Tour hopeful Carl celebrates "top start" without a podium
No podium, not even a place in the final - and yet the German cross-country skiers are satisfied with the start of the Tour de Ski. Victoria Carl is "super happy", Marius Kastner thinks it's "awesome". The best result of the day was achieved by sprint specialist Coletta Rydzek.
Victoria Carl was once again beaming all over her face. This time, however, it wasn't a World Cup triumph that the Olympic cross-country skiing champion was so happy about - but missing out on a place in the sprint final at the start of the Tour de Ski in Toblach. "So I was perhaps able to save a few grains of energy for the coming days," said Carl with a laugh: "And I'm super happy with twelfth place, that was a top start."
At the overture to the 18th edition of the traditional stage race, which is the highlight of the season in a year without the World Championships and Olympics, Carl was not the only one to be satisfied. Sprint specialist Coletta Rydzek was even better, finishing seventh and missing her best World Cup result by just one place. "I didn't lose my power, I also skied well tactically," said the sister of Olympic combined champion Johannes Rydzek. Linn Svahn secured the opening victory and thus the first overall lead ahead of Olympic champion Jonna Sundling (both Sweden) and Norway's Kristine Staavas Skistad.
Sprint not Hennig's strong point
For Katharina Hennig, who won team sprint gold together with Carl at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, the opening day was not unexpectedly over after qualifying. The 27-year-old from Oberwiesenthal missed out on the quarter-finals of the top 30 in 37th place. However, sprinting is not one of Hennig's strengths, especially as she was back in training following a coronavirus infection.
"We can't expect too much from her," said national coach Peter Schlickenrieder. Hennig will therefore go into the second stage on Sunday, a 10-kilometer classic race for women (12:15 p.m.) and men (3 p.m.), without bonus seconds. Carl celebrated her first World Cup victory in this discipline at the Tour dress rehearsal in Trondheim. "And I saved my form over Christmas, I'm looking forward to Sunday," she said.
Kastner thinks it's "awesome"
Marius Kastner caused a surprise in the men's event. In only his second World Cup after Dresden 2021 (64th place), the 21-year-old finished 15th in qualifying and even left team sprint world champion Paal Golberg from Norway behind him. Fourth place in his quarter-final was not enough to advance to the semi-finals, but in 17th place Kastner collected World Cup points for the first time.
"It was awesome. I wanted to crack the top 30 and then it was top 15," said Kastner. The victory went to Frenchman Lucas Chavanat. Top favorite Johannes Hösflot Klaebo was not at the start. The record World Cup winner from Norway had caught the flu and therefore had to withdraw. "I was in bed with a fever for six days," said the 27-year-old, who now misses out on the chance to be the first skier to win the Tour for the third time in a row.
The Tour still has stops in Davos (3-4 January) and Val di Fiemme (6-7 January), where the most difficult climb in the Cross-Country World Cup is on the program at the end with the Alpe Cermis climb.
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Victoria Carl's teammate Marius Kastner also had a successful day in the Winter sports events. Despite not making it to the semi-finals, Kastner, a Nordic skier like Carl, achieved his personal best in a World Cup event by finishing 17th in the men's sprint. "I'm absolutely thrilled with my performance," said Kastner, expressing his joy just like Carl had expressed about her own results.
Source: www.ntv.de
