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“The energy that I got in the warmup lap . . . I got this feeling of power from the public,” said Federico Pellegrino.”Cheering for me. “Chicco Pelle! Chicco Pelle! And then in the Final, I could not wait!”
Though this race—this glorious victory— came at the end of a long and illustrious career, Pellegrino was true to his word. He could not wait. He blazed off the front of a complex and contact-filled Freestyle Sprint final to storm to the 18th win of his World Cup career—his 46th podium. He had won silver and bronze medals in front of his countrymen at the Olympics of Milano-Cortina just a few weeks ago. Perhaps this final victory in front of the cheering throngs of Mt. Van Hoevenberg was sweeter, still.
Pellegrino was joined on the podium by Lars Heggen (NOR) and Anton Grahn (SWE), two young guns who may represent the future of the sport. But Pellegrino showed he was not yet ready to allow the great names of the past to be forgotten. One last Sprint victory, and one more chance to show his appreciation to an appreciative crowd.
“Thank you Lake Placid,” smiled Pellegrino. “It was great!”
A World Cup Sprint without Klaebo is two things at the same time: both a lot less interesting, and a lot more interesting. When Klaebo is in the Sprint field, Klaebo will win, won’t he? So what does it mean when Klaebo is absent? It means almost anyone can win. And with only the World Cup Distance championship remaining to be defended (in a close race with Harald Oestberg Amundsen), Klaebo elected to sit out the Freestyle Sprint . . . marking perhaps the only time that Klaebo has been able to watch an entire World Cup Sprint competition from the sidelines.
“It’s not very often that you have the races (in the USA),” said Klaebo. “And it’s always fun—I mean it was amazing when we were in Minneapolis a couple of years ago, and I’ve been looking forward to this race for a long time. With what happens last week, (coming to Lake Placid) was a little bit uncertain. I’m really happy that I made it, and happy that I made it to the starting line.”
“The Americans really know how to make noise and a good atmosphere,” said Klaebo of the Mt. Van Hoevenberg crowds lining the 10 k course on Friday. “It was cool!”
“I think it’s the right decision to skip the (Sprint on Saturday),” said Klaebo. “Hopefully I will be back at it again on Sunday with enough energy to be able to fight.”
Freestyle Sprint Heats
Team USA would qualify five skiers into the quarterfinals: Gus Schumacher, Ben Ogden, Jack Young, JC Schoonmaker, and Zanden McMullen. Schumacher, Ogden, and Young delivered especially eye-popping qualifying efforts: fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. While Americans would ski their way into the quarterfinals, it was not to be the Americans’ day.
Schumacher caught his pole in the start gate and immediately surrendered ten meters to the field, but an initial slow pace in the heat allowed him to catch up quickly, and to surge forward into third position. Schumacher followed early leaders Benjamin Moser (AUT) and Anton Grahn (SWE), though it was Lars Heggen (NOR) sitting quietly mid-pack that should have occupied everyone’s attention. Heggen was badly positioned mid-race, pinched out of a spot to advance on the climb, and found himself at the very back. Schumacher was pushed wide on the final turn while Heggen masterfully weaved far inside, squeaking past to fuel his dash down the final straightaway. Heggen would finish second (behind Grahn) while Schumacher would find himself fourth. Schumacher’s time would not hold up as a lucky loser. He would finish the day in 21st.
Quarterfinal 2 had Ogden lining up beside his teammate, McMullen, and with the legend, Federico Pellegrino. Loud cheers greeted the announcement of the Americans as Ogden waved to the crowd. The heat would be paced by Roman Alder (SUI) with Ogden and Pellegrino waiting patiently for the pace to settle. Pellegrino and Ogden vied for the lead at the top of the final uphill, but neither of them really wanted it. They baited Alder back into the lead, and prepared to take advantage of his slipstream on the descent. Pellegrino showed why he is a legend in the sport, weaving through the field and into the lead as he crossed the line. Ogden showed that he may still have much to learn as he skied himself into dead ends in the finishing straightaway, fading to fourth behind McMullen. McMullen would finish the day 15th, Ogden 17th.
Chanavat led out Quarterfinal 3; a typical tactic for Chanavat, though one that has always found itself to be ineffective against Klaebo. But Klaebo wasn’t here today . . . and no one other than Chanavat really seemed to have a plan. Counter-punching in Sprint heats can sometimes result in advancement, but it rarely results in victory. It looked like Chanavat would have the advantage. Behind him, Schoonmaker scrubbed too much speed in the hairpin turn, finding himself dropped by the acceleration of Jir Tuz (CZE) on the significant downhill. Chanavat gave chase, and the heat was all but decided. Chanavat would step out of the draft and into the lead. Tuz would follow him across the line with Harald Oestberg Amundsen claiming a lucky loser spot. Schoonmaker would finish fourth in the heat, sitting in a hopeful lucky loser position with two heats remaining.
Sasha Masson (CAN) set the pace in Quarterfinal 4, but found himself overtaken in the final curves. Eric Johansson (SWE) and Even Northug (NOR) would advance.
Quarterfinal 5 pitted Young against Ansgar Evensen (NOR) and Jaume Pueyo (ESP). Young would drop to the back in the opening meters, but forced his way forward by the top of the first uphill. He found an open lane on the next uphill, but may have spent too much energy advancing. Young entered the final downhill in second position, but he would fade in the final straightaway, finding himself overtake by Pueyo and Evensen. Young would end the day in 13th place.
Semifinals
Schoonmaker followed Chanavat, Pellegrino, and Heggen into the first semifinal, where he would mark Heggen at the rear. Maybe patience would be the righ tactic? At thefront, Chanavat drove the pace, duking it out with Pellegrino on the uphill. Grahn, Heggen, and Pellegrino would all lunge at the line in a photo finish as Chanavat faded into a lunge for fourth with Schoonmaker. Ultimately, the lucky loser spots would belong to Pellegrino and Chanavat. Schoonmaker would finish ninth on the day.
The second semifinal was led by Johansson, who was shadowed by Evensen and Amundsen. Pueyo, Northug, and Tuz trailed the field. Johanssen and Amundsen would advance at the line.
Sprint Final
The Sprint final offered an excellent non-Klaebo lineup: Grahn, Johansson, Heggen, Amundsen, Pellegrino, and Chanavat.. The veterans (those likely to have a plan), Chanavat and Pellegrino, had advanced as lucky losers. Would they be fast enough to contend? The Norwegians featured a proven sprinter in Heggen with a points-hungry all-rounder in Amundsen. Sweden brought two young skiers eager to upset Norway’s podium pitch. And the starter’s pistol revealed how easy it is for even the most experienced racers to suffer the most rookie mistakes—Amundsen planted his pole tip on top of his own ski, and collapsed in a tangle in the very first meter of the race. Remarkably, he would jump to his feet and take off in pursuit of the field, which he caught before 30 seconds had elapsed. Amundsen was back in the race, but at what cost?
At the front, Grahn and Pellegrino set the pace. They were followed by Chanavat who, for once, seemed willing to change his at-the-front tactics. As the climb began, Heggen’s ski tip fouled in Johansson’s binding. The Swede went down, and Heggen lost momentum. The leading three seemed to be getting away where Pellegrino was putting an entire career’s worth of energy to his hop skate up the steepest climb. Power-skating into the final downhill, Pellegrino had created a gap ahead of Grahn that meant the tall Swede would not benefit from Mt. Van Hoevenberg’s notorious draft. Pellegirno would exult across his final Sprint finish line, capping a brilliant career with one final victory. Heggen would recover to dash forward to claim second, ahead of Grahn in third.
“This was the way I dreamt, when I was young, to win races,” said Pellegrino. “To end my career in that way was fantastic.”
World Cup Final Men’s Freestyle Sprint RESULTS
World Cup Final Men’s Freestyle Sprint QUALIFYING
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World Cup racing continues this weekend from Lake Placid and Mount van Hoevenberg:
Sunday, March 22
12:30 pm | Men’s 20km Mass Start Free
2:30 pm | Women’s 20km Mass Start Free
4:30 pm | ONE LAST LAP w/Jessie Diggins & the Retiring Stars
John Teaford
John Teaford 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.
