From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
Jessie Diggins (USA) celebrates an entire career as she crosses the finish line of the 20 k Mass Start in Lake Placid. Thousands of fans in attendance celebrated with her. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
While the men’s 20 k Mass Start Freestyle (raced earlier in the day) was the source of anticipation and intrigue, the Women’s 20 k was more likely to become a glorious victory lap. At the very beginning of the 2025-2026 season, Jessie Diggins had announced that this season would be her last. The most decorated American cross-country skier—and the winner of three World Cup Overall Crystal Globes—would hang up her skis after the final race in March in Lake Placid. Back then, that final day was still many months and many miles away. Today, Diggins toed the starting line for the beginning of these final kilometers. The staging of a glorious victory lap was entirely appropriate, and Diggins would make it one whether she won the day’s race, or not. That’s how she’s raced her entire career: joy in the competition, celebration in the victory, satisfaction in the effort, gratitude for the team. She’s left us breathless as many times as she has exhausted herself at finish lines, her effort as pure as the snow into which she has toppled after victories and defeats, alike. Her total effort and utter devotion could never have been in doubt. We have loved watching her give it all. Today, in Lake Placid, we were given one last precious opportunity to do so.
How ironic, then, that nature chose to rain, literally, on this parade. Spring conditions in the Adirondack Mountains are notoriously capricious. Lake Placid sits at the highest elevation of any village in the east, and the combination of elevation and proximity to both the Great Lakes and the Atlantic coast makes it a place for weathers to converge, for clouds to gather, where the mountains wear late-season robes of white, where the skies deliver showers of snow—and of rain. We’re often reminded that cross-county skiing is a winter sport—and racing through difficult conditions is the expectation, not the exception. So if there’s a victory lap to undertake, then a full-on storm of freezing rain seems like an appropriate way to do it.
Heidi Weng (NOR) and Frida Karlsson (SWE) provided the pace for much of the 20 k Mass Start in Lake Placid, but they didn’t manage to drop the most dangerous sprinter, eventual race winner, Jonna Sundling (SWE). (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
20 k Mass Start
Fans knew who to watch: Frida Karlsson, Heidi Weng, and Diggins. And Diggins has a strategy that she folows in mass-start events: allow others to set the pace on uphills, even letting herself get gapped, only to close those gaps on subsequent downhills. When she uses that strategy, she keeps herself in contention for as long as possible.
At the 8 kilometer mark, those contenders remained together, and were in the company of numerous others who could play a part in the strategy of tis race. Astrid Oeyre Slind has begun to find the form that eluded her in Milano-Cortina,and Linn Svahn and Jonna Sundling lurked in the lead pack, hoping to be there at the end where their lightning-fast sprints could perhaps snatch victory from the distance specialists.
Karlsson set the pace in the early kilometers, but not at the uber-speed that has often been seen in women’s racing over the past few seasons. Weng came forward to take over the pace-making just prior to the bonus points line at 9 kilometers, moving Karlsson back into the pack where she is far less comfortable. So uncomfortable, in fact, that Karlsson immediately ran headlong into an unexpectedly fallen Slind. Both of them ended up in a tangle as Weng and the leaders glided away. Weng captured the bonus points that she needed to maintain her position on the podium of the Distance competition. Weng continued to push the pace, but all the logical contenders seemed capable of preventing her from breaking away.
Diggins moved to the lead at the 12 kilometer mark, using her fast skis and descending ability to glide to the front before powering up a mid-lap hill. Karlsson (who had weaved her way back to the lead) took up a position at Diggins’ shoulder. These two—along with Weng and Slind—would do their best to undo the strengths of the sprinters in the kilometers that remained. But with Diggins, Sundling, and Svahn still in contention, Karlsson and Weng were leaving things a bit late.
Karlsson, Weng, Diggins, and Sundling came through in order at the final bonus points line, seemingly less interested in those points than they were in positioning themselves for all that was likely to transpire in the final two kilometers. At the top of the final uphill, Norwegian Karoline Groetting surged to the lead. She was pursued by Karlsson and Weng, with Sundling and Diggins just behind. One kilometer to go, one major downhill to navigate . . .
Years ago—at the beginning of what was to become an historic career—a young and impetuous Jessie Diggins was often seen to lose control on downhills. She would ultimately overcome that limitation, becoming one of the best and most daring downhillers on the World Cup scene. Today in Lake Placid, though, Diggins’ past caught up with her. Every competitor would be exhausted at this point in a 20 k race, and maintaining control on any fast, winding downhill would be tremendously difficult. As the leaders descended a steep lefthand curve, Sundling picked an outside line that was especially fast. The video replay shows Diggins seeming to notice Sundling’s acceleration. The shift in Diggins’ posture made it clear that she felt the need to accelerate a bit, herself, but the extra step she took shifted her weight to the tails of her skis. Just like that, Diggins went down. Less than a kilometer from the end of the race—just minutes from the end of an astounding career—Diggins fell from contention. Not one to lie in the snow feeling sorry for herself while a race is going on, Diggins sprung to her feet and took off in pursuit of the leaders. Her race for today’s podium may have been over, but Diggins was far from being done with the racing. If only one kilometer remained in her career, Diggins intended to race her heart out over that final kilometer.
Jonna Sundling (SWE) was the skier everyone else in the field was most determined to drop. They didn’t . . . (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
At the front, Sundling’s daring downhill move had produced the speed she needed, and she stormed off the front followed only by the other best sprinter, Svahn. Weng was game in giving chase, but she had no chance of catching the two Swedish speedsters. Sundling first, Svahn second, Weng third. Diggins would recover from her tumble on the turn to finish 12th.
The last fifteen years have represented a golden age in women’s cross-country skiing, and there is one skier, in particular, whose career has spanned those years: Jessie Diggins. From the dominance of Justina Kowalczyk, to the excellence of Marit Bjoergen, to the determination of Charlotte Kalla, to the brilliance of Therese Johaug, to the spotlight she shares with the truly dominant team of Swedes, Diggins has born witness to the best this sport has had to offer. From them, she learned her craft. With them, she elevated a sport and thrilled an audience. The sport will miss her exuberance and her joy, her silliness and her seriousness. Thank you, Jessie, Diggins, for doing your best, for leaving it all out on the course, and for taking us all with you on this glorious victory lap.
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Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) had won it all—except for a Distance Crystal Globe. Today in Lake Placid, he finally added that most elusive piece of hardware to his expansive trophy case. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
The Kingdom of Norway expects much of its sport heroes. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo knows this . . . that may be why this naturally gifted sprinter may have long coveted the prize that a skier of his sort is least likely to earn: World Cup Distance Crystal Globe. If he could capture that prize, he could place his name among those of revered strong men of cross-country skiing. But first he’d need to get past another Norwegian strong man: Harald Oestberg Amundsen, himself a past winner of both the Distance and All-Around Crystal Globes, and a skier who trails Klaebo by only 12 points heading into this final Distance race of the 2026 season. A Norwegian skier would go home from Lake Placid with the Distance Crystal Globe tucked safely in the overhead compartment of a chartered jet liner. But which Norwegian?
Twenty kilometers of mass-start racing through the forests and hills of Mt. Van Hoevenberg would answer the question. But the manner in which that question would be answered would have bearing on ski history, as well. That’s because Klaebo could choose to employ more than one strategy in today’s race. He could park himself behind Amundsen, presumably sprint past him at the end, and claim the Cup regardless of his placing in today’s race. Norwegian fans would love to see a Norwegian claiming the Cup, but they would prefer to see the victory be claimed in a different way. What Norway would love to see is dominance delivered at the hands of the sport’s most dominant skier. The “dominance” strategy is far more risky—it could backfire, it could get counter-attacked, it could conceivably allow Amundsen to overcome a self-exhausted Klaebo. But that’s what Norwegian fans long to see.
Back in 1983, Norwegian speedskater, Rolf Falk-Larssen won the World All Around Speedskating Championship by virtue of winning three of the championship’s four races. That was the rule back then—anyone who wins three of the four races is automatically crowned champion, regardless of their performance in the fourth race. Falk-Larssen won the 500 m, the 5,000 m, the 1500 m. Technically, all he had to do was finish the 10,000 (the final race of the championship) in order to wear the victor’s wreath and be proclaimed World Champion. He would finish that final race, but the way he raced it was also the reason that, to this day, few Norwegians are willing to even mention Falk-Larssen’s name. When Falk-Larssen had the chance to truly dominate, he chose, instead, to mail it in: he soft-pedaled the 10 k . . . finishing a full 37 seconds (that’s a lot) behind the race winner, Tomas Gustafson of Sweden, whose four-race performance actually accumulated a point-total that exceeded Falk-Larssen’s championship-winning total. Falk-Larssen was crowned champion, but the Norwegian crowd never forgave him.
Norway expects much of its champions. Witness the racing strategies of Marit Bjoergen, of Therese Johaug, of Bjoern Daehlie, of Thomas Alsgaard. They were dominators, setting a blistering pace from the very start of any race, heedless of the consequences, daring any other racer to challenge them. Consider the tactics of Norwegian athletes in other sports: World and Olympic champions like hurdler Karsten Warholm or middle distance runner Jakob Ingebritsen—both of whom race from the front in daring, victory-or-death style. Norwegian fans love this . . . seeing the champions who throw caution to the wind, who stamp their authority onto every race situation, who prove true dominance.
Fast-forward to Lake Placid New York, and the final race of the 2026 FIS World Cup cross-country ski season. At Mt. Van Hoevenberg, Klaebo could’ve been interested in only one thing: the World Cup Distance championship. In his long and illustrious career, it’s the one prize that has eluded him. He’s won the Overall Crystal Globe six times. He’s won the Sprint championship too many times to count. In this miraculous 2026, Klaebo has proven time and again that he is the man to beat. And though he is the world’s premier sprinter, he has shown that he can win from the front even when the world’s best Distance skiers are chasing him.
The stage was set for 20 kilometers of racing on the steep and rainy trails of Mt. Van Hoevenberg.
With his win in the 20 k Mass Start Freestyle at the World Cup Final in Lake Placid, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) completes the sweep of all sweeps. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
20 k Freestyle Mass Start
In the old days of racing—especially on the trails around Van Hoevenberg—racers in Distance events would disappear into the trees, emerging from the forest hours later with practically no one having seen what transpired out on the course. Not today . . . the final race of the World Cup season was designed for the fans: five laps of four kilometers/lap. The crowd would get to see plenty of the racers, and that crowd ha already proven its ability to shower the skiers with cheering and support.
The start order was determined by World Cup points; six of the top seven starting spots were claimed by Norwegian skiers (their total monopoly only prevented by the presence of the sixth starter, Italy’s Elia Barp). It’s been a long season, and the final 20 k is a long race. The field can be forgiven for taking it easy at the start. But Mika Vermeulen (AUT) is not an especially patient competitor . . he would go to the front in the second kilometer to give the race some honest pace. Vermeulen’s effort seemed to remind the Norwegians of what they were supposed to do; by the 4 kilometer mark, Amundsen had powered to the front, followed by Klaebo and Pellegrino. A crowd of Norwegians and French race suits followed them. The players were all in position.
Schumacher hovered around the top ten, continuing to show his skills as a mass-start racer. The field began to break up on the course’s challenging downhills; Schumacher continued to hold his own.
At eight kilometers, Klaebo moved forward to take control. That’s because racers were offered World Cup bonus points at 9 k and at 17 k, and Amundsen had admitted in pre-race interviews that he would plan to pursue those points. If he could snatch some of those points, he could close the gap on Klaebo. Huh . . . Klaebo grabbed those 15 bonus points for himself, followed by Amundsen’s 12 point second place consolation prize. Amundsen had hoped to narrow the gap. Instead it widened by three points.
Soon after the bonus sprint, five Norwegian race suits began inexorably to pull away: Andreas Fjorden Ree, Mattis Stenshagen, Emil Iversen, Klaebo, and Amundsen. Schumacher eased his way forward to seventh position, just three seconds behind the leaders. The pace was fast, but fans could wonder if the skiers were really leaving it all out there. Who could blame them? All season long, Klaebo’s teammates—his closest rivals—had done all they could to drop the guy. Usually, whomever attempted to do so would find themselves dropped and distanced by their own teammates. It looked as though no one was willing to make such a risky play. But in that lull, Einar Hedegart had rejoined the leaders.
At the 17 kilometer mark, Klaebo again moved forward to seize the bonus points. Klaebo 15 points, Reee 12, Amundsen 10. Barring any unforeseen disasters, Klaebo had the points-lead he needed to claim the Distance Cup. Now the Norwegian fans would eagerly watch how he would race to the finish.
After the bonus sprint, the course returned to the finishing stretch utilized inhte Sprint course . . . Klaebo knows this part of the course so well. And he used the same tactic that took him to a Sprint victory just two days ago. Resplendent at the front, Klaebo turned on the jets up the final slope, jump-skating away from his rivals. Amundsen followed gamely, but the gap widened just enough to deprive Amundsen of the draft on the subsequent downhill. Klaebo was not to be denied in the final sprint, gliding across the line for his 113th World Cup victory, and the first Distance Crystal Globe of his career.
Hedegart held on for third, perhaps inspiring the young biathlete to continue competing as a skier in seasons to come. Pellegrino would finish his final race in 13th place, securing his place on the third step of the World Cup Overall podium. Schumacher would race in the main chase group throughout the race, but would fade to 20th at the finish.
Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) chased Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) through an entire season of Distance races. They finally settled the issue over twenty kilometers in Lake Placid. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Dominance, indeed
Not every Norwegian ski hero has been a front-runner. Norwegians began to learn of—and begrudgingly to accept—the strategic brand of racing that Pettter Northug employed during his brilliant career: sitting in and sprinting, snatching mass-start Distance races from Distance specialists. Perhaps Northug’s strategy became acceptable because it was so obvious that he was killing himself to hang on to the pace set by the Distance skiers just so he could have a chance to sprint at the end. Norwegian fans admired the effort, the tenacity, the fight. And they wanted a Norwegian skier to win, too. Northug delivered repeatedly, but Northug was an athlete of a different sort—spending off-season weeks gambling lavishly in Las Vegas, and getting into all sorts of trouble in Norway on account of his love of fast cars and strong drink. Northug definitely earned his place in the skiing Pantheon, but even his Norwegian countrymen remain unsure of him.
The only real way to capture the love of the Norwegian ski fans is to dominate the competition. Klaebo knows this . . . and what he delivered was a season that included a Tour de Ski, a Sprint Globe, a Distance Globe, an Overall Globe, and six Olympic gold medals. Dominance, indeed.
Referring to his haul of Crystal Globes, Klaebo said, “It’s going to be overweight getting back home, that’s for sure.
“I always try to focus on a part of the course where I can use a different part of tracks to get an advantage,” Klaebo said. “Today I felt like I was pushing hard up the last uphill, and Harald was right behind me all the way. I managed to get a small gap at the end!
“I saw it coming!” said Amundsen. “I tried to find his back and stay there. I knew that he would go fast on the last uphill. I just tried to follow.”
“We had a great team effort,” said Amundsen. “And second place, in the end, was quite good.”
Now, Team Norway will pack up its trophies and its flowers and its wheels of Gruyere cheese, and head back home to the land of Nordic skiing, and the cheering hordes of Nordic skiing fans.
“I’m glad the season is over now,” said a smiling Klaebo after the race. “It’s time to rest a little bit.”
And a well-deserved it will be. We’ve watched a remarkable season scripted by the greatest of all time. We’re unlikely to see such a season again.
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Here at the end of all things, another Norwegian podium. Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR), Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), Einar Hedegart (NOR) celebrate the end of a long season. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
Team . . . Maja Dahlqvist (SWE) wins the Sprint Crystal Globe, Linn Svahn (SWE) takes the World Cup Sprint win. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Team Sweden must face tricky circumstances in selecting its team for World Cup Sprint events, but their dilemma is made simpler by the apparent set of protocols the team follows when deciding who will race. Typically, Sweden brings only those skiers who can earn spots on the podium. Everyone else is racing back home in what we can only imagine must be the must competitive B-Team event in the world of women’s sports. In Lake Placid’s Freestyle Sprint, Sweden’s roster consisted of Jonna Sundling, Linn Svahn, Johanna Hagstroem, Maia Dahlqvist, Moa Ilar, and Emma Ribom (who did not start today’s Freestyle Sprint). That’s a fairly impressive set of starters: Sundling is 2022 Olympic Champion (and world champ from 2025), Svahn is 2026 Olympic Champion, Dahlqvist leads the World Cup Sprint standings, and Hagstroem is poised to win this year’s World Cup if Dahlqvist were to falter. Put those skiers on the starting line of a Sprint final, and it will be very difficult for any other nation to truly challenge them.
And that is precisely what Team Sweden did . . . though not without needing to come through a chaotic and unexpectedly close Freestyle Sprint final. In the end, Svahn notched her second victory of the weekend (after yesterday’s 10 k Classic victory) ahead of Sundling and Dahlqvist (who claimed her fourth World Cup Sprint Crystal Globe). Team Sweden swept its second straight podium of the World Cup final . . . with one race (tomorrow’s 20 k Mass Start) still to be run.
“It was so much fun—all these people, all this cheering—it’s amazing,” said Sundling.
“Honestly, I was just trying to do as good race as I could for the day,” said Dahlqvist. “The bonus would just be the points for the overall. I just wanted a good race for today.”
“It’s like my second home, honestly! So many people screaming my name,” said Dahlqvist.” It was really cool.”
Twelve Americans entered Lake Placid’s Freestyle Sprint qualifying: Jessie Diggins, Samantha Smith, Julia Kern, Alayna Sonnesyn, Lauren Jortberg, Rosie Brennan, Erin Bianco, Hailey Swirbul, Ava Thurston, Renae Anderson, Emma Albrecht, and Nina Schamberger. Diggins, Smith, and Kern all advanced beyond qualifying with Diggins advancing into the semifinals.
Jessie Diggins (USA) continues to cherish every finish line. Her retirement is a celebration, but one fans wish could be delayed a bit longer. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Freestyle Sprint
Diggins drew the first heat where she would meet up with Sundling and Faehndrich. That top-heavy field seemed to insure that this would be a fast heat, one likely to produce a lucky loser or two. Diggins’ strategy throughout the season has remained consistent: use her speed to keep heats fast, claim at least a lucky loser spot, and rely on her endurance to give her chances later in the heats when pure sprinters may be spent.
Diggins bobbled a bit out of the start gate, allowing Sundling to burst forward to set the early pace (Sundling is typically a fast-starter and aggressive pace-setter; she was likely to try that, anyway). Diggins needed to work a bit to get around Julie Myhre (NOR) on the first uphill, but from then on it was a three-woman race. That triad was interrupted when Diggins stepped on Faehndrich’s pole basket, sending the Swiss woman tumbling in a hairpin right-hand turn. Diggins lost some speed behind the tangle of skis and poles, but she would recover before the finishing straightaway. Faehndrich would pull off a miraculous recovery of her own, hopping back to her feet after her fall, chasing down the pack, and sprinting past Diggins into the third spot. The two of them would wait to see if their times would be fast enough to advance as lucky losers.
Svahn led a moderate-paced Heat 2, confident that no one else would be eager to lead. Jasmi Joensuu (FIN) went to the front in the loose snow of the final uphill, only to find her efforts eclipsed by Svahn swooshing out of the draft on the subsequent downhill. Svahn would advance easily, followed by Joensuu. Slow heat . . . Faehndrich and Diggins still safe.
Kern re-entered the World Cup scene after a few idle weeks following the Olympic Games where she had begun feeling some pulmonary stress. She appeared recoved with an impressive 17th place qualifier, but her performance in theheats made it clear that she may still be a bit rusty. Kern got pinched out of position numerous times in the quarterfinal, then lost her balance rather dramatically on the last right-hander before the finishing straightaway. Her speed having been lost, Kern would cross the line sixth. Her day would end with a mnmnmnmn place finish. For Faehndrich and Diggins . . . so far, so good.
Smith has repeated a pattern in recent world Cup Sprints, dropping to the rear early in each heat, only to unleash a torrential sprint in the closing meeters. Smith found an open lane to drive forward on the first uphill, puling even with Maia Dahlqvist (SWE) at the summit. Smith once again found a lane on the final uphill, hop-skating past Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR) before expertly pinching her out of second position. Smith entered the downhill well positioned on the tails of Dahlqvist. Smith’s good tactics would not continue as the field reached the final flats. Weng was able to wind past her, as well as Federica Cassol (ITA) who crowded Smith into abbreviated skate strokes in the finishing meters. Smith would finish fourth in the heat, and mnmnmnmnm in the day. Faehndrich and Diggins? Still in lucky loser positions with only one quarterfinal remaining.
Faehndrich and Diggins kept their fingers crossed that the final heat would be a slow one. It was a nervous position to occupy: Hagstroem highlighted the Quarterfinal 5; she’s a skier who often ignites the pace to exhaust her rivals . . . but her first strokes out of the start gate indicated that would not be her strategy on this day. Hagstroem would hold the lead across the finish line ahead of Coletta Rydzek whose clever footwork allowed her to sprint forward to claim the second automatic advancement spot. Hagstroem’s languid pace allowed the advancement of both Faehndrich and Diggins. the home-crowd breathed a sigh of relief.
Semifinals
Diggins lucky loser journey continude in Semifinal 1 where her desire to push the pace found itself in the backseat compared to the similar desires of Svahn and Sundling. The Swedish pair rocketed to the front as Diggins trailed the field. But it quickly became apparent that Sundling and Svahn had no interest in setting a fast pace—they only wanted to clog the front, daring others to take the lead. On Lake Placid’s Sprint course, taking the lead had proven to be a self-destructive tactic, while attacking from behind had proven to be a risky one. Diggins found an open lane on the final climb, but found the pace too high to allow her to advance.
The Swedes had looked supernaturally calm and relaxeda t the front, but on the final downhill the dangers of Lake Placid’s Sprint course revealed themselves again as Svahn was absorbed by skiers rushing from the rear, and Sundling found herself edged out of the lead by Anja Weber (SUI). The Swedes would call upon their superior speed to fight back into the lead before the finish line. Myhre would cross third, followed by Joensuu in fourth. Diggins would cross fifth to finish ??? on the day. The Swedes apeared relieved—and a little bit shell-shocked—in the finish area. They’d be unlikely to commit those tactical errors again.
Dahlqvist and Faehndrich—#1 and #2 in the current World Cup Sprint standings would face off in the second semifinal. After the grinning embarassment of an initial false start, Dahlqvist would allow her teammate, Hagstroem, to vault into the lead, followed closely by Faehndrich and Rydzek. Hoping to distance herself from Dahlqvist, Faehndrich drove to the front on the final uphill. using Hagstroem as a way to block any other pursuit. Faehndrich and Dahlqvist would cross the finish line togehter, followed by lucky losers, Hagstroem and Rydzek.
Linn Svahn and Jonna Sundling led the Swedish sweep at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Sprint Final
Svahn, Sundling, Hagstroem, and Dahlqvist highlighted the Sprint final, where they were joined by Faehndrich and Rydzek. With three closely-bunched contenders (Dahlqvist, Hagstroem, and Faehndrich) in the year-long Sprint World Cup competition all being present in the final, the Crystal Globe would be decided in this race. Sundling an Svahn set the pace, Faehndrich and Dahlqvist marked them closely. Hagstroem and Rydzek trailed. With Dahlqvist leading by only six points over Hagstroem—and with Faehndrich only a few more points behind them—the mathematical possibility existed for the cup to change hands at the finish line. In the end, Svahn pulled away from Sundling, and Dahlqvist separated herself from Faehndrich. Sweden would sweep the podium, and Dahlqvist would cross the finish line with arms raised as the winner of the Sprint Crystal Globe.
World Cup Final Women’s Freestyle Sprint QUALIFYING
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Federico Pellegrino (ITA) during warmup, hearing his name called by the joyous crowd lining the course in Lake Placid. It was the beginning to a tremendous day, and the final Sprint victory of his glorious career. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus.)
“The energy that I got in the warmup lap . . . I got this feeling of power from the public,” said Federico Pellegrino.”Cheering for me. “Chicco Pelle! Chicco Pelle! And then in the Final, I could not wait!”
Though this race—this glorious victory— came at the end of a long and illustrious career, Pellegrino was true to his word. He could not wait. He blazed off the front of a complex and contact-filled Freestyle Sprint final to storm to the 18th win of his World Cup career—his 46th podium. He had won silver and bronze medals in front of his countrymen at the Olympics of Milano-Cortina just a few weeks ago. Perhaps this final victory in front of the cheering throngs of Mt. Van Hoevenberg was sweeter, still.
Pellegrino was joined on the podium by Lars Heggen (NOR) and Anton Grahn (SWE), two young guns who may represent the future of the sport. But Pellegrino showed he was not yet ready to allow the great names of the past to be forgotten. One last Sprint victory, and one more chance to show his appreciation to an appreciative crowd.
“Thank you Lake Placid,” smiled Pellegrino. “It was great!”
Lars Heggen (NOR) may see himself as the heir apparent, the sprinter most likely to triumph when Klaebo is away. That may soon be true . . . just as soon as Federico Pellegrino (ITA) retires. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
A World Cup Sprint without Klaebo is two things at the same time: both a lot less interesting, and a lot more interesting. When Klaebo is in the Sprint field, Klaebo will win, won’t he? So what does it mean when Klaebo is absent? It means almost anyone can win. And with only the World Cup Distance championship remaining to be defended (in a close race with Harald Oestberg Amundsen), Klaebo elected to sit out the Freestyle Sprint . . . marking perhaps the only time that Klaebo has been able to watch an entire World Cup Sprint competition from the sidelines.
“It’s not very often that you have the races (in the USA),” said Klaebo. “And it’s always fun—I mean it was amazing when we were in Minneapolis a couple of years ago, and I’ve been looking forward to this race for a long time. With what happens last week, (coming to Lake Placid) was a little bit uncertain. I’m really happy that I made it, and happy that I made it to the starting line.”
“The Americans really know how to make noise and a good atmosphere,” said Klaebo of the Mt. Van Hoevenberg crowds lining the 10 k course on Friday. “It was cool!”
“I think it’s the right decision to skip the (Sprint on Saturday),” said Klaebo. “Hopefully I will be back at it again on Sunday with enough energy to be able to fight.”
JC Schoonmaker (USA) was the top American among five who qualified for Lake Placid’s Freestyle Sprint quarterfinals. He would put together a fine set of performances, advancing to the semifinal and finishing the day ninth. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Freestyle Sprint Heats
Team USA would qualify five skiers into the quarterfinals: Gus Schumacher, Ben Ogden, Jack Young, JC Schoonmaker, and Zanden McMullen. Schumacher, Ogden, and Young delivered especially eye-popping qualifying efforts: fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. While Americans would ski their way into the quarterfinals, it was not to be the Americans’ day.
Schumacher caught his pole in the start gate and immediately surrendered ten meters to the field, but an initial slow pace in the heat allowed him to catch up quickly, and to surge forward into third position. Schumacher followed early leaders Benjamin Moser (AUT) and Anton Grahn (SWE), though it was Lars Heggen (NOR) sitting quietly mid-pack that should have occupied everyone’s attention. Heggen was badly positioned mid-race, pinched out of a spot to advance on the climb, and found himself at the very back. Schumacher was pushed wide on the final turn while Heggen masterfully weaved far inside, squeaking past to fuel his dash down the final straightaway. Heggen would finish second (behind Grahn) while Schumacher would find himself fourth. Schumacher’s time would not hold up as a lucky loser. He would finish the day in 21st.
Quarterfinal 2 had Ogden lining up beside his teammate, McMullen, and with the legend, Federico Pellegrino. Loud cheers greeted the announcement of the Americans as Ogden waved to the crowd. The heat would be paced by Roman Alder (SUI) with Ogden and Pellegrino waiting patiently for the pace to settle. Pellegrino and Ogden vied for the lead at the top of the final uphill, but neither of them really wanted it. They baited Alder back into the lead, and prepared to take advantage of his slipstream on the descent. Pellegrino showed why he is a legend in the sport, weaving through the field and into the lead as he crossed the line. Ogden showed that he may still have much to learn as he skied himself into dead ends in the finishing straightaway, fading to fourth behind McMullen. McMullen would finish the day 15th, Ogden 17th.
Chanavat led out Quarterfinal 3; a typical tactic for Chanavat, though one that has always found itself to be ineffective against Klaebo. But Klaebo wasn’t here today . . . and no one other than Chanavat really seemed to have a plan. Counter-punching in Sprint heats can sometimes result in advancement, but it rarely results in victory. It looked like Chanavat would have the advantage. Behind him, Schoonmaker scrubbed too much speed in the hairpin turn, finding himself dropped by the acceleration of Jir Tuz (CZE) on the significant downhill. Chanavat gave chase, and the heat was all but decided. Chanavat would step out of the draft and into the lead. Tuz would follow him across the line with Harald Oestberg Amundsen claiming a lucky loser spot. Schoonmaker would finish fourth in the heat, sitting in a hopeful lucky loser position with two heats remaining.
Sasha Masson (CAN) set the pace in Quarterfinal 4, but found himself overtaken in the final curves. Eric Johansson (SWE) and Even Northug (NOR) would advance.
Quarterfinal 5 pitted Young against Ansgar Evensen (NOR) and Jaume Pueyo (ESP). Young would drop to the back in the opening meters, but forced his way forward by the top of the first uphill. He found an open lane on the next uphill, but may have spent too much energy advancing. Young entered the final downhill in second position, but he would fade in the final straightaway, finding himself overtake by Pueyo and Evensen. Young would end the day in 13th place.
Semifinals
Schoonmaker followed Chanavat, Pellegrino, and Heggen into the first semifinal, where he would mark Heggen at the rear. Maybe patience would be the righ tactic? At thefront, Chanavat drove the pace, duking it out with Pellegrino on the uphill. Grahn, Heggen, and Pellegrino would all lunge at the line in a photo finish as Chanavat faded into a lunge for fourth with Schoonmaker. Ultimately, the lucky loser spots would belong to Pellegrino and Chanavat. Schoonmaker would finish ninth on the day.
The second semifinal was led by Johansson, who was shadowed by Evensen and Amundsen. Pueyo, Northug, and Tuz trailed the field. Johanssen and Amundsen would advance at the line.
Federico Pellegrino (ITA) came storming into the finish area al alone. The crowd let him know who their favorite really is. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
Sprint Final
The Sprint final offered an excellent non-Klaebo lineup: Grahn, Johansson, Heggen, Amundsen, Pellegrino, and Chanavat.. The veterans (those likely to have a plan), Chanavat and Pellegrino, had advanced as lucky losers. Would they be fast enough to contend? The Norwegians featured a proven sprinter in Heggen with a points-hungry all-rounder in Amundsen. Sweden brought two young skiers eager to upset Norway’s podium pitch. And the starter’s pistol revealed how easy it is for even the most experienced racers to suffer the most rookie mistakes—Amundsen planted his pole tip on top of his own ski, and collapsed in a tangle in the very first meter of the race. Remarkably, he would jump to his feet and take off in pursuit of the field, which he caught before 30 seconds had elapsed. Amundsen was back in the race, but at what cost?
At the front, Grahn and Pellegrino set the pace. They were followed by Chanavat who, for once, seemed willing to change his at-the-front tactics. As the climb began, Heggen’s ski tip fouled in Johansson’s binding. The Swede went down, and Heggen lost momentum. The leading three seemed to be getting away where Pellegrino was putting an entire career’s worth of energy to his hop skate up the steepest climb. Power-skating into the final downhill, Pellegrino had created a gap ahead of Grahn that meant the tall Swede would not benefit from Mt. Van Hoevenberg’s notorious draft. Pellegirno would exult across his final Sprint finish line, capping a brilliant career with one final victory. Heggen would recover to dash forward to claim second, ahead of Grahn in third.
“This was the way I dreamt, when I was young, to win races,” said Pellegrino. “To end my career in that way was fantastic.”
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A week ago, it looked likethe competitive season of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) might be over. Today, he returned to dominate the 10 k Classic Interval Start at the World Cup Final in Lake Placid. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Two seasons ago in Minneapolis, the energy of an American crowd lifted an American skier—Gus Schumacher—to a surprising win in the 10 k Freestyle Interval Start. The FIS World Cup returns to the USA, but in a very different environment. Mt. Van Hoevenberg is an historic cross-country skiing destination and two-time host of the Olympic Winter Games (1932 and 1980), but the village of Lake Placid is tiny—barely 3000 residents. Not only is it small, but it’s really really far away from any urban centers that might provide spectators for these World Cup Finals events. New York City is nearly five hours away by car; Boston even farther. Even the closest airport (Albany, NY) is nearly three hours away, even in good weather. Many cross-country ski fans will undoubtedly arrive at Mt. van Hoevenberg for the chance to see their ski-heroes, but the crowds are not likely to be anything like what those heroes experienced two seasons ago in Minneapolis. Still, Americans will be enjoying the rare benefit of racing on home turf. Perhaps Schumacher—or another American on the rise—would be able to break through?
Team USA sent Schumacher to the starting line along with his partner in the silver-medal-winning Team Sprint, Ben Ogden. Rounding out the American roster were Luke Jager, JC Schoonmaker, Zanden McMullen, John Steel Hagenbuch, Reid Goble, Benjamin Dohlby, Michael Earnhart, Zachary Jayne, Brian Bushey, and Hunter Wonders.
As is often the case, Norwegian names crowded the ranks of seeded skiers: Emil Iversen, Harald Oestberg Amundsen, Mattis Stenshagen, Andreas Fjorden Ree, and Lars Heggen would toe the starting line, joined by a late-arriving Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo whose arrival was delayed while he—and Team Norway—debated his fitness to compete. After a dramatic fall (and subsequent concussion) in the Sprint semfinals in Drammen last week, Klaebo’s condition had remained in question. before the race, he admitted he might not be at his absolute best, but he felt he owed it to the fans gathered in Lake Placid to make an appearance.
The arrival of Amundsen had never been in doubt, as he continues to joust with Klaebo in their rivalry for the Overall and Distance Crystal Globes. Like Klaebo, Amundsen remarked that he had been looking forward to this journey to Lake Placid.
“I spoke with Ben Ogden, and he said it would be lots of people and a good vibe,” Amundsen remarked to FasterSkier in post-race interviews. “So I was looking forward to it. They are traveling to Europe and staying there a whole winter, so now it’s our turn to travel here and get some good races.”
And a sentimental favorite during this World Cup Finals weekend would be Italy’s Federico Pellegrino who has announced that this World Cup season will be his last. At the end of this weekend, he will hang up his skis and glide off into retirement. Pellegrino’s chances for a fond farewell were improved by the announcement that his old friend and long-time rival, Klaebo, would not be competing in Saturday’s Sprint event.
But, c’mon, the story of the day is the three point lead enjoyed by Amundsen over Klaebo in the chase for the World Cup Distance title. A week ago, it looked like Klaebo would run the table: Distance, Sprint, and Overall. Who knew this race could be so close. With as much as Klaebo has won this year, it would be understandable to assume that he would win all the Crystal Globes. But Amundsen has never been far behind . . . and with the disastrous collision between Klaebo and Ogden in the Drammen Spritnt (that resulted in Klaebo’s hospital stay for a concussion), Amundsen was able to ski well enough in the Holmenkollen 50 k to slide into the Distance lead.
Amundsen would ski brilliantly in Lake Placid’s 10 k Classic Interval Start, battling snowy conditions, fighting his way to a fourth place finish behind Ree and Stenshagen. But it was Klaebo—who just a week ago looked like his season might be over—to reclaim what should rightfully have been his along.
With the energy of a cheering and rowdy Lake Placid crowd, Ben Ogden (USA) couldn’t hold back. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
Schumacher and Ogden would both claim impressive finishes: seventh and 11th, respectively.
“I wanted to go out easy,” said Ogden. “But there was no hope of that with this many people cheering! I really had to fight for it at the end, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“The last couple of kilometers, it was really fun to hear so many people cheering,” said Schumacher. “And to know that what’s going to make them happy is me going as hard as I can.”
Never Count Him Out
Serious contenders in any Classic ski race would normally include Savelii Korostelev (AIN). But like his compatriot, Dariya Nepryaeva, Korostelev is a citizen of Russia. Despite his competing as an Individual Neutral athlete (AIN), he would not have qualified for an American visa. Korostelev would not get the chance to be on the starting line in Lake Placid.
Snow continued to fall heavily during the Men’s race, gathering in fluffy inches on the course. Skiers continued to struggle, both uphill and down, and conditions looked likely to heavily influence the eventual results.
Gus Schumacher (USA) would follow the example of his fast-starting teammate, Ben Ogden. Schumacher would finish seventh, Ogden 11th. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Ogden started in bib 20 with a loud and energetic fan club cheering him on. Ogden would lead the first 50 starters at the first checkpoint, but would find himself overtaken by Stenshagen, Pellegrino, Amundsen, and Schumacher. That’s right, Gus was on course, and charging.
Klaebo would ease off the starting line, knowing that the accumulating snow was likely to favor earlier starters. His effort appeared measured; nonetheless, he was fastest through the first checkpoint, leading Amundsen (the only other skier whose placing probably concerned him) by 6.3 seconds, a lead that Klaebo extended to 16 seconds at 3.8 kilometers. If Klaebo was in race-shape today, Amundsen could find himself in trouble in Sunday’s 20 k Mass Start.
Schumacher trailed Klaebo by only 20 seconds at the halfway mark. Between them could be found Pellegrino, Stenshagen, Ree, and Amundsen. Ogden still maintained a top-ten position, and he was able to spend some time in the leader’s chair while he waited for the arrival of later starters.
Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) wore the red leader’s bib in the Distance category. He is dertimined to fight to the end in his rivalry with countryman, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
As the race played out, the Norwegians gravitated to the top of the list of finishers. Stenshagen would take over the lead, only to be supplanted by Ree. Schumacher would cross the line just behind Pellegrino, and only 25 seconds behind Ree. But the crowd and the headlines were awaiting the arrival of Klaebo, His splits had been fastest throughout the race, and Klaebo was hoping for even more than the win. Klaebo needed to put his recent concussion behind him, and put Amundsen in his place.
Amundsen—wearing the red Distance leaders bib—would cross the line and into the third slot . . . but that was not to last. Likewise, the red bib was soon to transfer back to the shoulders of Klaebo. To no one’s surprise—but to everyone’s surprise—Klaebo glided across the finish line for the win, some 14 seconds ahead of second place Ree, and 25 seconds ahead of fourth place Amundsen.
“It was a tough fight, tough conditions,” said Amundsen. “But I think it was fair conditions for everyone.”
“It was so much people, I couldn’t hear my own thinking,” grinned Amundsen.” That’s a good thing!”
“I’m second place in the World Cup Overall, so I’m fighting for that,” said Amundsen. “And I’m twelve points behind Johannes for the overall, so it will be a close fight on Sunday. I need to take some points in the sprints during the race, and beat him in the end . . . we’ll see.”
With two races remaining in the season—one of which (tomorrow’s Sprint) he is likely to skip—it really does appear that Klaebo will complete the near-perfect season, gathering up not only every Olympic gold medal, but the full slate of Crystal Globes—Sprint, Distance, and Overall—as well.
World Cup Final Men’s 10 k Classic RESULTS
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Linn Svahn (SWE) showed that she is no one-dimensional sprinter, holding off the season’s dominant Distance skier —Swedish teammate, Frida Karlsson—for the win in the FIS World Cup Final 10 k Classic Interval Start in Lake Placid. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
FasterSkier’s reporters watch every single race of the World Cup and Olympic season, so we have our own ideas regarding what may happen on any given race-day. We’ve followed who has been progressing up the standings, who has been fading, who has been injured or ill and how their recovery has progressed. And we follow the amazing and durable actions of Jessie Diggins (USA) who has competed in every single race of the season (That’s right, isn’t it? Someone check the record . . .). Alone among all World Cup competitors, Diggins continues to devote herself to performing at the highest levels on every available race day. If she’s tired, she deals with it. If she gets sick, she overcomes it. If she’s injured, she races through it. If there’s a start line and a finish line, drawn on the snow Diggins is racing. While it may be argued that she might’ve performed even better if she took a day off from time to time, evidently it’s impossible for her to just sit out those race opportunities. And Diggins is also one of only two skiers in the world (along with Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo) who has an honest chance to win on any given day, regardless of distance or discipline. And the reward for such devotion and fortitude?
All eyes were on Jessie Diggins (USA) whose career is winding down to retirement, but not before another excellent top-five performance in the 10 k Classic, and the clinching of another World Cup Crystal Globe. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Any day’s race coverage begins with a check of the start list; that’s how we see the first inclinations of how the story might unfold. Here’s the context of today’s 10 k Classic Interval Start: perennial contenders, Ebba Andersson (SWE) and Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) have chosen to stay home home, Krista Parmakoski (FIN) retired at eh Holmenkollen finish line, and Dariya Nepryaeva (AIN) wasn’t allowed into the country (no American visas issued to Russian citizens) . . . The rest of the contenders appeared to be present. Among the logical contenders within the women’s field were those whose performances shined brightest this season, but whose illnesses and injuries kept them from contention in the year-long FIS World Cup competitions. Frida Karlsson (SWE) is undoubtedly the fastest skier in the world today as she proved repeatedly in the Olympic Winter Games and the recent Holmenkolen 50 k. She is joined by a list of other Distance contenders including Heidi Weng (NOR), Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR) Karoline Simpson-Larson (NOR), Jonna Sundling (SWE), Moa Ilar (SWE), and Olympic Sprint champion Linn Svahn (SWE).
Host-nation USA was allowed additional entries. In addition to the much-anticipated participation of Diggins, the American roster included Emma Reeder, Alayna Sonnesyn, Katey Houser, Renae Anderson, Emma Albrecht, Samantha Smith, Novie McCabe, Kendall Kramer, and Rosie Brennan.
“It’s really awesome to know how many people care about skiing in America,” Kramer said in response to the crowds of eager spectators gather around the course. “It’s heart warming!”
“I love racing at home!” said Brennan. “It’s so awesome. I had many moments when I was second-guessing myself out there. then Id get to a hill and everyone was going nuts, yelling my name, and I was like ‘Okay, I got this! I got this!” ‘
“Honestly, I don’t care about the results,” beamed Diggins after the finish. “I just wanted to enjoy the crowd, and feel the love and the excitement, and just go as hard as I could! Laying in the snow there at the end, I was like ‘That was one of the best 10ks of my life.’”
In the end, it was Svahn winning a back-and-forth battle with her good friend, Karlsson. Sweden would top the podium, but Heidi Weng would prove the best of the rest, finishing 22 seconds behind the winner. Diggins would battle through the falling snow to secure a fifth place finish in the final interval start race of her career.
Frida Karlsson (SWE) surged to a mid-race lead, but it was not enough to overcome the momentum of her teammate, Linn Svahn. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
Not Yet Spring
While the field—and the spectators—may have been hoping for sunny and mild spring conditions. Wouldn’t that have been nice? But Lake Placid sits at an elevation of 2200 feet—quite high for the east coast—and spring is notoriously late to arrive in these Adirondack mountains. Race day dawned with dense cloud and swirling snow, conditions that seemed likely to challenge ski technicians and skiers, alike.
The 10 k Classic would be skied over two five kilometer laps climbing immediately from the stadium into the woods. Svahn was the revelation among early starters, totally gapping the rest of the field at all early check points. At the halfway mark of the race, Svahn led all earlier starters by nearly a minute! Later starters among the top seed would begin whittling into Svahn’s times, but even Karlsson would trail by eleven seconds at the first checkpoint, with her teammate, Sundling, another five seconds behind.
Diggins started in bib 58. She would trail Svahn by 23 seconds at the first checkpoint (13 seconds behind Karlsson, 10 seconds behind Slind). The contenders’ splits were bunched near the front, but it was definitely Svahn who appeared strongest. Svahn continued to hold that lead over Karlsson at the 3.8 kilometer checkpoint, by which time Diggins had managed to take six seconds out of Svahn’s lead.
Svahn would surge again in the middle kilometers to put another six seconds into Diggins, but the splits identified the next serious challenger as Slind pulled within just a few seconds. And that’s when Karlsson made her move, pulling even with Svahn at 6.7 kilometers. Had Svahn gone out too fast?
Svahn has won 14 Sprint races in her career, but it is less known that she’s also won three Distance races. She is certainly no slouch when it comes to long events, and she obviously possess great endurance ability. That’s what she must’ve drawn upon in the later kilometers as—despite the charge from Karlsson—Svahn would finish in a dominant 29:04, surging to the victory by 1.4 seconds to claim the first Individual Start Distance victory of her career.
Diggins would thrill her fans with another gutsy performance, giving her all—as she has always been known to do—in finishing fifth on the day. She extended her lead in the Overall World Cup standings over her closest rival, Sweden’s Moa Ilar, virtually closing out that competition for the fourth time in Diggins’ illustrious career.
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Frida Karlsson (SWE) gave it her all in Lake Placid, only to fall just short of the performance of her good friend, Linn Svahn. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
World Cup racing continues from Lake Placid this weekend:
Saturday, March 21
10:30 am | Women’s Sprint Qualification Free
11:05 am | Men’s Sprint Qualification Free
1:00 pm | Women’s Sprint Final Free
1:00 pm | Men’s Sprint Final Free
Sunday, March 22
12:30 pm | Men’s 20km Mass Start Free
2:30 pm | Women’s 20km Mass Start Free
4:30 pm | ONE LAST LAP w/Jessie Diggins & the Retiring Stars
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
Frida Karlsson (SWE) claimed her third Holmenkollen win, her second at the 50 kilometer distance. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
The prize for winning Oslo’s Holmenkollen 50 k is lifelong bragging rights. Such is the nature of the prestige afforded this event within the Nordic ski community. Norwegian fans, especially, remember certain years, certain races, certain rivalries; especially those that are memorable for the racing conditions that challenged the athletes. Fans are likely to remember this 2026 edition, and the thick, stubborn fog that enveloped the racers throughout the 50 kilometer distance. Stadium announcers regularly reminded the audience that racers were entering the stadium . . . otherwise, fans might not have known. The fog may have appeared thicker and soupier through the lens of broadcast cameras, but it’s certain that the fog hung close to the ground, obscuring skiers’ views of the course, of the crowds, and of their competitors. Perhaps that had something to do with the more measured pace the leaders selected. By the halfway point of the race, the entire women’s field was still together (not at all the normally expected state of affairs in women’s mass-start Distance racing). The regular cast of contenders remained at the front—Frida Karlsson (SWE), Ebba Andersson (SWE), Heidi Weng (NOR), Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR), Jonna Sundling (SWE), and Jessie Diggins (USA)—but none of them seemed eager to race off alone.
Karlsson would emerge from the fog first, crossing the finish line all alone to claim her third Holmenkollen race, and her third at the 50 kilometer distance. Behind Karlsson, her Swedish teammates—Linn Svahn and Jonna Sundling—would sprint across the line in second and third, just ahead of Heidi Weng (NOR), Nora Sanness (NOR) and Jessie Diggins (USA).
“It’s such a magic day for our team,” beamed Karlsson. “It’s our first “triple” in the distance, and it’s sick!”
Alison Mackie (CAN) followed up a win at the U23 World Championships with a 14h place debut in the Holmenkollen 50 k. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Canada’s Alison Mackie remained in the top 10 through the halfway mark, and continued to make her presence felt throughout the 50 kilometer distance. . A young skier with a bright future, Mackie was certainly making he most of her first Holmenkollen. She would finish the day in 14th, sandwiched between established distance-racing stars Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes NOR) and Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR).
Kendall Kramer (USA started 45th (out of 50 starters), but in the close company of the 46th starter, Delphine Claudel (FRA), a world class Freestyle competitor. If they could work together, they could make up many places in a hurry. By the five kilometer mark, Claudel had managed to work her way all the way up to the front . . . but Kramer was nowhere to be seen. Claudel would hang on to finish 28th. Kramer would cross the line 41st.
Clearly the best . . . Frida Karlsson (SWE) raced away from her rivals, exiting the fog to claim victory in Holmenkollen’s historic 50 k Freestyle. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Holmenkollen 50 k Freestyle
The Holmenkollen 50 k consists of six laps of an 8.3 kilometer loop, demanding 1000 feet of climbing per lap. And this day in Oslo, race organizers elected to stage the race in a manner that put both the women’s field and the men’s field on the course at the same time, albeit separated by half a lap’s distance. The men’s field would come through at the end of the bonus points at 19.6 kilometers just before the women started, providing a head start of approximately a four kilometers. Stragglers from the men’s field would ultimately be caught by the women. Likewise, stragglers from the men’s field would later be caught by the women. In the thick fog that hovered over the course during today’s race, there was plenty of opportunity for mild confusion.
Karlsson Weng, Andersson, and Slind would ease to the front, providing the early pace, but not going straight to the accelerator as they might have done on a normal day. Behind them, another predictable tier of racers followed, including Nepryaeva, Sundling, and Diggins. The men’s field had already passed through 20 kilometers in a massive, cohesive unit. It was possible that the bizarre conditions on the day would influence the women’s field to do the same.
Diggins won the bonus points at the three kilometer check point, gaining another 12 points over her closest rival in the chase for the Crystal Globe, Moa Ilar (SWE). Diggins would again remain ahead of Ilar at the 11.3 bonus points line. Diggins would collect eight points by crossing the line fourth.
Just before the end of the second lap, Slind stumbled and fell. She would need to spend extra energy to rejoin the leaders, if she was even able to. The field would slow a bit in the feed zone, but Slind would still have a gap of nearly eight seconds to make up . . . and Weng, Andersson, Karlsson, and Diggins continued to make the pace at the front.
Karlsson upped the pace as they approached the 27.9 bonus points line, gapping he rest of the field in the company of Weng and Karoline Groetting (NOR). Diggins led the rest just nine seconds behind, but it seemed that a gap was forming. Diggins would use the technical downhills of the Holmenkollen course to rejoin the leaders, though she also dragged other sprinters forward. With twenty kilometers remaining, the leaders had yet to get rid of Sundling and her Swedish teammate, Olympic Sprint champion, Linn Svahn. Karlsson and Weng would’ve known that their chances of victory relied on their ability to drop those sprinters. All the leaders opted to switch skis at the end of the lap. They would all be on new skis for the final two laps.
Karlsson used the first uphill of the fifth lap to break away. She was followed briefly by Groetting, bu by the top of the slope, Karlsson was away, disappearing into the fog at the front. Groetting would dangle alone in the fog ahead of a chase group led by Svahn. Diggins would continue to bob at the back—on again, off again—repeatedly showing her ability to close gaps and make up ground.
With 12 kilometers to go, Karlsson was away, in full flight, and powering through the fog. Her lead would continue to grow: ten seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, ultimately extending to nearly two minutes. The solo chaser, Groetting, would be caught by the chase group that now consisted of six: Weng, Svahn, Sundling, Groetting, Nora Sanness (NOR), and Diggins. Diggins may be leading the World Cup Distance standings, but Karlsson was continuing to prove that she is the premier Distance skier in the world.
Linn Svahn (SWE), Frida Karlsson (SWE), Jonna Sundling (SWE) made up what Karlsson described as “Our first triple” in World Cup Distance podiums. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Karlsson would ski the last lap alone to claim her second Holmenkollen 50 k victory. The chase group would decide the podium with a sprint to the line, in which Svahn would outsprint Sundling. Weng would cross fourth, ahead of Sanness and Diggins.
Karlsson had shown the potential to exit the recent Olympic Games in possession of four gold medals . . . her performances would deliver only two (the Skiathlon, and the 10 k Freestyle). After the disastrous tumble of Ebba Andersson in the Team Relay (which allowed Norway to steal away the gold medal), and Karlsson’s own illness that kept her from competing in the 50 k, Karlsson appeared still to have something to prove when she toed the Holmenkollen starting line in Oslo. She would ski away from the rest of the best, stamping her authority on this historic race and claiming the sort of lifelong bragging rights that only the Holmenkollen can provide.
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Good luck finding the finish line . . . Linn Svahn (SWE) and Jonna Sundling (SWE) race through Holmenkollen’s thick fog toward the Swedish flag held aloft by race winner, Frida Karlsson (SWE). (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
With his win Lahti’s World Cup 10 k Classic, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) continues a level of dominance rarely seen in international sports. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo may be tired, but far more daunting than any mere fatigue is what Klaebo’s rivals find themselves facing: futility.
Weekend after weekend, race after race, kilometer after kilometer, finish line after finish line, Klaebo is proving himself to be all but unbeatable. He toys with his rivals in Sprint races, whether Classic or Freestyle; he takes advantage of his superior speed and tactical acumen in Mass Start races of every distance. He even displays superior pacing, restraint, endurance, and discipline in Interval Start events. And when Klaebo skis the anchor leg of your relay, then your team wins. Such athletic dominance is not a thing that lasts—and even Klaebo is likely to find himself beaten soon—but when an athlete’s on an historic streak like this, it’s a remarkable thing for fans of the sport to witness.
In Lahti, Klaebo’s dominance was on display again, as he glided to yet another World Cup victory in the 10 k Classic Interval Start. Mid-race splits identified Russian independent skier, Savelii Korostelev as a challenger, but Klaebo would pull away from him in the end, bettering the young Russian’s finishing time by 34 seconds. Between them, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget mounted a challenge of his own. While Nyenget has emerged as one of the dominant Classic skiers of this generation, still he trailed Klaebo at every checkpoint. Ultimately, Nyenget would finish second, but still some 22 seconds behind.
If all these skiers want to beat Klaebo, they need to find another way to do it. Maybe the best tactic is to simply wait. Everybody gets sick some day, don’t they? Everybody shows up flat now and then, right? Perhaps the best tactic to employ in chasing Klaebo is to stop chasing. Just let him flame out at some point, and hope to be the one best positioned in the crowd to catch the bridal bouquet when it flies through the air.
Savelii Korostelev (AIN) was the early leader at numerous checkpoints. He would finish third on the day behind the efforts of Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) and eventual race winner, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR). (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Men’s 10 k Classic
Korostelev entered the World Cup circuit and Olympic events after Russia’s long exile, hoping to establish himself at the top of the cross-country ski standings (as he had already accomplished in races within Russia over the past two seasons). Korostelev must be asking himself “Just how fast do I need to go?” Well, “Historically fast” would appear to be the answer to Korostelev’s question.
Here’s the pertinent question for anyone in the field not named Klaebo: just how far will they go in pursuit of this guy? It’s an especially pressing question for Klaebo’s Norwegian teammates who are compared to him on a week-by-week basis, and who are all hoping to position themselves to be his heir (even as he shows no signs of considering retirement). Any number of those Norwegian stars may have hoped to topple Klaebo in an Olympic event. He was vulnerable, after all; racing every single event while other skiers got to pick and choose. For Harald Oestberg Amundsen, for Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, for Emil Iversen, for Mattis Stenshagen, for Lars Heggen, for Einar Hedegart—all of whom had been identified as skiers with the potential to steal away one of Klaebo’s gold medal opportunities—the chase to catch Klaebo may ultimately ruin them. In the Olympics, most of them appeared flat, as though they may have over-trained, or delayed their much-needed rest, or failed to taper sufficiently in their quest to grab a career-defining medal. Alone among them, Iversen appeared satisfied to follow Klaebo’s lead, joining Klaebo for much of his training throughout the off-season and competitive-season even though it meant that Iversen was unlikely to achieve any sort of advantage over him. Iversen was smart enough to know that Klaebo’s prowess could lead them both to Olympic medals, and that’s precisely what happened. The rest of the Norwegian contingent left Milan-Cortina with anumber of medals, but draped in quite a bit less glory than they might have hoped.
And here’s the dilemma for Klaebo, himself: how does an athlete seek to maintain the form that they have? Is it possible to just hold one’s position, or does an athlete need to keep getting better? And how much risk is involved in attempting to improve? Just ask Klaebo’s Norwegian teammates . . . they’re trying as hard as they can, trying new things, risking greatly. And it’s not working. If anything, their efforts are opening the door for the stars of other nations that are approaching from behind. Matthis Desloges (FRA) claimed numerous silver medals in the recent Olympics—medals originally thought reserved for Norwegian skiers. And as the World Cup tour enters Period 4, Norwegian skiers find themselves delivering results well down the page, rather than stacking all the Norwegian finishers at the top, which was the norm for much of the pre-Olympic season.
Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) must be wondering what he needs to do. In Lahti, he delivered a striking performance in the 10 k Classic, only to find himself trailing Johanes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) at every checkpoint. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Wearing bib 54, Klaebo was the first of the true contenders to start, meaning he would receive less info communicated to him on course when compared to other later-starting contenders. In what is often considered Klaebo’s most challenging event (the interval start 10 k) Klaebo would find himself needing to overcome that small disadvantage as well as the best efforts of his rivals.
Korostelev came through 3.4 kilometers a full 20 seconds ahead of American, Gus Schumacher, but even Korostelev found himself overtaken by Klaebo who came through the checkpoint three seconds ahead of the neutral-skiing Russian. Klaebo would continue extending his lead over Korostelev to nearly 12 seconds by the halfway point of the race. The only questions that remained would be answered by the other contenders starting behind Klaebo. Among those, Nyenget was the first to test the waters, coming through the 3.4 kilometer mark 3.8 seconds behind Klaebo. Nyenget would lose more time on his way to the end of the lap, crossing through the stadium with a deficit of six seconds . . . still ahead of Korostelev, but dropping just a bit farther behind Klaebo.
Klaebo held his advantage at 6.1 kilometers, but then he began extending his lead on the way to 8.4 kilometers, crossing that checkpoint 22 seconds up on Korostelev. Klaebo would only continue to extend that lead, crossing the line with a 34 second advantage. Nyenget would continue to battle, ultimately besting Korostelev but still falling 22 seconds short of Klaebo.
Another weekend passes, another Klaebo sweep. How long can he keep this up? After yesterday’s victory in Lahti’s Freestyle Sprint, Klaebo spoke of his level of fatigue at this juncture in the World Cup season. Who could blame him for being tired? After all, he swept all the Men’s events at the Olympic Winter Games of Milano-Cortina; and this in the middle of his historic World Cup winning streak that began weeks ago, and appears likely to extend well into the future. Unfortunately for those hoping to wait him out, Klaebo seems all but immune to the factors that typically topple those at the top. “The last two weeks has been that I’m sick in the middle of the week, and then I’m racing in the weekend,” said Klaebo. “So, we’ll see if I can stay healthy now during the week so I can participate in Drammen (next week’s Sprint races). That’s the goal.”
And that’s a problem for the rest of the field: when Klaebo sets a goal, he tends to achieve it. Anyone anticipating Klaebo falling short of that goal may have a while to wait.
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The torch isn’t being passed just yet. Savelii Korostelev (AIN), may be one of the heirs apparent in the world of international cross-country skiing, but Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo appears far from ready to make room at the top. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, this guy—Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR). (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
“It’s Johannes Klaebo’s ski world,” said skiandsnowboardlive.com’s on-air commentator, Andrew Kastening. “And we’re all just living in it.” Truer words were never spoken . . .
“I didn’t have a plan,” said Klaebo after his dominant performance in Lahti Finland’s World Cup Freestyle Sprint. “I just went for it at the end there and managed to get enough meters to the young guys. Next year it will be even harder, so we’re going to enjoy this now for the rest of this year. Next year, it’s going to be way harder, I think.”
Well, we don’t really believe Klaebo’s “no plan” claim. In fact, we probably aren’t sure we believe that next year will be “way harder,” either. Not with the way this year has gone, anyway. But Klaebo’s suggestion that we “Enjoy this for now?” No problem . . .
Ironically, Klaebo’s absolute dominance leaves ski reporters scrutinizing the strengths and weaknesses of other skiers—scanning the notoriety of other results—for stories that will continue to capture readers’ imaginations. Where the heck has Sindre Bjoernstad Skar been? And how much resentment do Even Northug and Lars Heggen harbor after being left off the Norwegian Olympic team? And, after his recent U23 World Championship (and the pedigree afforded him by his mother, legendary Nordic skier, Bente Skari), is Filip Skari the real thing? And is Harald Oestberg Amundsen still in the running for the Crystal Globe? Or does he just need a Sprint day to warm him up for the Distance races? And who the heck is Mathias Holbaek? On a normal World Cup weekend, those questions—Norwegian questions—would occupy the imaginations and fill the column inches of ski journalists. But that was before the Olympic Winter Games of Milano-Cortina . . . the Games in which Ben Ogden (USA) and Gus Schumacher (USA) created scenes of flashing silver excellence. Now, reporters have another story to report: American sprinters have arrived on the scene. If Ogden and Schumacher have any energy left after the predictable post-Olympic celebrations, then they’ll have something to say about Lahti’s Sprint results, too.
Gus Schumacher (USA) and Ben Ogden (USA) and Gus Schumacher (USA) have ushered in a new era of American men’s skiing. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Granted, Ogden and Schumacher had far fewer Norwegian Sprint rivals to navigate among, through, and past on the way to their Olympic silver medals. That’s the salient reminder, folks: while the the Olympics offer the most valued, most brightly glittering prizes in the skiing world, the Olympics also offer the best chance for anyone to break through the Norwegian medals-monopoly. That’s because Norway is only allowed the maximum number of Olympic starters in any event: four starters. Conversely, in World Cup races, Norway is allowed at least seven starters . . . sometimes eight (if the race is in Norway). Any non-Norwegians—Ogden and Schumacher included—will find it far more difficult to snatch headlines in Lahti’s World Cup Freestyle Sprint. For that matter, American Sprinters (including Jack Young, JC Schoonmaker, Kevin Bolger, Zanden McMullen) will find it considerably more difficult to qualify for the heats, much less to advance through to semifinals and finals.
And all this drama occurs in the shadow of the most predictable story—the one that we’ve probably grown tired of repeating by now: Klaebo’s going to win, right? I mean, he’s won the last 13 races he’s entered (sprints, distance races, relays, Classic, Freestyle), including the six Olympic races that he swept during the Games of Milano-Cortina. And lining up for another Freestyle Sprint on a course where he has generally shown himself to be unbeatable seems unlikely to offer much hope to his rivals. Well, there’s always silver . . .
Federico Pellegrino (ITA) is in Lahti, and so soon after he captured a magnificent bronze medal for Italy in the Team Relay. And Lucas Chanavat (FRA) is here, but he may finally have realized that he has never devised a tactic that’s even come close to allowing him the sort of success that his natural power and physical prowess would’ve suggested could be his. Among Americans, Schumacher qualified eighth. Jack Young 16th, Ben Ogden 22nd, McMullen 26th. Qualifying was won by Klaebo, followed by Chanavat and Pellegrino. The stage was set in an exciting race for silver. Sorry if that sounds like a weak set-up; we’re just calling it as we see it . . .
Zanden Mcmullen (USA) held his own in a closely contested heat with Lucas Chanavat (FRA), Benjamin Moser (AUT), Lukas Mrkonjic (AUT), and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR),. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Sprint Heats
McMullen drew the first heat alongside Chanavat and Klaebo. Chanavat wanted the lead, but not the pace. With Klaebo positioned alongside him (staying near the front and out of trouble) the course was clogged and the pace was slowed. Ultimately, Chanavat found himself suckered into the lead at the top of the final downhill where he surrendered the draft and was predictably passed by Klaebo. Chanavat would actually fall in the final turn, allowing Klaebo to cross the line unchallenged, and making room for Benjamin Moser (AUT in the second spot to qualify for the semifinal. McMullen would cross in a closely-contested third place, too slow to advance as a lucky loser, but good enough for 20th on the day. There was some question about Chanavat’s fall (and whether or not he was interfered with), but the slo-mo replay made it appear that he’d done the damage on his own.
In the second quarterfinal, Ogden decided to play his cards at the front where he was joined by Pellegrino. But coming through to make the pace was Skar (who has been absent from the World Cup scene for a few seasons, but returned to this venue in replacement of Olympic medalist, Oskar Oppstad Vike (NOR) who was injured at the recent U23 World Championships. Pellegrino would become impatient with Skar’s pace, driving forward to take the lead at the top of the final climb. But it was Heggen who would take advantage of the draft on the final downhill to take the heat win. He was followed across the line by Janik Riebli (SUI), Pellegrino, and Skar. Ogden would coast across the line a distant sixth, 28th on in the final Sprint results.
Schumacher bided his time at the rear of the third quarterfinal, weaving through traffic to move forward into fourth position before the final downhill. Schumacher chose the outside line on the final left-hander, rocketing forward to steal an automatic ticket into the semifinal just ahead of Holbaek and Valerio Grond (SUI).
Jack Young started at the rear of his quarterfinal, continuing to work his way through the field, but generally finding his way blocked and his momentum stymied. He entered the final downhill in fourth position, but with precieous little room to maneuver. Young came around the final turn in third, but was late to accelerate, finding himself still third at the line. In a slow heat, Young’s finishing time was not fast enough to advance. He would finish teh day in 15th.
“My training during the Olympics absolutely allowed me to come in to Period 4 fresher and sharper,” said Young. “I felt faster today than I did in Falun, and I think I’m still on the way up.
“Tactically, I’m making the progress I need to make,” Young continued. “I did a lot of things today in the heat that I haven’t done in the past. I was taking up space and shutting down moves made from behind me better than I ever have. In the future I need to keep skiing aggressively and find ways to get into the top two before the last 100 meters.
Janik Riebli (SUI), Lars Heggen (NOR), Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), Gus Schumacher (USA), Benjamin Moser (AUT), Davide Graz (ITA) in the Freestyle Sprint inLahti, Finland. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Sprint Semifinals
Schumacher lined up next to Klaebo in the first semifinal. Klaebo was first off the line with Schumacher attached to his tails. They marked at the front by Heggen; no one wanted to get away, no one wanted to lead. Klaebo seemed to grow bored with the tactical pace, allowing himself to glide into the lead and initiating a small attack before the top of the uphill section. All day long, skiers in the lead on the final downhill have found themselves overtaken by those in the draft. But “all day long” is not enough of a precursor to undo the ski-dominance of Klaebo. He floated down the slope, surrendering no discernible advantage to those tucked in behind him. Klaebo would execute a couple of energetic pushes in the final straightaway to remain ahead of Riebli (who edged out Heggen). Schumacher never managed to make up enough ground, finishing the semifinal in fifth position, and ninth on the day.
Chappaz skied to tactical perfection in the second semifinal, using the draft on the downhill to slingshot into the lead in the final meters. Behind him, numerous skiers were caught in traffic as Skari emerged from the pack for the automatic semifinal spot, ahead of Grond who advanced as a lucky loser.
Sprint Final
In Lahti’s quarterfinal and semifinal heats, Klaebo had shown that he could win from the draft, or win from the front. Subsequently, he would continue to provide a cryptic puzzle for Skari, Heggen, Chappaz, Riebli, and Grond. I mean, we expect Klaebo to win, we just don’t know exactly which way he’ll choose to do it.
At the crack of the starter’s pistol, Klaebo rocketed forward (that much we could anticipate), controlling the front and dictating the early pace as he so often does. The rest of the skiers were left to wonder—will he just drill it at the front and drop us? Or will he lure one of us into the lead, only to slingshot around us at the end? Here’s what the other skiers must, by now, understand pretty clearly: if Klaebo makes you lead, you lose. On the other hand, if Klaebo puts his energy into keeping the lead, there’s no one who can come around him. That’s the kind of advantage a skier earns when he’s the best of all time. And the best of all time was simply not going to get beat in this little World Cup Sprint in Lahti. Heggen and Riebli did their best to follow Klaebo, but the draft effect that Heggen needed just never materialized. Heggen was in good position on the final downhill: all the laws of physics were on his side, all the likelihoods of ski race tactics were in his favor . . . still, Heggen never made up a single meter. He would hold on for second, ahead of a late-charging Chappaz. Klaebo would coast across the line for his zillionth career World Cup victory, his we-can’t-keep-track-of-how-many wins in a row.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) eases up at yet another World Cup finish line. It may not be exciting any more, but it certainly remains thrilling. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
He doesn’t get tired, he doesn’t get sick, he doesn’t get out-maneuvered, he doesn’t get out-smarted, he doesn’t get out-sprinted. In one of the most challenging endurance sports that humans have ever contested, one guy just seems to win at will. How incredible it is to be a ski-fan in this era when one skier displays such outright dominance. The legendary Marit Bjoergen (NOR) claimed 114 wins during World Cup history’s most decorated Nordic skiing career. In Lahti, Klaebo truly began drawing within sight of that landmark number. Six races remain in the World Cup season. If he were to win out this season, Klaebo would finish the year having overtaken Bjoergen for the most-wins distinction, as well as a few others.
“I’m tired,” admitted Klaebo. “I’m barely training between the races. I’m just racing now, but we’ll see how long we continue to do that. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do that for two more weeks.”
There’s never been a season like this one that Klaebo is likely to complete: World Cup Overall, World Cup Distance, World Cup Sprint, Tour de Ski, and six Olympic gold medals. That’s the real story . . . and I’m so glad I’ve been here to see it. Next year may be “way harder,” predicts Klaebo. As he advises, we’ll enjoy this for now.
Feature stories like this one take time, access, and care to produce. If you value thoughtful storytelling and independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a Voluntary Subscriber. Your support directly fuels the work we do to cover the people, places, and moments that make our sport special.
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
Jessie Diggins (USA), Frida Karlsson (SWE), Heidi Weng (NOR) in a finish for the ages . . . Falun’s 2 x 10 k Skiathlon came down to a three-skier drag race. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Cross-country ski racing fans know how the Women’s field races—flat out, wire to wire, merciless. That’s what made Falun’s 2 x 10 k Skiathlon look like an indicator of just how challenging and exhausting last week’s Olympic races must’ve been. The predicted contenders were together at the front, but the pace was unexpectedly conservative.
“When Karlsson is ‘on,’ she goes for it,” said on-screen commentator, Kikkan Randall. But Frida Karlsson (SWE) wasn’t going for it. She skied to the front of the Skiathlon field numerous times, but never seeming to have an intention to truly press the issue, or to attempt to break away. Fans will remember that Karlsson fell ill during the Olympic Games (after gold medals in both teh Skiathlon and the 10 k Freestyle), eventually choosing not to start the 50 k Classic where she had been the odds-on favorite to take gold. That race was only one week ago, so if Karlsson was then too sick to ski, it’s not inconceivable that she might still be feeling the effects of that sickness. Usually, Karlsson would race from the gun. Not today . . .
In a race that was oddly lacking for fireworks, the three prime contenders still managed to separate themselves from the rest of the field . . . but not from each other. Twenty kilometers of measured racing came down to a three-way sprint in a crowded finishing straightaway. With 50 meters remaining, Karlsson, Jessie Diggins (USA), and Heidi Weng (NOR) sprinted in a three-abreast dead heat, a drag race that was ultimately won by the narrowest of margins by a resurgent Weng. Diggins would finish a breathtaking .1 seconds behind, with Karlsson less than a second behind her.
Canadian skiers posted impressive finishes with Liliane Gagnon 17th, Alison Mackie 20th, Jasmine Drolet 37th, and Olivia Bouffard Nesbitt 41st.
Kendall Kramer (USA) has come out of the Olympic Games with new condifence and refined fitness. She skied to a career-best ninth place finish in Falun’s World Cup Skiathlon. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Just behind the lead group, Kendall Kramer (USA), would post a career-best placing, skiing forward from her #35 starting position to finish the day in ninth. Other American finishers included Hailey Swirbul 33rd, Rosie Brennan 35th, Novie McCabe 42nd, and Emma Albrecht 44th.
“I must have gotten a 50k fitness boost they talk about!” said Kramer. “This felt like the easiest race all season, and I could go faster at every point, felt in control and like I had more and more energy. I got a lot of semi-altitude training done during the Olympics and have just been enjoying skiing around since then! Usually, I falter off during the spring due to a long XC running season before Nordic starts, so without that this year, things look a little different with trajectory.”
Heidi Weng (NOR) has always been a contender, and often finishes on the World Cup podium, but she hadn’t had a World Cup win in four years. Falun’s Skiathlon delivered her some long-awaited redemption. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Classic Leg
Falun’s racing conditions would be challenging for ski technicians: 1.2 degrees Celsius (just over 34 degrees Fahrenheit) with very high humidity. Snow had fallen earlier in the day, so a nightmare wax-scenario was a very real possibility. And struggling through the ten kilometer Classic leg can prove disastrous. Randall mentioned the difficulty of preparing skis for the day’s conditions. “Many of the skiers had brought both pairs of skis to the start line . . . deciding which way to go,” she commented. Having been in that position, herself, during her long and storied World Cup career, Randall described the situation as “nerve wracking.”
Karlsson, Weng, Simpson-Larsen, and Diggins al seemed to be in possession of expertly prepared skis; they went to the front to begin making pace. Moa Ilar (SWE)—Diggins’ primary challenger in the season-long World Cup standings—appeared to struggle initially as her skis proved slick on the uphills.
Mackie latched on to the tail of the chase group as well, though she appeared to be struggling bravely with slippery skis. Early in the race, Kramer maneuvered through the field to overcome her early start position, skiing forward into a chase group that hovered ten seconds behind the leaders.
“I had perfect skis in Classic—kick every step and shooting ahead on the downhills,” said Kramer. “So I was granted some standing up rest time. I could double pole more than other girls were doing and that saved me a lot of leg energy. A good classic day does not always happen for me, but when I get the perfect kick (thank you, Per-Erik!!!) classic is very comfortable for me. When I am sloppy, I can’t hang with the pack at the start and am out of it from the beginning. I was happy to actually execute my fitness and stay with the leaders from the start and hang on from there- I’m learning in World Cup mass starts, if you’re not in it from the start (sprinting off the line), you’re out of it, so that was knowledge I carried with me here!”
As the pace settled, Diggins appeared confident, Weng appeared determined, Karlsson appeared tentative. Diggins would win top bonus points (15) at the 5.4 kilometer bonus sprint. Her closest World Cup rival, Moa Ilar, was eighth, earning three points. After ten kilometers of racing, the leading three would approach the ski exchange together. Diggins entered the ski exchange in front, but a bit of extra fiddling with her pole straps cost her time. She would start the skate leg near the back of the ten-skier lead group.
Kramer’s high start number meant her ski exchange gate was far down the line from the leaders (and off camera). Throughout the Classic leg, she had continued to press forward through the field, moving up to eighth place on the course and re-establishing contact with the lead pack. A slower exchange left her off the back of the lead group as the skate leg began. Still, Kramer’s position was only 11 seconds behind the leaders.
Frida Karlsson (SWE), led much of the day, but she was never able to deliver the sizzling agression that often accompanies her mass-start efforts. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Freestyle Leg
The skate loop would include Falun’s infamous climb, the Mördarbacken. Karlsson went to the front up the climb, followed by Weng. Diggins seemed content to remain within the lead group while her rivals did the work. Having been gapped slightly after the ski exchange, Kramer settled into a three-person chase group with Maia Dahlqvist (SWE) and Nora Saness (NOR).
Another bonus sprint was offered at the 14 kilometer mark. And the slower pace had allowed Ilar to rejoin the lead group along with Daria Nepryaeva (AIN). Ilar would finish third at the bonus, earning 12 points. But she would make up no distance on Diggins who crossed first to earn 15 points.
The slower pace of the day had also allowed another dark horse to sneak into contention. With five kilometers to go, the leaders became aware of the presence of Olympic Sprint champion, Linn Svahn (SWE) wearing bib 32. Always a capable Distance skier throughout her career, Svahn is enjoying a period of great form in these days following the Olympics. If the leaders failed to drop Svahn before the finishing straightaway, she would definitely steal the whole race.
Karlsson had not skied like herself this day, but when she saw Svahn in the lead pack, something seemed to click. Straight to the front went Karlsson. But it was a counter-attack by Weng that truly animated the race. Up a steep climb, Weng raised her tempo and established a bit of a gap over Karlsson. Behind them, Diggins tried to limit the damage in third, followed by a wobbling Nepryaeva and a game Svahn who appeared calm in her willingness to let a gap develop. Nobody panicked yet, but Weng had made her intentions clear. With four kilometers to go, she was committed to the finish line.
Diggins is a seasoned and experienced racer with enough mass-start races under her belt to know that gaps can be overcome by skiers who resist panicking on the parts of the course that are their weakness, and taking advantage of those parts of the course that are their strengths. For Diggins, her strength is found in the downhills where she is often able to close gaps. She knew she might still have a chacne to bridge up to Weng and Karlsson. With three kilometers remaining, Diggins regained contact.
Weng continued applying pressure, with the top three establishing a considerable gap ahead of Svahn. Within the final two kilometers, Karlsson again moved to the the front. She would know that her career results placed her no better than third among the sprint abilities of this lead group. Either she would drop Weng and Diggins, or one of them would snatch victory from her.
The final kilometer of the Freestyle loop re-traces the finish of Falun’s Sprint course, where it’s well known that leading over the final hill can be disastrous. Falun’s infamous draft favors those who follow up the hill and slingshot down the other side. Karlsson continued to insist on leading, though all three contenders seemed to stall at the top of the final uphill where Karlsson had still not managed to gap Weng, and while Diggins struggled she did not lose contact. With the Sprint-draft downhill ahead of her, Karlsson was in an unenviable position. She managed to maintain her position at the front as the trio entered the finishing straightaway. Fortunately, that straightaway was groomed three skiers wide, as the leaders charged toward the line three abreast. With 20 exhausting kilometers already in tehir arms and legs, the sprint would be as much about resolve as it was about sprint ability. Karlsson took the middle, Diggins eased past her on skier’s right, but it was Weng on the left who proved to have the most energy remaining. Four years removed from her last individual World Cup victory, Weng raised her arms in victory, elation, and relief. Diggins would cross just .1 seconds behind her, and less than a second ahead of a totally spent Karlsson.
Svahn would finish fourth, 11 seconds behind, just ahead of Nepryaeva. Kramer would conclude her day in ninth place, posting the best finish of her young World Cup career.
Diggins continued to extend her lead in the race for the 2026 Overall World Cup Crystal Globe, a competition that will be decided—and a trophy that will be awarded—at the season-concluding races a few weeks from now in Lake Placid, New York.
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The cost of doing business: athletic carnage among podium finishers at the finish line of the Women’s 2 x 10 k Skiathlon in Falun. (Photo: FasterSkier screenshot)
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Linn Svahn (SWE) can afford to ignore all the recommended tactics normally employed on Falun’s infamous Sprint course. She’s just too fast. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Falun’s Sprint course rewards experience . . . but not every skier who possesses that experience pays very close attention. Skiers can get distracted by how they feel, by how their heat is shaping up, by the tactics of others. Sometimes, that sort of counter-punching can prove profitable. Not in Falun . . . not on most days anyway.
In Falun, skiers prepare for an infamous and well-known draft on the penultimate downhill . . . they either deal with that draft, or they find themselves out of contention. By now, every skier should know that whomever is leading at the top of the significant downhill is almost certain to be swallowed up by the field. Leading is a mistake, and it appears nearly impossible to establish enough of a lead to overcome the advantage gained by skiers speeding up from behind. Falun represents perhaps the most tactical—and most obvious—of all World Cup Sprint courses. And it will manufacture that same crucial factor next year when the World Championships are staged on this very same course. If skiers take advantage of watching replays of these races, they’ll begin to see that there’s only one tactic to employ in Falun . . . unless, of course, you just happen to be lots faster than everyone else, like Linn Svahn.
In the Sprint final, Svahn found herself forced to the front by a cagey Kristine Stavaas Skistad who positioned herself to take advantage of Falun’s infamous draft. What Skistad did not anticipate was the raw speed that Svahn would bring to the Final. Stuck as she was at the front, Svahn simply engaged the after-burners on the course’s penultimate uphill—a tactical decision that had proven disastrous for every other skier in Falun’s Sprint heats. Accelerate there, and you’re all but certain to get caught on the downhill. But Svahn is riding the crest of a wave that has carried her to the very top of the Sprinting world. The same speed she employed to claim dominant wins in both the Classic Sprint and Team Sprint in the Olympics a week ago continued to propel her to the top step of the podium in Falun. Skistad set things up well in the Sprint Final, but Svahn was simply too strong.
Nadine Faehndrich (SUI) continued her recent podium run in third place ahead of Coletta Rydzek (GER), Maia Dahlqvist (SWE) and Johanna Hagstroem (SWE).
Americans qualified two skiers into the heats—Jessie Diggins and Sammie Smith—both of whom would find themselves undone by Falun’s infamous draft in their quarterfinal heats. Diggins would finish the day 17th, Smith 23rd.
Canada’s Liliane Gagnon would qualify seventh, confirming her arrival on the international Sprint scene by advancing to the semifinal where she wold finish tenth on the day.
Liliane Gagnon (CAN) announced her arrival as a World Cup Sprint contender with a brilliant 10th place finish in Falun. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
After the Olympics . . .
The Olympics are over, the biggest pressure is off, the medals are stowed safely away. Now it’s back to the re-start of the World Cup season that these skiers began months ago. Returning, as the skiers do now, to the post-Olympic season, this is a time when we may find out who is truly worn out from the Games, contrasted with who may have mis-calculated their peak for the Olympics, but may now find themselves in top shape as all those who collected Olympic medals are strangely and uniquely vulnerable.
The weeks following the biggest competitions are sometimes full of surprises, especially when a few of the medal-winners and event-dominators choose to stay home. Who can blame them? They spent weeks and months and years and careers building up to those Olympic Games. And those who succeed in claiming the medals that the media expected must then run the loving gauntlet of media attention and sponsor responsibilities that accompany Olympic success. After the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980, where the immortal speedskater Eric Heiden had proven to be unbeatable (winning all five of the five speedskating events), Heiden signed up for the All-Around World Championships, where he promptly got beat. Lesson learned: just because you’re the best one week doesn’t guarantee you’ll be the best every week . . . not after the insistent press, the pressing sponsorship responsibilities, and the adoring crowds have gotten done with you, anyway.
Diggins entry into the Falun’s World Cup Freestyle Sprint was significant for another reason: after today, she stands alone as the skier who has recorded more individual World Cup starts than any other. (Photo: Jason Cork/FasterSkier)
Switzerland has one of its medalists on the starting line, but not the other. Nadine Faehndrich is here, but no Nadja Kaelin (medalist in both the Team Sprint—with Faehndrich—and the 50 k). Sweden has its newly crowned Sprint Queen, Linn Svahn, in the lineup, but Jonna Sundling—Sweden’s former Sprint Queen—has stayed home. And of course the USA’s Jessie Diggins was here . . . isn’t she always here? Every weekend, every event, every starting line, Jessie Diggins lines up to race. That’s why she’s seemed nearly impossible to best in the season-long World Cup standings: she’s almost always signed up to race, and she’s almost never out of contention. It’s an astonishing level of durability and prolonged excellence, one that we’ll be able to enjoy and appreciate for only a few more weeks until her retirement . . . until that racer who we’ve known would always be there is no longer there. Believe me, we’ll miss Jessie Diggins terribly in seasons to come.
But, for the time being, Diggins has a World Cup Overall title to defend . . . a defense that would benefit from a few more Sprint points. Her fourth place qualifying time would reward her efforts, but she would ski impatiently in her quarterfinal, fining herself undone by the strategic draft that heat-leaders give up on Falun’s Sprint course. Diggins would finish fourth in a heat that was not fast enough to offer advancement as a lucky loser.
“It was my 357th World Cup start,” said Diggins. “It was just a really cool chance to feel extra grateful to my team, to look back on why that was possible, and to look at the bigger message for me here, that asking for help with my mental health got my physical health to a place where I could race this hard for this long . . . And the season isn’t over yet!”
Samantha Smith (USA) just keeps getting stronger week after week. (She would qualify 19th, and finish the day 23rd). Photo: Thibault/NordicFocus)
Tactics on Display
The first quarterfinal involved Skistad and Svahn. Skistad dangled at the back mid-heat, but glided forward on the final downhill to finish second behind Svahn.
Liliane Gagnon (CAN) qualified seventh at the start of the day, and she skied strongly in the second quarterfinal (won by Switzerland’s Nadine Faehndrich) to claim a lucky loser spot, and a space in the semifinal.
Diggins headlined Quarterfinal 3. She led from the start but seemed hindered by slower skis onthe significant downhill. Diggins ran out of gas in the final straightaway as the heat was taken by Coletta Ryzek (GER) ahead of Moa Ilar (SWE).
Sammie Smith (USA) began the day aas the 19th qualifier, continuing to show the form that saw her named to the US Olympic Team. Smith lined up in Quarterfinal 5 where Julie Myhre (NOR) and Johanna Hagstroem (SWE) provided the early pace. Smith has begun to reveal a strategic preference: allowing herself to drop back into the field early on, then charging forward late in the race. She did that again in Falun, storming up the final climb. Unfortunately, experience suggests that the draft given up on Falun’s Sprint course is often the deciding factor, and Smith (like Diggins before her) found herself swallowed up on the descent. Hagstroem would take the heat win, ahead of Julie Bjervig Drivenes (NOR).
“I felt like I skied the hills really strong today and was disappointed with some of my tactical decisions,” said Smith. “Unfortunately, Falun is notorious for a large draft on the final downhill. I was trying to ski to my strengths today, but I should have been more patient and tried to tuck behind other skiers so I didn’t get drafted so much.”
“The more time I have on skis, the more races I get to do, the better I feel,” Smith continued. “I’m really looking forward to the last few weeks of the season.”
Kristine Stavaas Skistad (NOR) showed that she understood the tactics that Falun’s Sprint course dictates, but Linn Svahn (SWE) was just too fast. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Tactics Confirmed—Sprint Semifinals
Semifinal 1 offered Skistad a chance at Redepption after a disappointing fifth place finish in the Olympic Classic Sprint,and she perhaps better than anyone else seemed to understand the importance of utilizing Falun’s draft. Gagnon streaked forward to contend with Svahn and Faehndrich, while Skistad and Rydzek—famously fast closers—lingered at the back. Skistad easily coasted back into contention in the draft of the long downhill, and was able to get to the tails of Svahn before the finish line. Those two would move on to the final while Rydzek and Faehndrich would wait to see if they would move forward as luckylosers.
The second semifinal involved a slate of Swedes: Moa Ilar, Moa Lundgren, Hagstroem, and the cagey veteran, Dahlqvist, who rarely leads in the early stages of heats. True to form, Dahlqvist hovered around third or fourth. Hagstroem would ski the downhill draft section to perfection, launching into the lead at the bottom, and followed across the line by Dahlqvist. Again, experience ahead of speed.
Linn Svahn (SWE) established a gap ahead of Kristine Stavaas Skistad (NOR) in the Sprint final. Usually, Falun’s course would not reward such audacity, but Svahn was able to hold her advantage to the end. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Tactics Defied
In the ongoing defense of her lead in the season-long Sprint standings, Dahlqvist had done her job in just getting to the Final. Her lead would be protected for another week in her quest to finish the season wearing the Sprint leader’s red bib. But the other skiers in the Final had other challenges in mind. Team Sweden’s Hagstroem, Svahn, and Dahlqvist matched up against Skistad, Faehndrich, and Rydzek. Skistad went to the front, where it appeared she would control the pace (and force others to go around her into the lead). Her tactic seemed to be working as Svahn found herself at the front. Skistad must’ve been pretty satisfied with that positioning . . . satisfied, that is, until Svahn applied the power. In just a few strokes, Svahn accelerated up the hill where no one else dared acccelerate, creating a massive gap that left Skistad in an unexpected panic.
While Skistad may be one of the fastest sprinters in the world, her strength is definitely not in quick acceleration. Though Skistad would chase gamely, Svahn was gone, the finish line photo making the result appear far closer than it really was. Faehndrich would hold on for third ahead of a fast-charging Rydzek. Dahlqvist would finish fifth, holding her lead in the World Cup standings, but seeing her lead shrink in the wake of Faehndrich’s podium performance. That season-long race is definitely tightening, and appears likely to be decided in the final World Cup weekend in Lake Placid.
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Joy at the end of a trying Olympiad: Ebba Andersson (SWE) celebrates her victory in the Olympic 50 k Classic. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
TESERO, ITALY — Two weeks of Olympic cross-country ski racing all comes down to this . . . fifty grueling kilometers of this, to be precise; a distance that women have raced only a few times on the World Cup and/or World Championship schedule, but a distance at which they are able to truly show their skills, their tenacity, and their ability as cross-country skiers.
These Olympics began with lofty expectations—in some cases, outrageously lofty—placed upon many skiers: Karlsson was seen as likely to win four golds: she started strong (winning gold in both the Skiathon and the 10 k Freestyle), but found herself benched by illness in the 50 k. Ebba Andersson was seen as a threat to topple her Swedish teammate, Karlsson, only to find herself toppled in a famously awkward and memorably catastrophic fall that cost Sweden the gold medal in the Team Relay. Jonna Sundling was billed as the best sprinter in the world (and was seen as likely to steal a medal in the Skiathlon, as well). Her moment in the Sprint spotlight was stolen by her own teammate, the rejuvenated Linn Svahn. And numerous mainstream reporters myopically favored Jessie Diggins to medal in all six events. After all, she’s the defending World Cup Overall Champion, right? And she’s currently leading the World Cup standings in both Overall and Distance, isn’t she? Reading those stats would seem to suggest that she’s the best skier in the world . . . and she may actually be that best skier, but the only skier who consistently lives up to such superlative headline predictions is the unmatchable Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (who won all six of the men’s events here in the Olympic Winter Games of Milano-Cortina).
Jessie Diggins (USA) showed the sort of resilience and courage fans have come to expect, overcoming a disastrous ski exchange to race her way back into medal contention. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Diggins would fight through an unfortunate ski change, and endure a long struggle in returning to the group of bronze medal contenders, only to find herself gapped on the final uphill. Diggins would finish fifth behind fourth place, Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes. Ahead of them, Andersson would ski brilliantly and tirelessly to claim gold, well ahead of of Weng, and minutes clear of the third place performance from an elated Nadja Kaelin (SUI).
“If you had told me even a year ago, I’d be in the fight for a bronze medal in a 50k classic, I would not have believed you,” said Diggins. “It’s taken so much work from so many people for so many years to get here, and I’m just really proud of it.”
Among other Americans, Rosie Brennan would finish 16th. Hailey Swirbul would cross the line in her comeback Olympics to finish 20th while Kendall Kramer would finish 27th. Canadians would place all their finishers in the top 30: Jasmine Drolet 18th, Sonjaa Schmidt 26th, Katherine Stewart-Jones 28th, and Amelia Wells 29th.
Olympic 50 k: Heidi Weng (NOR), and Ebba Andersson (SWE), set the pace from the beginning. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Women’s 50 k Classic
Pre-race intel reported that Sweden’s Frida Karlsson had taken ill, and was choosing not to race in today’s 50 k. Without Karlsson’s singular presence to push the pace (as she did during her dominant victory in last season’s World Championship 50 k in Trondheim), the race was left without a known direction or strategy. Like Karlsson, Sundling was a DNS, reducing the chances that the medals would be decided in flat-out sprints. Weng hoped to duel it out with Diggins and Andersson down the final kilometers.
The Olympic 50 k is conducted in a mass start format, seven laps of 7+ kilometers/lap raced in the Classic technique. On an unseasonably warm day—40 degrees (Fahrenheit) and sunny skies—waxing and base prep were likely to play outsize roles in the results. Within the first three kilometers, a lead group of a dozen skiers—containing all the prime contenders—began to ease off the front. The early pace was made by Andersson, followed by Weng, Diggins, Teresa Stadlober (AUT), and Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR). Val di Fiemme’s challenging hills quickly began whittling away at the lead group as Andersson continued driving the pace, stringing out Weng and Diggins in her wake. Slind inexplicably pulled up on a challenging climb, stalling other contenders behind her including Kerttu Niskanen (FIN), Johanna Matintalo (FIN), and Dariya Nepryaeva (AIN). Slind would drop out of the race only a few kilometers later, a frustrating result for a skier who had entered these Games with such high hopes..
Jessie Diggins (USA) was an early animator in the Olympic 50 k. After a troublesome ski exchange, she’d come back to be part of the battle for the bronze medal (ultimately won by Switzerland’s Nadia Kaelin). (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
By 8.5 kilometers, a solid chase group would form involving Fosnaes, Niskanen, Matintalo, and Karoline Simpson-Larsen (NOR). At the front, the lead group had been reduced to three—Andersson, Weng, and Stadlober—as Diggins began to show the strain of he early pace. Even Stadlober had begun to wobble as the chasers continued to concentrate their pursuit.
Diggins was the first of the contenders to switch skis (at the 14.4 kilometer mark at the end of the Lap 2). She immediately regretted her decision as her klister-waxed skis tripped her dramatically on her way out of the exchange zone. Stumbling along the track—gasping and yelping audibly—Diggins lost considerable time, finding herself dropping to ninth place, 1:11 behind the leaders. Diggins would need to rely on her new skis working their way into the conditions, in the hope that they would ultimately provide an advantage. But even more time had been lost to the leaders who, themselves, had not shown any dissatisfaction with their own skis.
“I knew I had to switch early,” said Diggins. “I’m so glad I did. It was just a really gritty race. Literally every muscle in my body started cramping with three laps to go. So I can confidently say I could not possibly have tried harder or gotten more out of my body.”
“After that first pair of skis, she switched pretty early,” said US coach, Kristen Bourne. “But we also had a lot of confidence in that second pair . . . so we also had a lot of confidence giving her the the go-ahead to switch.”
The race settled into a few slow-developing stories:
Weng and Andersson were off the front, deciding gold between them.
Stadlober raced on alone in bronze medal position, but she found the gap behind her being eaten into by Niskanen and Fosnaes.
Diggins had fallen from contention, though her fortitude and pride were likely to prevent her from dropping out of her final Olympic event.
And then Diggins began coming back . . . maybe she began overhearing all of us commentators wondering if she might drop out of this race. That may be just the sort of motivation that Jessie Diggins needs. Diggins drove to the tails of Fosnaes and Niskanen. Together, they closed the gap to Stadlober who was pursuing better traction in the the snow outside the Classic tracks. While Diggins’ skis may have been a disaster in the first few meters after the exchange, it’s possible they were proving to have been a shrewd decision.
Andersson and Weng changed skis at the end of the fourth lap, where Andersson was pitched over her ski tips by her own sticky kick wax. At the end of lap four, Diggins had moved into bronze medal position as the chase group entered the stadium. Fosnaes was the only skier who opted to exchange skis. Stadlober, Kaelin, and Niskanen continued in pursuit of Diggins.
Soon after 30 kilometers, Andersson found her skis to be an advantage over Weng’s. By 34.2 kilometers, Andersson had opened a 20 second gap. She was still 45 minutes from the finish line, but Andersson was beginning to stretch her advantage.
Now in a group with Niskanen, Fosnaes, Kaelin, and Stadlober, Diggins may have sensed that her best chance to claim the bronze medal was not to be found in breaking away (thereby risking blowing up, herself) but to sit with this group in anticipation of a bunch sprint that would favor her own abilities. With two laps remaining, the chase group had decisions to make. Among those racers, only Diggins had already changed skis. Among this group, it was likely that someone would stop to make the change. If they did, they could find a late-race advantage, or they might find themselves giving up an advantage (in the time spent changing skis) that would be impossible to overcome. Kaelin, Stadober, and Niskanen all chose to change skis. Ultimately, all the chasing skiers would regroup, and immediately start considering their strategies. Diggins was the sprinter in the group; her advantage would be realized if the group came to the finish line together. Stadlober, Niskanen, Fosnaes—those are not sprinters—their only chance would be to drop Diggins and Kaelin before the finish line approached. Two laps to go . . .
And who the heck is Eliza Rucka-Michalek? The young Polish skier had been chasing all by herself for the last 40 kilometers. She finally connected with the chase group midway through he final lap, but would find that the efforts expendeded in reahing this group would be too costly to allow her to attack again. Rucka-Machalek would cross the line eighth.
The final kilometers were led out by Kaelin who was followed by an exhausted, but game, Fosnaes. Diggins shadowed them both, but the final climb would be excruciating for all. Kaelin had the best traction on the Zorzi climb; Fosnaes slipped a bit, as did Diggins who lost momentum when she stepped out of the tracks behind Fosnaes. Kaelin would maintain her advantage over the top of the climb, holding on for bronze, followed by Fosnaes and Diggins.
“I’m so grateful for our entire staff behind the scenes,” said Diggins. “They have been like, putting my body back together so that I could be out there today fighting. And I just, I wanted to do that for them. I wanted them to know like, ‘Hey, I am so grateful. Like, I’m gonna finish this. I’m gonna leave it all out there.’ And honestly, the most special thing was that I got to hug my mom on the side of the course before the race, and it’s just so cool to know that they were here for my last Olympics, and I got to end it on a beautiful day in a venue that I love so much. I’m just really proud of this last Olympics and really grateful and really happy, and I’m leaving here just full of joy and probably needing a new body.”
“I mean, we’re super proud of this team,” said Bourne. “And to walk away from this Olympics being like our most successful ever by having a variety of people—three different people—getting Olympic medals is, excuse my language, but #%&!@ insane! And I mean, man, we’re just super proud and stoked to keep the season going after a little bit of rest.”
Friends and rivals: Heidi Weng (NOR) and Ebba Andersson (SWE). (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Weng raced bravely and strategically in what may have been her final Olympics. She would claim silver, falling just short in her own quest for individual Olympic gold.
Andersson would continue extending her lead—20 seconds, 40, 60, 90—to claim a gold medal to go along with her three silvers earned at these Games. Here at the end of an Olympic campaign that found her hitting the deck again and again—including that spectacular somersault and subsequent one-ski scooter-pushing during the disastrous (though ultimately silver-medal-winning) Swedish relay—Andersson raced across 50 grueling kilometers to find glory at the finish line. Individual Olympic gold was finally hers, as well as respect and redemption after days of trials and tribulations.
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Heidi Weng (NOR), Ebba Andersson (SWE), Nadja Kaelin (SUI), on the podium of the Women’s 50 k Classic Mass start, the final cross-country event of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
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Gus Schumacher (USA), Ben Ogden (USA) announce the arrival of a new American cross-country tradition. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus.)
PREDAZZO, ITALY — Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo still had something special to do. American skiers still had something special to prove. But the Team Sprint is never as simple as just lining up and racing. Contending nations need to consider the field, rate the strengths and vulnerabilities of their competition, and make a plan to best take advantage of the circumstances. Then they have to ski it . . .
Not that they needed to, but the Norwegians must have come up with a different plan. For nearly a year—since the straightforward, matter-of-fact Team Sprint victory of Klaebo and Valnes in last year’s World Championships—I’ve been thinking of the Norwegian Team Sprint strategy in only one way: whoever is paired with Klaebo just needs not to get dropped. Stay out of trouble, avoid tangles, respond to the attacks from other teams but don’t allow yourself to be made vulnerable by launching attacks of your (efforts that could, then, be counter-attacked). When considering strategy, picking Klaebo’s partner in this team event seemed like a straightforward selection to make . . . but more than one Norwegian could fit neatly into that role. It’s a role that’s been performed admirably by Valnes in the past, and by Iversen before him (both of them on this year’s Norwegian Olympic Team roster). It’s a role that could have logically been taken on by Harald Oestberg Amundsen, who is both a very fast sprinter and the reigning World Cup Distance champion. All three of them are fast, All three of them are great endurance skiers as well as fine sprinters. None of them would be likely to get dropped by anyone else in the field, and all have a wealth of experience skiing in the should-to-shoulder, rough-and-tumble style of pack racing that is typical of a Team Sprint event. Pick one of those guys, right?
Not so fast . . .
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo finds himself paired in this Olympic Team Sprint with Einar Hedegart. Hedegart is certainly fast, and it’s rumored that he possesses the highest VO2 Max of any Norwegian athlete (in any sport). That would certainly come in handy if Hedegart’s job was to drop everybody in order to give Klaebo a head start on the anchor leg. But is that even necessary? The Team Sprint finishes on the same hill as the Individual Sprint. Remember that hill? The one that’s made Klaebo famous for his unmatchable 11 mph scamper that’s all over the internet? If you put all the best skiers in the world at the bottom of that hill, and say “go,” Klaebo will win a race to the finish line by a mile. We thought the plan for the Team Sprint would take advantage of that advantage.
What does teaming with Hedegart get them? Those are questions that someone over in Norway must’ve considered. If Hedegart tries to break away, he makes his team vulnerable to counter-attack . . . and he already showed in the 10 k Freestyle (where he went out way to fast, and bonked like an inexperienced age-grouper) that he may not yet possess a full understanding of pacing. Furthermore, Hedegart possesses nowhere near as much World Cup Sprint experience as Iversen or Valnes or Amundsen. They’re less likely to get stepped on or pushed over or boxed in. With Hedegart—well, he’s fast, but the Norwegians really don’t know what they’re getting.
On the other hand, Hedegart’s raw speed is what Norway may be seeking. With his bronze medal in the 10 k Freestyle, he showed that he was a fairly even match for the speedy Frenchman, Mathis Desloges (already with three silver medals in these Olympic races). And France is starting Desloges in the first leg of the Team Relay (opposite Hedegart). One way or another, Klaebo’s performance is fairly predictable, so all the significant question marks are swirling around Hedegart.
Ben Ogden (USA) had one job to do—create the gap. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
The American Dream
It seems like the American men also have decided to try out an unexpected strategy. It would have been easy to assume that Team USA might hope to get Ben Ogden—the team’s most accomplished sprinter—into the anchor leg so that he could battle his way to the finish line among the other designated sprinters. A sprint finish for the medals, assign your best sprinter. Right? Maybe not. The US team decided that the anchor leg will be skied by Gus Schumacher, himself no slouch as a sprinter, and an occasional visitor to World Cup Sprint semifinals and finals. But if Schumacher skis the anchor leg, then he’s likely to find himself sprinting against Klaebo and Federico Pellegrino and Jules Chappaz. Schumacher may not match up too well against those three . . . but if Schumacher is given a lead going into the anchor leg, there aren’t many skiers in the world who can chase him down. Perhaps what USA is counting on is Ogden being able to launch an attack in the penultimate leg that disrupts the other contenders, allowing Schumacher to coast home alone. Klaebo may already be well off the front by then, but who knows? Maybe there’s a medal for the Americans in this strategy that might not otherwise have existed.
“I was incredibly nervous before today’s race,” said Ogden. “But the parts, the moments where I’m nervous are, like, the lead up, you know? I know that once the race starts, I can just get to this headspace where I can be confident and be strong and be smart with my movements in the group. And that’s a really good feeling.”
Time to line up and race . . .
Einar Hedegart (NOR) would need to be both fast, and patient in an event that he had never skied before. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Men’s Team Sprint
Unlike the Individual Sprint where the event is raced in heats of six skiers, the Team Sprint is a 15 team melee whose selection of teams is based on the compiled individual qualifying times of each team’s sprinters. Once the final field is decided, they just line ’em up, and say “Go.” With 15 teams charging around the Sprint course, it would seem to be anyone’s race. Ironically, pre-race ski-pundits would have us believe that the three medals should only be distributed among four teams: Norway, France, Italy, and the USA. But teh efforts, attacks, and foibles of many other teams are likey to have an impact. As other recent relay events have amply demonstrated, there is much that can interrupt all best-laid plans between the prediction and the finish. Soon, either those experts would look like geniuses, or fools.
Ogden would be compelled to deal with Desloges, Hedegart, and Anger in Leg 1. While the Ogden-strategy may have been to accelerate in his leg—creating a gap that will allow Schumacher to maintain an advantage—Ogden was not likely to pursue the all-out-from-the-gun that Diggins employed in the Women’s Team Sprint. It’s just too athletically expensive to race that way.
Ogden started front and center of the front row, where he was followed quickly by Austra. The first meters were confusing as Riebli (SUI) needed to scramble to find a replacement pole in just the first few seconds of racing. Ogden and Desloges made the early tempo. The field would begin to stretch out, more out of concern for safety than exhaustion.
“We did our one thing that we talked about: we were gonna meet on the right hand side of the exchange zone,” said Ogden. “Without fail, every single time we caught we came in on the other side, on the far and had to cross, and had to cross through like 15 people in order to get to our guy on the other side. And it was one of those things where we both honed in on the fact that being on the right hand side of the exchange room was not working. But it was also like, we can’t risk going to the left hand side and having him not see us. So we just had to sort of stick with it. And, you know, made for a couple fast first 20 seconds of the legs to try to catch back up.”
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) will do what he’s going to do. Teams from all other nations will scramble for silver and bronze. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Leg 2—Klaebo’s fast lane
Klaebo may not have been happy at being forced to weave through the field after the exchange (and Hedegart’s presence in the crowded scrum of the transition must have been nerve-wracking), but this is not Klaebo’s first rodeo. He made his way easily to the front followed by Pellegrino and Edvin Anger (SWE) who decided he wanted to take the lead. Klaebo and Pellegrino were only too happy to let the confident young Swede do the work.
“I was trying to save energy and not lead,” said Schumacher. “When you start off out of the stadium and third or fourth, and another line comes up behind you, you’re eighth pretty quickly. And then, yeah, coming into the stadium, there was a big slingshot, and I was sort of like—I don’t know—I felt like I was generally on the wrong side of that . . . I kept my head, stayed calm, which I’m really proud of.”
“It’s nice to be able to trust Ben,” Schumacher continued. “To tag him far back, and he’ll tag me back in a great spot. And he set me up in that last lap perfectly. Then I had a pretty simple job to do, and I’m really glad I was able to do that.”
Leg 3—Hedegart’s patience
Hedegart inherited the lead from Klaebo, but he led at a pace that indicated he was not interested in laying down the law. Not yet, anyway. Hedeagart settled in behind Lauri Vuorinen (FIN) while the field spread out behind them. No real breakaway yet, but the group was beginning to feel the strain. There wouldl be less “trouble” for Hedegart to encounter on the course, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet. All of Norway held its breath.
Gus Schumacher (USA) has often shown the sort of speed and endurance needed in the anchor leg, but his performances in recent Olympic races left some questions. He answered loud and clear. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Leg 4—Schumacher’s arrival, Desloges’ disasters
Hedegart had again come through transition with the lead, follwed by Sweden and France. Anger again wanted the front, perhaps hoping to create some gaps of his own. Desloges spent Leg 4 suffering his second broken pole of he day. France was faltering irretrievably, and the field sensed an opening in the medals. Team USA had sat concealed in the field all race, but Schumacher was begining to move forward, and to make his presence felt. Canada shadowed USA. With the field still hanging together, Team USA may have been ready for Ogden’s Leg 5 surge.
Leg 5—Ogden’s encore
Just like they may have planned it, there went Ogden leading Hedegart up the significant hill. Hedegart may have possessed the lead, but the USA was putting its plan into effect, as well. While all the leaders remained in contention, it looked like the pre-race script was remaining consistent.
Celebration at the finish. Ben Ogden (USA) and Gus Schumacher (USA) team up to make history. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Anchor Leg—USA!
Ogden had done his job, as had Hedegart. One lap to go, with Klaebo enjoying a small lead over Schumacher, Anger, and Pellegrino. With only the anchor leg remaining, what USA needed was a skier with flashing speed and bottomless endurance. That’s Gus Schumacher . . .
“The best way to do that is just go as fast as you can,” said Schumacher. “And I think today I did a good job of just looking forward. Klaebo was gonna ski this fast. If I can stay close to him, I’ll also ski it fast.”
Schumacher made his way to Klaebo’s tails as Pellegrino dropped Anger. Medals waited on the horizon as Klaebo shifted into top gear on his signature hill. Pellegrino made up ground on Schumacher, but did not close the gap enough to benefit from the draft on the downhill where the field spread out in a test of glide wax and base prep. Gaps held as skiers entered the finishing straightaway where Klaebo wrote Olympic history to become only the second Winter Olympic athlete to win five golds in a single games. Additional history followed in Klaebo’s wake, as Schumacher erupted across the finish line to grab silver for Team USA, his first Olympic medal, and Ogden’s second silver of these Games.
“Once the race starts, I just race the same way I have since I was five,” said Ogden. “So that’s a really nice feeling. And I think that the test of this championship has like, like, set me up really well to just be confident and leap, (to) control the pace and then go hard and be confident that I could, that I could make some time. So was a good feeling.”
Pellegrino offered the home-crowd yet another thrill when he crossed the line to deliver his second bronze medal.
Relief, exhaustion, satisfaction: Federico Pellegrino (ITA) has long carried the weight of Italian expectations. With his second bronze medal of these Olympic Winter Games, Pellegrino is writing the closing chapters of his career con brio e brillantezza. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
The legendary American speedskater, Eric Heiden, won every single event on the speedskating card in the Olympic Winter Games of Lake Placid, 1980. Those unprecedented triumphs—from the explosive 500 meter sprint to the brutal 10,000 meter marathon—made it clear that even among the very best in his sport, Heiden reigned supreme. As performers and performances have specialized across all sports, it appeared unlikely that anyone would ever so dominate a sport again. Well, with his own fifth gold medal, Klaebo has proven to be Heiden’s equal. And with one event still remaining in cross-country events at these Olympics, a modern athlete may yet prove the sort of dominance once known only to the great sportsmen of history.
American sports fans certainly remember Heiden. But today, in Val di Fiemme, the performance that would make hearts beat and souls rejoice—the medal that would see American sports fans leaping from the couch in the middle of the North American night—belonged to Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher, rivals throughout their long careers, teammates for a decade, and partners in the race that earned only the third cross-country skiing medal in America’s Winter Olympic history.
Bill Koch has long borne the mantle of American cross-country skiing. He is now joined in that task by more American skiing stars including Jesie Diggins, Ben Ogden, and Gus Schumacher. (Photo: Peter Ashley)
Way back in 1976, American viewers were glued to the TV sets watching races from Innsbruck, hoping to see Bill Koch win his second Olympic medal. Back then, that’s what we thought would happen . . . win one medal, win another. But while Koch performed admirably in the race that followed his historic silver medal, he did not earn a place on the podium again. Today, in Val di Fiemme, Ben Ogden made a little history of his own, becoming the first American man to earn a second Olympic medal. He did so in a display of grit, of determination, of long-standing cameraderie and cooperation with his longtime teammate, the indefatigable Gus Schumacher who, himself, became only the third American man to claim an Olympic medal.
Soon, we may stop talking about historic finishes for American skiers. As a team, most of the firsts and onlys now lie behind them. What arrives in their place is legitimacy and respect, and a future that may bring expectation and anticipation in place of mere hopes and dreams. American cross-country has arrived, just in time to establish a bright future when some of its bright stars are preparing to depart the stage. Mission accomplished, plan complete.
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History in hand: Gus Schumacher (USA) and Ben Ogden (USA) hold American silver. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Ogden remained refreshingly loose on the podium: “I was giving (Klaebo) some $#!* for the fact that they had the least cool podium outfits,” Ogden recalled. “And then he said, ‘How many golds do you have?’ I was like, well, that’s a good point, but they still have the least cool podium outfits. There can be no denying that . . .”
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Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) earned his fourth gold medal of these Olympic Games, but the lead he enjoyed in his anchor leg was delivered to hm on a silver platter by the hard work of his nNorwegian teammates. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
When it comes to relays, Norway doesn’t need much of a plan. In place of a plan, what Norway has are the four fastest guys in the field. And it looked like the entirety of Norway’s plan was for those four fastest guys to ski like the four fastest guys . . . all so that the one fastest guy—Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo—could be somewhere in the vicinity of the lead with 500 meters left to race. If Norway could do that, then Norway would win the gold medal.
It’s an important thing, this Olympic Cross-Country Relay, one that Norwegians look upon rather like their Super Bowl. The mood of this Nordic nation for the next four years will be affected by the result of today’s ski race. That’s a heavy burden to load onto the shoulders of four ski racers, but there’s just no way around it. The relay matters to Norway, and the Norwegian national identity relies almost entirely on the outcome. Win, and the world makes sense . . . Anything but gold, and the universe is completely out of whack.
Norway remembers that it hasn’t always gone to plan: Russia upset Norway in 2022, Italy undid them in 2006, Sweden has been a regular interrupter of Norwegian bliss, most recently in 2010 and 2014. Norway almost always enters as the favorite, but sometimes their team was tripped up by circumstance: an untimely fall, an equipment malfunction, the wrong wax. At other times the reason was far worse—like against Russia in 2022—where Norway just got beaten by a faster team. For the Kingdom of Norway, that’s the kind of unthinkable tragedy they simply cannot tolerate.
Well, Norway’s tolerance was not tested on this day of relay racing in Val di Fiemme, and the Olympic gold medal was all but won by the end of the first leg. Emil Iversen handed a lead to Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, who extended the advantage for Einar Hedegart, who gave Klaebo a lead sufficient to make the anchor leg into a relaxed, casual victory lap. Behind Norway, France fought through deficits in the early legs to pull clear for silver, ahead of a late charge by Federico Pellegrino that secured bronze for a jubilant host nation.
Team Canada would race to an impressive fifth place finish on the combined efforts of Antoine Cyr, Xavier McKeever, Remi Drolet, and Thomas Stephen. They battled their way into contention in the early legs, and held on to cross the finish line well ahead of Team USA who finished sixth.
“I had really high hopes going into this race, and we had a really strong team, and we all, like, gave it everything we had and left it all out there,” said Stephen. “It was like, I gave everything I had, because the whole time I could see the podium, and it was right in front of me, and I was fighting for it to catch them, but yeah, in the end, I just couldn’t quite get there.”
Ben Ogden (USA) marked Emil Iversen (NOR) throughout Leg 1, giving Team USA a strong position at the first transition. Barbieri/NordicFocus)
The American men would ski well and proudly, securing the second-best relay finish in their many Olympic starts. But that brings up a fairly obvious question: might it not have been better if the American relay strategy were “Let’s skip this thing altogether, and save our energy for events where we actually could be contenders?” After all, the Team Relay is another exhausting competition for these skiers, and that represents an accumulation of fatigue that could be avoided, especially when the next event on the Olympic dance card is the Team Sprint. Team USA has skiers—Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher—could team up to legitimately contend in that event, and both of them were on the roster for today’s athletically expensive Team Sprint. Why not let Norway and France and Italy spend their athletes’ energy today while we put up our feet and watch a race that our participation was truly unlikely to affect anyway? Even with a fifth place in yesterday’s Women’s 4 x 7.5 Relay, this reporter felt the same way about the American women’s efforts. Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern were both on the relay roster, and both skied their hearts out in a fifth-place effort that was actually a better result than anticipated . . . but still fifth. Presumably, Diggins and Kern will be the pair entered in the Team Sprint. Wouldn’t it have been more prudent to keep them fresh for that event? Well, it should not come as a surprise that no Olympic coaches sought out my advice prior to these relay events, so I’ll just sit here in my armchair, happily lobbing criticisms at seasoned professionals who know their athletes far better than I do.
Emil Iversen (NOR) faced the pressure of leading off for Team Norway. He skied conservatively, stayed out of trouble, did his job. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Leg 1
Ogden opened the American’s account in Leg 1, staying near the front, directly alongside Norway’s Emil Iversen who skied conservatively and kept Norway out of trouble. Ogden’s front row strategy seemed to be the essence of Team USA’s plan:
“If you lose contact here in Leg 1, the US doesn’t have the depth to make that up,” said on-air commentator, Kikkan Randall. It was as though she was whispering in Ogden’s ear, as he drove the pace, marked by Italy’s Davide Graz and Norway’s Iversen. Xavier McKeever continued to represent Canada in Leg 1, alongside Lauri Vuorinen of Finland. Team France found itself gapped; they’d have work to do in Leg 2.
“I love to be the scramble leg on the relay,” said Ogden. “It’s a really fun position to be in. And it’s not every day that I get to feel like I’m the one that chooses when the pace increases. And today I got to be that guy, which was pretty sick.”
Leg 2
Team USA was playing it’s strongest cards early—Gus Schumacher was tagged by Ogden as the Americans continued to push the pace. Finland’s Iivo Niskanen—arguably the best Classic skier in the field—settled back into the top five, where he was soon joined by the high-tempo scamper of France’s Hugo Lapalus. But the favorite was firmly ensconced at the front, where Martin Loewstroem Nyenget began to ski steadily away.
“Tony Cyr took it out super hot, but it kind of it comes back together,” said Schumacher. “I felt like I was able to stay relaxed and kind of come back. It’s nice to have just like a solid day where I feel like I was skiing high, I feel like I can ski and tag off in a good spot.”
“Yeah, I was really happy with my leg,” said Cyr. “Was pretty nervous going to today, just because I knew what this team’s potential was. And being leg one, you kind of get the first crack at setting the tone. And yeah, Ben Ogden went friggin hard up the big climb to the top on lap two. And I was kind of just like running for dear life, trying to hang on, and was able to catch up in the downhill.”
Norway’s Einar Hedegart (silver medalist in this week’s 10 k freestyle) was tagged by Nyenget with a 10 second lead over Finland. John Steel Hagenbuch took the tag from Schumacher just 15 seconds out of the lead, and in direct contact with the other medal contenders.
“Gus and Ben tagged us off in a really good position to be with the leaders,” said Hagenbuch. “And I guess I had the I had the tough position of being the one to lose the lead a little bit, but I was trying as hard as I could, and I was with the leaders at the top of the hill, and then just trying to do as much damage control as possible for the rest of the lap, in the second lap as well. But, you know, I had a great day the other day, and it just didn’t come together in the same way today. I think it’s a testament to how great our team is, and how great our team culture is, that these guys were there for me after that.”
“I got tagged by Tony in an amazing position,” said Drolet. “Right by the French team with Mattis Desloges. Obviously, he’s gotten two silver medals, obviously, and I think he was hungry to push the pace and try and catch Norway throughout the leg, and it was just so, so hard throughout that first lap.”
If there had been a perceived chink in the armor of Team Norway, it was the inexperience of Hedegart. He had over-cooked the pace in the earlier Olympic 10 k freestyle, even while showing that he possesses some of the sharpest fitness and greatest athletic talent of any skier in the field. The primary concern in his leg of the relay may have been that he is less experienced racing in a crowded mass-start field. Luckily for Norway, the other parts of their plan had worked, and Hedegart would ski the entirety of Leg 3 all alone, though France’s Mathis Desloges (silver medalist in the recent 10 k Freestyle) began to whittle away some of Hedegart’s advantage,
Federico Pellegrino (ITA) carried the hopes and aspirations of his countrymen, racing forward to catch Finland and securing the bronze medal for Italy. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Leg 4
Hedegart delivered a healthy lead to Klaebo, who could either drive home the issue, or wait to sprint against the fast-closing Frenchman, Victor Loverra. Klaebo still has two more events to race at these Olympics, so he could be forgiven for his casual pace in the anchor leg.
Klaebo came through the first of his two laps with a 20 second lead over Loverra . . . one lap to go. Behind them, a national drama had begun to play out as Italy’s Federico Pellegrino had tracked down Finland’s Nikko Antola. There would be a battle for bronze.
In the end, Klaebo would make his long-anticipated finish, coasting unrivaled down the final straightaway. He would wave to the crowd, but not with the sort of flag-waving, fist-pumping celebration that would be the practice of mere mortals. With his fourth gold medal of these games, Klaebo stood alone as the winner of more gold medals than any other Winter Olympic athlete.
France was elated with its second place finish (improving upon the oft-repeated third-place finishes that have so often been France’s lot). Behind France, Pellegrino was welcomed by an ecstatic Italian crowd as Italy claimed the bronze.
“The first, like, kilometer and half Pelly started, and I gave it everything I had,” said Stephen. “I knew if I wanted a shot at the podium, I had to catch Pelly. So yeah, I tried to, but as I approached him close, he then took off and caught the Finland. So yeah, I couldn’t quite close that gap, but Fifth place is like a really amazing event, and I’m really proud of the whole team, for everyone putting together, like an amazing relay, and having a good day and just leaving it all out there.”
“It’s great for us, Olympic games at home,” said Markus Cramer, coach of the Italian Olympic Team. “And then bronze medal with the team, especially for Pellegrino. It’s great for us. Of course, we work long time for this, and now, of course, we were sure it was possible.”
And Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo changed the landscape of Olympic history: no winter Olympian has won more than Klaebo. And he still has two events remaining in these Games.
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This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers who have helped put our Nat Herz on the ground at the Olympics. If you value coverage like this, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription.
Norway claimed the Team Relay gold medal in the Olympics of Milano-Cortina. Heidi Weng (NOR) skied the anchor leg all alone . . . she never would’ve expected that. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
On paper, no one beats Sweden. After the first three events of these Olympics, Sweden had won all three gold medals. Before the games began, most ski-experts gave few other nations a chance of grabbing any gold in Women’s Cross-Country . . . especially not in the relay. Just consider Sweden’s roster: Linn Svahn, Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson, Jonna Sundling. Svahn is the world’s best sprinter. With two silver medals thus far, Andersson has proven herself the second best distance skier at these Olympics. The first two gold medals in Olympic distance races have been won in peerless fashion by Karlsson. And Sundling has been Sprint racing’s World Championship and Olympic Gold medalist. If you wanted to construct a relay team that was certain to win gold, those are the names you’d print on your entry.
On paper, no one beats Sweden, but cross-country ski racing is a sport that regularly refuses to follow the script, and Olympic medals aren’t handed out based on which team submits the most impressive set of skier résumés. Ski racing happens out on a snow covered course between start lines and finish lines: punishing uphills, treacherous downhills, sharp curves, and variable snow. It’s not a running race . . . and the challenges of racing at high speeds on long, flexible skis with no metal edges means that just about anything can happen.
And it did . . .
The field of the 2026 4 x 7.5 k Olympic Relay leaves the starting line. Drama would be soon to follow. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Scramble
Skiers call Leg 1 of the relay the “Scramble Leg,” a self-evident appellation that often finds teams assigning a capable sprinter to the task. The first kilometer of Leg 1 can be a crowded scrum—shoulders rubbed, elbows thrown, ski tails trod upon, poles at risk. The job of the Leg 1 skier is simple: weave through traffic, stay out of trouble, don’t get dropped. The Val di Fiemme course has already shown that it challenges racers with its tight turns and slushy snow. Falls have been common and consequential in Nordic events thus far in the Olympics. And a race day that offered 40 degree temperatures and light rain made the waxing a bit of a tricky prospect for the first two Classic legs.
Racers would ski two laps of 3.75 kilometers each. Though the field endured the rippling effects of a crash in the opening kilometers, the race settled quickly into a pack of 12 contenders. By the second lap of Leg 1, Svahn had begun to open a gap—not so much a breakaway as it was a demonstration of a team racing at a different level. Norway’s Kristen Austgulen Fosnaes and Italy’s Iris di Martin Pinter gave chase, but it appeared that the expected Swedish dominance had begun.
Julia Kern (USA) maintained her position in the top 12, but seemed to be struggling a bit to do so. The American team has struggled with slow Classic skis thus far in these Olympics, but Kern appeared determined to keep her team in contention.
Ebba Andersson (SWE) had a nightmare of a day on the course of the Olympic Relay. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Leg 2
Kern had continued moving forward through the field, and tagged Rosie Brennan with Team USA in seventh place. Early in the second leg, Andersson suffered an awkward fall that allowed Norway’s Astrid Oeyre Slind to move to the front. Slind and Italy’s Caterina Ganz did their best to add to their advantage as Andersson struggled to overcome the deficit. Just like that, Sweden had a problem: Slind was now racing to win, and Ganz was racing in her home country. Both appeared energized and fresh.
Andersson ultimately reeled in Ganz, but Slind continued to widen the gap. Behind her, the brilliant Classic technician, Kerttu Niskanen had worked Finland back into the race alongside Italy. Brennan continued to maintain USA’s place in the top seven, as Andersson continued working her way back toward the front. Team Swedn knew htat if it could get back to Slind, then Karlsson and Sundling would likely still be able to deliver victory.
And then the wheels fell off the Swedish juggernaut . . . and in most spectacular fashion. Andersson had often appeared uncomfortable during her relay leg. Then, on a fast slushy downhill, she caught the tentative outer edge of a high-speed snowplow, somersaulting her across the course in a violent, end-over-end crash that left her briefly stunned and scattered. Andersson scrambled quickly to her feet, only to find herself standing on only one ski, the other one coasting down the slope with a broken binding. Andersson sprinted forward to collet her ski, but the damage to the binding was too severe. Only one thing left to do: run for it. Cradling her crippled ski in her arms, Andersson began frantically scooter-pushing her way up the course. There are plenty of places on a world-class ski course where coaches and team personnel wait with spare poles (just in case one gets snapped). When skiers break a pole, it’s definitely going to affect their progress and their placing, but those poles will likely be replaced pretty quickly. A broken ski is another matter, entirely . . . and the likelihood of a coach standing in the right place wearing skis preppred with decent race wax is not all that high. Andersson knew her team’s chances were fading, and she ran for her life. Eventually, a coach appeared with a ski that must’ve been a decent match, and Andersson was able to get back into the race.
“Yeah, it was a lot of emotions going through my whole body and the mind at that moment,” said Andersson in post-race interviews. “And, yeah, it was a completely disaster. And first I was thinking, ‘oh, I need to fix it by myself.’ But then I understood that, okay, I won’t be able to do it. So then I just tried to go as fast as possible down the hill and to one of our coaches that was running with a new one. After that, I just tried to minimize the disaster that was already done.”
But the damage had been done. Sweden now trailed by over a minute, and a rejuvenated Team Norway was forcing the pace at the front.
Frida Karlsson (SWE) overcame much of the deficit created by Andersson’s disastrous fall, but the gap was simply too great. Sweden would settle for silver. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Leg 3
Karlsson would start with a deficit of 1:18. She’d start whittling away at that gap as soon as she took to the course. Slind would hand Karoline Simpson-Larsen a lead of 23 seconds over Finland and Switzerland. But every fan’s attention would have been directed to Karlsson as she began Leg 3 with a deficit of 1:18. Karlsson appears to be in tby far the best form of any of the distance skiers at these Olympics, but so wide a gap would be nearly impossible to solve. Nonetheless, she set off in pursuit.
Novie McCabe skied brilliantly to move Team USA into fifth place, but even as she did she found her position eclipsed by the flashing white suit of Karlsson who appeared determined to bring Sweden back into medal position. Like Karlsson, Martina diCenta turned up the speed to overtake Switzerland’s Marina Kaelin, moving the host nation back into third place as the field neared the stadium.
Joy at the finish line: Heidi Weng (NOR) celebrates Norway’s unlikely victory in the Olympic 4 x 7.5 Relay. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Anchor Leg
Simpson-Larsen handed Weng a lead of 48 seconds, followed another nine seconds later by Italy. Yet another nine seconds later, Karlsson tagged Sundling, who set off in pursuit of the medals. Finland’s Jasmi Joensuu held second place, and Italy’s Federica Cassol clung stubbornly third . . . but Sundling was flying, and Italy and Finland would have no answers for a hard-charging World and Olympic champion.
The anchor leg played out in three segments. At the front, Weng continued to race on alone, checking her speed on each downhill curve, but working the uphills and flats like the former World Cup champion she is. In the medal chase, Sundling was storming forward through the contenders, having already caught Italy, and reeling in Finland before the beginning of the penultimate lap. Behind the medal struggle, Diggins led a small group of chasers poised to claim prizes if any other disasters befell the leaders.
In the end, Weng would hold on to Norway’s lead, jubilantly sprinting across the line even with a lead that needed no such efforts. She screamd with joy at the finish line where she was immediately embraced by her teammates. Norway had felled Goliath, and proved the experts wrong. Behind them, Sundling would shed Joensuu and coast across the line for silver. Sundling skied into the embrace of her teammates, but their posture was anything but celebratory. Finland would claim bronze, followed by Germany, United States, and Italy.
On paper, no one beats Sweden. But cross-country ski racing is a sport raced on snow rather than paper, and Olympic medals are won, not given. Sweden can be proud of an Olympic sliver medal in the Team Relay, but the gold that Norway takes home will be one that will be treasured and remembered for ages.
FasterSkier will have our own Nat Herz on the ground at the Olympics, which, to be honest, is a very big financial lift for us. If you value the thoughtful work and access FasterSkier provides at championships like this one, please consider becoming a Voluntary Subscriber. Your support directly fuels the work we do to cover the people, places, and moments that make our sport special.
This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers who have helped put our Nat Herz on the ground at the Olympics. If you value coverage like this, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) on his way to his third gold medal of the Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina. His victory in the 10 k Freestyle gave him his eight Olympic gold medal, tying him for the most ever with his compatriots Marit Bjoergen, Bjorn Daehlie, and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Two days ago, at the finish line of the Men’s Classic Sprint, Norway’s Oskar Opstad Vike celebrated like a lottery player who had just scratched the winning ticket. Fist-pumping, chest-thumping, wild gesticulating toward fan-filled grandstands and visceral howling at the proverbial moon. He hadn’t won gold—Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo did that. Vike hadn’t won silver—Ben Ogden secured that little piece of Olympic skiing history. What Vike celebrated was his own third place finish—his bronze medal. Norwegian skiers can dream of no higher honor than to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing, and Vike had just done that. His goal had been met, his future had been made, his celebration was sincere. There are plenty of male Norwegian skiers who are capable of winning an Olympic medal; what Vike understood was this: most of them never get to. It was a visual reminder of just how important this ski-thing is to the Kingdom of Norway.
Imagine, then, what it must be like to be Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, arguably the greatest skier of all time. He’s done so much in his career that only the near-impossible will suffice. Last year, at the World Championships in his hometown of Trondheim, Klaebo swept the entire card of races: Skiathlon, Sprint, Team Sprint, Team Relay, 10 k and 50 k. No one had ever done that before. No one had even come close. Klaebo did it, and made it look easy. Now, in the Olympic Winter Games of Milano-Cortina, Klaebo finds himself faced with perhaps the most daunting and elusive of athletic accomplishments—do it again.
And today, “doing it again” meant doing something that Klaebo had actually never done before—win a 10 k Freestyle Interval Start.
“This is the first time I’ve won a 10 k Skating Interval Start,” said Klaebo. “So being able to do that here at the Olympics, it’s just amazing. And with the weather and the atmosphere, to have my best day here at the Olympics, it’s special.”
The 10 k Freestyle Interval Start was the race in which Klaebo’s pursuit of ski-immortality was most clearly vulnerable. If he got careless, if he made mistakes, if he showed up a little flat, or if one of his Norwegian teammates showed up supernaturally hot, the 10 k could’ve marked the end of Klaebo’s quest for Olympic perfection. After all, the 10 k interval start is a race that Klaebo can’t control by simply sitting in and sprinting. This is a distance that each skier must race alone, competing against their own limitations, summoning their own competitive courage, and baring their own athletic souls. Each of them knows that in order to win they must commit fully . . . but any skier who over-commits—even by just a little bit—would find themselves hitting the wall. There is nothing to gain by taking it easy, and there is much too lose by going too hard. We can assume that must be kind of terrifying for a skier like Klaebo. On his march toward Olympic immortality, Klaebo would know that this race puts him at his most vulnerable. And the only way to combat that would be to commit every ounce of energy he has. No coasting across the finish line today, no waving to the crowd down the finishing straightaway. The media suggests that Klaebo is the greatest cross-country skier ever. If he wanted to prove it, then an all-out effort in the 10 k would be required.
Mathis Desloges (FRA) continued his magnificent run in the Olympic Winter Games of Milano-Cortina with his second silver medal, this time in the 10 k Freestyle Interval Start. (Photo: – Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
And that is exactly what Klaebo did, skiing the opening kilometers smoothly and conservatively, then creating a steady acceleration over the closing kilometers that no other skier could match. Klaebo would continue his pursuit of six gold medals, winning the 10 k Freestyle by a narrow, but sufficient, margin over Mathis Desloges (FRA) and Einar Hedegart (NOR).
Canadian skiers delivered fine performances as well, with Thomas Stephen in ninth, Remi Drolet 19th, and Max Hollman 23rd. British skiers also distinguished themselves at the 10 k distance, with Andrew Musgrave finishing a tremendous sixth, followed by Joe Davies in 12th. A shirtless John Steel Hagenbuch delivered the top American finish in 14th, even after a suffering a mid-race course deviation that may have cost him precious seconds and precious finish-placings.
“I made a mistake,” said Hagenbuch. “And I think I was more just proud I made the mistake and I just let it go.”
“I have so many friends and family out here cheering, and I could hear them. And it’s just a beautiful day. It’s hard to be upset. Such a nice day like this when you get to ski and be with your teammates and represent the United States on the highest stage. I’m really proud to be here.” said Hagenbuch. “But I went into today with my goal being try as hard as you can. And I would have been a little bit faster had I not made that mistake. But I did try as hard as I could. So in many ways, I achieved my goal.”
A year ago—after Klaebo’s miraculous clean-sweep of World Championship events in Trondheim, fans began wondering if he might retire. After all, after such delivering such a performance the only sufficient encore is to do so again. But there’s no way that could happen, right? No way the stars would so align, or the fitness be so sharp, and the equipment be so dialed, and the conditions be so conducive. No way . . . but less than a year later here we are, halfway to seeing the impossible happen yet again. Three events, three gold medals, three events remain. As fans of cross-country skiing, we’ve come to expect it . . . it’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, after all.
No waving to the crowd down the finishing straightaway today: Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) needed to battle all the way to the line in order to hold off Mathis Desloges and Einar Hedegart. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
10 k Freestyle
Experience matters—just ask Einar Hedegart. Announcers love to remind us that Hedegart “wasn’t even a cross-country skier” until his arrival on the World Cup tour two months ago, but that’s a statistic that ignores the facts. Hedegart has spent his career as a biathlete, the Nordic discipline that combines Freestyle Nordic skiing and marksmanship. That means that Hedegart has spent years refining his technique as a skier—he’s hardly a skiing neophyte, and Freestyle (the technique designated in biathlon races) is his specialty. That said, racing tactics in biathlon prioritize the discipline to avoid exhaustion during races in order to steady a competitor’s aim on the shooting range. It’s a sport that rewards steady pacing, conservative racing, measured efforts. Ironically, Hedegart never managed to excel at the top level in biathlon. Fortunately, someone suggested he hang up his rifle and just plain race. Some months ago, Hedegart seems to have found that his bodily engine could produce tremendous speed across the snow. He proved it with two World Cup victories (albeit over fields that did not include Klaebo), but he still did not have much experience in racing at this level, or under these pressures. Klaebo possesses blazing finishing speed; it was likely that he’d pace his race in a way that would take advantage of that. The only tactic left to the less-experienced Hedegart was to go out hard, and hope to hang on. That’s the way the stage was set, and that’s the way the race played out.
Klaebo would wear bib number 44, making him the first of the realistic contenders to start. Klaebo knew he would be pursued by his own countrymen—Harald Oestberg Amundsen, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, and Hedegart—each of them determined to interrupt Klaebo’s date with destiny.
Einar Hedegart (NOR) started fast and showed the strain down the stretch. His inexperience may have cost him the gold medal, but the extraordinary effort he delivered in the early kilometers of the 10 k Freestyle may also have earned him the bronze. -(Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Race day in Val di Fiemme dawned sunny and warm, with temperatures rising to the mid 40s by race time. The snow would play a part in the challenges on the day, with slushy conditions along course edges and the possibility of earlier racers experiencing superior conditions. Klaebo began conservatively, posting only the 12th fastest split time at 1.8 kilometers. But by the next time check at 3.7 kilometers he had jumped to the top of recorded splits. The pre-race favorite was warming to his task.
10 k is a funny distance. By Nordic skiing standards, it’s so short—just over 20 minutes—but so very much can go wrong in that relatively brief timespan. Many of the expected mistakes were evident in the first few meters skied by the earliest starters, skiers from Roumania and Japan and Latvia and Ukraine who took off like sprinters. Way too fast, way too soon . . . the uphills would be soon to appear, and legs and arms that had already begun to accumulate lactate would be in serious trouble. Ten kilometers is a short distance to race, but do it wrong and it can begin to feel endlessly long.
It’s not often that fans see Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) lying on the snow at the end of a race. In the Olympic 10 k Freestyle, he gave it his all. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
DesLoge, Hedegart, Amundsen, Nyenget all started quickly, coming through the early checkpoints at the top of the list where they were joined by the impassioned French revelation, Desloges. Klaebo trailed by seven seconds at this first checkpoint, but his time of moderate effort would soon end. Klaebo began tightening the screws; by the halfway point of the race, his early splits still led over DesLoge, Amundsen and Nyenget. Not so for the fast-starting Hedegart who came through the halfway mark with an advantage of five seconds over Klaebo. Five seconds with five kilometers to go—it seemed like a lot, but also somehow seemed manageable. Klaebo would find himself needing to produce a scorching finish to close the gap, but Klaebo is entirely capable of producing the scorching finish. He stormed up the final hill—the one that has recently made him meme-famous for his 11+ mph run during his Sprint victory—and dashed across the finish line with an urgency we rarely see in his races. Klaebo collapsed to the snow at the finish line . . . the kind of drama we’re accustomed to seeing from Jessie Diggins, but a demonstration that Klaebo, himself, rarely allows. It’s amazing to see this great skier arriving at the finish line totally spent. He knew he’d need to commit that level of effort if he wanted to beat the hard-charging Hedegart.
The leader’s chair doesn’t look comfortable. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) spent some tense moments waiting to see if his lead would be enough to deliver gold. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Klaebo sat in the leader’s chair, but it was a seat in which he found himself incapable of getting comfortable.
“When you start early, you just fight with yourself out there,” saud Klaebo. “And when you cross the finish line, it’s all about waiting. Luckily, I was able to see that people were losing a little bit at the end there.To be able to see that I’m first is just crazy.”
With 2.5 kilometers remaining, Hedegart continued to lead Klaebo by 5.5 seconds. Well, experience matters—Hedegart knows that now. Next time, Hedegart may not go out quite so hard. But that’s a lesson he needed to learn, and today’s classroom was the race course in Val di Fiemme. Hedegart’s’ all-or-nothing tactic fell short, but it would also be rewarded—with Olympic bronze. And, in between Klaebo and Hedegart, came the indefatigable Desloges, securing his second silver medal of these Olympic Games. Americans and Canadians have been coming on in the rankings, and the world has anticipated the return of Russian athletes, but it is the arrival of the Frenchmen—and Desloges in particular with his medals in the Skiathon and the 10 k—that has begun to show that the podium need not be the exclusive domain of skiers from Norway.
Youth can be a time of glorious impetuousness, like Icarus flying too near the sun. Hedegart may have learned that lesson, though we hope he will also be as thrilled with his bronze as was his teammate, Vike, just the other day. Announcers make much of Hedegart winning his “first Olympic medal “. . . but it’s so presumptuous to assume that any athlete who wins such a medal could ever win another. To repeat such a feat is even more rare than accomplishing it the first time. Hedegart may find himself on this podium many times more, but today we hope he pumps his fist and thumps his chest and celebrates with the crowd that is thrilled by his accomplishment.
And now Klaebo has claimed his eighth (!) Olympic gold medal, drawing him into a tie atop the all-time Winter Olympic medal standings with three other Norwegian legends: Marit Bjoergen, Bjorn Daehlie, and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. And Klaebo still has three events remaining in these Olympic Games. But there is still much that can go wrong in Klaebo’s quest for even more gold—teammates could stumble in relays, equipment malfunctions could slow him down, conditions could conspire against him—but if there ever were an athlete who can overcome all those obstacles, then we are watching him today in the Olympic Winter Games of Milano-Cortina.
Men’s Olympic 10 k Freestyle Interval Start RESULTS
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Allan Corona (MEX), Samer Tawk (LBN), Matthew Smith (RSA), Rakan Alireza (KSA) at the finish line of the Olympic 10 k Freestyle, embodying the value of a famous phrase from within the Olympic Creed: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win bu to take part.” (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
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Linn Svahn (SWE) has long looked like the best sprinter in the world, but she has only rarely had the chance to prove it. After years of injury and delay, finally she earns Olympic gold. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
PREDAZZO, ITALY — Checking today’s ESPN home page makes it clear that the Olympics don’t seem to occupy the American imagination like they once did. I remember the Olympics as being a bigger deal—a set of events that captured the imagination of the world, an international spectacle that occupied the media spotlight. Life magazine, Time magazine, Sports Illustrated: all devoted their covers and countless pages to Olympic events when they were upcoming, to the results when they became available, to the impact that these performances had on the viewing public. There was something bigger about it, something that seemed to separate it from mere sport, something that seemed to elevate it above mere commercialism. These weren’t just athletes; these were Olympians.
They still are . . . Over in Italy, the Olympians are parading in ceremonies and competing in events and collecting medals while national anthems resonate in the crisp mountain air … but ESPN covers only the sports that matter to most Americans: NFL Football and NBA basketball and NHL hockey and MLB baseball and PGA golf, followed by men’s college basketball and women’s college basketball and college softball and MLS soccer and WCW Wrestling and the lingering stories surrounding Super Bowl commercials and Super Bowl halftime shows. And waaaaay beneath all that, we find a mention of the American gold medal in Team Figure Skating and the final helicopter flight of Lindsey Vonn’s legendary career. Thus far in Milano-Cortina, Olympic performances haven’t proven sufficient to capture the attention of a jaded viewing public. The only story American’s are likely to follow in cross-country skiing is that of reigning World Cup Champion, Jessie Diggins. Even with that accolade in hand—even being a defending medalist in the Olympic Sprint—Diggins does not find herself appearing often in the daily conversation that dominates column inches over at ESPN.
Strength and grit, tactics and tenacity: Julia Kern (USA) earned her way through to the Olympic Sprint final. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
And it really is too bad that ESPN may overlook another tremendous story that unfolded in the Women’s Classic Sprint, as the long-suffering Linn Svahn—whose history of injury and ill-fortune has repeatedly interrupted what could’ve been a legendary career—finally grabbed the medal that has always appeared to be within her reach. Svahn led a Swedish sweep of the podium ahead of Olympic and World Champion, Jonna Sundling and the ever-crafty veteran, Maia Dahlqvist. Svahn delivered a performance that cements her place in the history of cross-country skiing. After a long, long wait, Linn Svahn is Olympic champion.
Though it appeared that Americans were still struggling with waxing issues in the soft snow of Val di Fiemme, Team USA saw four skiers advance through qualifying: Jessie Diggins (20th), Sammy Smith (26th), Julia Kern (28th), and Lauren Jortberg (30th). Those qualifying placings did not inspire a tremendous amount of confidence in what was likely to be a lightning-fast day of sprinting. Ultimately, it was Kern who would ski with power and grace in advancing to the Olympic Sprint final where she would finish sixth. Diggins may still be suffering the effects of her crash in Saturday’s Olympic Skiathlon; Diggins skied bravely, but could be seen clutching her injured ribs after placing fourth in her quarterfinal. She would finish the day in 17th.
“My qualifier didn’t go as well as planned,” said Kern. “But it was enough to qualify, and I always get stronger in the rounds. And I had really good skis and played to my strategy and knew I had a strong finish and really never gave up and was hanging really tough when I was pretty tired. And so I went the lucky loser route today, which was my strategy. And that obviously has a cost. So come the final, I was completely spent, but I didn’t know it, and I really gave it my all, tried to be in the mix, and I had left everything on the course to get to the final. And I don’t have any regrets about that. I think that’s what I needed to do to get there. And that’s where I’m skiing right now.”
“Obviously it was 30th, but I think it still wasn’t really, like, my best qualifier,” said Jortberg. “I think there’s still a lot of room to move there, which is cool. And I think had it not been in such a stacked heat, I think it would have maybe been a slightly different quarterfinal for me, but we’re still really proud of how I skied. I think I made a couple tactical errors out there.”
Ultimately, the final American placings were Kern 6th, Diggins 17th, Smith 19th, Jortberg 30th.
“Really exciting to have my Olympic debut,” said Smith. “And I wish I would have done a few things differently in that heat. Like what? I mean, I think I tried to make a move on the left side on the hill. I could have potentially been able to make more time over the top, but it’s pretty incredible opportunity and just excited to be out here and racing.”
Smith explained the challenge and the complexity of competing in the Olympics while simultaneously enrolled at Stanford: “I’m taking material science and engineering. I’m taking environmental law class. I’m taking a creative nonfiction class, doing an independent study as well with a psychology professor,” said Smith. “And then I’m also taking physics. Stanford probably has more Olympians per capita than most places. It’s actually pretty cool. We have four winter Olympians from Sanford this year. So Eileen Gu is competing for China in big air and slope style, Zoe Atkin in half pipe and big air, and then Brandon Kim in speed skating. So it’s pretty cool that there’s four of us. The school’s been incredibly supportive, and I’m excited for all of us to compete.”
Sprint Quarterfinals
Jortberg and Smith lined up together in a quarterfinal that was packed with stars and contenders including Sundling, Kristine Stavass Skistad (NOR), and 2025 World Cup Sprint champion, Jasmi Joensuu (FIN). Sundling went to the front, setting the pace ahead of Skistad, providing a possible preview of the tactics likely to define the Sprint final. Jortberg and Smith dropped to the back where they appeared incapable of overcoming the blistering pace set by Sundling. Over the top of the ultimate downhill, Sundling led Joenssu as Skistad appeared to struggle. But the finish line lies at the far end of a straight downhill, and Skistad’s fast skis and gliding ability were able to dismantle Joensuu. Skistad would follow Sundling across the line to claim automatic spots in the semifinal. Smith would finish fourth to sit in a lucky loser position after the first quarterfinal.
Quarterfinal 2 included Kern, Nadine Faehndrich (SUI), and the day’s top qualifier, Svahn. Faehndrich and Svahn made the pace in the heat, though Faehndrich would fade from contention in the late stages. The suprising Italian, Caterina Ganz, would drive forward to claim the second spot to advance to the semifinal behind Svahn; Kern was able to hold her position in the pack moving forward into third place, a status that would allow her to claim a lucky loser spot in the semifinal.
Johanna Matintalo (FIN) took the third quarterfinal ahead of Laura Gimmler (GER). Julie Bjervig Driveness (NOR) would move into the fastest lucky loser, spot pushing Kern down a spot, but allowing her to remain in contention with two heats remaining.
Still sore from a crash in Saturday’s Skiathlon, Jessie Diggins (USA) gave her all in her Olympic Sprint quarterfinal. (Photo: Vanzetta/NordicFocus)
Diggins started in the fourth quarterfinal alongside Maia Dahlqvist (SWE). They appeared to be the strongest in their heat, and Diggins sprinted directly to the front to set the pace. But the snow in Val di Fiemme was unusually slow, which did not favor the leaders, especially with the course profile that descended steadily to the finish line. Diggins paid the price for leading early, finding herself passed by the field, and unable to improve her position in the finishing straightaway. Diggins would end her day with a fourth place finish in the quarterfinal from which Dahlqvist and Federica Cassol (ITA) would advance.
“I didn’t realize it right after it crashed, when I bruised my ribs,” said Diggins. “But then afterwards, you feel it; right now they really hurt. So I’m doing the best I can. I know I’m in good shape and I really want to make the team proud and I’m just trying the best I can . . . I needed to figure out how to manage this for Thursday. I hope that my body’s feeling better, but my energy is good and I’m excited to be here. I think I’M not a best shape in my life. I just need everything to come together in the right moment. But I know there’s possibility there. So I’m going to keep coming and bring my best.”
Sprint Semifinals
Kern found herself in a semifinal crowded by the résumés of Svahn, Sundling, and Skistad. Sundling and Svahn would claim hte automatic qualifying spots, while Kern would overcome a mid-race loss of speed to finish fourth (behind Skistad) to reside in a lucky loser spot (behind Skistad) with one semifinal remaining. Ultimately, the second semifinal involved fewer stars, and a field that seemed less likely to produce fast times and lucky losers. Driveness and Dahlqvist advanced out of the second semifinal, allowing lucky loser spaces for Skistad and Kern.
Linn Svahn (SWE) streaking toward her Olympic Sprint gold medal. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
Olympic Classic Sprint Final
Six months ago, FasterSkier’s Editor-in-Chief made a bold and confident confident call, predicting that Julia Kern would qualify for the Olympic Sprint final. While that early prediction may have been a reflection of the proud Massuchessetts roots he shares with Kern, it also reflected his knowledge of World Cup and Olympic skiing, and his understanding of just what it takes to ski and compete at this level. The Editor knows his stuff, and Kern has proven herself entirely deserving. That Kern advanced to the Olympic Classic Sprint final came as no surprise to Fasterskier.
But Kern was not alone in the final. The cast of characters in this Sprint drama was one that left no room for pretenders or understudies. Kern lined up alongside Skistad, Sundling, Svahn, Dahlqvist, and Driveness. At the crack of the starter’s pistol, Team Sweden began to assert itself as Sundling drove straight to the front. This has been the tactic that has earned Sundling World and Olympic championships, and it came as no surprise to see her at the front. She was followed by Svahn as Skistad appeared overcome by the early pace. At the mid-race point, Dahlqvist eased her way past Skistad, and Team Sweden headed for the podium. At the finish, it was the power of Svahn that drove across the line ahead of Sundling and Dahlqvist. Linn Svahn’s long path had finally delivered her to the destination that fans had always imagined. After years of injury and disappointment, after seasons of patience and impatience, Linn Svahn finally wears the Olympic gold medal.
Julia Kern (USA) used all her experience and every bit of her energy to advance to the Sprint fFinal. (Photo: Barbieri/NordicFocus)
“I am really happy with today,” said Kern. “It’s been a challenging season. I haven’t made it out of the quarterfinals this year. So to make it to the finals of the Olympics Is a huge accomplishment, and I’m really proud of it because I fought really hard today.
The typical ESPN viewer may find other events to be more compelling, but the thrill of competing in an Olympic Games is not lost on the athletes: “I’ve never raced with the rings on my bib,” said Jortberg. “There’s a lot going on, which is super cool, and I feel like I just feed off that.”
On the ground reporting by FasterSkier’s Nat Herz.
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In the absence of any other aggressive pacemakers, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) was left to set the pace in Goms’ 20 k Classic Mass start. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Klaebo wins . . . we saw that coming.
Let’s face it: cross-country ski racing can be kinda boring. Races are long (even the short ones), speeds are really not that high, even the fastest accelerations occur in slow motion when compared to many other sports. There’s a bit of a draft that can protect opportunistic sprinters, but not really all that much. And even the most hotly contested World Cup races are typically dominated by a synchronized clot of red Norwegian suits striding up the trail in near-perfect unison, beautiful to witness, but kind of dull in its predictability. Watching cross-country ski racing isn’t for every sports fan, especially when predicting the winners is becoming such an un-challenging task.
But I’m not bored: I’m fascinated. And I find myself even more fascinated with each passing week. Here’s what fascinates me: how can a skier just continue getting stronger and stronger? Wouldn’t that be awesome for all the rest of us to experience? Knowing that we could just keep getting better and better? Coaches, counselors, motivational speakers all tell us that it’s possible: keep working harder and you’ll just keep getting stronger. But the performances of athletes at all levels show us that this rosy prediction just isn’t true. There’s a limit, a breaking point, a glass ceiling. Plenty of athletes work hard, and all the skiers in these World Cup races are fully committed and supremely talented. Yet even the very best athletes plateau, even the strongest racers stumble. And the margins at the tippy-top of athletic performance become amazingly thin, showing that almost any world-class contender can win on any given day. Ironically, FIS World Cup rankings from second place through last place are regularly re-shuffled: Gus Schumacher was second yesterday, today he’s 22nd. But the guy in first place is often the same guy. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo wins more than half of the World Cup races he enters—that’s just crazy. Klaebo won again today, and he did it in an offhanded fashion that makes it appear he has only himself to compete against. I’m fascinated . . .
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) waits for the second and third place finishers at the end of the 20 k Classic Mass Start in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Goms, Switzerland offered these final World Cup events prior to the arrival of these same athletes at Olympic venues in two weeks. Spectators are fully aware that the race we watch this week may not be the same as the race conducted a few weeks from now. Dominance in January can translate into further dominance in February, but there are plenty of miles to cover between now and then. Germ-filled airline flights and nights of fitful sleep, breakfasts and lunches and dinners to orchestrate, supplements and strategies to employ, training to undertake, reset and recovery to seek. And somewhere deep inside an athlete’s body, the systems are churning . . . getting ready for a day when speed and endurance are needed, when courage and fortitude may lead to victory and glory, or to humiliation and defeat. Goms offered as accurate an approximation of those Olympic races as it’s practical to stage: Olympic races staged in Val di Fiemme will include a Team Sprint (like Friday’s Team Sprint), and a Classic Sprint (like yesterday’s Classic Sprint). But today’s 20 k Classic Mass Start may not offer a precise predictor of the Olympic 50 k Classic Mass Start. Fifty kilometers is really really far . . . and plenty can happen in those 50 kilometers. The 20 k is more straightforward, and offers less space for multiple attacks to occur. It’s possible that a 20 k field will wait for a single significant move. That’s the way things played out in Goms, today.
John Steel Hagenbuch (USA), Zak Ketterson (USA) moved steadily through the field during the FIS World Cup 20 k Mass Start in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
North American men performed well in today’s 20 k, especially considering the stress and accumulated fatigue of such a long and arduous World Cup weekend: Zak Ketterson was 18th, Xavier McKeever 19th, Schumacher 22nd, Antoine Cyr 34th, Hunter Wonders 36th, Zanden McMullen 38th, Remi Drolet 40th, Max Hollman 41st, Thomas Stephen 45th, Zach Jayne 52nd, John Steel Hagenbuch 55th, Luke Jager 59th. Many of those skiers began today’s race with start positions waaaay back in the field, spending 20 kilometers dodging pole tips and ski tips on their journey forward. Theirs was a decidedly different race from the calm, controlled, unmolested effort afforded the leaders. But everyone who’s ever started at the front got there by battling their way from the rear. The North Americans are battling . . .
“There is a lot of scrambling in a field like that, especially when you are starting in a further-back bib,” said Ketterson. “The key is to just stay relaxed during the first two laps, because all those little moves have to be repaid with interest later in the race. It’s just about being smart with your energy.”
“(Today’s race) was part of the progression,” said Schumacher. “This is sort of my overload; now I’ll recover, absorb it, and hopefully be fitter going forward. Travel day tomorrow headed to Livigno, and incorporating recovery by just chilling out, basically enjoying the Alps. Bunch of snow just fell kind of all over, which is cool.”
Norwegian race suits dominated the front of the 20 k Mass Start, with a brief appearance by a lone skier in blue, France’s Mathis DeLoge. The Olympic 50 k in Val di Fiemme may prove different. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
While it may not always be evident on the surface, there’s drama in every meter of a Mass Start race—emergencies averted, difficulties overcome, disasters dodged, over-crowding endured, loneliness faced. Racers usually want to avoid as much drama as possible, and the racers least likely to encounter difficulty are those who start in the front row. Four Norwegians made up the front row—Klaebo, Amundsen, Mattis Stenshagen, and Andreas Fjorden Ree. They’d lead the field out onto the first of four loops, monitoring the early pace set by pre-race favorite, Klaebo.
Lap 1 appeared to be a freebie. It’s understood that the pace would get high, but for every kilometer that Klaebo controls the pace at the front, it will be all that much more difficult to dislodge him later in the race. Klaebo is a fast skier, but his strategy is typically not one that attempts to shed other skiers. He’ll control the pace at the front, waiting for someone else to take control. If no one does, then Klaebo will likely win the sprint at the end. If another skier does attempt to assert themselves, then Klaebo will ride their tails and likely win the sprint at the end. Anyone who wants to beat Klaebo needs to drop Klaebo, and they need to do so well before the finishing straightaway approaches.
The other skiers likely to test Klaebo’s long-form endurance—including Klaebo’s own Norwegian teammates—were decidedly passive in Goms. And Iivo Niskanen—the skier most likely to test the strength of the field two weeks from now Val di Fiemme—was absent from the Goms start list. Through five kilometers, the leaders continued to be relaxed. Klaebo, Harald Oestberg Amundsen, Andreas Fjorden Ree, Emil Iversen (NOR), Mathis Deloge (FRA) and Savelii Korostelev (AIN) who had started far back in bib 33. Schumacher came through the five kilometer mark in 12th place, only two seconds behind the leaders.
Off the front, and receding into the distance: Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), Emil Iversen (NOR), Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) made Goms’ 20 k Classic Mass Start into a three-man race. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Through 7.5 kilometers, Norway continued to enjoy the presence of eight skiers in the top 12, a level of numeric-dominance that Norway will not enjoy when the 50 k is run in Val di Fiemme (where Team Norway will be limited to four starters). The Norwegians were accompanied only by the persistent French, Korostelev, and Estonia’s surprising star, Alvar Elev. A small spit occurred in the field at 9.2 kilometers where bonus points were offered and Klaebo led a mini-break ahead of Iversen and Amundsen. What had looked like a pedestrian pace was revealed to have been a pace at which the vast majority of the skiers had been just barely holding on. Klaebo tapped the accelerator, and the field strung out helplessly behind him. Norway took the points for the first eight positions, but only Iversen and Amundsen were able to hold their positions at the front with Klaebo.
Korostelev led the chase of the three leading Norwegians, and the rest of Team Norway appeared perfectly willing to let him do so. Valnes latched on to Korostelev’s tails,and the other remaining Norwegians lined up behind Valnes. If this were a bike race, viewers could assume that team tactics were being employed—Norwegians lining up to defend Klaebo’s lead, and forcing other nations to chase. But today made it look like the field simply stretched out in a ranking of available strength and endurance. Anyone who could’ve gone faster would certainly have gone faster.
Though not exactly in dramatic fashion, the race continued to unfold at the front. Classic skiing creates a unique drafting dilemma: in order to be as close as possible to the skier in front, the following skiers are compelled to match the striding and/or double-poling tempo of the leader. It makes cross-country skiing uniquely picturesque, but it removes any advantage that a skier might seek by choosing a different tempo. Remember Therese Johaug? Her supernaturally-high tempo always appeared awkward and uncomfortable whenever she skied in the company of other racers. Fortunately for Johaug, she spent very little time in the company of other racers during her racing career. Today in Goms, the three dominant Norwegians set a steady pace ina predictable tempo. Iversen and Klaebo are in-season and off-season training patners: it makes sense that they’d adopt a similar tempo. Amundsen was the outlier of the three, but he followed their tempo in lockstep. Here’s the thing—if no skier seeks to take an individual advantage, then we can safely assume the at the advantage goes to Klaebo.
Korostelev continued to lead the chase group, but trailed by an ever-widening margin. With one lap remaining, the gap had stretched to nearly 40 seconds. With four kilometers to go, Klaebo was seen tightening his pole straps. Another bike race analogy: when a rider reaches down to tighten the straps on their shoes, they’re preparing for the sprint. For Klaebo to have done so—so quietly and so matter-of-factly—must have caused the hearts of his rivals to sink. He’s not hanging on, he’s preparing to pounce.
Klaebo would’ve been likely to outsprint both Iversen and Amundsen at the finish line . . . and while that may be the plan he intends to follow in Val Di Fiemme in a couple of weeks, it’s not the only winning strategy he possesses. Today in Goms, Klaebo showed that he can win in the most understated—though thrilling—way. He simply skied away. One little uphill (one of those from yesterday’s Sprint course) and he trotted lightly up it, exposing the truth that Iversen and Amundsen may have been close to their performance limits all along. Amundsen chose an inside line on the hill, but stalled on the steeper slope he ascended. Iversen sought better kick on an outside line beyond the groomed tracks, but continued to slip just a bit. And Klaebo just cruised off the front in a nonchalant manner that went all but unnoticed. None of the course-lining spectators even cheered. The decisive moment of a World Cup Mass Start Distance race, and almost no one even saw it happening. Well, Iversen and Amundsen might’ve noticed . . . both came nearly to an exhausted standstill at the top of the hill. Klaebo would get away to a gap of 40 seconds, ultimately coasting easily across the finish line followed by Iversen and Amundsen. Klaebo has shown in the past that he is a master of preparing for major championships. He appears ready, again.
There have been plenty of easy-looking wins in Klaebo’s illustrious career, but few of those 107 individual wins ever looked easier than this. And, for additional perspective, this “easy” win came in a 20 kilometer Classic Mass Start race ahead of the world’s finest Distance skiers. Team France found itself overmatched—no pesky Frenchmen tweaking the race pace today. Team Norway found that it really has only one contender for gold—the rest of them can fight it out for silver and bronze. Korostelev found that the dominance he’d enjoyed in the last few seasons behind Russia’s curtain did not translate into similar dominance on the World Cup (but who knows what he’ll look like in the Olympics). And Iivo Niskanen—watching the race on TV from his sofa in Finland—would’ve seen that Klaebo is ready for any surge that the courageous Finn may choose to throw down in Val di Fiemme. It won’t be the same race as today in Goms, but Klaebo’s performance today makes it difficult to image how different the final outcome may be. Good luck, Iivo. Good luck Savelii. Team Norway is strong, and their man, Klaebo, is off the charts.
There was one exciting moment: watching the eight-man chase group sprint to the line, where Stenshagen outsprinted Korostelev for seventh place. Korostelev tested himself against Team Norway, and found himself overmatched. Team Norway had faced another Russian challenger, and had stuffed him into the back seat. There’s a bitter rivalry there, one likely to be played out again when the Olympics get underway at the Nordic venues of Val di Fiemme in February. There won’t be quite so many Norwegians for Korostelev to deal with, but he might find that at least a few of those Norwegians—likely Amundsen, Iversen, and Klaebo—will be up the track, dividing the medals amongst themselves in the final kilometers.
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So many red suits . . . Emil Iversen (NOR), Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) continue Norwegian dominance in World Cup Distance racing in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
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Gus Schumacher (USA) celebrates his second place finish in the World Cup Classic Sprint in Goms, Switzerland. It was his second World Cup podium finish in as many days. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Maybe the Americans really are that good . . .
With the Olympic Games just around the corner, American men (lots of them!) are surging toward the front of the World Cup field. And while the last few World Cup weekends have been events that were only sparsely attended by the sports brightest stars, today’s Classic Sprint in Goms Switzerland was a fully stacked field with most of the primary contenders present. Many of them would be hoping that this event would be a dress rehearsal for the Classic Sprint that will be raced during the Olympics in Val di Fiemme.
Over the last few weeks, it’s been kinda cool to see what racing would look like in the absence of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo . . . but now it’s time to turn from things as they have been, and return to things as they should be. Klaebo is back, and it’s an amazing time to watch ski racing: perhaps the greatest ever to do this sport is currently racing and skiing among us. Who knows? Maybe this will be his final season. If he were to succeed during the Olympic Winter Games of Milano-Cortina in the same way he succeeded at last year’s World Championships in Trondheim (six races, six wins, Nordic skiing immortality), there would virtually be nothing left for him to win. This skier has taken us to a rare place in sport history: Babe Ruth is alive and swinging, Muhammad Ali dances across the ring, and we get to watch history played out on live-streamed broadcasts. Let’s enjoy it—and marvel at it—while we can.
Gus Schumacher (USA) claimed his second podium in as many days with a brilliant second-place finish behind,Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) and ahead of Edvin Anger (SWE). (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
While Klaebo is back on tour—and coasted to yet another World Cup Classic Sprint victory—it felt more like an American coming out party and less like yet another Klaebo coronation. Gus Schumacher led the way with a brilliant and confident second place, ahead of a bull-headed Edvin Anger (SWE) who continues to think that Klaebo can be beaten with brute force and raw power. Klaebo proved Anger wrong yet again . . . but it was Schumacher who stole the show.
“These courses are really hard, like that hill is about a minute long,” said Schumacher. “And yeah, being an all around athlete—like having some distance ability—it really helps me out there.”
And Schumacher was not the only American to deliver standout performance in Goms. Five American men qualified in the top 17: Ben Ogden 6th, Zak Ketterson 9th, Schumacher 12th, Schoonmaker 13th, Zach Jayne 17th. Jack Young did not produce the Classic sprinting result he may have hoped for. He finished qualifying 39th, just over a second outside the advancing standard. Kevin Bolger also would’ve found himself disappointed this morning in Goms, completing his qualifying round in 61st.
“The qualifier was a great opportunity to improve on my disappointing results last weekend,” said Jayne. “I created an ambitious race plan and with the great wax support, I delivered. Given that—and given the tough course—I don’t find the (qualifying) result too surprising, but it is a nice treat.”
JC Schoonmaker (USA) was one of a host of American men delivering great performances in Goms. In the Classic Sprint, Schoonmaker would qualify 12th, and finish 10th overall. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Americans Crowd the Heats
The beginning of the Sprint heats made it look like Klaebo was involved in a different sort of drama . . . after the strong qualifying effort of Individual Neutral Athlete, Savelii Korostelev. With the Olympics approaching—and Korostelev improving his performances each week (especially in Classic events)—Klaebo may have felt it prudent to give the young Russian a better look so that he didn’t find himself surprised in Milano-Cortina. Facing Korostelev in Quarterfinal 1, Klaebo drifted craftily to the rear for a clearer view of the young Russian. There Klaebo stayed through the first uphill, and the second where Lauri Vuorinen lost momentum, blocking Klaebo’s progress and wedging him behind Korostelev. But all it took was one extra push from Klaebo over the top to send him flying down the other side—past Vuorinen, past Korostelev, past Valnes, and across the finish line for the heat win. Valnes held on for second in. front of a fast-closing Korostelev.
Ogden followed Edvin Anger through the second quarterfinal, holding on for second ahead of a fast-charging Hovard Moseby (NOR) who would also secure a lucky loser spot.
Zachary Jayne and JC Schoonmaker entered Quarterfinal 3 alongside Even Northug (NOR) and Oskar Opstad Vike (NOR). Jayne went straight to the front, determined to use his evident qualifying speed to insure a fast heat. Jayne’s enthusiasm would be quickly curbed by the thin air of high elevation and the slow snow that resulted from overnight accumulations. Jayne would fade to the rear of the field (ultimately finishing 27th on the day) while Schoonmaker surged forward in pursuit of Theo Schley (FRA). Schoonmaker would hold his advantage, even easing up a bit before the line ahead of Anton Grahn (SWE), Vike, and Northug.
“The heats were just on another level,” said Jayne. “The heat selection was particularly stressful and something I have never experienced before. I chose heat 3 because, statistically, it has the most lucky losers. My position at the front just happened organically and I paid the price for a fast start. Happy to race the way I did, but unsatisfied with the outcome, more to learn and more to reach for. Great day for the Americans and I am truly honored to be a part of it, no matter how small my contribution.”
After his all-out chase onto yesterday’s Team Sprint podium, it would be understandable if Schumacher appeared sluggish in Quarterfinal 4. But that’s not the way Schumacher races. He seems to have an ability to recover quickly, and to ride waves of seasonal momentum. He popped to the front at the top of the final climb (ahead of an inexplicable stall from Joni Maki), and surged down the other side where he would hold his advantage across the finish line
Ketterson found himself at the front of what initially appeared to be a tactical heat. He employed an earlier diagonal stride on the first uphill than the rest of his heat, remaining light and quick. If there’s a smart way to ski at the front of a slow heat, Kettterson was demonstrating it. He scampered up the final hill as the field crowded around him, then veered, regretably, into the tracks on the shorter righthand side, slamming the door (as it turns out, a bit over-zealouslys) on Sweden’s Georg Ersson who was lucky to escape with poles and skis intact. Ersson would overcome Ketterson in the finishing straightaway, advancing to the semifinal. Ketterson would find himself disqualified in what would otherwise have been a personal best Classic Sprint performance.
“Completely my fault!” said Ketterson. “He was in my blind spot and it was a split second decision that obviously ended up being a big blunder. I should have just stayed in my own track and taken the position behind him on the final downhill.”
“The classic sprint at the Olympics has been my primary goal for the entire season, said Ketterson. “I hope I have shown enough ability to earn a start, but from this point on it’s not within my control so I will just do my best to focus one day at a time.”
As they say in NASCAR, rubbing is racing . . . and American men were solidly in the mix in every heat of Goms’ Classic Sprint, including the first semifinal where Erik Valnes NOR) hit the deck as JC Schoonmaker (USA) headed for the hinterlands. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Classic Sprint Semifinals
Three American men—Ogden, Schoonmaker, Schumacher—advanced to the Sprint semifinals. Three guaranteed finishes in the top 12: that’s a sign of a seriously strong team. But while it’s great to qualify for a Sprint semifinal, the names on the roster when you get there can be pretty daunting. Semifinal 1: Klaebo, Anger, Schoonmaker, Valnes, Ogden, Northug. That’s a seriously stacked heat. In that semifinal, Klaebo’s start was far more assertive than his quarterfinal, and it produced the result of luring Anger out into an early lead. On-air commentator, Andrew Kastening, got it totally right: “You’d think as time would go on, that Edvin Anger would learn to let Klaebo lead,” said Kastening. Evidently, Anger is not the quickest learner . . .
Ogden and Schoonmaker maneuvered through the pack, their kick wax seeming sufficient on the ascent of the first hill, but their glide on the downhill seeming less than stellar. Anger continued to lead over the top of the second hill. On the subsequent downhill, Klaebo glided into a too-small gap on the inside of Anger, who held his line and allowed Klaebo to ease through without issue (well done, Edvin). The move allowed Klaebo into the lead, but it sent ripples through the skiers behind the leading duo. Valnes found his ski tips tangling with Schoonmaker’s tails . . . Valnes ended up flopping spectacularly onto his backside while Schoonmaker was launched through the V-boards and into the soft snow of the infield. Schoonmaker somehow managed to avoid complete disaster, stayed on his feet, and managed to find his way back on course. Ogden wove through the carnage to finish third, where he’d wait to see if he would advance to the final as a lucky loser. Schoonmaker would finish fifth behind Northug. Valnes would limp home in sixth.
The second semifinal was relatively less star-studded, though still featured Sprint standouts such as Vike, Ersson, Joni Maki (FIN) Simone Mocellini (ITA), Anton Grahn (SWE), and Schumacher. Mocellini would make most of the pace in the heat, cresting the final hill with a slim lead over Schumacher. Schumacher would ride fast skis down the final slope, and step deftly inside of Mocellini as they entered the final double pole sections. Schumacher would hold on to cross the finish line first, and advance to the Sprint Final where he would join Ogden.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) pushed an unwitting Edvin Anger (SWE) into the lead in both the semifinal and final. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Classic Sprint Final
Two Americans advanced to the Classic Sprint Final—that’s a seriously legit statistic—where they’d be joined by Anger, Mocellini, Northug, and the omnipresent Klaebo. Ogden had already looked fatigued in the semifinal (after a high-intensity podium finish in yesterday’s Team Sprint, who can blame him?), but Schumacher continued to look fresh and fast.
“I was definitely pretty tired from the Team Sprint yesterday,” said Ogden. “Gus and I were pretty fired up; hard to fall asleep (so) I was feeling yeseterday, today1 And with the training block I’ve been doing the last few weeks, I think that was on full display in the final. But I’m still stoked with how today went, for sure. The plan was not to be the best version of myself this weekend—maybe like second best version—so I’m feeling pretty good about how that went down!”
“I think I still capitalized,” continued Ogden. “And got away with a really really solid day. Good stuff . . . awesome for the team, awesome for everybody!”
Anger never seems to learn. Maybe one day he’ll become as dominant as his ski tactics currently imply he thinks he is . . . but in Goms’ Classic Sprint Final he was just another guy playing right into Klaebo’s hands. Schumacher is a quick study, though; he’s learned where he nees to be, and he slotted in right behind Klaebo who skied the very same race as in the semifinals: let Anger lead across the flats, step into an open lane to keep from getting bunched on the first uphill, while continuing to force Anger to keep his nose in the wind. Poor kid . . . he imagines himself in a rivalry with Klaebo, who seems only to consider Anger as a convenient stepping stone to ever more Sprint victories.
That’s when Klaebo switched it up—flowing past Anger on a downhill, powering up the final climb, high-tempo diagonal stride from bottom to top, effectively deciding the race with 400 meters still to go. Schumacher rocketed past Anger as the rest of the field locked up behind the stultified Swede. Schumacher showed his tremendous form and fitness, remaining quick and snappy to the end, powering across the line just behind a relaxed and coasting Klaebo. Schumacher—and Team USA’—would earn a second World Cup podium in as many days. It’s bizarre to watch a Sprint Final become a death march, but such was the level of exhaustion that the Goms Sprint course had loaded into the arms and legs of these racers. Anger survived across the finish line in third. Ogden faded to sixth. Even so, two Americans in a Classic Sprint Final . . . there haven’t been many days that Team USA would celebrate more than this one.
Schumacher summarized his progress,and his prospects: “The way it’s set up, these races actually probably will give me a bit of a boost, fitness wise, which is cool to think about.”
Klaebo continues to lead in all World Cup categories this season: Sprint, Distance, and Overall. His level of dominance is unprecedented as the field approaches the Olympic Winter Games.
FasterSkier will have our own Nat Herz on the ground at the Olympics, which, to be honest, is a very big financial lift for us. If you value the thoughtful work and access FasterSkier provides at championships like this one, please consider becoming a Voluntary Subscriber. Your support directly fuels the work we do to cover the people, places, and moments that make our sport special.
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
It was a good day at the office, a stunning office, for Ben Ogden (USA) in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
For the skiing stars of Norway, World Cup victories are commonplace—almost expected. For the skiers of most other nations, any World Cup podium appearance is a career-defining event. That said, some of the most interesting World Cup racing takes place on those days when the strength of the field is re-shuffled, when a few notables stay home, when a few teams re-arrange their rosters. Those are days when World Cup podiums will still be filled, and a greater number of teams know they can rise to that occasion. Still, it’s not a straightforward task, and many teams find themselves stumbling over the challenge rather than rising to the top. Today was a day that the USA saw this opportunity, and rise they did . . .
Norway may have won today’s Team Sprint (though with Harald Oestbeg Amundsen and Einar Hedegart are a team that’s unlikely to contend for this same win when the Olympics begin in Val di Fiemme), and Italy may have flown second across the finish on the wings of Federico Pellegrino (a performance he would hope to repeat in front of his countrymen in the Olympics), but it was the third-place effort of Team USA’s Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher that really drew attention. The circumstances of the day offered them an opportunity to ascend to a World podium; they grabbed that opportunity with both hands. It’s great to see American men on World Cup podiums, even greater to see them earn that position with such fortitude and skill.
“Today was a pretty full field,” said Ogden. “But there was no Klaebo today. There definitely will be Klaebo in Val di Fiemme. I’m sure that some teams will put up different athletes on their Team Sprint than they did today, but it’s really one of those things that’s not worth dwelling on until the time comes to actually seethe start list, to go out and get it done.”
The day started with Gus Schumacher (USA) having a great qualification for the Team Sprint in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
The Alpine municipality of Goms, Switzerland (population 1,160) was the venue for a staging of an event that will take place in the Olympic Games in Val di Fiemme—the Freestyle Team Sprint—but today’s race was not exactly a dress rehearsal for that Olympic race. Specifically, the cast of characters is likely to change in the Olympics even as the strategy employed by today’s winner, Team Norway, is likely to remain the same. They’ll set the pace, they’ll stay at the front (and out of trouble). They’ll accelerate in the penultimate leg. They’ll hope to give Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo a lead at the beginning of the anchor leg. They’ll rely on Klaebo to remain unbeatable in any Freestyle Sprint where he enters the finishing straightaway with a lead. We really do expect this Olympic event to follow that script. Even so, many questions remain. Who will team with Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo in what is likely to be the gold medal favorite team? And who will the USA field as its Team Relay pair? Will Schumacher team with Ogden? Or will coaches choose another combination of abilities? Will Pellegrino and Elia Barp continue to be factors in the finishing straightaway? And which other teams will arrive with hopes of a medal: Finland? Switzerland? Sweden?
“If history is any indicator, then Norway leading and everyone else following will likely (repeat as a strategy) at the Olympics,” said Ogden. “Val di Fiemme is definitely a harder course, so I anticipate it being something like that. Championship Team Sprints are definitely intense; it’ll have some similarities to today, and probably many differences.”
Individual qualifying saw USA 1—comprised of likely Olympic teammates Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher—as the third fastest qualifier. They would be joined in the 15-team Final by USA 2’s JC Schoonmaker and Zanden McMullen (who would finish 11th on the day).
Home-team, Switzerland 1, was the top qualifier thanks to the efforts of seasoned Sprint competitors Janik Riebli and Valerio Grond (though packing a Team Sprint team with a pair of true sprinters is usually not considered to be the best way to excel in this event—Switzerland 1 would top all qualifiers, but would finish sixth on the day). Switzerland’s fast qualifying standard was followed by Norway 1’s Harald Oestberg Amundsen and Einar Hedegart, both of whom were recently named to the Norwegian Olympic team, but neither of whom are likely to appear in this event in Milano-Cortina. Fourth fastest qualifier was Italy 1’s Elia Baro and Federico Pellegrino who are likely to team up when the Olympic Team Sprint takes place in their homeland.
Ben Ogden (USA) also had an excellent qualification for the Team Sprint – together with Schumacher, they posted the third-fastest time. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
A Plan to Follow—Easier Said than Done
For some teams, Goms’ Team Sprint was an Olympic dress-rehearsal, for other teams, a consolation prize. Norway 1 had the potential to take a World Cup win, but they will certainly NOT be the Olympic duo that Norway fields in this event (that spot being reserved for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and (presumably) his gold medal partner from Beijing, Erik Valnes). Norway 2 was comprised of Ansgar Evensen and Even Northug, two of the world’s best sprinters who, nonetheless, found themselves overlooked when Norway selected its team of Olympians. While the skiers of Norway 2 may have hoped to prove that they belonged on the Olympic Team, their efforts fizzled in Goms. Norway 2 would place 15th, last among starters in the Team Sprint final.
Norway 1, on the other hand, performed as expected. Amundsen led out Leg 1, keeping the pace high and keeping himself out of trouble. He was followed by Riebli, Barp, and Ogden. Ogden tangled skis briefly with Barp as they entered the exchange, but both skiers shook it off masterfully. Norway 1 continued to lead.
Norway kept the pressure on to keep things stringed out. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Ogden tagged Schumacher to begin Leg 2. Schumacher seems a logical choice to team with Ogden in the Olympic Team Sprint, a pairing suggested by the tactic of pairing a sprinter with a seasoned, fast-skiing all-rounder who can navigate in a tight pack and not get dropped. American Olympian, Jack Young, is a world-class freestyle sprinter, but even though it’s called the “Team Sprint,” there’s no use in fielding a team of two pure sprinters. The only sprint that matters is the one to the finish line at the end of the final leg. Before then, each teammate’s job is simply to steer clear of trouble, to hang on to the pace, and to not get dropped. More than perhaps any of his US Olympic teammates, Schumacher fits that bill.
“The first leg was pretty chill,” said Schumacher. “I found myself a little far back after our tag, but made a good move on the fast corner.”
“The second leg was pretty fast,” Schumacher continued. “But we still had a group, so it wasn’t too bad. We held the gap to Norway, which is good. Norway was definitely trying to string everyone out. They were really impressive, but we’re not far off. And I think. if the right person was in a good position, they probably could have held that. With Norway, that’s something to think about for the future.”
Schumacher knows his role, and in Goms’ Team Sprint he skied it brilliantly. Through Leg 2, he remained in contact, preserving energy as Norway 1’s Hedegart set the pace at the front followed by Switzerland’s Grond and Sweden’s Edvin Anger. Leg 3 began with no changes in leaders, and with Ogden remaining solidly in contact with the top five. Amundsen continued to set the pace for Norway followed by Riebli and Barp.
Einar Hedegart (NOR) clearly was racing with something to prove to the Norwegian team coaches about his place in the Olympic Team Sprint with Johannes Hosflot Klaebo. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Leg 4 saw Hedegart stringing out the pace while Schumacher continued to mark the skiers at the front. The field began to string out, with Schumacher keeping USA 1 in contention.
Leg 5 is where the field expects Norway to make a move; Amundsen did not disappoint, storming off the front even before the field had left the flat terrain around the exchange zone. By the time he reached the course’s first uphill, Amundsen enjoyed a lead of 30 meters. Rather than chase him in vain, the chase group—led by Barp—sat up a bit to preserve energy. Norway had earned a gap as Amundsen tagged Hedegart to begin the anchor leg. The rest of the field would fight for second and third.
The way the Americans set up today’s relay team—with the sprinter, Ogden, leading off and the all-rounder, Schumacher, finishing—showed that Team USA may realize that the Olympic version of this event will NOT come down to a finishing line sprint, but to a final-leg high-speed dash that sheds sprinters and leaves all-rounders leading the way to medals. This may be the scene in a few weeks—Schumacher dueling Pellegrino in the final leg. If so, then today was a bit of a dress rehearsal after all. On the first of the final leg’s two uphills, Schumacher tried desperately to cross the gap to Amundsen. It was a bold ploy, but one that a fast distance skier needed to try in order to shake Pellegrino. Pellegrino shadowed Schumacher, but seemed to struggle in doing so. Over the second uphill, and Pellegrino struggled again under Schumacher’s re-application of pressure . . . but in order to beat a sprinter you need to drop a sprinter.
Gus Schumacher (USA) kept the pressure on, leading the chase group behind Norway. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Ahead of them, Hedegart show-boated playfully at the finish line, taking off his poles and sheathing them like a sword after a successful duel. Pellegrino undid Schumacher in the finishing straightaway—a cagey veteran having played his hand with seasoned mastery. Schumacher shrugged across the finish line in third, having done all he could to lengthen the sprint in an attempt to take the sting out of Pellegrino’s sprint.
“Pellegrino is a super strong sprinter,” said Schumacher.” Today, he basically made me pull through. I didn’t want to mess around with a big bunch sprint, and I’m glad I didn’t. I’m fine with him beating me in the end. But, yeah, we’ll see how it plays out in Val di Fiemme. I think I can beat him if I can get a good draft. We’ll see; you need drop him before the finish line. I guess you just have to go faster! But he’s also a great distance skier, so that’s a tough one.”
“Having Gus in the second leg felt good for me,” said Ogden. “He’s really good at positioning, and super strong and fit, and he’s going to have legs at the end when it matters . . . Today was just to try something and learn from it. I think that we thought it was a natural thing to try. We went with it today, and it worked out well.”
After all the strategizing, all the jockeying, all the surging, all the positioning, it’s a skier like Pellegrino—a world-class sprinter who can also contend in distance races—who is the ideal finisher for a Team Sprint. Approaching the Olympic Team Sprint in his home country—and hoping for a gold medal in front of his countrymen—Pellegrino still has one major obstacle to overcome: Klaebo is the one skier who has proven to be even faster, even more durable than Pellegrino. If the Italian wants to claim gold on home turf, he’ll need to beat the best of all time in order to do it . . . but that will be the same for any skier who hopes to claim gold in any event when the Olympic races are run in Val di Fiemme.
Gus Schumacher (USA) and Ben Ogden (USA), (l-r) proved they are true contenders for a medal in the Team Sprint at the Olympics. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
While the cast may be different when this event is staged at the Olympics of Milano-Cortina, the script is likely to be strikingly similar. If so, then Team USA will be there hoping. To recreate the tactics, the speed, the strength, and the brilliance that took them to a third place finish today in Goms. Ironically, today’s Norwegian winners are not likely to be offered the chance to pursue Olympic gold in this same event. When asked whether he thought this dominant performance ahead of numerous teams likely to contend in this event in Val di Fiemme could cause Team Norway to reconsider their starters in the Olympic Team Sprint, Hedegart was playful, yet again.
“Message sent,” grinned Hedegart. “I hope the message is received.”
Chance of Hedegart becoming the face of Team Norway in season’s to come? Quite high, it appears. Chance of Hedegart replacing Valnes (as Klaebo’s teammate) in Norway’s Olympic Team Sprint? Far less likely . . . but much could happen between the World Cup finish line in Goms and the Olympic starting line in Val di Fiemme.
Goms World Cup Men’s Freestyle Team Sprint QUALIFYING
Goms World Cup Men’s Freestyle Team Sprint RESULTS
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Federico Pellegrino (ITA), Elia Barp (ITA), Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR), Einar Hedegart (NOR), Gus Schumacher (USA), Ben Ogden (USA), (l-r) share the Team Sprint podium in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
