Heidi Weng (NOR) clinched overall World Cup title after a thriller World Cup final.
“I was really tired about halfway through the pursuit, but I tried my best, as I knew I had to go fast to secure the overall globe. It’s amazing to win the overall. I’m very tired and looking forward to go to Spain and have some rest,” Weng said after the World Cup final in Falun (SWE).
The 2018 FIS Cross-Country World Cup concluded with the 3-day mini-tour in Falun: A skate sprint on Friday, followed by a 10km classic mass start on Saturday and a 10km skate pursuit on Sunday.
Weng was seventh in the sprint, 16th in the mass start and 18th in the final pursuit, but still won the overall World Cup.
Impressive performances in the early season, wining the overall Tour de Ski in January, along with several World Cup podiums leading up to the 2018 Olympics in Pyeong Chang (KOR) : Weng appeared to have earned the crystal globe for the overall World Cup long before the end of the season.
But following the Olympics, Weng struggled to maintain momentum in the last part of the season. Prior to the final race of the mini-tour in Falun, Weng had only a marginal lead, but she managed to win the overall World Cup by 40 points. This was her second consecutive overall World Cup title. She is the first to win the overall World Cup twice in a row since Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) in 2011.
Weng also won the 2018 distance World Cup.
Fellow Madshus racer Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (NOR), who was third in the mass start on Saturday and eighth in the pursuit, was third in the overall World Cup, and second the distance World Cup.
On the men’s side, Hans Christer Holund (NOR) was third in the 2018 distance World Cup.