The end of the Cross-Country journey of Laurien van der Graaff
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The career of Swiss Laurien van der Graaff in the top ranks of the Cross-Country world started 12 seasons ago and was accompanied by achievements that set landmarks to the Swiss Cross-Country world.
With her maiden World Cup victory on 3rd December 2011, Laurien became the second Swiss female athlete ever, to reach the podium. 30 years had passed since the last podium spot of a Swiss women in the World Cup. Laurien paved way for the Swiss athletes and did not only take over the favourite role for top Sprint results, but also a leading role within the team.
The now 34 year-old has inspired many young girls in Switzerland to step into her footprints and follow the passion of Cross-Country skiing.
From the season 2016/17 on, Laurien got paired up with her team colleague Nadine Fähndrich and together they paced for the top spots in the TeamSprint competitions.
In the season 2017/18, Laurien raced to her maiden World Cup victory – in front of the home crowd at the opening Sprint of the Tour de Ski in Lenzerheie (SUI). In January, she doubled up on her victory with her win in the Seefeld Sprint. One month later, at the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Laurien finished the Sprint in 10th position and scratched on the podium by a 4th rank – together with Nadine Fähndrich.
Podium spots awaited the duo in the following season. In Planica, a third place rewarded the two for their strong performances and three weeks later, a second place was reached in Dresden’s Teamsprint. Almost one year later, it was also Dresden who ensured the team the first Teamsprint victory.
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