Two Sprint Victories in a Row for Chanavat, Schumacher fourth

John Teaford · January 3, 2024

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Gus Schumacher (USA) continued the recent trend of American men advancing to World Cup Sprint Finals. Throughout the heats, he would play a tactical game that saw him finish a career-best fourth. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)

Lucas Chanavat (FRA) did a pretty impressive thing a few days ago in Stage 1 of the 2024 Tour de Ski: he won. Ask anyone who knows World Cup Sprinting, and they’ll tell you that Chanavat was fully equipped to win: he was supposed to win, he was expected to win. But winning is still not an easy thing to do. For much of the 2023-2024 season, Chanavat has been the second best sprinter in the world. So when the. best sprinter in the world (Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo) is absent from a sprint race, then Chanavat should win, right? Wouldn’t it be nice if the whole world were as simple as that? But that’s not the way World Cup Nordic skiing works. Again, Davos’ Tour de Ski Freestyle Sprint appeared to be Chanavat’s to win. but he still had to DO it . . .

The middle of the Tour de Ski is often a place where distance skiers may excel in the Sprints. Exhausted sprinters develop chinks in their fast-twitch armor as the efforts of two prior days of distance racing tends to clip their wings. Evidently, Chanavat had a plan for that typical sprinter’s dilemma: he endured considerable criticism in the press this week for his performance in Monday’s Pursuit race—he effectively walked the challenging portions of the Pursuit course, and finished (among other skiers) well outside the Tour de Ski stage cut-off time. But Tour organizers seemed reluctant to disqualify their most charismatic sprinter, so Chanavat (and the other slow finishers) were granted a waiver of the cut-off time rule. Chanavat used that reprieve to become the top qualifier in the Davos Sprint competition which he would go on the win the Sprint with relative ease ahead of Edvin Anger (SWE) and Federico Pellegrino (ITA). American, Gus Schumacher would weave skillfully through the final of Sprint final contenders to finish a career-best fourth.

Zanden McMullen and Kevin Bolger both qualified for the heats, but neither would advance beyond their quarterfinals. Tour de Ski Points Leader, Ben Ogden, dropped out of the tour prior to today’s competition. Coaches reported that Ogden’s roommate, JC Schoonmaker had fallen ill just prior to the Tour de Ski; while the team attempted to keep Ogden healthy, it seems that he has succumbed to the cold that felled his roommate.

Lucas Chanavat (FRA) raises the traditional Davos’ World Cup winner’s trophy after his victory in the Tour de Ski Stage 4 Freestyle Sprint. In the absence of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), Chanavat is definitely the dominant World Cup sprinter. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)

Men’s Freestyle Sprint

Chanavat won Quarterfinal 1 with ease, ahead of Benjamin Moser (AUT) and Schumacher who would advance to the semifinal as a lucky loser. Current Tour de Ski leader, Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR), tumbled out of the race early in the heat, appearing to have been inadvertently interfered with by Moser whose pole may have poked the tail of Amundsen’s outside ski. Completely accidental, no penalty assessed: that’s just the way things go in sprinting. Even so, Amundsen was certainly displeased as he rose dejectedly and slammed his pole furiously into the snow. He knew what an advantage had been lost. His lead over his countryman, Erik Valnes, sat at just 32 seconds. Valnes would advance to the final, but would be visibly exhausted, finishing a distant sixth. The Overall Tour de Ski standings tightened at the top, but none of the contenders looked especially sharp.

Zanden McMullen (USA) qualified for the heats for the first time in his young career, but he would face a seriously stacked quarterfinal that included Federico Pellegrino (ITA), Evensen, Lauri Vuorinen (FIN), Renaud Jay (FRA), and Paal Golberg (NOR). Evensen led out the quarterfinal while Pellegrino sat patiently, making his move in the finishing straight to win the heat. McMullen would finish fifth.

Kevin Bolger (USA) was the day’s 16^th fastest qualifier, and he would never have a better chance to advance than through his under-powered quarterfinal heat against Janik Riebli (SUI), Joni Maki (FIN), Martino Carollo (ITA), Emil Danielsson (SWE), and Valnes. Sadly, Bolger never truly contended in the heat, finishing fourth but well behind the lucky loser time.

Gus Schumacher (USA) celebrates his fourth-place finish with Stifel U.S. Ski Team personnel. (Photo:

Semifinals

Semifinal 1 matched Chanavat against Evensen, Valerio Grond (SUI), Lauri Vuorinen (FIN), Moser, and Pellegrino. Chanavat simply powered at the front without ever seeming to over-commit. He eased across the line in first place, while Pellegrino (ever the cagey veteran) passed Grond on the inside of the final turn to take the other automatic qualifying spot.

The second semifinal gave Schumacher his chance to show what he could do, but Haavard Solaas Taugboel (NOR), Valnes, Anger, Janik Riebli (SUI) stood in his way. Schumacher sat at the back of the field throughout the two laps as Anger and Riebli pushed the pace at the front. Riebli fell on the sweeping right hand turn that inexplicably claimed so many racers in Davos’ night sprint (what’s up with that turn?), allowing Schumacher to move up into a battle for second as the field reached the final uphill. Anger and Taugboel powered across the line (an exhausted Anger nearly taking himself down in the final meters). Schumacher was overtaken by Jenssen in the finishing straightaway, but both Jenssen and Schumacher advanced to the final as lucky losers.

Visibly exhausted by his efforts thus far in the Tour, Valnes coasted across the line sixth, far behind the winners.

Lucas Chanavat (FRA) (l) led from the front throughout each of the day’s heats in Davos. Gus Schumacher (USA), (r) wove skillfully through each heat to finish a career-best fourth. (Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)

Sprint Final

As he had done all day, Chanavat led out the sprint final. Schumacher lurked in the rear, staying out of trouble and stepping gingerly through the turn that had taken down so many contenders in Davos.

Chanavat played his tactic to the end, launching an acceleration near the top of the final uphill that none of the others could match. Anger was quickly gapped, but managed to hold off Pellegrino over the top of the hil, and down the other side to the finish line. Chanavat first, Anger second (his first World Cup podium performance), Pellegrino third. Schumacher would work his way skillfully through the field to finish a career-best fourth.

Chanavat has had quite a week—victory in Stage 1, lethargy and ridicule in Stage 3, another victory in Stage 4—winning the races that the oddsmakers expected him to win. It really doesn’t seem likely that Chanavat’s from-the-front tactic would’ve proven successful had Klaebo been here . . . but Chanavat knew the field that he was faced with. His confidence, fitness, and skill were more than enough to produce the victory in Davos.

Tour de Ski (Davos) Freestyle Sprint RESULTS