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As the FIS World Cup makes a popular stop in Talinn, Estonia, a bit of a geography review might be in order . . . Talinn is the capital of Estonia, situated directly south across the Gulf of Finland from Helsinki. Like the rest of the Baltic region, Estonia endures long, dark winters . . . seasons that have inspired a bright tradition of cross country skiing. In the Soviet era, Estonia was not an independent republic; many Estonian skiing stars ended up being compelled to represent the Soviet Union. It was not until the early 2000’s that Estonian skiers—like the great Kristina Smigun and Andreas Veerpalu—began claiming medals on World Championship and Olympic stages.
Now a member of NATO, Estonia is something of a thorn in the side of neighboring Russia with whom it shares a tense 300 kilometer border. The parliamentary government of Estonia has continued to support the government and people of Ukraine, while openly opposing Russian aggressions. Estonia doesn’t occupy an easy neighborhood. Things could get rough around here. Consider, for instance, the far less consequential—but still volatile—nature of World Cup Freestyle Sprints: this is the kind of close-quarters event in which bumps and falls can decide things. There’s been talk of late of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) being vulnerable, as though this may be the time to take advantage of his post-World Championships fatigue. But if third place in the most recent World Cup 10 k Freestyle is their supposed indication of “vulnerable,” then Klaebo’s rivals may be barking up the wrong tree. If anything, he’s probably stronger today than at most points in his career. And it’s unlikely that any of his speed—or any of his tactical acumen—is lacking. When considering today’s Klaebo, the best way to beat him is probably to knock him down. You may get disqualified (you should get disqualified), but for the first Sprint in a long time, someone other than Klaebo would win.
And who would be most likely to interfere with Klaebo’s ongoing victory lap? Qiang Wang (CHN)? James Clugnet (GBR)? Edvin Anger (SWE)? Those are skiers who’ve been known to be a bit erratic in Sprint heats, to clog up the lanes, to make unexpected moves in the pack. But at least two of those skiers will have their hands full just maneuvering through qualifying. If Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) and his teammates were here, we might see a different story. The Russians were never afraid of skiing close, of rubbing shoulders, of mixing it up. In the absence of those bad boys, Klaebo has effectively skied inside a protective bubble. Lucas Chanavat (FRA), Federico Pellegrino (ITA), Richard Jouve (FRA), Erik Valnes (NOR), Even Northug (NOR): all of them habitually give him space, all of them defer to him tactically. No pushing, no shoving, no pole snapping, no ski stepping. Granted, Klaebo has an uncanny ability to ski in close quarters, and to escape unscathed. But in the few times in his career that he’s been bumped and jostled, he has shown that he really doesn’t like it. Well, Klaebo’s rivals are unlikely to perform flying tackles in today’s Sprint heats, so over the course of the next week, Klaebo is probably going to wrap up the Sprint Crystal Globe . . . but it doesn’t mean nobody is going to put a body on the guy. If there were ever a time to practice next year’s tactics, today might be that day.
No Canadian skiers advanced beyond qualifying in Talinn, where Sasha Masson finished 44th, Pierre Grall-Johnson 47th, Graham Ritchie 63rd.
Among Americans, Ben Ogden qualified 8th, Gus Schumacher 11th, and Jack Young 26th. Behind them in qualifying were JC Schoonmaker 42nd, and Kevin Bolger 51st. In the end, Ogden would finish 7th, Schumacher 16th, Young 19th.
“Love the city sprint. It’s fun!” said Young in pre-race interviews. When asked about his strategy for the heats, he was typically direct. “Get out front, and try to hold it!”
Talinn Freestyle Sprint
Tonight’s World Cup Freestyle Sprint was conducted on a strip of man-made white weaving through the unseasonable green of Talinn’s parklike, mid-city setting—two laps of a boomerang shaped course that offered only one significant (but short) hill. It’s a course designed for blazing speed, with advantages being earned by those who can navigate the tight final corner in tonight’s soft snow.
The practice in Talinn (both in 2023, and today as well) remains that all skiers and teams agree to utilize identical wax and ski preparation, all to be applied under the supervision of FIS. If some nations have enjoyed certain advantages on other World Cup days, today was intended to be the equalizer. As it turned out, this wax parity may have narrowed Klaebo’s margin of victory in qualifying (he led by less than half a second), but it didn’t seem to make a bit of difference in the overall results. The fastest skiers remained the fastest (though it’s broadly acknowledged that many of those skiers maintain certain performance advantages inherent in the manufacturer’s skis made available to them). Regardless, Klaebo has won the last three times a World Cup Sprint has been contested in Talinn: 2017, 2019, and 2023. Today, he was joined in Quarterfinal 1 by Chanavat and Northug, both of them seemingly relying on Klaebo to produce a fairly fast heat that would keep the pretenders at bay. Klaebo had only to choose an inside line on the final corner to secure the heat victory, followed across the line by Chanavat.
Pellegrino and Amundsen advanced out of Quarterfinal 2; Young never got his chance to lead, but he would surge late in the second lap to finish fourth in his quarterfinal. Young would wait to see if his time would hold up as a lucky loser, but would later be supplanted by faster finishers.
Schumacher followed the pace of Valnes and Renaud Jay (FRA) in the third quarterfinal. Schumacher would finish fourth, but would not claim a lucky loser spot.
Ogden followed the pace of Ansgar Evensen (NOR) in his quarterfinal, and defended his position behind a blazing pass orchestrated by Jules Chappaz (FRA). Ogden would earn an automatic qualifying spot in the semifinal ahead of Evensen and Noe Naeff (SUI).
Anger and Remi Bourdin (FRA) advanced out of the last quarterfinal.
Men’s Sprint Semifinal
The first semifinal was stacked: Klaebo, Chanavat, Pellegrino, Valnes, Amundsen. Klaebo knew that Semifinal 1 was no time to fiddle around. He got quickly to the front, and clogged the track with Chanavat who was followed by Valnes and Pellegrino, effectively preventing the faster pace that might’ve been preferred by Amundsen. Klaebo set himself up behind Chanavat on the final downhill, executing a perfet slingshot pass into the final corner (followed by a very sneaky and explosive move from Pellegrino). Chanavat bobbled on the final turn, and ultimately flopped backwards in the finishing straightaway. Valnes and Amundsen advanced as lucky losers.
Unfortunately for Ogden, there just isn’t much space available in World Cup Sprint Finals. Talinn’s Sprint Qualifying was led by Sprint notables such as Klaebo, Chanavat, Pellegrino, Valnes, Amundsen, and Anger (with Switzerland’s Janik Riebli thrown in for good measure). Ogden’s eighth place qualifying effort is a terrific result, but for Ogden to do better than eighth, either someone ahead of him needed to falter, or Ogden, himself, needed to upset the status quo apple cart. He’s given it a try in the past . . .
Ogden found himself in the less-stacked semifinal where Anger led out strongly, followed by Ogden and Chappaz. Anger opened the door for Ogden on the uphill, but the American wouldn’t take the bait, leaving Anger dangling uncomfortably at the front (where he did not want to be). Down the final hill, Chappaz executed a pass on Ogden who was late to twist the throttle on the final lefthand turn. Anger would hold on to finish first, followed by Chappaz who weaved brilliantly down the homestretch to leave Ogden with yet another almost-Final. Ogden’s third place time was not fast enough to advance to the final as a lucky loser.
Sprint Final
Nobody had bumped Klaebo yet. No on had pushed him, no one had stepped on him, no one had even been anywhere near him . . . and Klaebo had definitely shown that he knew the fastest line around this Talinn City Sprint course. In the Final, Chappaz went straight to the front position (the crowd must be getting accustomed to having a Frenchman in front); Klaebo went with him—course blocked, pace managed. Pellegrino, Amundsen, and Valnes would be forced to work from the back, again. Anger followed close behind Klaebo, perhaps contemplating the flying tackle. Instead, he drove up the outside and put himself into the lead. On the next sweeping turn, anger pushed Klaebo wide, but the Norwegian deftly avoided the lateral sweep of the Swede’s skis, holding his position and (somehow) never managing to lose any speed.
The second time up the hill Klaebo found himself trapped behind Anger as Chappaz drove up the inside. The crowd was about to see what Klaebo would do to extricate himself from a crowded mess. At the top of the hill, Anger moved inside to match Chappaz. . . but that left a sliver of space for Klaebo on the outside. He used that line to set up a pass on the final downhill, but the outside line was tighter than he thought; Klaebo was forced to stand up a bit. He’d need to rely on his closing speed to catch Chappaz from a disadvantageous outside. That’s when the stars have often aligned for Klaebo in th past . . . in Talinn, they did so yet again. Is Chappaz the nicest guy on the World Cup circuit? Or did he feel the need to close down the lines of other skiers racing up the inside? Either way, he opened the door for Klaebo, who came charging through for the win. Chappaz only faltered the slightest bit, but ultimately found himself in a silver medal tie with a hard-charging Amundsen.
There had been some jostling and some elbow-rubbing, but all entirely within the rules. And Klaebo had shown that he’s perfectly capable of winning this way, too.
“It is always tight here,” said Klaebo. “I feel like it’s a difficult track, but it’s also a lot of fun . . . We all want to do more of these city sprints; hopefully, in the future, we’ll continue to do this.”
Men’s Sprint RESULTS
Men’s Sprint QUALIFYING
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.
