The Swedes appear to be on power play with home snow advantage: On Friday, they won the skate sprints at the Scandinavian Cup in Falun. Today, they dominated the podiums in both the men’s and the women’s classic races.  

Gearing up for the Olympics
In the men’s 15-kilometer classic race, the Swedes claimed three of the top four places: William Poromaa won the race, with Johan Häggström in third place and Leo Johansson in fourth. All of them are headed to the 2022 Olympicsin February. 

Norway’s Mikael Gunnulfsen broke the clean sweep of the podium, finishing two seconds faster than Häggström. 

Top 3 men, 15km Classic, individual start
1. William Poromaa, Sweden, 40:52.1
2. Mikael Gunnulfsen, Team Telemark/Norway, +23.4
3. Johan Häggström, Sweden, +25.4

Full results

In the women’s 10-kilometer classic race, it was the same story: Three Swedes in the top four spots. 

Jonna Sundling won the race, with Moa Olsson in third and Maja Dahlqvist in fourth. Norway’s Marte Skaanes was second, more than half a minute behind Sundling. 

All the top three Swedes are ready for the Olympics in Beijing next month. For Sundling, Saturday’s victory was her second in two days. Yesterday, she won the sprint race at the Scandinavian Cup in Falun. 

Top 3 10km Classic, individual start
1. Jonna Sundling, Sweden, 29:11.8
2. Marte Skaanes, Norway, +35.2
3. Moa Olsson, Sweden, +42.4

Full results

Highly important on several levels
The Scandinavian Cup competitions are significant for several reasons. For starters, the current overall leader in the men’s and women’s standings are automatically qualified for the World Cup. 

Furthermore, the Scandinavian Cup events serve as qualifier events for various international competitions. This makes the continental cup races attractive as a ticket to higher level racing opportunities. 

The World Cup races in Les Rousses, France, on January 14 to 16, are cancelled, the World Cup races in Planica, Slovenia, are next.  

Finally, several of the athletes who are already named to the Olympic teams are racing the Scandinavian Cup competitions in Falun this weekend. They use these events as their last race prep before heading into their final peaking plans for the Beijing Olympics in February.

Given the cancellation of the Les Rousses World Cup, the Falun continental cup events attract an unusually strong line-up. A stacked field makes the Falun weekend more attractive for those aiming to cut their teeth at the World Cup level. 

Two more races on tap
The Scandinavian Cup in Falun opened yesterday with sprint races for both men and women. The Swedes won both. 

Tomorrow the Falun race weekend concludes with 10-kilometer and 15-kilomter skate races for women and men, respectively.