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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.

Tag: Emil Nyeng

  • Klæbo Takes a Bow in Drammen Classic Sprint; Erik Bjornsen 18th

    Klæbo Takes a Bow in Drammen Classic Sprint; Erik Bjornsen 18th

    Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (l) edging Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov (3) and Norway’s Eirik Brandsdal (not shown) in the first semifinal of the men’s classic sprint at the World Cup in Drammen, Norway. Klæbo went on to win the final, ahead of Brandsdal in second and Bolshunov in third. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    In the classic venue that are the Drammen city sprints, it was a singular affair from start to finish during the men’s World Cup 1.2-kilometer classic sprint on Wednesday. In a race format that tapered from a field of 61 skiers to the winner, one only needs to track the skier in the overall World Cup’s leader bib to follow along.

    The yellow-bibbed skier, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, didn’t surprise with his sprint win in Drammen as much as place another high performance stamp on his 2017/2018 campaign.

    Klæbo won the qualifier in 2:49.32 minutes. Teammate Eirik Brandsdal skied to second in the qualifier, 3.5 seconds behind Klæbo. Russian Alexander Bolshunov skied the third-fastest qualifying time, finishing 4.48 seconds back. This puts some things in perspective, if anybody thought Klæbo would bloat in his post-Olympic gold medal glow — he won three golds in PyeongChang — you’d be wrong.

    Klæbo would have have good reason to cash it in. What exactly does the 21 year old need to prove? Coming into Wednesday’s race, Klæbo had already captured the Sprint World Cup Crystal Globe. It’s the Norwegian phenom’s second-consecutive overall sprint title.

    Yet Klæbo is also on the verge of sealing up his first Overall World Cup title. After the Drammen sprints, Klæbo leads the overall standings with 1308 points. Behind him, Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway (who did not contest Wednesday’s sprint), trails in second place with 980 points total.

    Johannes Høsflot Klæbo leads his quarterfinal with fellow Norwegian Fredrik Riseth (l) and Sweden’s Emil Jönsson (30) at the World Cup classic sprint in Drammen, Norway. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

    “It was really important to me to get the 100 points today,” Klæbo told the International Ski Federation (FIS) after the race. “I need as many points as I can get against the other guys for the [overall] Crystal Globe. I will race the Holmenkollen 50 k this weekend and I know it will be tough. Also it’s great to win here in front of all the people. I was second here last season and I’m really happy to now have won Drammen.”

    Let’s circle back to what Klæbo needs to prove, beyond padding his overall lead by another 100 points by winning the Drammen sprint. He’s proving at his young age, pending any monumental flameout, that he’s setting the stage for a historic international cross-country ski career.

    This season alone, Klæbo has won six of nine individual sprint World Cups. He’s won 10 World Cup races in total. That win total puts Klæbo in rarefied company: in the men’s field, only Petter Northug (with 10 wins) and Sundby (16 wins) have won 10 or more World Cup races in a single season.

    Winners want to win. Amidst the five-deep crowd surrounding the sprint course featuring Drammen’s iconic Bragernes Church, with his pink-themed flare, Klæbo proved once again he is a consummate winner.

    There was his dominating qualifier. Then there was Klæbo’s quarterfinal, in which he looked less threatening. He won the first quarterfinal by 0.7 seconds in a photo finish with Brandsdal. That heat seemed to be a test run, as if Klæbo were feeling the course out and asking himself how it skied with five other bodies jousting for tracks and inside lines. There was never the hallmark Klæbo burst of speed or any real dominance. Klæbo kept in contact up the long initial uphill, and down through the tight and sinuous S-turns after the course’s highpoint.

    If in fact the first quarterfinal was a dress rehearsal, Klæbo must have realized that any real podium threats would be drag racing up the final quarter-kilometer climb that finished nearly smack-dab in front of the church.

    The first semifinal featured the day’s top-three qualifiers: Klæbo, Brandsdal and Bolshunov. (Bolshunov advanced by winning the second quarterfinal.) The three skiers finished 1-2-3 with Klæbo taking the win in another photo finish with Brandsdal.

    Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov leads five Norwegians in the men’s classic sprint final at the World Cup in Drammen, Norway: (from l to r) Eriik Brandsdal, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (yellow bib), Sindre Bjørnestad Skar (10), Kasper Stadaas (16), and Emil Iversen. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    Tactically, Bolshunov played his hand early. Determined to break Klæbo, the Russian led out hard and took the sharp end of the race in earnest. At the top of the course, Bolshunov had strung the five other skiers out behind him. Moments before the highpoint and entering the technical downhill S-turns, Bolshunov and Klæbo gave a burst of speed and distanced themselves by 10 meters. As Klæbo learned in his heat, even with speedy skis, the downhill is not decisive. It’s more a function of skiing out front, staying on your feet and entering the final straight with enough high-octane gas to turbo the finish.

    Up the final climbing stretch, which seems as eternal as some flame burning inside the Bragernes Church, Bolshunov faded slightly, while Klæbo and Brandsdal pulled ahead.

    Klæbo’s second takeaway: he already knew the course was won on the final straightaway climb. If he could match Bolshunov on the remainder of the course, Bolshunov could not mirror him in the final meters.

    The final played out like Klæbo’s semi. Bolshunov punched it early. Klæbo sat behind the Russian, matching him pole for pole, stride for stride. Up front was as good a place as any for Bolshunov. Besides the Russian, it was an all-Norwegian final. There was Klæbo and Brandsdal, along with Sindre Bjørnestad Skar, Kasper Stadaas and Emil Iversen.

    The men’s podium from Drammen’s 2018 classic sprint. Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (c) placed first, his teammate Eirik Brandsdal (l) was second, and Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov (r) finished third. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

    Bolshunov again led up and over the top of the course, through the S-turns and through the tucking downhill. Brandsdal trailed by 10 meters, but by the final turn before the uphill to the church’s front door, the threesome had regrouped. Again, as the double poling got down to business, Bolshunov faded, Klæbo pulled away and Brandsdal could only stay a second behind the day’s winner. And of course Klæbo was able to toe the line as he bowed to the frenzied crowd. Nothing to prove except he can win with panache and win in style when the Norwegian cameras turn out in force.

    Klæbo won the final in 2:44.69 minutes. Brandsdal followed 1.04 seconds back in second place, Bolshunov finished third (+3.78), Bjørnestad fourth (+6.55), Kaspar fifth (+8.71), and Iversen sixth (+11.45).

    Bjornsen Reaches Quarterfinals, 18th Overall

    Erik Bjornsen was the lone North American who advanced to the heats, qualifying in 26th and finishing the day in 18th.

    “I was feeling good,” Bjornsen told FasterSkier after the race. “It’s a tight course. It was a bit scrappy. … It’s my first time here qualifying for the heats, so I’m learning some things, for sure.”

    Bjornsen skied in the fifth quarterfinal with Iversen, Russia’s Alexander Panzhinskiy, Finland’s Ristomatti Hakola, Emil Nyeng of Norway, and France’s Lucas Chavanat.

    The American skied near the back of the group but avoided any real mishaps. Although the sport is not roller derby, Drammen’s tight-and-rutted corners offer up a close cross-country skiing cousin.

    The U.S. Ski Team’s Erik Bjornsen toeing the line in fourth during Wednesday’s fifth heat in Drammen, Norway. Bjornsen placed 18th on the day. (Screenshot: NRK broadcast)

    “I feel like – I kind of missed a few spots,” Bjornsen said.  “At the bottom corner I was pushed to the outside. I was almost moving up into second, and looking back maybe I should have gone around him on the other side.”

    Up the never-ending final straightaway, Bjornsen poled himself into a position to potentially advance to the semifinals as a lucky loser. However, that didn’t pan out for Bjornsen. Iversen won the heat in 2:51.96 minutes, Panzhinskiy placed second (+0.20), Hakola third (+0.99), with Bjornsen in fourth (+1.18).

    Andy Newell racing to 33rd in the men’s classic sprint qualifier at the World Cup in Drammen, Norway. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

    Also for the U.S., Andy Newell missed the quarterfinals after finishing 33rd in qualification, 0.9 seconds out of 30th. Logan Hanneman and Kevin Bolger finished 49th and 50th, respectively, and Reese Hanneman 56th. The U.S. Ski Team’s Simi Hamilton sat out Wednesday’s sprint as he is recovering from an illness.

    For Canada, Julien Locke finished 51st in qualifying, Alex Harvey was 54th, and Andy Shields 58th.

    Results: Qualifier | Final

  • Klæbo, Falla Defend Beito Sprint Titles; Newell 16th, Hart 31st for U.S.

    Klæbo, Falla Defend Beito Sprint Titles; Newell 16th, Hart 31st for U.S.

    Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo celebrates his first win of the season on Saturday in the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint FIS race in Beitostølen, Norway. (Photo: Aleks Tangen)

    BEITOSTØLEN, Norway — A year ago, 20-year-old Johannes Høsflot Klæbo leapt onto the scene with a season-opening skate-sprint win in Beitostølen. Before that, he made waves at 2016 U23 World Championships, winning gold in the skate sprint, 10-kilometer classic and 4 x 5 k relay. But until last season, Klæbo, a member of Norway’s national U23 team, was hardly a household name to those outside of Norwegian skiing circles.

    That all ended in Beito. Klæbo landed on the podium in the first World Cup sprint of the 2016/2017 season, placing third in the classic sprint in Kuusamo, Finland, and accumulated half a dozen podium finishes throughout last winter. He capped the season as the men’s U23 World Cup champion as well as the Sprint World Cup winner.

    Now a full-fledged member of the Norwegian Sprint World Cup Team, Klæbo, who turned 21 last month, returned to Beitostølen to post a second- and first-place finish so far in two International Ski Federation (FIS) races there. He started his season off by taking second in Friday’s 15 k classic, 18 seconds behind reigning Overall World Cup champion Martin Johnsrud Sundby.

    On Saturday, Klæbo won the 1.5 k classic sprint in Beitostølen without so much as a blemish, winning the qualifier to start the day then topping each of his heats en route to the final.

    Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo crossing the line first for the win in the men’s classic sprint final on Saturday at the FIS season-opener in Beitostølen, Norway. (Photo: Aleks Tangen)

    Up against five other Norwegians in the final, Klæbo raced to first once more in 3:50.4 minutes, finishing 1.1 seconds ahead of runner-up Kasper Stadaas. World Cup sprinter Eirik Brandsdal followed in third (+1.8), Fredrik Riseth was fourth (+6.4), Sondre Turvoll Fossli crossed in fifth (+6.7), and Emil Iversen was sixth (+9.2).

    “My goal was to ski a good race,” Klæbo told a group of reporters after. “I wanted to get away from the pack towards the end and luckily the gap remained until the end.”

    Iversen called attention to the young Norwegian while speaking with reporters after the race. “There has never been a talent like him,” Iversen said.

    With snow starting to fall just before the men’s qualifier, Klæbo fared best on the course, racing to a 3.07-second qualifying win over Riseth with a time of 3:39.76.

    Norwegian sprint coach Arild Monsen emphasized Klæbo’s ability to accelerate in and out of turns.

    “Cross-country skiing has seen some development in recent years with specific techniques in specific zones, and Johannes has developed an ability to take advantage of that,” Monsen told a group of reporters. “We saw that very clearly today. The trick is to technically skilled when you’re tired and he’s able to do that almost to point where we don’t understand how.”

    Klæbo went on to win his quarterfinal by 0.5 seconds over Norway’s Gjøran Tefre, then his semifinal by 0.2 seconds over Brandsdal. U.S. Ski Team member Andy Newell faced him in the quarterfinal, where Newell finished fourth in the heat, 3.7 seconds behind Klæbo and 2.6 seconds behind Norway’s Emil Nyeng in third. Newell missed advancing to the semifinals and finished the day in 16th overall.

    “I knew we were going to have a fast heat because Klæbo had set a pretty strong pace from the first hill on, so we were really close to lucky losers,” Newell told FasterSkier in a post-race interview. “The second heat was just barely faster.”

    With his second Beitostølen sprint victory, Klæbo told NRK that he was glad to get this race under his belt.

    “This felt good, and I’m glad that sprint is up and running,” he said. “This was a good race considering what will happen next weekend.”

    The World Cup kicks off next weekend in Kuusamo with a classic sprint on Nov. 24, followed by 15 k classic and 15 k freestyle races for the men on Nov. 25 and 26.

    The lone American man in Saturday’s race, Newell qualified in 11th, 10.86 seconds off Klæbo’s time.

    “Felt good in qualification, skis weren’t perfect because it started snowing just before,” Newell told FasterSkier after. “Skis were fast, but not quite enough grip, so we did a little re-wax for the heats.”

    He noted that he’s been working with Fischer in Beitostølen as he’s there without his team (the rest of the U.S. Ski Team is currently training in Rovaniemi, Finland).

    For the first 300 meters of his quarterfinal, six skiers started at a relaxed pace with Klæbo and Newell at the back of the pack leading into the the first downhill. While both were able to work their way to the front on the first climb, Newell lost steam on the second-to-last hill, “Danskebakken” (Danish hill).

    “I was stuck in the back up the first hill, so I had to burn a match to get to the front, which probably made me a little tired for the last hill,” Newell reflected.

    With what he called “great grip” up the big climb, he felt like he was dragging a bit over the top.

    “I was definitely getting a little tired on the flat part over the top,” he said. “Because it’s the first sprint, maybe I wasn’t aggressive enough in the transitions, maybe it’s because the skis were a little draggy, but it seemed like I would get passed by somebody or two people going into each hill.”

    With enough grip on the climbs, he would pass those racers back.

    “So tried to finish strong but not quite there, but it’s a long season and hopefully the body will feel a little better in Kuusamo,” Newell said. “It’s all good, just training so looking forward to the World Cup.”

    Out of the 30 men who qualified for Saturday’s sprint heats, only two were not Norwegian: Newell and Great Britain’s Andrew Young (who qualified 22nd). Young went on to finish the day in 23rd overall after finishing fifth in his quarterfinal.

    Falla Stuns with Late Attack 

    Maiken Caspersen Falla (l) leading the women’s final up a climb, along with fellow Norwegian national team member Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (in green) during the women’s 1.5 k classic sprint FIS race on Saturday in Beitostølen, Norway. (Photo: Aleks Tangen)

    In the women’s race, Maiken Caspersen Falla controlled the women’s race in a similar fashion to Klæbo, winning the qualifier, quarter, semi, and ultimately, the final.

    In the final, Falla, who won last year’s Beitostølen skate sprint as well as her second-straight Sprint World Cup Crystal Globe, skied with the pack until the final climb where she made her move before entering the final stretch alone. Falla, 27, finished 3.7 seconds clear of anybody in 3:01.1. In another all-Norwegian final, Mari Eide placed second and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen claimed third (+4.8). Tiril Udnes Weng placed fourth (+6.7), Kari Vikhagen Gjeitnes was fifth (+11.1) and Ane Appelkvist Stenseth was sixth (+18.5).

    Falla started the morning with a qualifying win in 2:54.86, 1.77 seconds ahead of Slovenia’s Katja Visnar in second. She didn’t slow down much for the heats, racing to first in each in 3:01.7, 3:02.3 and 3:01.1, respectively.

    “I felt that it went better and better and it’s wonderful to have that feeling when you’re sprinting,” Falla told NRK after.

    After watching her attack and pass three women on the final hill, NRK commentator Fredrik Aukland called her “the best sprinter in the world”.

    When asked if this performance was good enough to win any race in the future, she told a group of reporters, “I hope so, of course. There is finishing hill already next weekend that is kind of similar to this one and I have practiced running up hills a lot so it’s obviously fun to test it in a race.”

    Teammates with Newell on the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, Anne Hart raced to 31st for the second day in a row, missing qualifying in the top 30 by 0.28 seconds.

    “I am happy about my qualification,” she told FasterSkier immediately after her race, before she knew whether her time was fast enough for the heats. “The course is a lot faster than yesterday, good condition.”

    Hart started the qualifier third out of 58 women, just ahead of Visnar in bib 4. Her time was 17.55 seconds back from Falla’s.

    “I skied with Katja Visnar and she is really good classic sprinter,” Hart said. “… It feels really good to be able to ski with all these World Cup skiers.”

    Nichole Bathe, who was born in the U.S. but is racing for Great Britain, finished 33rd (+19.26), about 2 seconds out of the top 30.

    Canada’s Isabella Howden of Barrie Cross Country (BXC) finished 58th (+57.28) in the qualifier. In the men’s qualifier, her teammates Joey Foster and Scott James Hill finished 74th (+32.45) and 84th (+36.64), respectively, and fellow Canadians Ryan Jackson and Maks Zechel (who are training in Norway with Team Asker) finished 97th (+43.99) and 102nd (+48.48), respectively, out of 109.

    The Beitostølen weekend concludes with 10/15 k freestyle individual starts on Sunday.

    Results:

    Men’s qualifier | Men’s brackets

    Women’s qualifier | Women’s brackets

  • Teammates Square Off in All-Norwegian Final; Brandsdal Wins in Beito

    Teammates Square Off in All-Norwegian Final; Brandsdal Wins in Beito

    An all-Norwegian men's podium on Saturday at the 1.4 k classic-sprint World Cup opener in Kuusamo, Finland. Eirik Brandsdal (c) won it, Petter Northug (l) was second and Sondre Turvoll Fossli notched a career-best third in his first World Cup final. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
    Eirik Brandsdal (c) after winning the 2014/2015 World Cup opening classic sprint in Kuusamo, Finland last November with runner-up and teammate Petter Northug (l) and Sondre Turvoll Fossli. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    The men’s 1.5-kilometer classic sprint final on Sunday in Beitostølen, Norway, shaped up quite nicely for the home nation, the only country out of six with any athletes in the final. Even so, the all-Norwegian sprint finalists showed no mercy on one another, as Eirik Brandsdal was all smiles after beating Petter Northug by 0.6 seconds in the final.

    For the 29-year-old sprint specialist, race tactics were key to Brandsdal’s win.

    “In the finals, I got [what I] desired and planned,” he told Langrenn, according to a translation. “I knew that Pål [Golberg] would go strongly in front and that Petter would lie slightly behind.”

    With no no room for hesitation, Brandsdal accelerated up the final rise in order to get in front and sped toward the finish ahead of Northug.

    Eirik Brandsdal (NOR) and Len Valjas (CAN) charge to the finish line during the final heat. Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus.
    Norway’s Eirik Brandsdal (1) charges to the finish line for a World Cup classic sprint title in Drammen Norway, in 2012. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    After he made his move past Northug, Brandsdal recalled thinking one thing, ” ‘Do not look back. Imagine that you have the devil at your heels.’ “

    He told Adressa that “It was great to keep ‘the king’ behind [me] and on the run. It only [makes me] look forward to Kuusamo. I guess we have a new challenge there.”

    The World Cup season starts in less than two weeks in Kuusamo, Finland.

    While Brandsdal won the final in 3:38.3 — the fastest course time of the day — Northug placed second and Pål Golberg was third, 1.2 seconds back.

    The runner-up by six-tenths of a second, Northug declined to comment after the final. Throughout the day, his sprint rounds were nothing short of interesting, starting with his quarterfinal, which Northug won by 0.2 seconds over Norwegian up-and-comer Emil Nyeng, 24. Nyeng (Ringebu-Faavang Skiklubb) won the qualifier to start the day by 1.9 seconds over 23-year-old Sindre Odberg Palm (Spydeberg Il).

    Petter Northug racing in 2014 in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
    Petter Northug racing in 2014 in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    Also in that quarterfinal, Northug, 29, faced off against his two younger brothers, Tomas, 25, and Even, 20. While Northug and Nyeng automatically advanced in the top two, France’s Baptiste Gros moved on as a lucky loser in third, and Tomas and Even placed fourth and fifth in the heat, respectively.

    “I know that I am better than them,” Petter Northug said of his brothers to Langrenn. “I did not choose [to] start as number two, but I gave my place to Even and stood in the second row.” 

    Northug qualified 11th, Even was 20th in the qualifier and Tomas made the cut in 30th.

    The trio didn’t back off the pace, posting the second-fastest quaterfinal heat time. In the end, however, only Petter advanced to the semifinals. There, Northug and Brandsdal raced neck-and-neck to the line, ending in a photo finish for the win. They advanced with identical times.  

    Previously, Brandsdal, who qualified fifth, topped Golberg by 0.6 seconds to win their quarterfinal.

    One name missing from the sprint final was Norwegian sprint specialist Ola Vigen Hattestad, who did not advance past the quarterfinals. Instead, Palm, Morten Eide Pedersen and Martin Løstrøm Nyenget rounded out the final, finishing fourth (+2.8), fifth (+4.9) and sixth (+6.5), respectively.