Østberg shines on the cross-country World Cup, Doll is on the biathlon WC podium and Madshus marathon racers make their mark in Austria.
Madshus racers fielded half of the women’s final at the World Cup classic sprint in Drammen (NOR) on Wednesday. Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (NOR) hauled into second place, only narrowly beaten on the finish line.
“I’m really happy for being second today. I am on the right way now again. Maiken (Caspersen Falla) was strong, and I am happy for her to win here in Drammen for the third time in a row,” Østberg said after the sprint race.
Krista Pärmakoski (FIN) was fourth in the sprint final, while Heidi Weng (NOR) was fifth.
On Sunday, Østberg was back on the World Cup podium with yet another second place in the 30km classic mass start in Holmenkollen (NOR).
While nobody could fight Thersese Johaug for the victory, Østberg battled the challenging conditions and finished 30 seconds ahead of third place, her best finish to date in a 30-kilometer event.
“It was an amazing race. It was a big fight for second and third place. I was expecting that somebody would attack on the last lap, but it was little bit surprising that it was me. I gained some seconds (on the last lap), and managed to keep the gap to the finish line,” Østberg said after the brutal race.
“Therese was too far ahead. Second place today smashed my previous best. Second place is like a victory,” she said.
Additionally, Heidi Weng (NOR) was fourth and Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) was seventh, putting three Madshus racers among the top seven.
Østberg now sits in second place in the overall World Cup, second in the sprint World Cup and third in the distance World Cup. Weng is second in the distance World Cup and third in the overall World Cup.
Dominating the marathons
Also on Sunday, the Ski Classics Johan Kjølstad (NOR) narrowly missed the overall victory in the Kaiser Maximillian Lauf in Austria.
Petter Eliassen won the event after thrilling sprint finish, although both Kjølstad and Eliassen clocked in at 3:02:35. Kjølstad is now third in the overall 2016 Ski Classics standings.
In the men’s race, there were a total of four Madshus marathon racers among the top seven: Tore Bjørseth Berdal (NOR) in fourth, Stanislav Rezac (CZE) in sixth and John Kristian Dahl (NOR) in seventh place.
Stian Hoelgaard (NOR, who was 11th in the Kaiser Maximillian Lauf, now has a lead of more than 100 points in the overall youth competitions. In the women’s youth competition, Emilia Lindstedt (SWE) is more than 350 points ahead of the second-place skier, and also sits in fifth place in the overall Ski Classics standings.
The 65km classic race in Seefeld, Austria, replaced the Ski Classics event König Ludwiglauf in Germany, which was cancelled due to lack of snow.
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Doll on the World Cup podium
Also this weekend, Benedikt Doll (GER) was second in the 15km mass start at the IBU World Cup in Canmore, Canada.
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