Second Day in a Row—Valnes Emerges at the Front

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For World Cup racers, mass start racing is always tense, nervous, high-risk, rough-and-tumble. Long skinny skis and long fragile poles make close-quarters racing—on courses seldom more than four tracks wide—a bit of a crap shoot. Contenders constantly press forward to secure spots near the front. Everyone wants to be near the leaders, out of trouble, in range of whatever breakaways may be attempted, but no one really wants to lead. Much can happen, opportunities can present themselves, disasters can occur. Just ask Scott Patterson (USA) who fell on one of the opening downhills and was forced to spend the rest of the day playing catch-up. On the other hand, on a day when the best skiers appeared to have well-matched skis (no apparent advantages in waxes, bases, or structure), and when the field is content to simply match pace and remain together, then mass start racing can seem a bit, well, boring.

Fans hope for action, for dominance, for breakaways. for chases, for well-orchestrated sprints. So when we witness a ho-hum race, it’s relatively disappointing. Even comments made to reporters in the winner’s circle described tactics that served to make today’s racing less than exciting.

“It was all about position, and staying in the top ten,” said race winner, Erik Valnes (NOR). “I was feeling very strong and just waiting for the finish.”

“Staying in the top ten:” not exactly bumper-to-bumper NASCAR-style racing out there . . .

While the pace was set by representatives of numerous nations—Finland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain—the international field ultimately succumbed to Norwegian pressure in the closing meters. With his second victory in as many days, Valnes showed off the form that has propelled him to numerous wins this season. Behind him finished a string of his Norwegian teammates: Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, Paal Golberg, and Matti Stenshagen. Federico Pellegrino’s (ITA) fifth place finish was the first of the non-Norwegians, just ahead of Perttu Hyvarinen (FIN), William Poromaa (SWE), and Antoine Cyr (CAN).

North Americans were led by Cyr’s excellent eighth place finish, another top ten in his season of quality finishes. Other Canadian finishers included Olivier Leveille 33^rd, Xavier McKeever 43^rd, Max Hollman 49^th, and Julien Locke 66^th. American finishers included Zak Ketterson 40th, Gus Schumacher 44th, Scott Patterson 51^st, Peter Wolter 55^th, and JC Schoonmaker 60^th. Perhaps recovering from his sixth place finish in Friday’s Classic Sprint, Ben Ogden chose not to start Saturday’s 20 k Classic Mass Start.

20 k Classic Mass Start

Action in the 20 k Classic Mass Start was epitomized by conservative tactics and measured efforts, with different leaders setting the pace in each lap. After a season interrupted by illness, Iivo Niskanen (FIN) returned to the 20 k Class Mass Start, the race in which he is Olympic champion. He led much of Lap 1 ahead of a host of Norwegians who marked his pace. By the end of lap two, Niskanen had been absorbed by the group as Paal Golberg (NOR) led through the 6.6 kilometer checkpoint.

Andrew Musgrave (GBR) led most of Lap 3, but the lead group was still a tightly assembled pack of 30+. The field came through the halfway point with Nyenget and Musgrave leading the way.

Returning from illness that prevented his competing in the Tour de Ski, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) spent the day hovering in the middle of the lead pack. During Klaebo’s mid-season absence, Valnes—winner of Friday’s Sprint competition in Oberhof—has begun to appear like the man to beat in both sprint and distance events. Staying near the front throughout the day, Valnes led lap four while Niskanen also returned to the front of the field.

Musgrave again pressed the issue in lap five, closely marked by Nyenget, Stenshagen, Valnes, and Klaebo. The field thinned to 20+; still, no significant breaks had occurred among contenders.

Niskanen pressed forward to push the pace in the final lap. He knew he would need to shake off the sprinters if he had a chance of winning. The field did begin to string out, but Niskanen was marked closely by Valnes who showed no reluctance to trade leads at the front. In the end, Valnes simply pushed a pace that no one else could better. He extended his lead by a few meters as he crossed the finish line, his Norwegian teammates scrabbling for podium positions in his wake.

20 k Classic Mass Start RESULTS