Gina del Rio posts consecutive World Cup top‑30s in Trondheim

Gina del Rio rounded off a successful weekend in Trondheim with two top‑30 World Cup finishes, building on a near‑miss in Friday’s classic sprint qualifying. After narrowly missing the heats, she stayed in Norway to contest the 20 km skiathlon and the 10 km individual skate.

Wearing bib 47 in Saturday’s skiathlon, Del Rio produced the best World Cup distance result of her career, finishing 27th in 52:20.8 — 1:51.3 behind winner Jessie Diggins. She moved steadily through the field, listed 32nd at 5 km, 26th at the skate change (around 9.9 km) and up to 22nd by 13.3 km before crossing the line in a group contesting the lower top‑30 placings. The podium was completed by Heidi Weng and Ebba Andersson. Team manager Xabier del Val described the result as an important confidence boost and praised her measured, step‑by‑step progression.

Del Rio followed that performance with another strong ride in Sunday’s 10 km individual skate. Starting early with bib 3, she set competitive provisional times and climbed through the field in the second half of the race, moving from 41st at the first split and 39th at the halfway mark to finish 28th in 27:18.4, 1:13.1 behind winner Ebba Andersson. Moa Ilar and Jessie Diggins completed the podium. The result made it two consecutive World Cup top‑30s for Del Rio and underlined her upward form on the circuit.

Team mate Irineu Esteve also competed across the weekend. In the men’s skiathlon he finished 45th in 45:39.5 after a difficult classic leg on slower skis — he was 54th at 5 km but improved in the skating portion to 44th at 15 km. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won the race ahead of Harald Østberg Amundsen and Emil Iversen. In Sunday’s 10 km skate, Esteve recorded a more consistent race to place 39th in 24:21.2, about 1:19 behind the winner, local Norwegian Einar Hedegart. Esteve said sensations were slightly better and that he is still looking for an extra edge to fight for higher placings.

The Andorran team said it will build on the positive sensations from Trondheim and continue to approach the season step by step as Del Rio and Esteve gain experience on the World Cup circuit.