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On Day Two of the Tour de Ski (TDS) in Toblach, Italy, the world had a chance to see what the realignment of the men’s cross-country ski world could look like, and whether it would withstand the concerted efforts of Norway to reclaim its place at the sport’s summit. The new TDS leaders would be tested by the 10 k Classic Individual Start. With many of the favorite pre-race contenders sidelined by illness, it was a chance for other skiers to take to the spotlight, or for yesterday’s winners to try and remain in it. In the men’s race, the TDS leaders were shockingly two Frenchmen and an American. Lucas Chanavat (FRA) sat in first, followed by Jules Chappaz (FRA), and Ben Ogden (USA).
But, after only one day of racing, it was way too early to proclaim that the giant of men’s racing— Norway—had been felled. Norwegians were still the current favorites to take the title: Erik Valnes (NOR) sat in fourth place, only 17 seconds behind the leader, and Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) was fifth, 20 seconds back. The usually reliable Paal Golberg (NOR) was 24th at the start of the day. So, no tears for Norway as they still had plenty of horsepower under the hood.
For Chanavat to stay in the lead, he would have to beat the odds by doing something he hasn’t done at the international level since he was a junior skier ten years ago: have a strong performance in a distance Classic race. History—and the odds—were against him.
When one scans the TDF men’s standings, there aren’t any names jumping out as overwhelming favorites. Valnes is as close as it comes. It is as wide open a tour as there might have ever been, and it is yielding some of the most exciting racing that fans have seen in years. At the end of the day of racing, traditional order had not been fully re-established as the 32 year old Finnish veteran, Perttu Hyvarinen, rose to this occasion and took an unexpected win. Valnes finished second, and Amundsen was third. As expected, Chanavat and Chappaz were unable to maintain their positions, finishing 89th and 48th respectively.
But the day brought more good news for team USA: Ben Ogden finished ninth, which was enough to keep him in third place overall in the TDS standings. The Americans also had an excellent performance turned in by Gus Schumacher who finished 15th. Other American finishers were Scott Patterson 40th, Zanden McMullen 50th, and Kevin Bolger 72nd.
The top Canadian was Antoine Cyr who had a strong day finishing 19th. The next best Canadian was Oliver Leveille in 57th, followed by Julien Locke in 88th.
Men’s 10 k Classic Individual Start
The men’s race started late today—3:00 local time—which meant that by the time skiers took to the course temperatures had warmed to a little above freezing; the trickiest range for Classic skiing. But the temperatures didn’t turn out to be an obstacle for the American squad. “I would have imagined it to be a tricky day to find kick,” said Ogden. “But to be honest, the wax techs today killed it and not one ski I tested kicked badly and none of them were particularly draggy. So major cheers to them for making it easy.”
Antoine Cyr (CAN) had his moment amongst the early starters taking the best time among skiers on the course at the 1.7 kilometer mark, but he was soon displaced at three kilometers by Hyvarinen. It was an omen of the breakthrough day which was about to unfold for the Finn.
Amundsen was among the first of the pre-race favorites to take the course, and at the 1.7 kilometer time check he had the fastest time of skiers on the course. When Valnes came through shortly after, he was tied with his countryman Amundsen. But, by the time they reached the 2.3 kilometer time check both the Norwegians had dropped to third and fourth. This was due to the fact that when Ben Ogden (USA) skied through the 1.7 kilometer time-check, he became the new leader on the course, ahead of Valnes and Amundsen by over two seconds. And, Ogden was still in the lead at the 2.3 kilometer mark without any strong challengers behind him. Being in the lead also allowed him to capture TDS Bonus points handed out the 2.1 kilometer mark.
Ogden dropped to third place by the three kilometer mark, tied with Valnes. Could lightning strike for the American two days in a row? It was a tall order, and by the half-way mark Ogden had slipped to eighth, some 18 seconds behind the lead, but still only 14 seconds from Valnes. Ogden had extra time in his pocket based upon time bonuses he acquired in yesterday’s sprints, so he was still looking strong in the overall standings. It was a tricky course to maintain consistent pacing on. “I think that with it being a slightly more double pole focused course than usual it was just tempting to go very hard out of the start,” Ogden said. “That being said, the downhills didn’t end up being particularly restful and the ‘smaller’ hills felt pretty big once you were racing.”
The early finishing mark was set by Hyvarinen who has never stepped onto a World Cup podium. Even so, he turned in a very strong time, over 27 seconds ahead of the next best finishers on the course at the time he finished. As skiers with fancier pedigrees crossed the finish, Hyvarinen’s time—to the astonishment of spectators— continued to hold up. One by one, the best skiers in the world came through; Hyvarinen’s time continued to hold.
The best in the world continued to finish with Hyvarinen continuing to hold the lead. When Amundsen finished, he was in second, but an astounding seventeen seconds behind the Finn. Then came Valnes; and he too was unable to displace Hyvarinen. One by one all of the top ranked skiers finished, and all of them fell short of Hyvarinen’s time. It was beginning to be a storybook day for Finland.
At eight kilometers, Ogden was hanging tough in sixth place; 28 seconds off Hyvarinen’s time, but more importantly only fourteen seconds behind Amundsen. As Ogden pushed toward the finish he double poled intensely, but the clock showed that he continued to lose time. When he crossed the finish line he was ninth, 46 seconds from the lead, but only 30 seconds behind Valnes. It was good enough to keep Ogden in third place overall in the Tour de Ski.
It was a career day for Hyvarinen, and his teammates were clearly thrilled for him. After 110 starts he not only found the podium but conquered the top spot. It was yet another feel good story in a TDS where conventional wisdom has been challenged. After the race he praised his service team for giving him good skis. He seemed to take the surprise victory in stride noting that there wouldn’t be any big celebrations, though he clearly enjoyed showering his team with champagne after his victory.
Somewhat hidden by Hyvarinen’s surprise victory and Ogden’s performance was a fantastic day for Gus Schumacher (USA), who finished 15th. His performance was good enough to move him into 12th in the overall TDS standings, exactly one minute behind Ogden. Schumacher is still feeling good after today’s efforts. “[I’m] not crazy tired yet,” Schumacher told FasterSkier. “[I’m] pretty psyched to feel like my skiing is just going solid lately, so looking forward to the rest of it.”
Impact on Tour Standings
When the racing had finished, the old order was partially restored with Norway taking the lead in the TDS: Valnes in first, Amundsen second. But American Ben Ogden disrupted the list of Scandinavians in the top and remained in third place. Norway had been restored to the top of the results list in the TDS, but still had not found the top of the podium for the day’s race, and for his surprise efforts, Hyvarinen landed in fourth place overall. No matter how you looked at it, it was still a day full of disruption to World Cup skiing with a little known Finn taking the race and an American man sitting third in the overall TDS standings. It was a pleasant surprise on which to end the year. Ogden acknowledged as much when he was asked if before the TDS began he had ever imagined himself this high in the rankings? “No,” he replied. “I sincerely did not imagine I would be third in the Tour at any point. I’m proud to be there and excited to keep fighting and see what the future holds.”
But there was even more good news for team USA, Ogden was also leading in the points chase. He was clearly very pleased with this outcome as he literally did a backflip from the top of the podium at the end of the flower ceremony.
10 Kilometer Individual Start Classic RESULTS
