Klaebo Extends Historic Run with Falun Skiathlon Victory

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With fresh snow overnight and temperatures hovering just above freezing, it was the kind of conditions that keep ski technicians guessing and athletes second-guessing. A week removed from the Olympics in Italy, the World Cup resumed for the second day with a 20-kilometer Skiathlon on a course that rewards patience and punishes weakness.

And while viewers looked on, whether to witness something historic or something new, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won again.

Klaebo covered the 10 k classic and 10 k freestyle in 48:41.8, edging teammate Harald Oestberg Amundsen by 0.7 seconds and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget by 0.8 seconds in a Norwegian podium sweep. The victory extended one of the most remarkable streaks in modern cross-country skiing and tightened his grip on the overall standings and, maybe more importantly for the remaining season-long narrative, extended his lead in the FIS distance ranking for the Distance Crystal Globe.

The race was familiar and predictable, with Nyenget driving much of the pace, Amundsen staying close, and Klaebo remaining measured in the pack. When the decisive move came in the final sprint, Klaebo, once again, not only had the answer, but made it look easy.

“This was a tough one,” Klaebo graciously said on the FIS broadcast after the race. “I think Martin was very strong today. I think he was in the front almost for 20 k.”

Classic Leg: Bonus points that created a breakaway

The men opened with three laps of the 3.4-kilometer red course, climbing the Mini Mördarbacken each time. Conditions sat just above freezing, with fresh snow complicating the classic wax call. Athletes chose between traditional kick wax and zero-skis, the latter relying on a texture sanded into a softer base material underfoot.

The pace was honest from the gun. At 5.4 kilometers, where bonus World Cup points were on offer, Nyenget and Klaebo pushed hard, with Klaebo claiming the maximum 15 bonus points, followed by Nyenget and Amundsen. That acceleration fractured the field.

A lead group of Norwegians formed with Nyenget, Amundsen, Klaebo, and Andreas Fjorden Ree. Arsi Ruuskanen of Finland and Savelii Korostelew, competing as a neutral athlete, also managed to maintain contact. Behind them, a gap had opened to a chase pack led by American Gus Schumacher.

By the end of the classic leg, the leaders had established a gap that would prove decisive.

The Exchange and the Mördarbacken

Transitions in a Skiathlon are rarely glamorous or decisive, but a skier can lose contact with the lead if they don’t stay calm. Amundsen executed a clean ski exchange and briefly looked poised to dictate terms once the field switched to the blue 5-kilometer skate loop.

That loop includes the full Mördarbacken, a long, layered climb that television struggles to do justice. The ascent, which parallels the ski jumping landing hill, builds in segments, steepening before easing slightly when it cuts across the slope, then rising again one last time. It is not just a memorable climb in name, but once you have skied it, you will never forget the ‘Murder Hill.’

Nyenget continued to press the pace up front. Klaebo, as he often does, sat tucked in, attentive and measured.

On the first lap of the skate course, the lead group remained six, with the four Norwegians, Ruuskanen, and Korostelew. By the second ascent of Mördarbacken, it was effectively a three-Norwegian affair with Korostelew, Ree, and Ruuskanen fading slightly and fighting to limit losses and eventually finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.

Behind them, the chase pack raced for seventh.

The Finish

With less than a kilometer remaining, the three Norwegians — Klaebo, Amundsen, and Nyenget — remained locked together. Nyenget, who historically has the least sprint speed, had done the bulk of the visible work, setting the tempo on both classic and skate sections.

At the top of the final climb before descending into the stadium, the trio jockeyed for position, no one wanting to lead only to be overtaken by those in the draft. Nyenget took the lead, but was predictably passed by Klaebo on the far side of the stadium, and at the line, it unfolded as it so often does, Klaebo easing up to wave to the crowd with Amundsen outsprinting Nyenget behind him.

“It was very hard,” Klaebo said during his post-race interview with FIS on the broadcast. “But at the end, I managed to keep up with [Nyenget] and managed to do a good last sprint at the end.”

The margins were small. The pattern was not.

Klaebo now has 12 consecutive victories across World Cup and Olympic competition. The last race he entered without winning was the final climb of the Tour de Ski, where he managed his effort to secure the overall title rather than contest the stage.

“To be honest, I don’t think I have a goal anymore for this season,” he said. “I think the main goal is completed, and now I’m just going to enjoy the last races and see how it goes.”

Schumacher: Fast Skis, Hard Hills

Gus Schumacher finished seventh in 49:38.6, 56.8 seconds behind Klaebo and spent much of the day managing a gap that opened during the classic leg and never fully came back.

The decisive acceleration came when the Norwegians lifted the tempo in pursuit of bonus points. Schumacher felt it immediately.

“In the classic, when it got fast, my kick was not great, so it was hard to fight for anything,” he said. “I was kind of just getting up the hills, but the pace was fast the whole time.”

He believed the separation was coming regardless.

“I think that gap was going to open at some point, no matter what,” he said. “Just because of how they were skiing from the start, mostly Nyenget, I think.”

Schumacher was on zero skis for the classic portion.

“I was on zeros. I think most people were on zeros,” he said. “Some people looked good, and I don’t know, there’s some variation there for sure.”

On the flats, he felt competitive.

“The gliding sections were great for me. My skis were really fast,” he said. “But the hills were tough.”

After the exchange, Schumacher exited the stadium aggressively and led the chase group for stretches on the first lap of the skate course. The leaders, however, continued to gain time on the full ascent of Mördarbacken.

Asked to describe the climb, Schumacher was more measured than dramatic.

“Honestly, compared to a lot of the other climbs they do, I feel like it’s not horrible,” he said. “I enjoy it partly because it’s not insanely long and it’s got some steps to it.”

That does not mean it is easy.

“It definitely climbs pretty far and has some steep parts,” he said. “But as far as big climbs go, that’s one of my faves.”

What does it demand?

“Same as other climbs,” he said. “Just fitness, technique, poise… the whole deal.”

Bolger: Boxed In Early, Fighting Back Late

Kevin Bolger finished 36th in 51:12.8, but his race was shaped early.

“It’s always hard to feel the pace when you start mid to back of the field,” Bolger wrote in an email afterward. “I’ve always tried to just relax, let the stringing out happen, and take the gaps where they form and make some jumps.”

He later learned from Gus Schumacher that the leaders had opened aggressively from the gun.

“I heard they started quite hard,” Bolger said. “So I think it was just a hot pace from the start and things just naturally spread out.”

For Bolger, the defining moment came within the first lap of the classic leg.

“Unfortunately, I got stuck behind Andrew Musgrave and went from mid pack to last after the first lap,” he said. “So it was a lot of work to catch back up after that.”

In a Skiathlon, that kind of early compression can cost dearly. Once the field stretches, passing becomes energy-intensive, and the leaders ease the pace.

The waxing decision, at least, felt clear.

“Waking up and seeing the fresh snow and the temperature around zero, it was clear it was going to be zeros,” Bolger said. “But you never know what the techs are mixing up in the truck. As you run out to the start, you look around to see what other people have under their skis.”

Bolger chose zero skis and was confident in the call.

“I went with zeros, and I was very happy with that decision,” he said. “Tim Baucom and I did some good testing and landed on zeros because they were running the best for me, and I was super happy with that.”

By the time the race shifted to the skate leg, the front group was already out of reach. Still, Bolger felt he had something left.

“I was really happy with my classic leg,” he said. “Even with getting stuck early and having to work to catch back up, finishing that classic leg with the energy I had, I knew I could put together a good skate.”

The full Mördarbacken climb on the blue loop remained the critical point.

“I think everyone knows when that massive climb is in the mix, that’s a very critical part of the course and a tipping point for a lot of people,” Bolger said. “If I can get up that hill with the group, I’m in. Once there’s separation, the chances of that coming back are small.”

He described the climb bluntly.

“She starts pretty gradually, and you feel confident at the bottom,” he wrote. “But she turns boys into men real quick, or men into boys quick at the top.”

In soft conditions, with lactate building, the final pitch can expose anyone.

“It’s hard to keep the legs moving when the lactate’s flowing,” he said. “It’s really hard to describe it, but that’s the best way to say it.”

Schoonmaker: Finding Value in the Distance

JC Schoonmaker finished 58th in 52:40.4, but the placement did not tell the full story of his day.

“The longer distance was pretty tough, but also fun to do that kind of race again,” Schoonmaker wrote afterward. “Even though it was a tough day and not my best race, I find a lot more enjoyment in a 20 k like that, where I’m 60th or whatever, than a sprint qualifier where I’m 35th. Cool to push yourself and ski in a pack.”

Falun’s Skiathlon rewards positioning and sustained pace more than sharp accelerations. For Schoonmaker, the takeaway was direct.

“Today shows me that I probably need to have a bit more pace to be competitive in these longer races,” he said. “Just overall need to be fitter and stronger than I am right now.”

He felt competitive through the classic leg, especially in tricky waxing conditions hovering around freezing.

“The conditions were a bit tricky for sure,” he said. “Whenever zeroes are in the mix as well as wax, it can be a little stressful.”

Schoonmaker chose kick wax rather than zero skis, a minority decision in the field.

“I ended up going on wax, and I think I was probably one of the only guys in the field to do that, so I was a bit nervous at the start,” he said. “But they worked great for me, and I think I made the right call.”

The transition to skate proved costly.

“I felt more competitive in the classic leg, had a bit of a blow up as soon as we switched to skating, and found my flow after a bit, but just lost too much time right after the transition there,” he said.

Then came the full Mördarbacken climb, twice.

“The Mördarbacken is a tough one, I think mostly because it’s just so long,” Schoonmaker said. “It has a lot of grade fluctuations, which I think is cool in a hill and a bit of a grind, but I like the way it skis.”

Other American Finishers:

Hunter Wonders – 47th place

Zanden McMullen – 61st place

Canada: Cyr Inside the Top Ten

Antoine Cyr led the Canadian contingent, finishing 10th. It was a controlled race from Cyr, who held position through the classic leg and limited losses on the climbs during the skate.

Other Canadian Finishers:

Olivier Leveille – 53rd place

Remi Drolet – 54th place

Max Hollmann – 55th place

Sasha Masson – 66th place

The Larger Arc

Falun is more than just another stop as it will host the 2027 World Championships. It is also a venue that rewards discipline. The gradual terrain away from the stadium invites packs, and the big climbs around the ski jumping hill expose any fitness weaknesses.

For Klaebo, it was another example of restraint followed by precision.

He leads the overall standings. He leads the sprint standings. The distance standings remain mathematically contested, but days like this narrow the space for drama as we move towards the final races.

After sweeping the Olympics, one might have expected a pause, yet there has not been one.

In Falun, the snow was fresh, the wax calls uncertain, and the climbs unforgiving. The result, however, was familiar.

And with three weeks remaining before the World Cup finale in Lake Placid, what now remains is not a question of whether Klaebo has delivered a historic season, but how complete it might become.

 

Falun World Cup Men’s 20 k Skiathlon – RESULTS

Men’s World Cup – OVERALL STANDINGS

Men’s World Cup – DISTANCE STANDINGS

 

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