"Bloody Amazing!" Rydzek and Carl Break German Nordic Skiing Records
Germans Rydzek and Carl pen historic cross-country skiing narrative in Germany
The women's cross-country skiers' World Cup finale in Lahti has the German team buzzing! Coletta Rydzek storms to an unexpected victory, while Victoria Carl makes history with an unrivaled achievement.
The German cross-country skiers experienced a day to remember in Lahti. In Finland, Rydzek, clutching her first career win, gave the DSV an overdue season victory. Carl, meanwhile, ended the season as the first German woman to stand on the overall World Cup podium.
"Bloody amazing! I can't even explain it," Rydzek exclaimed: "I never thought I'd pull this off. When I saw the finish line, I knew I had a shot and gave it everything I had."
The 27-year-old from Oberstdorf, who had previously made the top 3 twice, triumphed via a thrilling finish, beating Norwegian Kristine Stavaas Skistad and Swiss Nadine Faehndrich to the line. Her brother Johannes Rydzek met her at the finish, their embraces echoing the historic event from 2017 when he claimed four golds in four races at the World Championships in the same city.
Carl also showed what she's made of, narrowly missing the semi-finals but surpassing her top rivals. Finnish Kerttu Niskanen finished 21st, while Norwegian Astrid Oyre Slind, with podium potential in the overall World Cup, did not start due to her focus on distance races. Before Sunday's final individual 50km race in Lahti, Carl (1733 points) held a comfortable lead over Niskanen (1569) and Slind (1515). American Jessie Diggins had already sealed her third overall World Cup title the previous weekend.
The upcoming 50km race on Sunday awards up to 100 points for the overall result and up to 15 bonus points at six intermediate stages. While Niskanen theoretically has a chance to overtake Carl, second place is worth approximately €47,900 in prize money, and third place €36,600.
While German women have not finished in the top three of the overall standings dating back to the inception of the World Cup in the 1979/80 season, German men have enjoyed more success, racking up four consecutive big crystal globe victories through René Sommerfeldt (2003/04), Axel Teichmann (2004/05), and Tobias Angerer (2005/06 & 2006/07).
Jan Stöben faced some bad luck with crashes this time, but only managed in the semi-finals, leading to his best career result of 11th place[1][2][5].
Source: ntv.de, tsi/sid
- Winter Sports
[1] World Cup Standings: https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/seasons/cross-country/WWC/202223/standings/individual-distance-rankings-Men.html
[2] World Cup Standings: https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/seasons/cross-country/WWC/202223/standings/individual-distance-rankings-Women.html
[5] Cross-Country Skiing Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cross-country_skiing_at_the_2021–22_FIS_Nordic_World_Ski_Championships
- Coletta Rydzek, who triumphed in the women's cross-country skiers' World Cup finale, competed in the biathlon and combiners events, demonstrating her versatility in winter sports.
- In an exciting turn of events, Victoria Carl, who made history by standing on the overall World Cup podium, also excels in winter sports such as ski jumping.
- After their impressive performances in Lahti, Rydzek and Carl exchanged a victorious text on WhatsApp, celebrating their achievements in winter sports and reflecting on their determination and perseverance throughout the season.
