Jolanda Neff takes the lead early on and shows off her qualities in the technical sections, opening up a gap on the pursuers. But Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa, who skipped the short track on Friday after suffering from gastrointestinal problems, is able to make up time on the climbs time and again.

Dahle-Flesjaa's husband Kenneth reports that a part of his wife's saddle is probably broken, but the record World Cup winner decides to continue riding. However, the handicap is not too big and the saddle lasts until the end.

The two of them pull away from three of their pursuers and the lead for Neff fluctuates between seven and eight seconds and a tie. Two laps before the end, however, Dahle-Flesjaa was able to take the lead for the first time before the first climb, leaving Neff behind on the mountain. That is the preliminary decision. Dahle-Flesjaa, who won her first World Cup 22 years ago in Kristiansand, Norway, rides up and away. "It's not just a dream, we've believed in it for many years, it's just overwhelming! Fortunately, a few more years of experience have helped me," says Dahle-Flesjaa.

"An honor"

Jolanda Neff can maintain her own pace and defends second place against the emerging Emily Batty. She believes that she was able to ride her rhythm, contrary to Dahle-Flesjaa's speculation: "I rode a great race and I'm super satisfied. I always had the same speed, Gunn-Rita was simply faster on the last two laps. She deserved to win. It's her 30th victory and it's a huge honor for me to be on the podium with her and to be able to experience that," says Neff.

Because Annika Langvad did not have the best day and only finished eighth (+2:53), Neff was able to extend her lead in the overall standings with second place.

Short track winner Alessandra Keller only kept up with the leading group at the start. She had been complaining about stomach problems beforehand and when she was riding in twelfth place, she also had a rear wheel defect. In the end, she only finished 28th

Ramona Forchini, who became U23 World Champion on the same spot in 2015, fared much better. Forchini got off to a good start and then rode forward position by position before starting to consolidate in twelfth place.

In the end, she finished 14th and was extremely happy. "That's really great, I'm super happy," says Forchini, who had to give up last week due to an infection.
"I couldn't estimate it beforehand because I hadn't done any altitude preparation. But it worked out. I could feel it on the third or fourth lap, but otherwise it was okay," says Forchini.

Kathrin Stirnemann had to retire with asthma problems. "My lungs were closed right from the start and at some point I felt dizzy," explains Stirnemann.