Joensuu claims “perfect” first World Cup win on Olympic course

A lot was made of Jasmi Joensuu (FIN) winning the 2024/25 FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup sprint title in a season when she only claimed one individual podium and no victories.

But few can question the 29-year-old’s credentials now after she claimed the first win of her World Cup career, the Sprint Classic in Val di Fiemme, Italy on Saturday, albeit in the absence of some of the sport’s short-distance stars.

With Olympic and world Sprint champion Jonna Sundling not participating in the Tour de Ski, Kristine Stavaas Skistad pulling out of the Val di Fiemme leg of the Tour and fellow Sprint specialists Linn Svahn (SWE) and Coletta Rydzek (GER) missing with long- and short-term health issues respectively, the women’s event certainly offered podium opportunities for less decorated stars and Joensuu took full advantage.

The Finn was the fastest skier in morning qualifying and carried that form all the way to the podium on a course that will host the cross-country skiing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in February.

Joensuu, whose only previous individual World Cup podium – alongside two in team events – came more than a year ago in Toblach, Italy, made it through her quarter-final and semi-final with ease along with Nadine Faehndrich on a testing Val di Fiemme circuit that has been extended to more than 1.5km for Milano Cortina.

It is one that suits the endurance sprinters rather than the out-and-out speedsters, with two gruelling climbs and a long finishing straight that means coming into the final corner in the lead isn’t necessarily an advantage. Any front runner who doesn’t hold a significant lead on the final descent risks being slipstreamed and overtaken.

Realising this, Faehndrich – a six-time winner on the World Cup circuit and the current world championship bronze medallist – tried to establish a lead on the first climb, but she was quickly reeled in by Joensuu and Johanna Hagstroem (SWE), winner of the Sprint Classic in Trondheim, Norway earlier this season.

Joensuu then attacked on the second climb and this time it was decisive. She entered the stadium with room to spare, holding off a late surge from Faehndrich - who had already overtaken Hagstroem on the finishing straight – to finish 0.44 seconds ahead of the Swiss.

Joensuu’s joy was clear as she clenched both fists to her chest then held her arms aloft in triumph before collapsing to the snow on her back, limbs flailing.

“This victory means so much to me, it feels perfect, a dream come true, I’m really happy,” Joensuu said. “I knew that I’m in good shape – I have been the whole season – knowing that my sprinting is really good, and competing with the best skiers in the world, and today I proved to myself that I can do it.

“I wanted a good feeling with this course, and I’ve managed to do that, but the Olympics is a different race, different weather, so I just have to keep going. Train well and rest well.”

Faehndrich, 30, said the course was “really fun to ski” after picking up her second podium of the season: “Between races it was really was quite hard, because I'm very tired from the Tour and then to always activate and relax it’s really hard for the mind.”

Hagstroem, too, was happy with her second individual podium of the season after struggling with illness. “It was super hard,” she said. “After the cold, I felt so bad, it was hurting my lungs, but I’ve become better and better and I just focus on one race at a time.”

“I felt strong in the last uphill, so it was super fun to be on the podium and really cool to be like on the Olympics track. I know I can be really good at the Games, it feels good to be testing the course and focus on what I can do better and what I will practise on.”

Joensuu moved up to second in the Tour de Ski rankings, but her 1 minute, 19-second gap to leader Jessie Diggins (USA) will surely be too much. The American reached the semi-final of Saturday’s Sprint before getting boxed in, but she only needs to survive Sunday Final Climb to claim her third tour title.

The Tour de Ski concludes on Sunday with the Final Climb, a 10km Mass Start Freestyle up the Alpe Cermis

For the full results from Val di Fiemme, click here

For the Tour de Ski 2025/26 standings, click here