Langlauf: Moch and Carl run out of power in the mass start

Friedrich Moch and Victoria Carl have missed out on further top-10 placements in the World Cup. In the mass start in Switzerland, they lacked the necessary energy in the final kilometers.

The 24-year-old Moch from WSV Isny finished the 20-kilometer race in freestyle technique in thirteenth place on Sunday (January 26, 2025). He had been in the leading group for a long time but fell back in the final lap, partly due to a broken pole.

At the finish, he had a deficit of 35.3 seconds behind cross-country skiing dominant Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo from Norway, who had already won the sprint the day before and celebrated his ninth World Cup victory this season. This also extended his lead in the overall World Cup standings to over 300 points ahead of Swedish skier Edvin Anger.

Six Norwegians at the front

Klaebo was the spearhead of yet another Norwegian show of strength. Behind him, Iver Tildheim Andersen (+1.3 seconds) and Didrik Toenseth (+1.9) completed the podium. The fourth, fifth, and sixth positions were also firmly in the hands of his compatriots.

Next to Moch, the other German athletes could also do nothing against this Norwegian domination. Florian Notz finished 23rd (+1:30.8), Lucas Bögl finished 41st (+3:10.9), and Anian Sossau even came in 48th (+4:07.3).

Moch strong in the race

Distance specialist Moch initially chose the right tactic. He ran in the leading group without any problems on the first kilometers and after a quarter of the race, only had a narrow second gap behind Klaebo. While Sossau had to drop out early, Notz and Bögl were still able to keep up. Together with Moch, the German trio initially remained within striking distance after ten kilometers until Bögl could no longer follow the high pace and fell behind.

The same fate befell Notz five kilometers before the finish line when Norwegians Klaebo and Andreas Fjorden Ree at the front accelerated again. Meanwhile, Moch stayed close with just a few seconds deficit. However, a broken pole ultimately prevented a top result. As they approached the final climbs, not only the leading group but also the top ten had danced away from him. Klaebo meanwhile made his decisive attack against Andersen and Toenseth and ran unchallenged to victory.

Carl also misses out on top ten

In the women’s race, Victoria Carl also missed the chance to finish in the top ten. The 29-year-old Olympic champion from Zella-Mehlis, currently in a brilliant second place in the overall standings, was doing well initially as Moch but ultimately had to settle for twelfth place.

The victory went to Astrid Oeyre Slind. The Norwegian triumphed in the finish sprint ahead of her compatriot Nora Sanness (+3.6 seconds) and celebrated her fourth victory this winter. Already with more than 20 seconds behind, Olympic champion Jonna Sundling secured her place on the podium. The overall World Cup leader, Jessie Diggins (USA), finished fifth, further solidifying her aspirations for the large crystal globe. Carl, who had just recently taken second place in Les Rousses, finished with a deficit of 56.5 seconds behind Slind.

Pia Fink landed in a respectable 17th place, while Helen Hoffmann and Anna-Maria Dietze also achieved satisfactory results in 20th and 25th place, respectively. Katherine Sauerbrey and Lena Keck, however, finished further down in 50th and 52nd places.

Carl’s fight goes unrewarded

After Carl failed to qualify for the sprint the previous day, she was able to better exploit her strengths over the long distance this time. Until halfway through the race, she was mixing among the top but then had to pay tribute to the high pace and lost seconds.

After 15 kilometers, Carl was already over half a minute behind and had to fear for a place in the top ten. The other German women had already fallen behind earlier and were far behind. Carl mobilized all her strength in the final lap but was unable to hold her position in the final meters as the competition passed her.

Hennig opts out

Katharina Hennig, who had won the Olympic title alongside Carl in the team sprint in 2022, opted out of the races in Engadin. The 28-year-old had already missed the Tour de Ski due to a cold and wants to fine-tune her performance at the World Cups in Cogne and Falun over the coming weeks before the World Championships in Trondheim.

Source: jsc

• Results - Men's Freestyle Mass Start
• Overall World Cup: Cross-country Skiing Men

[...]

For more on Cross-country Skiing visit: Wintersport | Langlauf