Victoria Carl sat at the finish and was shaking, but almost all of the competitors were biting their teeth at her strong time.
“It was extremely close, now I’m even happier,” said the Olympic cross-country skiing champion after her strong second place at the World Cup in Les Rousses, France, which was also her first podium finish of the World Cup winter.
In the battle against the clock, Carl was still in fifth place after 8.1 of the ten kilometers before she fired up the turbo and initially set the best time at the finish. “I was shaking a lot,” said the 29-year-old.
Only the American Jessie Diggins pulled ahead in the first race after the Tour de Ski – but with a clear lead of 19.5 seconds over Carl and a time of 22:37.7 minutes.
Because Pia Fink also delivered the best result of her career in sixth place, Peter Schlickenrieder was also completely satisfied.
“A great race from Vici, great division, super strong at the back. And a top result from Pia. We’ve taken a step forward again,” said the team boss.
Hennig in 23rd place after a break
Katharina Hennig, who won gold in the team sprint together with Carl in Beijing in 2022, came in 23rd place in her first race after a month-long break.
Hennig had skipped the Tour de Ski around the turn of the year because of a cold. Tour winner Therese Johaug (Norway) did not start on Friday.