Andorran Skier Gina del Rio Finishes 42nd in World Cup Classic Opener Amid Heavy Snow

Andorran cross-country skier Gina del Rio placed 42nd in the opening 10km individual classic at the World Cup season finale in Lake Placid, United States, finishing amid heavy snowfall that created wide gaps even among the top finishers.

Del Rio clocked 32:38.3, trailing winner Linn Svahn of Sweden by 3:33.9. Sweden's Frida Karlsson took second, with Norway's Astrid Øyre Slind in third. The top 30 closed with France's Leonie Perry, 50 seconds ahead of Del Rio. Snowfall pushed time differences beyond one minute within the top 10, complicating the interval-start race.

The Fédération Andorrane d'Esports d'Hivern (FAE) cross-country team arrived last Sunday for time zone adjustment ahead of the three-race weekend. Del Rio, in good form after a strong intensity session on Wednesday, now eyes Saturday's freestyle sprint—qualifying at 15:30 and finals at 18:00 Andorra time—and Sunday's 20km mass start freestyle at 19:30 Andorra time.

FAE cross-country director and coach Xabier del Val noted ahead of the opener that the goals for all three events include strong efforts, building on recent form from Lahti, and seeing what results follow.

This marks the end of Del Rio's first full World Cup season, which included the Winter Olympics, Falun, and Lahti. She holds third in the under-23 standings with 384 points, behind Canada's Alison Mackie (486) and Italy's Iris de Martin (451). In senior rankings, she stands 26th overall, 41st in distance, and 42nd in the combined standings.