Naeslund ‘can taste’ Crystal Globe but will stay focused

Sandra Naeslund (SWE) won her fourth Crystal Globe in 2023 and injury-plagued seasons meant that she could not be at the top of the World Cup standings in 2024 and 2025, when Idre Fjall hosted the finales.

But she is within touching distance of lifting the Crystal Globe on home snow for the first time, when Gallivare makes its World Cup debut.

Gallivare is the 55th different venue to host a Ski Cross World Cup race, and the fourth Swedish resort after Idre Fjall, Branas and Are.

“I can taste it,” Naeslund said of this season’s Crystal Globe. “But I know I need to keep focused for a few more days to be able to win the Globe.

“It’s not secured yet, but I think I have a pretty good chance. Just have to keep skiing like (I did last Sunday), and we’ll see. 

“I have friends and family coming there to watch so of course I want to do some good results and put on a good show.”

Naeslund won in Craigleith on Sunday to reach 1,068 points. If she earns another 83 points, she will not only win the Globe but also break the record for the most World Cup points in a single season by an athlete of any gender. She holds the record, set when she amassed 1,150 points in the 2012/22 season.

She arrives in Gallivare 175 points ahead of Daniela Maier (GER), the only competitor who is in the Crystal Globe running. But the German faces an uphill task.

Maier has won back-to-back World Cup stops at the same venue only once, at Innichen in 2024. Even if she repeats the trick in Gallivare, she will also need Naeslund’s results to go her way to have any chance of winning her first Crystal Globe. A single top-10 finish would suffice for Naeslund.

“Maybe 10%,” Maier said of her chances.

Regardless of how the final races unfold, there is no denying Maier’s stellar season. The biggest highlight is the Olympic gold she won at the Milano Cortina Games.

She finished fifth in both races over the Craigleith weekend, breaking her record for consecutive top-10 World Cup finishes with her current 16-race streak.

If Maier registers a single top-six finish, she will secure second place on the World Cup overall standings. Marielle Berger Sabbatel (FRA) is the only other competitor who can catch Maier, but to leapfrog Maier, the French skier will need to win one race, finish at least second in the other race, and hope Maier does not get the required results.

Regardless of other athletes’ finishing positions, Berger Sabbatel can clinch third position with a single top-two finish.

With Reece Howden (CAN) wrapping up the men’s Crystal Globe in Craigleith, the fight for second place is between Simone Deromedis (ITA), Youri Duplessis-Kergomard (FRA), Alex Fiva (SUI) and home favorite David Mobaerg (SWE).

Regardless of how others finish, a win and a top-seven finish would seal second spot for Deromedis, with two second-place finishes also enough.

Victory for the Olympic champion will also ensure he matches his personal best of three wins in a single season, which he achieved in the 2024/25 season.

“I like to ski new courses because I’m curious to find out what to do and I like to guess how to approach different kind of jumps and structures,” Deromedis said of racing in Gallivare for the first time.

“For sure, even if the Globe run is over I will push to get a good result at these races. Another win would be amazing to walk into summer with a high end.”

Mobaerg returns to home snow after back-to-back big finals in Craigleith. Three of his World Cup wins have come in Sweden and he will also be aiming to end his season with a bang.

"Finally reached the podium again," he said of his third-place finish on March 21. "It's been a tough season for me. I believe I have the quality and speed to race for podiums but the results haven't really been going my way.

"I think this and last season made me realize how tough of a sport this is.