Kristine Stavå’s Skistad won at home.
Then she immediately sent a pass – to Linn Svahn.
– It’s nice, says the Norwegian.
It was about to end with an exit already in the semi-finals for the superb Kristine Stavå’s Skistad, which has been the only one that has been able to threaten the Swedish sprint experts in the past year. The Norwegian broke the pole in the semi-final race, but still managed to reach the final, which she was surprised about.
The fit for Linn
However, Kristine Stavås Skistad said that she was forced to give up more strength than she had thought to get to the final, where everyone was looking forward to a duel against Linn Svahn. They’ve both had their ups and downs this winter, and not infrequently a one-way win has led to a war of words immediately afterward. And history would repeat itself again.
But Stavås had enough energy to win at home. She managed to keep Linn Svahn – who nevertheless secured overall victory in the Sprint Cup on Tuesday – behind her, and won again. When she crossed the finish line, she took the opportunity to make a small victory gesture, clearly aimed at Linn Svahn. Afterwards, she was clear about what the victory meant to her – when she once again singled out her rival Linn.
– At home, I feel that I have to beat the Swedes. It was nice that Linn didn’t win on my home ground, says Skistad to Norwegian TV2.
The Swede’s answer
However, Linn Svahn fully understood what Kristine Stavås Skistad meant by her statement.
– It’s home field advantage. It’s always fun to compete at home. Then you always want to give back a victory, says Svahn.
Svahn also didn’t budge for his second-place finish, which meant important points in the battle for overall World Cup leader Jessie Diggins.
– You don’t collect second places, but we compete like animals, so I think I squeezed out what I could. There was one that was stronger, says Svahn.
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