Norway Rules in Lillehammer—Nyenget Scorches 10 k Freestyle

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There will be a Cross-Country World Championships in Trondheim, Norway later this winter—and it looks like the anticipation of those important race days on the International Ski Federation (FIS) calendar is causing this season to be viewed in a whole new way. In seasons past, the rewards of performing well in the year-long FIS World Cup standings would’ve inspired many skiers to enter every single available World Cup race, even when they were tired (rationalizing that everyone else would’ve been tired), maybe even when they were sick (can’t afford to take a day off in which some other skier could steal their points). Even the exhaustion-inducing, plague-generating Tour de Ski (and the massive number of points it offers) has generally been seen to be so important that skiers risked ruining their whole season by skipping it. Not anymore: FIS has already announced plans to investigate alternative scheduling—and reconfigured scoring values—of future Tour de Ski events so that racers will continue to consider it valuable. As for the tightly packed races of World Cup weekends, World Championship contenders are already selectively entering—and selectively skipping—those. And the season is only two weekends old.

With what’s certain to be the astronomical value of a Norwegian victories in World Championship races contested on native soil, Team Norway seems to be taking a different approach to those days on the FIS calendar. Last week in Ruka, Finland, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo was said to have displayed mild cold symptoms—he did not start Sunday’s 20 k Freestyle Mass Start, a race he truly was likely to have won (healthy or not). This on a weekend when he had already earned his way into the FIS World Cup overall leaders bib (Klaebo’s absence from Sunday’s 20 k would deliver the bib to Norwegian teammate—and defending Crystal Globe winner—Harald Oestberg Amundsen).

In this weekend’s Lillehammer World Cup races, Team Norway is entitled to a whole host of starters—eight for being the nation of a World Cup overall winner (Amundsen), and another four as the host nation of the weekend’s racing in Lillehammer. Twelve Norwegian starters lined up for the Men’s 10 k Freestyle—Iver Tildheim Andersen, Mattis Stenshagen, Didrik Toenseth, Simen Hegstad Krueger, Paal Golberg, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, Jan Thomas Jenssen, Andreas Fjorden Ree, Sander Haukvik-Jensen, Einar Hedegart, Ole Tafjord Suhrke, and Amundsen—but no Klaebo on the roster. Team physicians have suggested that his case of the Ruka-sniffles continues . . . so no racing for him on Friday. He’s likely to rise from his sick bed just in time to smack around the rest of the competition in Saturday’s Sprints. Then we’ll see what he has left for Sunday’s Skiathlon. What’s evident is that Klaebo (perhaps more than any other skier) is planning his season so that “what he has left” on race day will find him at his absolute best when the World Championships come to Trondheim.

Other teams’ star athletes are already following suit: Team Sweden’s Frida Karlsson followed up her utterly dominant performance in Ruka’s 20 k Classic Individual Start by skipping the 20 k Freestlye Mass Start only two days later (a race in which she would’ve been certain to contend for the win). But the World Cup is filled with fine athletes, and so many of them DID race the event in Lillehammer. In the end, Norway continued its dominance with eight skiers in the top ten and a decisive a victory for Nyenget, followed by Krueger in second and Amundsen in third.

Among Americans, Gus Schumacher finished 25^th, followed by Ben Ogden (31^st), Zanden McMullen (32^nd), John steel Hagenbuch (38^th), Hunter Wonders (53^rd), Michael Earnhart (64^th), Zak Ketterson (72^nd).

Canadian racers in Lillehammer included Antoine Cyr (35^th), Max Hollmann (37^th), Xavier McKeever (63^rd), Olivier Leveille (66^th), Sasha Masson (68^th).

10 k Freestyle Interval Start

Fans of American skiing were eager to see if Ogden could make a mini-comeback after a less-than-stellar couple of races (and a DNS in the 20 k Mass Satrt) in Ruka a week ago. Though cameras were able to follow Ogden for the first meters of the start, he looked to begin very conservatively, very relaxed.

“Definitely pretty had conditions,” said Schumacher. The hills, especially, were quite soft . . . kinda no matter what you did, it seemed like that last lap was really hard.”

Strong early splits by Joe Davies (GBR) and Naoto Baba (JPN) gave hope to the early starters, but once the wave of Norwegians took to the course, all earlier contenders turned back into pumpkins. Andersen displaced early-leader, Davies by a whopping 23 seconds at the 3.5 kilometer mark. Racing in a pair of distinctly un-Nordic mirror-backed shades, Andersen (winner of last year’s Lillehammer World Cup 10 k Freestyle) blitzed all earlier starters and appeared positioned to repeat his 2023 Lillehammer 10 k World Cup win. But Andersen would find himself replaced in the leader’s chair by Krueger, who would then be displaced by Nyenget’s stunning 22:58 finish.

“The condition today was really tough,” said, Nyenget. “I worked really hard with my motivation—this track and also this condition is not my favorite—but today I had a fantastic good day and good skis, so then it was a great experience.”

Late starter, Amundsen, skied brilliantly to claim third place on the podium, and in active defense of his World Cup Overall leader’s bib (ahead of Nyenget by 47 points). But the day was definitely Nyenget’s whose victory was made even more impressive when the finishing gaps are considered: more than a minute separated the top ten finishers.

“Last week in Ruka I was really happy,” Nyenget comented after the race. “But to take this win is something extra. Obviously one of my best races, I think.”

Naturally, all Norwegian team skiers are conscious of the bright media spotlight that illuminates their performances each week. Ironically, Nyenget’s career-day may be overlooked in the selection for World Championship starting positions since the 10 k Freestyle is not one of the events slated to be contested in Trondheim later this season. But it’s always a special occasion for any Norwegian skier to find himself atop a World Cup podium.

“It’s a special season with the championship in Trondheim,” said Nyenget. “So fantastic to have a great start for this season.”

Lillehammer 10 k Freestyle Interval Start RESULTS