Evensen Stuns Drammen as Klaebo and Ogden Crash Out of Semifinals

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The greatest cross-country skier in history was lying on the snow, his arms wrapped over his face, his hands holding the back of his head, and the city of Drammen — where the man-made course magically appears on top of the streets, and Norwegian children crane from balconies to watch the racing — went very, very quiet.

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo did not finish on Thursday. Neither did Ben Ogden. The gold and silver medalists from the Olympic sprint classic in Milano Cortina just last month, the two men who have defined this event all season, were tangled together on the hard-packed final downhill before the hairpin, while the semifinal raced on without them.

After the chaos of the semi-final, which took down the two fastest qualifiers, a 25-year-old Norwegian named Ansgar Evensen — who had changed into Skiathlon boots between the quarterfinals and semifinals because he felt so unsteady on his feet — surged from sixth place in the final to cross the line first.

Evensen won ahead of Jiri Tuz, the 21-year-old Czech who earned a career-best second place. Kristian Kollerud of Norway, racing in his very first World Cup start, took a remarkable third, and Harald Oestberg Amundsen, the 2024 overall World Cup champion, finished fourth.

It was the kind of day that maybe only Drammen — with its icy hairpin, its drafting effect, and its knack for producing chaos at precisely the wrong moment — could deliver.

Qualification and Quarterfinals

Klaebo’s dominance was apparent from the opening qualification. He posted a 2:24.88, nearly three seconds faster than Ogden’s 2:27.47, with the next 28 qualifiers separated by less than five seconds. That kind of gap on a world-class field in sprint qualification puts his dominance in perspective.

Klaebo, as he always does, chose the first quarterfinal heat. He won it easily — clocking 2:37.14 — compared to his qualifier, a notably conservative time that suggested he was managing his energy for the rounds ahead.

Ogden, the lone American in the top 30, qualified second and chose Quarterfinal 2 alongside Italy’s Simone Mocellini and Norway’s Even Northug. He entered the bottom of the final climb up to the iconic finish on the steps of the Neo-Gothic Bragernes Church behind the leaders, but unleashed a powerful double-pole to charge into second place, advancing comfortably.

The quarterfinals also produced some early drama. Northug, who had been enjoying a strong sprint season, was disqualified from Heat 2 after receiving his second written reprimand of the season, this time for a classical technique infraction.

And quietly, in Heat 3, Evensen advanced as a photo-finish second behind Sweden’s Alvar Myhlback.

The Crash

The first semifinal will be remembered for the crash.

Klaebo had won his quarterfinal from the front and appeared to be cruising. Ogden, too, looked comfortable. But on the icy final descent heading toward the hairpin around the fountain behind the start gates, the pack compressed. Klaebo held tight to the inside along the fencing, leaving him vulnerable when the skis began to cross. Contact was made. Ogden’s feet swept out from under him and fell right in front of the Norwegian. Klaebo had no place to go, skiing right into Ogden, which launched him into the air, spinning backward, ultimately hitting the back of his head on the hard-packed snow.

Listening to the broadcast, the silence in Drammen was palpable. Ogden scrambled to his feet with only one ski still attached; Klaebo did not immediately follow. Replays showed Klaebo had not only hit his head on the hard snow, but may also have been struck in the head by a trailing ski as he fell. Both men would be listed as DNF — a designation almost never seen next to Klaebo’s name in a decade of dominance.

Anton Grahn of Sweden, who had been near the front, took the semifinal win. Tuz advanced automatically in second. Alvar Myhlback of Sweden finished third but would not be fast enough to advance as a lucky loser. The crash all but guaranteed that the top four finishers from Semifinal 2 would all advance to the final.

Semifinal 2 and the Path to the Final

The second semifinal, then, was a race with diminished stakes but no shortage of quality. Chappaz drove the pace from the front and never relinquished it. Kollerud, the 21-year-old in his club racing suit, making his World Cup debut, finished an impressive second.

Behind them, Amundsen and Evensen advanced as lucky losers, separated by just hundredths of a second. The final would feature three Norwegians, a Frenchman, a Czech, and a Swede — but no Klaebo and no Ogden.

The Final

Half the final field was under 23 years old. Tuz, Kollerud, and Grahn — all 21 — represented a generational shift on a day when the established order had been upended.

Tuz, perhaps emboldened by his semifinal crash survival, went hard from the gun, leading over the opening climb. It was a brave tactic from a young racer in only his second World Cup final. Behind him, the more experienced campaigners — Amundsen, Evensen, Chappaz — bided their time, trusting that the Drammen draft would bring them back and leave them well rested for the final climb.

It did. The group had reformed as they skied behind the fountain. As they navigated the icy turn, Grahn — who had been skiing near the front all day — lost his footing on the hairpin and crashed, his race effectively over. He would finish sixth on the day.

Grahn’s fall opened a lane on the outside. Evensen, who had been sitting sixth, saw it and calmly worked his way around the dicy turn.

“When Anton fell in the last corner, I had every opportunity,” Evensen said afterward. “So I took it from fifth place to first on the final.”

What followed was one of the great finishing surges in Drammen’s long sprint history. Amundsen and Kollerud were locked in their own battle, focused on each other. Chappaz was charging. But Evensen — who had finished fourth on this same course back in 2023, who knew exactly how the final 50 meters of this city sprint played out — found a gear that nobody else could match.

He crossed the line first, fist clenched, pounding his chest. Tuz nipped Kollerud for second by four hundredths of a second. Amundsen was fourth, just 0.43 seconds off the win.

“It was super cool and I love to ski in Drammen,” Evensen said in a post-race interview with FIS, still catching his breath. “I had to change boots to my combi boots because I felt so unbalanced in the quarterfinal. But that’s how it is. Have to stay on your feet to win. And unfortunately for Johannes and Ben, they weren’t as stable today.”

Kollerud’s Debut

The feel-good story of the final belonged to Kollerud, who stood on the podium in his club racing suit — not the Norwegian national team uniform — soaking in a result he could not have imagined when he woke up that morning. A podium in your first World Cup start doesn’t happen. Except when it does.

He picked up a written reprimand for a classical technique infraction during the semifinals, but it was his first of the season and carried no further consequence. What will carry forward is the confidence of knowing he can compete with the best in the world.

Tuz, too, earned a career milestone. The Czech U23 athlete had made the final in Milano Cortina but never stood on a World Cup podium before Thursday. He now has a silver medal from Drammen.

Standings and What’s Next

Klaebo’s DNF stung, but his World Cup position remains commanding. He leads the overall standings at 2,071 points (636 points more than Amundsen in second), the sprint standings at 835 points (283 points in front of Lars Heggen), and the distance standings at 936 points (128 points in front of Amundsen).

Barring further incident, Klaebo will sweep the overall, distance, and sprint crystal globes for the season.

Whether he gets the chance to race for them this weekend, however, is now in question. Norwegian national team doctor Ove Feragen told TV2 that Klaebo was taken to the hospital following the crash for precautionary testing related to the head impact. Feragen said Klaebo was conscious, in stable condition, and not believed to be seriously injured, but the severity of the fall warranted evaluation. His status for Saturday’s 50 k Freestyle Mass Start at the historic Holmenkollen in Oslo remains uncertain.

The season concludes with World Cup Finals in Lake Placid, New York, March 20-22, where Ogden and the American men will race in front of a home crowd. With four races left, a lot of exciting racing remains.

 

Drammen Men’s Classic Sprint QUALIFICATION RESULTS

Drammen Men’s Classic Sprint FINAL RESULTS

 

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