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The guy is just unbelievable . . . on a day when steady snow fall, swirling winds, and temperatures just above freezing would seem to allow fewer racing advantages for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), still he bested the best Classic skier in the world—Iivo Niskanen (FIN)—in a 10 k Classic Individual Start. Coasting to a 22 second win over Niskanen and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR), Klaebo delivered the 15th individual World Cup win of his 2023-2024 season, and the 83rd win of his remarkable World Cup career.
“With the snow and the conditions and everything, it was a really tough one,” said Klaebo in post-race comments. “The season so far has been really good. I’m looking forward to finishing it up tomorrow.”
Finishing eighth on the day, Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) succeeded in protecting his lead in the World Cup Overall standings. While Klaebo took back 31 points from Amundsen with today’s race victory, Amundsen has proven to be a master of damage control in recent races. Amundsen maintains a lead of 112 points—a comfortable gap ahead of Klaebo as they enter tomorrow’s final World Cup race of the season. In order to snatch the World Cup Overall title from Amundsen, Klaebo would need to win tomorrow’s 20 k Mass Start—AND win all the bonus points—while Amundsen would finish no better than 39th. Sport is a crazy environment, and the mathematics suggest that such a turnaround remains possible, though only if disaster strikes Amundsen. Even Klaebo is not likely to wish for that sort of conclusion.
Canada’s Antoine Cyr delivered a tremendous 11th place finish in Falun. Other Canadian finishers included Xavier McKeever 45th, and Sam Hendry 66th. American finishers included Gus Schumacher 24th, Zanden McMullen 27th, Zak Ketterson 41st, Scott Patterson 68th, Peter Wolter 84th.
10 k Classic Individual Start
The women’s race (earlier in the day) was skied on zeros (skis prepared by roughing up the kick zone with sandpaper). With similar conditions for the men’s race—temperatures near freezing, swirling winds, falling snow, and deteriorating tracks—the men’s teams seemed likely to make similar equipment choices.
Niskanen had the disadvantage of the earliest start position among the contenders, so he was forced to go it alone—and on skis that he later described as having been the wrong choice. Klaebo, Niskanen, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR), and Henrik Doennestad (NOR) continued to top the mid-race checkpoint standings with Klaebo coming through third in the first few checkpoints, then establishing himself at the top of the leader board at 4.3 k. From then on, Klaebo would lead at all intermediate checkpoints, eventually coasting across the line for a 22 second win over runner-up Niskanen and third-place Nyenget.
Canadian, Antoine Cyr, delivered a fine race result (11th), benefitting from the opportunity to follow eventual fifth place finisher, Henrik Doennestad (NOR). Cyr reset his own efforts as Doennestad passed, and tailed him gamely all the way through the finish line. It was brave, cagey racing on Cyr’s part.
Amundsen maintains a lead in the overall standings, so he is the skier in the field with much to lose. His expertly executed race could be seen in his chosen strategy: start slow, and gradually increase the pace. Amundsen’s checkpoint splits: 18th, 20th, 16th, 14th, 7th, 5th. It was evident that Amundsen managed his effort to make sure he would not blow up. How remarkable it is to watch athletes at the top of their game as they seek to measure their efforts and control circumstances.
10 k Class Individual Start RESULTS
John Teaford
John Teaford—the Managing Editor of FasterSkier — has been the coach of Olympians, World Champions, and World Record Holders in six sports: Nordic skiing, speedskating, road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, triathlon. In his long career as a writer/filmmaker, he spent many seasons as Director of Warren Miller’s annual feature film, and Producer of adventure documentary films for Discovery, ESPN, Disney, National Geographic, and NBC Sports.
