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Ruka, Finland is an area known for challenging race courses and rapidly changing conditions. As the women’s field wrapped up the morning race, the men took on the course under snowfall and near-freezing temperatures. With dusk settling in and the stadium lights casting a glow over the trails, it was a classic start to the World Cup season in Ruka. For the wax technicians, the unexpected snowfall added extra complexity to the afternoon’s preparations. With no precipitation predicted, technicians battled the fresh snow and near-freezing temperatures to craft a kick that would allow athletes to stride on Ruka’s infamous climbs. The loose snow on the uphills forced racers into herringbone, a technique that saps energy and momentum, while the choppy surface caused slips and stumbles as skiers fought to maintain their rhythm.
The biggest question of the day: could Finland’s Iivo Niskanen finally outpace Norway’s Martin Loewstroem Nyenget in their highly anticipated battle after a close finish in last year’s event?
It turns out he could. Niskanen claimed the top spot on the podium, delivering a thrilling victory for his home crowd by more than 12 seconds. He was followed by Norwegians Harald Oestberg Amundsen in second, and Nyenget in third, with just two seconds separating the teammates. This pair fought for the podium positions alongside other Norwegian teammates with similar splits over the course of the race.
North American skiers also celebrated strong results today: Gus Schumacher finished 18th, Ben Odgen, 29th, Zanden McMullen, 30th, Zak Ketterson, 36th, Hunter Wonders, 48th, and Michael Earnhart, 57th.
The two Canadian athletes, Xavier McKeever and Max Hollmann, finished 32nd and 50th, respectively.
Men’s 10 k Classic Interval Start
Home-country favorite and distance specialist, Niskanen, claimed the victory, delivering a commanding performance before a crowd of his boisterous countrymen. Starting mid-pack, Niskanen quickly established his dominance, leading the field by the 1.5 k check. He extended his advantage to 5.1 seconds at 3.1 k, 10 seconds at 5 k, and maintained a steady pace to finish 12.5 seconds ahead of Amundsen in second place. Amundsen was a favorite for the podium, defending his overall World Cup win last season. Niskanen crossed the line beaming, pounding his hands in celebration toward the crowd, clearly thrilled with his victory on familiar terrain. Nyenget claimed third place, finishing just two seconds behind Amundsen after delivering a strong performance in the early stages of the race.
A strong group of Norwegians competed for the following positions, coming in with similar splits throughout the race. This group included medalists Amudsen and Nyenget, as well as their teammates Erik Valnes, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, and Andres Fjorden Ree. Ree dropped back after 5 k and Simon Hegstad Kreuger caught up to the pace set by his teammates around 6 k. Just seconds behind this pack of six Norwegians was Jens Burman (SWE), a strong mid-distance skier who has seen success in this discipline before.
Klaebo was favored to contend for the win after his dominance late last season, though finished 28 seconds behind Niskanen in fourth place today. While this might seem surprising, it’s not an uncharacteristic early season result for Klaebo, who placed 14th in this race last year before dominating the second half of the season. If he has taken a similar strategy this year, we might expect Klaebo to start challenging the top of the distance podium positions by the start of January.
The American men also saw progress compared to their results in last year’s Ruka 10 k classic. Schumacher delivered a strong 18th place performance, improving on last year’s 22nd place in this race with one of his best-ever finishes in this discipline, second only to his 15th-place results in Toblach (2023–24) and Oberstdorf (2022–23). “I’m always thinking about technique and I feel like that leads to slight improvements over the long term, Schumacher said. “I think that idea of slight improvements over long term is what gets me here today.”
Ogden, who is returning to the circuit after his previous season was cut short by mononucleosis, showed he’s back in form. “I worked on pacing in workouts,” Ogden noted regarding his transition back to the race circuit. “While today wasn’t perfect, I feel like It wasn’t bad by my standards, especially for not racing in a while. Excited to see how this can develop and make me faster over the next few months.” After finishing 39th in Ruka last year, Ogden opened this season with a strong 29th place finish today—a promising ten-spot improvement that bodes well for the upcoming season.
“It’s so fun being back with everyone, team USA and beyond,” Ogden shared following his race. “Cross country skiing is a small community and sometimes I don’t appreciate how awesome everyone from all the nations are until I have to leave them for a while. Congratulating everyone after the races and getting fired up is just so fun.”
Coach Matt Whitcomb is pleased with the team’s results.“We’re in a pretty good spot right now,” Whitcomb shared. “Very representative of a team that’s going to have a great season and isn’t quite sharp yet. So we all feel good about it.”
Be sure to follow the action in tomorrow’s skate sprint and Sunday’s 20 k skate, as the Americans continue to build strength and momentum heading into the rest of the season.
RESULTS Men’s 10 k Classic Interval Start
