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As the eyes of cross-country World Cup competitors begin to turn their gaze toward North America, one task remained for them before they could begin to focus on packing their bags for the long journey west. That task was the 20 k Mass Start Freestyle contested today in Goms, Switzerland. In the men’s competition, none of the leaders could afford to look too far down the road. Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) still led the Overall Crystal Globe competition by 201 points over Erik Valnes (NOR) going into today’s race. And while it’s a sizeable lead, he certainly wasn’t in the position to put things on cruise control just yet. Valnes wasn’t racing today, but always lurking was the ever-present Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) who, after an up and down season marred by illness, was looking to reassert his dominance on the World Cup scene.
The race for the Distance Championship has some interesting twists and turns going on. Amundsen also leads that competition, but his lead was only 78 points over Paal Goldberg (NOR). More intriguing is that Andrew Musgrave (GBR) was in third place in the Distance Cup, but his lead was only one point over Hugo Lapalus (FRA). A podium finish in any of the Cups for Musgrave would be a huge feather in his cap, but he would need to be extra vigilant to try to fend off the surging Lapalus.
For the Americans, it was time to sharpen the sword and get ready to come home in good form. The regular duo of Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher would be joined by Scott Patterson, Peter Wolter, Zak Ketterson, and Kevin Bolger for the final tune-up before the return to North America.
Mass Start Freestyle races can be very tactical affairs; racers will often remain grouped in a moderately-paced pack for much of the race. FIS has tried to reduce this strategy by introducing bonus points into distance races. In today’s race, there were bonus points at 9.5 and 14.5 kilometers. First place at a bonus section gains a racer an additional 15 points toward the Distance and Overall standings. Musgrave or Lapalus might try and steal a page from Jessie Diggins’ playbook in the Oberhof 20-kilometer race and push hard at the bonus section sprints.
There was a little bit of rain overnight in Goms that froze and made the conditions fast as it mixed into the snow. Today, FIS didn’t have to worry about skiers dawdling on the course. The finishing times revealed just how fast the conditions were, and how willing racers were to take advantage of the conditions as Klaebo claimed victory in a time of 39:25—for a race of 20 kilometers! Klaebo’s countryman, Simen Hegstad Krueger, was second, with Jules Lapierre (FRA) taking third. Amundsen was able to protect his Cup standings by finishing fourth. Musgrave finished 12th and his podium rival Lapalus was 13th, allowing Musgrave to maintain his slim margin in the Distance competition. But now there were four skiers within 16 points of him; Klaebo is one of them.
After the race Klaebo, said that “it was fun and [I] felt really strong.” When asked about his chances for the Overall Cup, he admitted that he was too far back to contend for the Overall competition but was happy to be feeling good again, feeling normal, and going to Canada with a good feeling.
The top American was Gus Schumacher in 14th place in a time of 39:49. He was followed by Patterson in 18th, Ogden 35th, Bolger 42nd, Ketterson 43rd, and Wolter 49th.
Antoine Cyr was the top Canadian, only 37 seconds off the lead in 22nd. Sasha Masson finished 36th, Xavier McKeever 55th, Thomas Stephen 57th, and Derek Deuling 61st. Max Hollmann did not finish.
After the race, Schumacher revealed that his strategy was “to try to relax in the pack as long as possible so I could have the energy to move up when it got hard. . . . Also, I wanted to ski the downhills well to take places where it was a bit easier. Honestly, I struggled to maintain a good position in the first couple of laps, so that part didn’t go super well, but I had energy when it started to string out and made those said ‘money moves’ into some bonus points.”
Men’s 20 k Freestyle Mass Start
Amundsen and Musgrave went to the front early and set a quick pace. Skiers stayed together in one large pack, spreading out as they proceeded down the first technical downhill turn. Even though the skiers looked relaxed, the conditions made the pace fast as everyone was clearly working hard through the tight, high-speed corners.
At 4.5 kilometers, Friedrich Moch (GER) pushed to the front keeping the pace brisk and didn’t give the group a chance to let up.
Ben Ogden had been pushed down to 23rd but was only six seconds off the lead as all of the top skiers were fighting for position. The racers continued in one large pack with Amundsen never straying far from the front. But the standings were a little deceptive as only 14 seconds separated first from 44th.
The speeds were fast as skiers struggled to stay on the marked course as they worked through the fast tight corners. As the pack approached the first time bonus, the pace quickened even more and the pack spread out. Klaebo then did what he does best: put in a quick sprint to head to the front, easily taking the winner’s 15 bonus points.
After the fight for bonus points was over, Musgrave went back into the lead. All of the jockeying back and forth for points had little additional effect on spreading out the field. There were still 39 skiers within 16 seconds of the lead.
At the next bonus section Klaebo again went to the front to claim the full 15 points. As it turned out, it was Klaebo, not Musgrave who would utilize the bonus points tactic. As Klaebo surged, he was joined by Schumacher who took a run to the front crossing the bonus line sixth. Beda Klee (SUI) was also cheered on by the hometown crowd as he shot into the lead for a brief time after the bonus sprint.
At 16 kilometers the intensity ratcheted up as skiers without a big finishing sprint knew that they would need to create a gap to have a chance at the finish. Joining that group was Scott Patterson who had moved up to 15th, still only ten seconds off the lead. Patterson had been looking to rebound after what he called “a tough weekend in Oberhof.”
“I tried to ski smooth but stay near the front,” Patterson said. “That worked well until the leaders started really pushing the last lap. I didn’t quite have the speed and energy but [I’m] still quite satisfied with a strong result to finish off this European block.”
As the intensity continued to increase, Krueger, Amundsen, Klaebo, and Golberg began to assert their dominance. They quickly broke the lead pack into a group of six skiers that included Jules Lapierre (FRA) who was coming off his recent triumph up Alpe Cermis in the Tour de Ski. It was then Krueger and Klaebo who went to the front, and the pair separated from the lead pack. As the duo hit the final kilometers, they skied in tandem with Krueger taking the lead and Klaebo marking his every move. Going into the final hill before the stadium, Krueger desperately tried to make a break, but couldn’t separate himself from Klaebo. Klaebo never panicked and stayed on Krueger’s tails the entire way. Entering the stadium Klaebo switched on the after-burners; in a flash he was past Krueger. Klaebo had put on such a quick intense burst that he was able to slow down at the finish and take a look around to enjoy the sights.
While the two Norwegians were battling for the victory, Jules Lapierre (FRA) had moved to the front of the chase group and held on to finish third.
Schumacher finished strong to claim 14th, but the placing was a little deceptive as he was only 12 seconds off the podium.
Klaebo’s finishing time of 39:25 was testimony to the fast conditions, and to the willingness of the racers to take advantage of the speedy course and keep the pace fast the entire way.
Next stops on the World Cup: Canmore, Alberta, followed by Minneapolis, Minnesota. Be sure to continue to visit FasterSkier for our in-depth coverage as the world of cross -country skiing comes to North America.
20 k Freestyle Mass Start RESULTS
