toughest of her life but now feels like she has moved on, recovered, and trained back to form.

World Cup leader Jessie Diggins, who has been dealing with injuries this season, also faced setbacks, exiting in qualification after stating her struggles going into classic races. She will skip the 20 km event on Sunday due to lingering injuries.

The World Cup event in France is notable for the absence of several key Norwegian stars who opted to focus on the national championships or training before the World Championships in Trondheim.