World Cup: Frida Karlsson wins the season opener in Ruka

Frida Karlsson launched the new Cross-Country World Cup season with a victory in the women’s 10 km classic in Ruka, Finland. The reigning 50 km world champion dominated the opener, winning by 10.5 seconds over Norway’s Heidi Weng, with Sweden’s Moa Ilar taking third at 18.3 seconds.

Sweden underlined its depth with Ebba Andersson in fourth, while overall globe holder Jessie Diggins finished fifth at 27.6 seconds as she begins what is expected to be her final season before retirement. Karlsson, who scaled back her World Cup schedule last year to peak for the Trondheim World Championships, signaled strong form again with this wire-to-wire display.

On the French side, Delphine Claudel returned to the World Cup after recovering from a fracture and finished 46th, 2:40 behind, nearly a year after her previous race at this level.