Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway and Linn Svahn of Sweden won the men's and women's freestyle sprints at the FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Falun, Sweden, on February 28, 2026. The victories came six days after the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics, with Klaebo extending his dominant season and Svahn shining on home snow. Both races highlighted tactical racing on the compact Lugnet course.
The World Cup returned to action at Falun's Lugnet cross-country ski center, where the Mördarbacken hill awaited the distance races the following day. In the men's freestyle sprint, Klaebo qualified in 2:33.9 and advanced through the rounds with clinical precision, winning the final ahead of compatriot Lars Heggen by a narrow margin. Austrian Benjamin Moser secured third place, marking his second podium of the season. French skier Lucas Chanavat led the final for much of the race but finished sixth after a tactical error on the final descent, allowing others to pass him using his draft.
Klaebo, who swept all six Olympic golds in Italy, including the classic sprint, maintained his leads in the sprint, distance, and overall standings. His victory, the 17th of his season including Olympics, kept alive the prospect of claiming the Tour de Ski title, Olympic sweep, and all three Crystal Globes. "I love the competition. It’s great to come away with a win, even if the final was tough," Klaebo said. Heggen, who qualified 26th but surged through, finished second despite being overlooked for Norway's Olympic team in favor of Oskar Opstad Vike, who exited in the semifinals.
In the women's event, Olympic classic sprint champion Svahn set the fastest qualifying time, 4.65 seconds ahead of Nadine Faehndrich of Switzerland. She won the final by 0.29 seconds over Norway's Kristine Stavaas Skistad, with Faehndrich third, 3.73 seconds back—the same podium as the previous year's Falun sprint but with positions swapped for the latter two. Svahn took the lead early and held off Skistad's late charge on the home straight. "It’s great to be able to win in Falun," Svahn said, noting the presence of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf. This marked her fourth sprint win at the venue, which will host the 2027 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.
American Gus Schumacher advanced to the semifinals after a relaxed post-Olympic recovery, including watching a movie, but missed the final by 0.3 seconds. U.S. skier Jack Young reached the semifinals on his high-volume training approach. French women Léna Quintin and Mélissa Gal qualified for quarters but exited there, finishing 18th and 24th overall. The stage continues Sunday with 20km skiathlons.
