Victoria Carl is a World Cup winner. The team sprint Olympic champion won on Sunday (December 17, 2023) in Trondheim thanks to a fantastic performance in the classic race over ten kilometers and is now at the top of the podium in the World Cup for the first time.
A week ago in Östersund, Carl had already set an exclamation mark in the freestyle with third place – her first individual podium place – over ten kilometers, and now the first victory for the 28-year-old from SCM Zella-Mehlis followed. When the last of the favorites crossed the finish line with a slower time, the winner covered her face in disbelief and was hugged by her teammates.
It was the first victory by a German athlete over this distance in the classic technique. Behind Carl, the American Rosie Brennan came in second (+19.6 seconds) and Ebba Andersson from Sweden (+21.6 seconds) came third.
Intermediate times motivate Carl
“I don’t know what to say, this is so crazy. I had great skis, thank you to the team. I didn’t start off that fast, but when I got the split times from the coaches, it motivated me even more“, she explained in the winner’s interview.
At the top right from the start
Carl showed a super strong race from the start and was in the lead at all intermediate times. After almost seven kilometers it seemed to be getting tight again when Andersson was suddenly only six seconds behind the Thuringian.
But Carl still had a few grains left and ran away from the world elite on the final lap. By the time she reached the finish, she was able to increase her lead to just under 20 seconds. And all of this in their actually weaker discipline.
It was the first individual victory for a German woman in the World Cup outside of stage races in almost 20 years. Claudia Nystad last triumphed over 15 km in Otepää in January 2004. Nystad then achieved stage victories over 15 km at the 2008 and 2009 World Cup finals in the sprint and Katharina Hennig at the 2023 Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme.
Fink also in the top 10
In Carl’s slipstream, the other German runners also had a great day. Pia Fink came seventh (+56.2 seconds). In doing so, she equaled her best individual result in the World Cup. Coletta Rydzek made it to position 16 (+1:30.1 minutes).
Helen Hoffmann was 27th (+1:51.9 min.), Sofie Krehl finished the race in 32nd (+2:03.6 min.). Katherine Sauerbrey and Lisa Lohmann finished in 34th place at the same time (+2:07.6 min.).