Swedish Surge Continues in Engadin’s Mixed Relay

John TeafordJanuary 24, 2025

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.

Moa  Ilar (SWE) carries Sweden’s flag across the finish line in Sweden I’s dominating win in the World Cup Mixed Relay from Engadin, Switzerland. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)

Right now, Sweden is on a roll. Soon, Norway will be back at full-force. The top of the field is definitely getting ready for a World Championship showdown in a few weeks. In the meantime, World Cup organizers continue staging races, hoping that top competitors will be attracted by the allure of World Cup points and prizes.

This time of year (the middle of the World Cup season) is all about mathematics for the top contenders. How big a gap exists between a racer and their closest rivals? Are those rivals racing this weekend? How many points are available in events and bonus sprints? Who’s sick? Who’s injured? Who’s surging in the standings? Who’s relaxing at home with their feet up?

Jessie Diggins (USA) is dealing with a persistent injury (plantar fasciitis) that limits her ability, especially in Classic skiing (she actually double poled the entire Sprint qualifier last week in Les Rousses). Diggins could’ve chosen to race one of today’s Freestyle relay legs, but none of her closest rivals in the season-long World Cup overall race were competing today in Engadin. That makes for a perfect opportunity to take a break from the stresses of racing. Time to rest, time to heal, time to get ready for more important races on the horizon.

Likewise, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) enjoys a comfortable lead in the World Cup Men’s overall standings, and none of his closest rivals are racing the relay in Engadin. Time for him to put his feet up.

Even in the absence of a number of the sport’s biggest stars, Engadin hosted a highly competitive World Cup Mixed Relay. Sweden I (Jens Burman, Emma Ribom, Edvin Anger, Moa Ilar) surged to the front in the relay’s third leg and never looked back, coasting to victory ahead of Norway I (who came from well behind the field to claim second) and Switzerland I (who came from even farther back) t claim a podium spot in front of an elated Swiss crowd.

Canada I (Antoine Cyr, Katherine Stewart-Jones, Olivier Leveille, Lilian Gagnon) would contend among the leaders throughout the day, finishing and impressive sixth. Canada II (Remi Drolet, Alison Mackie, Stephen Thomas, Sonjaa Schmidt) would finish 11th. American teams would struggle from the start, ultimately finishing 14th (Zanden McMullen, Julia Kern, Ben Ogden, Sophia Laukli) and 16th (Luke Jager, Kendall Kramer, JC Schoonmaker, Sammy Smith).

Iivo  Niskanen (FIN) and Paal  Golberg (NOR) animated the early part of the Engadin Mixed Relay, joined at the front by Antoine Cyr (CAN) who continues to earn the respect of the World Cup field. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Mixed Relay

FIS Mixed gender relays are staged on a revolving basis—one weekend men go first and third, women second and anchor; the next time the starting slots are reversed. In Engadin, Men would lead off, Women would bring it home.

Nineteen teams—including two teams each teams from Norway, USA, Sweden, Canada, and Switzerland—comprised the field that would race four 5 kilometer legs (two laps/skier over a 2.5 kilometer course). Engadin is a broad, flat valley surrounded by soaring Alpine peaks. The course wound around the flats, and offered only two significant climbs. The pace was likely to be fast . . .

“People are going to take it out hot,” predicted Canada’s Remi Drolet. “It’s going to be really hard right from the gun, so, conserve as much energy as possible for the second lap, and try to have my team in a good position.”

At the start, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Germany filled the front row. The initial pace was lightining fast, led by Norway I’s Paal Golberg (recently named to the Norwegian squad for the World Championships). The race course quickly faded to two Classic lanes, filled by Golberg and Finland I’s Iivo Niskanen. Canada I’s Cyr and Sweden I’s Jens Burman managed to matched the pace of the lead group, followed by Sweden II and Switzerland II. USA I (Jager) and USA II (McMullen) held positions in the top ten.

Niskanen and Golberg managed to separate themselves as they entered the exchange zone. The race at the front would continue to be hotly contested. By the time USA II (Kramer) and USA I (Kern) took the hand-off, they were already well behind the pack of contenders.

Emma  Ribom (SWE), Jasmi  Joensuu (FIN), (l-r) drove the pace in the relay’s second leg, setting up Sweden to take the lead in Leg 3. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Second Leg

Still in Classic technique for the second leg, Jasmi Joensu maintained her lead for Finland I, pursued closely by Sweden I (Emma Ribom), Norway I (Nora Saness), Switzerland I (Anja Weber), and Canada I (Katherine Stewart-Jones). Remarkably, Austria (Therese Stadlober) also managed to race up to the lead group. She powered through the group and set out in pursuit of Joensu and Ribom.

By the end of the second leg, the field had mostly shattered with only the top two racers racing in close company to one another. Everyone else was well spread out behind them. But skiers in pursuit of speed and placings often find a way to group up. This relay would definitely not end up being an every-skier-for-themselves affair.

Joensu handed off to Remi Lindholm while Ribom handed off to Edvin Anger. Not far behind, Stadlober tagged Benjamin Moser another 15 seconds ahead of Saness tagging Iver Tildheim Andersen, a Freestyle specialist with something to prove (having been recently overlooked for spots on the Norwegian World Championship Team).

Edvin  Anger (SWE) continued to display the momentum that launched him to a Classic Sprint victory las week in Les Rousses, out-dueling Remi  Lindholm (FIN) to hand Sweden I a lead at the end of Leg 3. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Third Leg

Anger quickly caught Lindholm, and the two set about putting additional distance between themselves and Moser. Anger’s pace ultimately began to unravel Lindholm who could not match the momentum surging under Anger’s skis at this juncture in the World Cup sesason. Sweden I forged on alone as Lindholm was swallowed up by an accelerating Andersen.

At this point, Sweden I appeared to be on its way to the win, while second place would be decided among Norway I, Austria, and Finland I. That’s when Moser came back to life, using the course’s second uphill to quickly put time into Andersen (who had doubtless given a lot just to catch this group). At the final exchange, Anger enjoyed a broad and comfortable lead over Moser, Andersen, and Lindholm.

Anchor Leg

Anger tagged off to Moa Ilar while Moser tagged Katharina Brudermann, the youngest skier in the Austrian lineup who might’ve felt especially vulnerable with Norway I’s Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes chasing just a few seconds behind. Fosnaes made good on that threat, quickly catching—and gapping— Brudermann who was quickly absorbed by a charging group battling for the third step on the podium. Norway II (where the heck did they come from?) was led by Anne Kjersti Kalvaa, followed closely by Switzerland I (Nadine Faehndrich), Finland I (Vilma Ryytty), and Canada I (Liliane Gagnon), and Switzerland II (Marina Kaelin).

Ilar coasted home for the win, a well deserved victory for Sweden I. Faehndrich had looked well positioned to sprint with Fosnaes, but somewhere in the final kilometer Fosnaes managed to separate herself from the Swiss skier. Norway I took second place, while Faehndrich still managed to hold on to third place ahead of Norway II.

Engadin Mixed Relay RESULTS

Team Sweden (Moa  Ilar, Edvin  Anger, Emma  Ribom, Jens  Burman) celebrates on the podium in Engadin, Switzerland after their victory in the FIS World Cup Mixed Relay. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)

John Teaford

John Teaford—the Managing Editor of FasterSkier — has been the coach of Olympians, World Champions, and World Record Holders in six sports: Nordic skiing, speedskating, road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, triathlon. In his long career as a writer/filmmaker, he spent many seasons as Director of Warren Miller’s annual feature film, and Producer of adventure documentary films for Discovery, ESPN, Disney, National Geographic, and NBC Sports.

Loading Facebook Comments ...

Leave a Reply

Voluntary Subscription