FasterSkier’s FIS World Championships coverage stands as a proud tribute to American Skiing Icon Marty Hall, who (with his wife, Kathy Hall, and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award) has supported our coverage of international cross-country ski events. Learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award at info@fasterskier.com. We’ll miss you, Marty.
It’s gonna be a soggy one . . .
Norway in winter is not always what familiar postcard-images and pre-broadcast video-montages would have us believe. This is not a place covered in perpetual snowy white glowing under sunny mid-winter skies. In fact, it only rarely is. And it almost never is in Trondheim. Trondheim is a coastal city looking out across the cold Norwegian Sea toward Iceland. Norway’s 64,000 mile fjord-slashed coast (second longest of any nation on earth) is the feature that creates Scandinavian snow. Warm, wet weather fronts roll in off the sea. Moisture-laden air cools as it rises over the Scandes range, dropping Norway’s familiar snow on the eastern side of the mountains (on Holmenkollen, Lillehammer, Sjusjoen—the notable ski destinations). But on the coast where that precipitation all begins, it falls from the sky more often as rain . . . just like today for the Women’s 20 k Skiathlon at the FIS Cross Country World Championships.
Ironically, skiing in the rain isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds. Wet snow can actually be pretty fast (if the technicians have mastered the base prep to give the skiers both glide and kick). One way or another, the Norwegians are accustomed to it. Trondheim is their town, their snow, their championship. If World Championship medals are being handed out at the end of the race, then all of Norway will do its best to claim them.
Therese Johaug (NOR) lost two years to a suspension, and another two seasons in retirement after the birth of her daughter. She probably wants to recoup the wins lost during those years.
Jessie Diggins (USA) has been forced to limp through half the season on an injured foot. She probably wants to show that her recovery is nearly complete.
Heidi Weng (NOR) was once the very best in the world. She probably wants to show that she still can be.
Frida Karlsson (SWE) has proven to be fast, but fragile. She probably wants the enduring respect that has eluded her.
Astrid Oyre Slind (NOR) has orchestrated the rarest of careers, only reaching her peak in her mid-30’s. She probably wants to show that it’s not a fluke.
Ebba Andersson (SWE) is the defending champion in the World Championship Skiathlon. She probably feels that she has much to prove . . . and she knows she can win. But the two years since her last World Championship victory have been a struggle.
“It has been ups and downs, but mostly downs,” Andersson remembered. “It’s really, really good to have one of those up days here in Trondheim on this day.”
And the “up day” to which she referred ended with perhaps the closest victory in World Championship history, as Andersson edged past Johaug in the closing meters of the 20 k Skiathlon. Their finishing times were identical, the finishing order only decided by a panel of judges viewing the tech-stretched image captured by the finish line’s high-speed camera.
Andersson spoke of her elation at claiming victory for Sweden in this Norway-hosted World Championships. “Especially when my teammates came and gave me a hug,” she said. “Then it feels so unrealistic . . . just a dream come true.”
Diggins dropped from contention almost as soon as the race began, seeming to be hampered by slow skis for the second time during these World Championships. She would finish 13th, followed by Sophia Laukli 23rd, Julia Kern 26th, Alyssa Sonnesyn 40th.
Among Canadians, Lilliane Gagnon was 30th, Alison Mackie, 44th, Katherine Stewart-Jones 47th, Sonjaa Schmidt 49th.
20 k Skiathlon
This race’s beginning followed a script that could have been written well in advance of the actual race. Johaug went straight to the front . . . Slind, Karlsson, Andersson, Emma Ribom (SWE) and Jonna Sundling (SWE) went with her. The race shaped up quickly, and anyone not in this very early move was likely to be left behind. Diggins and Victoria Carl led an early chase group, but things were getting away. The race was all of five minutes old.
By the end of Lap 1, the front of the field had come back together as Karlsson and Sundling led through the stadium at 3.3 kilometers with two Classic laps remaining.
The Classic course in Trondheim (three laps of 3.3 kilometers each) climbs steadily out of the stadium. The climbers pressed the pace in this first half of the loop, hoping to detach the others (especially the sprinters). Compared to the Men’s race from a day before, the Women’s field seemed determined to use the climbs to break the spirit of any sprinter-types. The lead group formed itself into the short-list of contenders: Weng, Slind, Johaug, Karlsson, Andersson, and Sundling.
At the end of Lap 2, Slind, Karlsson, and Sundling showed their fast skis down the long hill into the stadium. Johaug (not the most masterful descender in the group) was gapped on the downhill, but she quickly charged back up to the leaders as they traversed the flat. Regardless, Johaug must’ve been sensing the need to drop everyone else before that slushy right-hand turn leading to the finish line.
Third time up the big Classic climb; Johaug hit the gas. On-air commentators wondered if Team Norway was employing team tactics, as the Norwegian trio—Johaug, Slind, and Weng—gapped the Swedes. Best guess from this reporter? No way . . . Johaug is not a team player, and anyone wanting to help her is going to need to keep up with her (and that’s never proven to be an easy thing to accomplish). On this third time up the Classic climb, Johaug looked determined to drop them all, no matter which flag they wore. The Swedes appeared to be caught flat-footed, with Sundling leading the chase of her climber-teammates.
Fortunately for Team Sweden, they are known to have fast skis. They might not have been panicking as a gap opened over the top of the climb since they’d be likely to catch back up on the subsequent descent. Andersson followed, Karlsson dangled, but it was Sundling who chased down the breakaway, gliding easily into their midst on the descent. The lead group of four entered the stadium for the ski exchange.
It was at this point that the Skiathlon reminded viewers just how difficult and capricious performing at this level really is: Slind suffered a total-disaster ski exchange, kicking one of her skate skis as she entered her transition box. As the ski slid away, she stayed poised and switched to her other skate ski, grabbing her skate poles before skootering after the matching ski, which had slid all the way across the track and under the track for the trailside trolly camera. Regardless, the damage was done. Johaug, Weng, Andersson, and Sundling sped off without Slind, while she and Karlsson exited the exchange area eight seconds behind the leaders. Slind may have proven herself one of the very best skaters in the world throughout this World Cup season. If she wanted to climb her way back onto this Skiathlon podium, she’d need to prove it again, now.
Diggins came through the Classic/Freestyle transition more than a minute behind. It seemed that the wet conditions had gotten the better of the Americans.
Back at the front of the race, Johaug went to work. In an earlier age, Johaug’s tempo and fitness would’ve simply gapped the rest. But after seasons of suspension and retirement—after the inexorable progress of time and age—the rest of the field had caught up to Johaug. Weng, Andersson, and the uber-dangerous sprinter, Sundling, clung to Johaug as she stormed around the first lap. Karlsson continued to chase while Slind lost time.
Midway through Freestyle Lap 2, the contenders woke up to an unfortunate challenge: no one had dropped Sundling yet. Having trounced the field in the Freestyle Sprint World Championship just three days ago. But the stresses of racing at this level have a way of evening things out. As they entered the stadium to begin Lap 3, Sundling caught an edge in the sharp right-hand curve. She went down, taking Weng with her. Both quickly regained their feet, but the damage had been done. Johaug and Andersson sped off without them. One lap to go . . .
Sundling chased with visible urgency as Weng faded, eventually being caught by a determined Karlsson. Later, in the race’s finish area, Weng appeared to glare accusingly Sundling. Weng’s expression spoke volumes: she’d had put herself right where she needed to be (on the heels of the world’s best sprinter), and still it had backfired.
There’s not a lot of tactical cuteness in Johaug’s DNA . . . she just hammers. And that’s what the final lap looked like. Andersson hung on gamely, perhaps showing a bit less of the strain. Johaug is one of the best skiers in history, but certainly not in a sprint. Her career was forged the hard way, leaving a trail of exhausted rivals lying prone in the snow behind her. There have not been many times when Johaug came to a finish line with another racer at her shoulder. And in the few cases where that has occurred, Johaug has not proven to have much of a sprint. Andersson had to like her chances . . . if she could hold on.
“Therese kept up a good speed during the whole the race,” Andersson said. “Sometimes I struggled on the classic part, but I felt really, really strong on the Free technique. So I just tried to manage to keep up with Therese. Then I had to plan for the last part of the race.”
Johaug and Andersson had ski speed that appeared equal on the final downhill, with Johaug managing to claim the inside line on the final bend. But it was Andersson who gained ground down the final stretch, both skiers lunging for the line in well-timed efforts for victory. The naked eye could never have identified the winner, a task left to finish line cameras and panels of judges. Two skiers with identical finishing times . . . only the finish line photo could identify the winner: Ebba Andersson.
“It was so, so close!” Andersson beamed. “I’m so so happy that I finished in the way I did.”
World Championships Women’s 20 k Skiathlon 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.
