Simona Aebersold wins the overall World Cup for the first time. The skier from Seeland made her success perfect with second place over the middle distance at the final in Kuopio.
Aebersold completed what had already become apparent before the start of the final competitions in Finland and was further confirmed after second place over the long distance on Thursday. With 83 points, her lead over her first pursuer, Sweden's Tove Alexandersson, was comfortable. Thanks to the large margin, 23rd place in the last individual race in this year's World Cup would have been enough for Aebersold to take overall victory.
As on Thursday, Aebersold was again only beaten by Alexandersson. After the 4.5 kilometers, 185 vertical meters and 16 checkpoints, the Northerner was 47 seconds ahead at the finish. With two second places, Aebersold concluded a World Cup season characterized by consistency; in seven individual competitions, her record shows five second places in addition to two victories.
In the overall standings, Aebersold left Alexandersson, the athlete who has dominated the World Cup over the last decade, behind her. The 32-year-old skier had won the overall standings nine times in a row; four years ago, no competitions took place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Alexandersson started her outstanding streak ten years ago, in the season after Simone Niggli-Luder retired.
Simona Aebersold meticulously prepared for the end of the season by spending several weeks in Finland. The training camp also allowed her to focus on the coming season. The World Championships will take place in the same area as the end of the World Cup season.
On the men's side, Kasper Fosser won the overall standings for the third time. On Saturday, the Norwegian also managed second place, with his compatriot Eirik Breivik finishing better than Fosser. The best-placed Swiss was Joey Hadorn from Bern in 8th place.
SDA
