Jonna Sundling has two consecutive World Championship gold medals in sprint and also won Olympic gold in 2022.
In Swiss Engadin, the 30-year-old showed promising form to take a third consecutive gold when the World Championship in Trondheim begins in a month.
She won the sprint ahead of Norwegian Kristine Stavås Skistad.
"Really nice"
Really nice and fun that I get to show myself that I can ski like I do today, says Sundling to Viaplay.
It was the Swede's third World Cup victory in sprint this season and all have come in free style, which is also the style that applies to the World Championship.
That it's really good today is of course really fun and something I'll take with me.
Last weekend in French Les Rousses, it was Stavås Skistad who won the classic sprint ahead of Maja Dahlqvist and third-placed Sundling.
Now the Norwegian could never challenge Sundling when it came to sprinting for victory on the final stretch.
Nice with the sprint too. Although I had Kristin on my back, I managed to make a good finish, says Sundling.
She says the race went exactly as she wanted.
It's not always that you can do what your head wants. I think that was really, really wonderful, says Jonna Sundling.
The Swede tried to shake off Stavås Skistad before the final stretch, but kept her calm when the Norwegian bit back.
I just think that I should be calm and work with what I have in the end. Not stress away, says Sundling.
"Acrophobia"
Maja Dahlqvist made it to the podium for the second weekend in a row and finished third on the high altitude in Switzerland.
I've got a bit of acrophobia after these days, almost. I think it's been really tough to ski at 1,800 meters. I've hit the wall once before in my life and it was when we were here, says Maja Dahlqvist to Viaplay.
Dahlqvist, who now lives in Trondheim, the World Championship city, feels that her form is on the way in before the championship.
I've been very sick earlier and now I think I've got a decent period with training and competition.
The World Cup competitions in Engadin continue with 20 kilometers mass start on Sunday. Other Swedish stars such as Frida Karlsson, Ebba Andersson, and Linn Svahn are skipping the competitions.
