Nadine Fähndrich got off to an optimal start in the Tour de Ski. The Swiss lived up to her role as favorite in the women’s sprint on Saturday (01/31/2022) and won all her races with ease.
Fähndrich confirmed her form from the World Cup, in which she had already won the last two sprints, and was the fastest cross-country skier in both the prologue and the three main races. In the final, the 27-year-old dominated her competition from the start, ran away from the front and confidently prevailed in front of Maja Dahlqvist and Lotta Udnes Weng.
Fähndrich is the leader of the Tour de Ski classification in the mass start race over ten kilometers on Sunday (01.01.2023). There Tiril Udnes Weng in particular, who is number one in the overall World Cup, will try to displace the Swiss from the top position.
Four German sprinters, but none in the final
Laura Gimmler and Sofie Krehl were convincing, but just missed out on the final. In the second semi-final, the two DSV athletes did not get past fourth and fifth place.
For Coletta Rydzek, who finished fifth in her run, and Katharina Henning, it was already over in the quarter-finals. The Olympic champion was the last to finish, her gold colleague Victoria Carl had previously been eliminated along with four other DSV athletes in the prologue.