By Angie Kell
There’s always reward in waking up too early during the World Cup season in the U.S. Watching the men’s 15-kilometer classic mass start live, the second stage of the Tour de Ski, is special, as is the sunrise you’re rewarded with when you live in the mountains. And that third fourth cappuccino deserves mentioning as a necessary treat too.
However, if you’re pressed for time and you have a normal circadian rhythm, all you need to watch is the pre-race FIS TV interview with former World Cup Norwegian skier Niklas Dyrhaug, who was two for two in his predictions for the day. Dyrhaug said that the women’s race could be anyone’s (correct), and that Johannes Høsflot Klæbo would win the men’s race today in a sprint finish (also correct).
The Norwegian ski machine claimed the entire podium for the day in a race featuring perfect, hard-track conditions. Klæbo took the win in 38:24.4; Erik Valnes was second, 0.6 seconds back; and Håvard Moseby reached his first World Cup podium ever in third place, 1.2 seconds behind Klæbo.
The American subplot of the day was that it was another day to celebrate for the U.S. Ski Team, as Gus Schumacher led the charge with a 7th-place finish. In a pre-race interview on the livestream, Schumacher was clear about his strategy. Admitting that he was emboldened by Jessie Diggins’s earlier performance, Schumacher stated that he wanted to “go with the leaders as long as possible and make something happen in the end hopefully.” Wearing bib number 10 after a great day yesterday by making it to the semifinals in the sprints, Schumacher was well positioned to execute upon his plan.
Teammate Ben Ogden, wearing bib number 6 after making it to the finals yesterday, took charge of the race from the start gun in search of sprint points rewarded near the completion of the first of four laps, at the 3.3km mark. (This year, in an effort to be innovative, FIS has a separate sprinter’s jersey and climber’s jersey, akin to the Tour de France and other UCI WorldTour races, which will be awarded at the completion of the Tour based on points accumulated at sprint primes and climbing primes.)
Ogden settled into the pack around 2km but kept favorable positioning alongside Klæbo and Swede Edvin Anger. Klæbo, Anger, and Ogden grabbed 15, 12, 10 points, respectively, after crossing the sprint bonus line in first, second, and third.
Each subsequent lap was a chapter that has been written many times, in a manner that World Cup skiers know well. In this story, the ever-so-measured Klæbo charges to the front when the field of 95 starters feels chaotic, but also conserved as much energy as possible for the presumptive sprint finish that he would presumptively win. Norwegian teammate and reigning Tour de Ski champion Harald Østberg Amundsen joined Klæbo alongside Anger on the third lap, but no separation ensued in the pack of 38 racers. Barring a quick sprint from those seeking climber’s points, the pack remained tight with an arguably controlled pace.
The fourth lap found the Norwegians driving the pace. This finally split the group, but Schumacher kept in contact with the lead group. On the final climb, Klæbo separated himself and Schumacher did his best to stay on Klaebo’s heels. The move was fateful, as Klæbo was left uncontested for the sprint to the finish, followed by his teammates Valnes and Moseby. Schumacher faded only slightly to finish seventh, 3.4 seconds back.
The top 14 skiers today all came across the line within nine seconds of each other, and 36th place was still within 27 seconds of the podium. Men’s mass start racing, folks.
After the race Schumacher mused to Nordic Insights that he was satisfied with the day and found it a “really encouraging race”. However, he was “not super happy with allowing myself to drift back in the third lap when everything bunched up because it meant I needed to go super hard on the big climb on the fourth lap,” he noted, “but I’m happy I had the energy to put myself in there.”
Echoing Klæbo, who told FIS TV at the finish that the race felt chaotic, Schumacher told us that he felt he handled the chaos pretty well.
“I did a good job eyeing where people were gonna do me dirty and avoiding it or giving a shout,” he noted. “Always easier to do near the front.”
Did someone say chaos?
American teammate Zanden McMullen, who finished 17th today (12.5 seconds back), told Nordic Insights that he felt great today, and the race went as planned. “My tactics were to ski relaxed and move up when I had the chance but also be very careful of the altitude and blowing up,” McMullen said.
“I learned last year that this course skis like it’s at higher altitude than it actually is,” said the sea-level native. “There are so many working sections that you can lose time on it if you’ve blown up.”
But McMullen also learned more this year, telling us, “I stayed relaxed well up until I should have put the pedal down. On the big climb on the last lap, I got a little trapped behind some people and wish I had really tried to get around them. I had the energy to do it and the skis for it but was hesitant as I was too worried of blowing up. I think that’s a matter of building more confidence. Overall, I’m happy about the race and it’s good to know I’m in a good place for the rest of the tour!”
Ben Ogden finished next for the U.S. in 26th position and spoke to his strategy to Nordic Insights: “I really wanted that points bonus at the end of the first lap. Kinda played it wrong but got extremely carried away with my college friends cheering on that hill. Still got a good number of points so I was happy but if I had that back, I would probably not lead down the big hill. No matter. I minorly paid the price in the last couple k’s as I was pretty tired but still hung on for a small time back and a good position so I’m not complaining. Excited to keep rolling!
“Plan for the remaining distance races is to try and remain as close as I can! Also looking at that [sprint] points bib for sure!”
Fellow American JC Schoonmaker was 46th,and stated that today was a great learning day.
Schoonmaker, who would be the first to tell you that he is a sprinter first these days, told Nordic Insights, “I was just trying to conserve energy the first few laps and do my best to race my own race even though it was a mass start. I think I did a decent job with that by not just blowing up early on and being able to ski the second half of the race with a little bit of juice still. Today is great for just getting the feel of racing in a big pack and finding comfort in that will help for the rest of the Tour for sure.”
Jack Young rounded out the US team by placing 84th. He too found the day to be one to gain experience and was content with his effort, telling us, “Going into the race today, I just wanted to go out there and race. I know that the classic distance is my weakest discipline but having such a good position [Young started in bib 17], I couldn’t pass up skiing near the front for at least the first kilometer. Past that, I knew it was just going to be about survival and skiing as best I could after a hot start. I think I executed pretty well and was happy how I skied.”
Klæbo leads the Tour de Ski after two days of racing with a cumulative calculated time of 39:53, followed by French skier Richard Jouve (+34) in second place and Italian racer Federico Pellegrino in third (+36). Americans Ogden (fifth, +41) and Schumacher (seventh, +44) are close behind.
Racing continues at the same venue on Tuesday with a 20-kilometer interval-start skate.
Results: 15km classic | Tour de Ski overall
You’re reading this on Nordic Insights, one man’s labor of love dedicated to publicizing American nordic skiing. Last season’s GoFundMe is literally the only reason why I turned a profit in years one and two of Nordic Insights, and in turn the only reason why there is a year three of Nordic Insights for you to be reading now: I was okay with working for very little money to get this love letter to American cross-country skiing off the ground, but I didn’t want to lose money for the privilege of doing so. If you would like to support what remains a brutally shoestring operation, last season’s GoFundMe may be found here. Thank you for your consideration, and, especially, for reading.
