Today's winner Astrid Öyre Slind walked away after only one mile, while Ida Dahl lost track in the tough hilly Reistad race (40 km).
The distance then grew with each climb.
" You suffer with Ida. It can't be a funny feeling for her. To lose so much and know that the cup depends on this, it's incredibly tough mentally, says expert Britta Johansson Norgren.
Now shivers await tomorrow
Towards the end of the race, Ida Dahl went up from a 16th to a 12th place.
That means a thriller awaits in tomorrow's final crucial 67-kilometer race: Dahl will go out in a (!) point lead ahead of Magni Smedås, who today finished fourth.
The lead battle was a battle between Astrid Öyre Slind and U.S. national team skater Rosie Brennan, with Slind being the strongest and sprinting first across the finish line in Bardufoss.