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Straight after his victory in yesterday’s Norwegian National Championships, Even Northug (NOR) hopped on a plane and showed up in Les Rousses, France in time to contest his Sprint qualifier (in which he advanced to the quarterfinals by placing 13th). Being one of the few Norwegian contenders who never intended to race the Norwegian distance events, Northug was free to grab his championship medal, and make a run for the continent to take advantage of what appeared to be a “soft” World Cup Sprint field. Appearances can be deceiving . . .
Fresh off his own podium finish in yesterday’s 10 k Freestyle interval start, Ben Ogden was riding a wave of momentum that carried him to the top qualifying time, .5 seconds ahead of Lucas Chanavat (FRA), 2.5 seconds ahead of Erik Valnes (NOR). But speedy Sprint qualifying is not always the best indicator of Sprint eventual success. In Les Rousses, it was Sweden’s Edvin Anger who would dash to the victory, ahead of Ansgar Evensen (NOR) and Valnes. JC Schoonmaker would complete a brilliant day with a fifth place finish. Ogden finished fifth in his semifinal heat, only .01 seconds from a lucky loser spot that would have advanced him to the Final. He would end the day in ninth.
Americans had advanced three skiers into the quarterfinals: Ogden qualifying first, Schoonmaker seventh (he would finish the day in fifth), Zak Ketterson 16th (he would end the day in 21st). Other American finishers included Luke Jager 39th, Murphy Kimball 42nd, and Jack Young 45th.
Canadians in qualifying included Olivier Leveille 48th, Julian Smith 51st, and Remi Drolet 52nd.
Quarterfinals
In the absence of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo—absolutely the dominant sprinter of the age—the men’s world Cup field can sometimes look like they don’t know what to do. It’s less a factor of Klaebo’s speed—he seems to win whether the race is fast or slow, tactical or flat out. What’s really missing is Klaebo setting the example of the fastest line. He demonstrates a sixth sense for finding the fastest side of the track, quickest lane around any turn, the shortest route to the finish line. In his absence, every Sprint heat seems to be an independent experiment in tactics and speeds. It’s not as though Sprinting is unexciting when Klaebo is absent, but viewers may find themselves not knowing whom to watch.
Wearing the U23 leader’s bib, Anger controlled Quarterfinal 1 from the front, leading until the final turn when the faster skis of Valnes took control.
Quarterfinal 2 was a slow, tactical affair in which perennial contender Richard Jouve (FRA) trailed the field, and proved unable to advance. The heat was controlled by Ansgar Evensen (NOR) and Emil Danielssonn (SWE).
Ogden moved to the front of Quarterfinal 3, controlling the pace and marking any early moves. He double poled powerfully across the finish line ahead of Lauri Vuorinen (FIN) and Northug who would ultimately fail to secure a Lucky Loser spot.
Schoonmaker lined up in Quarterfinal 4 where he claimed a Lucky Loser spot behind Chanavat and Oskar Opstad Vike (NOR).
Ketterson drove the pace at the beginning of Quarterfinal 5, only to surrender the lead to others who sensed the opportunity to advance out of a fast heat. The heat finished with Jules Chappaz (FRA) and Ondrej Czerny (CZE) moving to the semifinals. Ketterson finished fifth in the heat, to end the day in 21st.
Semifinals
Ogden FLEW off the front of Semifinal 1, only to be overtaken by the field in the closing meters . He would finish the heat in fifth, a photo-finish struggle with Northug, who would advance along with heat winners, Anger and Danielssen. Once the finish line photos were inspected and the finishing times were calculated, Ogden would miss advancing to the final by only .01 seconds.
JC Schoonmaker lined up in Semifinal 2, following the reliably powerful Chanavat all the way to the finish line, a photo finish to determine who would advance. Schoonmaker would claim the second place automatic qualifying position ahead of Jules Chappaz (FRA).
“(It) wasn’t necessarily my strategy in the final to follow Chanavat,” said Schoonmaker. “It was more to race from the front of the field and find little spaces where I could rest my arms for the finish so it ended up working out to follow him.”
Sprint Final
A year ago in Les Rousses, Jouve was able to overhaul Klaebo for the unexpected win. Today in Les Rousses, Chanavat would carry the hopes of the French crowd.
There was plenty to gain in the Men’s Sprint final. Among the finalists—Chanavat, Anger, Evensen, Valnes, Northug, and Schoonmaker—only Valnes and Chanavat had ever stood atop a World Cup podium. For the rest, the Les Rousses Sprint Final represented a unique opportunity. It also made for situations in which the strategies likely to be employed by the finalists were anything but clear.
At the crack of the starter’s pistol, Anger powered straight to the front with Chanavat struggling a bit to get into high gear. Schoonmaker tripped over his pole on the first uphill rise, stalling his momentum briefly. Valnes broke into a herringbone on the first uphill, revealing that his wax choices were made to enhance glide rather than kick. The end of the race (and the final downhill) would reveal whether or not his choices were good ones.
“When I tripped on my pole, it wasn’t a huge deal,” Schoonmaker explained. “But definitely one of those things that costs you a bit. I might be mistaken, but I felt like I was about to move up into third or fourth there, and then that trip up sent me right back to sixth. So it would’ve been nice to not make that mistake, but it wasn’t a race ended by any means.”
Anger continued to push a torrid pace as Chanavat dangled well of the back. It appeared that Distance-racing fitness would rule the Sprint Final as Anger powered down the finishing straightaway for the win, his first any World Cup event.
“It’s my first Final this year,” said Anger in post-race interviews. “I was thinking, ‘Let’s just go for it.’ I did . . . and I win!”
Evensen and Valnes battled for second and third, barely ahead of a travel-weary Northug. Schoonmaker finished a half second behind Northug in fifth. Chanavat never recovered the earlier gap, finishing sixth.
“I felt like I had decent energy in the final to make something happen but just needed to be further up from the start,” Schoonmaker said. “Those guys were definitely strong and Anger took it out hot right from the start, I just needed to be more prepared for that.”
“I think so for sure, my shape feels good right now,” Schoonmaker concluded. “And making the final adds confidence to that for sure so I feel like I have some good momentum
Les Rousses Men’s Sprint RESULTS
Les Rousses Sprint QUALIFYING
Ansgar Evensen (NOR), Edvin Anger (SWE), Erik Valnes (NOR), (l-r) – FIS world cup cross-country, individual sprint, Les Rousses (FRA). www.nordicfocus.com. © Authamayou/NordicFocus. Every downloaded picture is fee-liable.
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.
