Dahlqvist cheered as she crossed the finish line. Early on, Emma Ribom dropped out, finished last sixth, and made way for Dahlqvist.
At the top, Jonna Sundling tried to snatch Kristine Stavås Skidstad but did not get rid of the Norwegian who for the fourth race in a row defeated the Swede.
It separated 22 points in the sprint cup between leading Nadine Fähndrich and runner-up Maja Dahlqvist ahead of today's final classic sprint in Lahti. Dahqvist took in ten points in the prologue and was twelve behind for the final session.
In the fourth quarterfinal, Dahlqvist cracked a pole and was well behind Moa Ilar in second place that guaranteed advancement to the semifinals. Dahlqvist yelled at Ilar and was released just before the finish and was able to go in as runner-up behind Ane Appelkvist Stenseth.
"Was worth it"
"Considering how even it was, it was worth it. We had talked about helping each other," says Ilar with a smile.
In the heat after, Fähndrich was able to sprint past Frida Karlsson on the run and advance as runner-up behind winning Tiril Udnes Weng.
"We went for Maja and if necessary we would sacrifice ourselves just like Moa did. It was fun to be able to help, the rest of us didn't have much to go for, says Karlsson.
In the other semifinal, Dahlqvist was the only Swede (three in the first semi). She was only fourth against the stadium and was runner-up and went to the final. She thus secured the victory in the sprint cup as Fähndrich was fifth.
Meanwhile, Tiril Udnes Weng secured the overall World Cup.
To the results.