Olympic Preview, Sort Of—USA Third in Goms Team Sprint

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For the skiing stars of Norway, World Cup victories are commonplace—almost expected. For the skiers of most other nations, any World Cup podium appearance is a career-defining event. That said, some of the most interesting World Cup racing takes place on those days when the strength of the field is re-shuffled, when a few notables stay home, when a few teams re-arrange their rosters. Those are days when World Cup podiums will still be filled, and a greater number of teams know they can rise to that occasion. Still, it’s not a straightforward task, and many teams find themselves stumbling over the challenge rather than rising to the top. Today was a day that the USA saw this opportunity, and rise they did . . .

Norway may have won today’s Team Sprint (though with Harald Oestbeg Amundsen and Einar Hedegart are a team that’s unlikely to contend for this same win when the Olympics begin in Val di Fiemme), and Italy may have flown second across the finish on the wings of Federico Pellegrino (a performance he would hope to repeat in front of his countrymen in the Olympics), but it was the third-place effort of Team USA’s Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher that really drew attention. The circumstances of the day offered them an opportunity to ascend to a World podium; they grabbed that opportunity with both hands. It’s great to see American men on World Cup podiums, even greater to see them earn that position with such fortitude and skill.

“Today was a pretty full field,” said Ogden. “But there was no Klaebo today. There definitely will be Klaebo in Val di Fiemme. I’m sure that some teams will put up different athletes on their Team Sprint than they did today, but it’s really one of those things that’s not worth dwelling on until the time comes to actually seethe start list, to go out and get it done.”

The Alpine municipality of Goms, Switzerland (population 1,160) was the venue for a staging of an event that will take place in the Olympic Games in Val di Fiemme—the Freestyle Team Sprint—but today’s race was not exactly a dress rehearsal for that Olympic race. Specifically, the cast of characters is likely to change in the Olympics even as the strategy employed by today’s winner, Team Norway, is likely to remain the same. They’ll set the pace, they’ll stay at the front (and out of trouble). They’ll accelerate in the penultimate leg. They’ll hope to give Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo a lead at the beginning of the anchor leg. They’ll rely on Klaebo to remain unbeatable in any Freestyle Sprint where he enters the finishing straightaway with a lead. We really do expect this Olympic event to follow that script. Even so, many questions remain. Who will team with Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo in what is likely to be the gold medal favorite team? And who will the USA field as its Team Relay pair? Will Schumacher team with Ogden? Or will coaches choose another combination of abilities? Will Pellegrino and Elia Barp continue to be factors in the finishing straightaway? And which other teams will arrive with hopes of a medal: Finland? Switzerland? Sweden?

“If history is any indicator, then Norway leading and everyone else following will likely (repeat as a strategy) at the Olympics,” said Ogden. “Val di Fiemme is definitely a harder course, so I anticipate it being something like that. Championship Team Sprints are definitely intense; it’ll have some similarities to today, and probably many differences.”

Individual qualifying saw USA 1—comprised of likely Olympic teammates Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher—as the third fastest qualifier. They would be joined in the 15-team Final by USA 2’s JC Schoonmaker and Zanden McMullen (who would finish 11^th on the day).

Home-team, Switzerland 1, was the top qualifier thanks to the efforts of seasoned Sprint competitors Janik Riebli and Valerio Grond (though packing a Team Sprint team with a pair of true sprinters is usually not considered to be the best way to excel in this event—Switzerland 1 would top all qualifiers, but would finish sixth on the day). Switzerland’s fast qualifying standard was followed by Norway 1’s Harald Oestberg Amundsen and Einar Hedegart, both of whom were recently named to the Norwegian Olympic team, but neither of whom are likely to appear in this event in Milano-Cortina. Fourth fastest qualifier was Italy 1’s Elia Baro and Federico Pellegrino who are likely to team up when the Olympic Team Sprint takes place in their homeland.

A Plan to Follow—Easier Said than Done

For some teams, Goms’ Team Sprint was an Olympic dress-rehearsal, for other teams, a consolation prize. Norway 1 had the potential to take a World Cup win, but they will certainly NOT be the Olympic duo that Norway fields in this event (that spot being reserved for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and (presumably) his gold medal partner from Beijing, Erik Valnes). Norway 2 was comprised of Ansgar Evensen and Even Northug, two of the world’s best sprinters who, nonetheless, found themselves overlooked when Norway selected its team of Olympians. While the skiers of Norway 2 may have hoped to prove that they belonged on the Olympic Team, their efforts fizzled in Goms. Norway 2 would place 15^th, last among starters in the Team Sprint final.

Norway 1, on the other hand, performed as expected. Amundsen led out Leg 1, keeping the pace high and keeping himself out of trouble. He was followed by Riebli, Barp, and Ogden. Ogden tangled skis briefly with Barp as they entered the exchange, but both skiers shook it off masterfully. Norway 1 continued to lead.

Ogden tagged Schumacher to begin Leg 2. Schumacher seems a logical choice to team with Ogden in the Olympic Team Sprint, a pairing suggested by the tactic of pairing a sprinter with a seasoned, fast-skiing all-rounder who can navigate in a tight pack and not get dropped. American Olympian, Jack Young, is a world-class freestyle sprinter, but even though it’s called the “Team Sprint,” there’s no use in fielding a team of two pure sprinters. The only sprint that matters is the one to the finish line at the end of the final leg. Before then, each teammate’s job is simply to steer clear of trouble, to hang on to the pace, and to not get dropped. More than perhaps any of his US Olympic teammates, Schumacher fits that bill.

“The first leg was pretty chill,” said Schumacher. “I found myself a little far back after our tag, but made a good move on the fast corner.”

“The second leg was pretty fast,” Schumacher continued. “But we still had a group, so it wasn’t too bad. We held the gap to Norway, which is good. Norway was definitely trying to string everyone out. They were really impressive, but we’re not far off. And I think. if the right person was in a good position, they probably could have held that. With Norway, that’s something to think about for the future.”

Schumacher knows his role, and in Goms’ Team Sprint he skied it brilliantly. Through Leg 2, he remained in contact, preserving energy as Norway 1’s Hedegart set the pace at the front followed by Switzerland’s Grond and Sweden’s Edvin Anger. Leg 3 began with no changes in leaders, and with Ogden remaining solidly in contact with the top five. Amundsen continued to set the pace for Norway followed by Riebli and Barp.

Leg 4 saw Hedegart stringing out the pace while Schumacher continued to mark the skiers at the front. The field began to string out, with Schumacher keeping USA 1 in contention.

Leg 5 is where the field expects Norway to make a move; Amundsen did not disappoint, storming off the front even before the field had left the flat terrain around the exchange zone. By the time he reached the course’s first uphill, Amundsen enjoyed a lead of 30 meters. Rather than chase him in vain, the chase group—led by Barp—sat up a bit to preserve energy. Norway had earned a gap as Amundsen tagged Hedegart to begin the anchor leg. The rest of the field would fight for second and third.

The way the Americans set up today’s relay team—with the sprinter, Ogden, leading off and the all-rounder, Schumacher, finishing—showed that Team USA may realize that the Olympic version of this event will NOT come down to a finishing line sprint, but to a final-leg high-speed dash that sheds sprinters and leaves all-rounders leading the way to medals. This may be the scene in a few weeks—Schumacher dueling Pellegrino in the final leg. If so, then today was a bit of a dress rehearsal after all. On the first of the final leg’s two uphills, Schumacher tried desperately to cross the gap to Amundsen. It was a bold ploy, but one that a fast distance skier needed to try in order to shake Pellegrino. Pellegrino shadowed Schumacher, but seemed to struggle in doing so. Over the second uphill, and Pellegrino struggled again under Schumacher’s re-application of pressure . . . but in order to beat a sprinter you need to drop a sprinter.

Ahead of them, Hedegart show-boated playfully at the finish line, taking off his poles and sheathing them like a sword after a successful duel. Pellegrino undid Schumacher in the finishing straightaway—a cagey veteran having played his hand with seasoned mastery. Schumacher shrugged across the finish line in third, having done all he could to lengthen the sprint in an attempt to take the sting out of Pellegrino’s sprint.

“Pellegrino is a super strong sprinter,” said Schumacher.” Today, he basically made me pull through. I didn’t want to mess around with a big bunch sprint, and I’m glad I didn’t. I’m fine with him beating me in the end. But, yeah, we’ll see how it plays out in Val di Fiemme. I think I can beat him if I can get a good draft. We’ll see; you need drop him before the finish line. I guess you just have to go faster! But he’s also a great distance skier, so that’s a tough one.”

“Having Gus in the second leg felt good for me,” said Ogden. “He’s really good at positioning, and super strong and fit, and he’s going to have legs at the end when it matters . . . Today was just to try something and learn from it. I think that we thought it was a natural thing to try. We went with it today, and it worked out well.”

After all the strategizing, all the jockeying, all the surging, all the positioning, it’s a skier like Pellegrino—a world-class sprinter who can also contend in distance races—who is the ideal finisher for a Team Sprint. Approaching the Olympic Team Sprint in his home country—and hoping for a gold medal in front of his countrymen—Pellegrino still has one major obstacle to overcome: Klaebo is the one skier who has proven to be even faster, even more durable than Pellegrino. If the Italian wants to claim gold on home turf, he’ll need to beat the best of all time in order to do it . . . but that will be the same for any skier who hopes to claim gold in any event when the Olympic races are run in Val di Fiemme.

While the cast may be different when this event is staged at the Olympics of Milano-Cortina, the script is likely to be strikingly similar. If so, then Team USA will be there hoping. To recreate the tactics, the speed, the strength, and the brilliance that took them to a third place finish today in Goms. Ironically, today’s Norwegian winners are not likely to be offered the chance to pursue Olympic gold in this same event. When asked whether he thought this dominant performance ahead of numerous teams likely to contend in this event in Val di Fiemme could cause Team Norway to reconsider their starters in the Olympic Team Sprint, Hedegart was playful, yet again.

“Message sent,” grinned Hedegart. “I hope the message is received.”

Chance of Hedegart becoming the face of Team Norway in season’s to come? Quite high, it appears. Chance of Hedegart replacing Valnes (as Klaebo’s teammate) in Norway’s Olympic Team Sprint? Far less likely . . . but much could happen between the World Cup finish line in Goms and the Olympic starting line in Val di Fiemme.

 

Goms World Cup Men’s Freestyle Team Sprint QUALIFYING

Goms World Cup Men’s Freestyle Team Sprint RESULTS

 

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