By Noah Eckstein
This article will be updated later today with (many) more athlete quotes. It’s been a long day on the ground already for the team on site, and they need to get some dinner. I have seen audio from like 15 or 18 different athletes so far; more, and good, stuff forthcoming. —Ed.
GRANÅSEN ARENA, Trondheim — In a casual straw poll among spectators and journalists scattered around the stadium on Saturday morning, a small handful of names appeared (and reappeared) as favorites for the podium in the men’s 20-kilometer skiathlon: topping the list were Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, and Harald Østberg Amundsen, all of Norway. The mavericks out there made their faith in American Gus Schumacher, Brit Andrew Musgrave, and Italian stallion Federico Pellegrino known, but the good money was on the men in red.
In the end, the pollsters of Granåsen did Ann Selzer one better and came away three for three — Klæbo took a clear win ahead of his countrymen Nyenget and Amundsen, second and third, respectively, as the trønder continues to bend these home World Championships to his will.
Schumacher came across the line with the lead group to headline the day for the Americans, finishing ninth.
The spectacle in the hills above Trondheim was the stuff of Norwegian skiing lore. Beer, aquavit, and karsk flowed freely as a red-and-blue-hued crowd made their love for their skiers — and this sport — known loud and clear.
Musgrave, while making sure to shout out the crowds at the Minneapolis World Cup last year as exceptional, spoke to the incomparable bedlam along the track today. “It was absolutely wild,” he said in the mixed zone. “You just go round a corner up there, up the top of the classic section, and there’s just this wall of people. I couldn’t hear anything. And I was going along, warming up at, like, 2 kilometers per hour, and I was just at max heart rate because I had so much adrenaline.”
Pellegrino, too, raved about the atmosphere, particularly appreciating the mutual sense of gratitude between the skiers and the fans. “You feel that you have value when you have so many people that call your name,” he noted contentedly after the race, “and already in the warm-up lap I felt really good. I took a lot of positive energy from it, probably because on Thursday I gave a good show and they were happy to see me again on the track.”
The race, like this podium, was not exactly filled with surprises. On the second of three 3.3km classic loops, a lead group of roughly 30 men took a small gap over the rest of the field. As most men’s mass start races are these days, it was a tactical affair, with relatively fast conditions — despite temperatures in the 40s — making solo efforts a fool’s errand.
The three eventual podium finishers all took turns near the front, joined by the plucky Frenchmen Hugo Lapalus and Mathis Desloges. Gus Schumacher, riding some fast classic skis, was safely ensconced midpack.
By the ski exchange at the 10km mark, the lead pack was down to 17, and the first circuit of the skate loop brought it down just a baker’s dozen.
Schumacher, after floating through the first half, was visibly working hard to hang onto the pack on flats and descents. “I think I needed my skis to be a little bit faster,” he reflected after the race. “They were decent, I’m not complaining about them, but I think to have a medal at a world championship, I need them to be better.”
Musgrave and Simen Hegstad Krüger, knowing that their diesel engines stood little chance in a bunch sprint, both spent a brief moment trying to break free at the front. The draft and a determined Klæbo kept them from getting far, though, and a full cohort of 12 men ripped down the final hill into the stadium together.
After railing the final, rutted bend like nobody else can, the Trondheim kid roared up the straight to the finish with clear air behind him. The fight for second, however, was capital-S spicy: Nyenget, Amundsen, (other) hometown favorite Jan Thomas Jenssen, and Pellegrino came in four-wide. A desperate lunge resulted in Norway-on-Norway-on-Norway violence, with the three teammates all going down in a big pile of flying poles and skis across the line. Amundsen claimed the bronze, but only after scraping his face on some equipment, perhaps his own, as he fell; he would spend the remainder of the day with a bloodied cheek. And a medal.
Only two could come away with hardware, sadly. Jenssen’s fourth place left him holding the wooden medal, but he found much to be grateful for in this race, his only shot this week on the trails he grew up skiing.
“I have the biggest support group here,” he told the mixed zone, emotion showing on his face. “Today was the best ever — every meter of the track someone was cheering me on, shouting my name. And when I was warming up I got jet fuel from everyone, just smiling, and was so happy just to be here. So it’s a boy’s dream to be here, to be one of five Norwegians who are racing here today, so I’m honored to be here.”
Pellegrino, also just off the podium in fifth, was equally content, albeit from the perspective of a veteran still finding fresh joys in racing in the tail end of his career.
“I had some struggles with the legs in the skate,” he mused in the mixed zone after the race, “probably because this was only the sixth skiathlon in my whole career, so my body is not so…I didn’t train for it. But usually it’s like this, when you don’t expect anything, then something can happen.”
He also pondered the difference between peaking for a championship and just being clutch. “I think I do nothing special. It’s something that comes from here,” he says (with humility rather than braggadocio), pointing to his head.
“But to keep fighting, to keep focused, even when things are not going exactly how you expect, to trust until the end, to align, never change. And then at the base, I think I am a happy person. If you are a happy person, then everything is easier. When I go to bed every night, I say, Ah, that was good today.”
Was it a good day for the Americans? Depends who you ask.
Schumacher was content. Asked if he was satisfied, he responded, “Yeah, yeah, I mean, yeah. That’s a good answer. I’m satisfied.”
For Zak Ketterson, who finished 41st after skiing closer to the front for most of the day, the answer was a big ol’ shrug. “It was okay,” he said after his race. “It was definitely not great. But it was my first World Champs start, so cool to cross that off.”
Ever a proud Minnesota homer, he added, “I think it wasn’t quite as loud as Minneapolis, but it was definitely up there with the coolest experiences I’ve had.”
Zanden McMullen, 46th on the day, said much the same. “Today was pretty rough,” he reflected after the race. “But, you know, this is my first World Championship race, so it’s a bit of a learning experience. Definitely the next step up from the World Cup season. The lights are a little brighter, the routine is a little different. And I can only imagine the Olympics next year will be that additional step up. So I think it’s like a good, good learning experience.”
Kevin Bolger, who somehow managed to evade Nordic Insights’ dogged reporters in the mixed zone with a wig (kidding — said reporters were probably distracted by Musgrave detailing his long and sordid history with the aforementioned Trøndelag concoction karsk) moved up throughout the race to finish a solid 31st.
Racing continues tomorrow with the women’s 20km skiathlon. Jessie Diggins, Sophia Laukli, Julia Kern, and Alayna Sonnesyn (Team Birkie) are scheduled to start.
Update:
Additional athlete quotes are below. These largely overlap with the raw audio files here, but in this age of aural inundation sometimes plain old text still has a place.
Schumacher on anticipation for the rest of the week:
“Honestly, the relay has been something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. Anything can happen, but I’m excited for everything — coming into a championship with a body that feels like it’s at its best is something I haven’t had before, and I’m really trying to enjoy it as much as possible.”
And on getting comfortable in the lead pack:
“I think my instincts just get a little better every time I’m towards the front — the instincts of just going with the pack versus being in the pack looking for a position that’ll get you a medal is different, and I’m better at noticing that second part, going for the medal. So today, I just didn’t have the tools that I needed to fully execute those instincts.”
Musgrave on his fitness and the 50k:
And I tried to go a little bit fast on the last lap. It was too late. Everybody managed to keep up for 3km. But was a little bit too late. But I gave it a wee bit of a go, at least. I felt strong. So I think when I don’t have to do any classic on the 50K, and we’re going twice as long, the hills are longer, it’s a harder track, then I think I’m going to do good then.
Pellegrino on the possibility of extending his career beyond the Milano-Cortina Olympics next year:
“No, no, no. This is my end-of-career bonus. When I say that my career will finish with the Olympics, then everything that comes, it’s a plus. It’s good. It was enough. It’s not one more medal that says that I am a better or worse champion. It’s only a matter of how much I want to challenge myself. And say thanks to the other athletes that helped me to do a higher kind of challenge.”
Nyenget on the photo finish:
“I didn’t dare to celebrate. To be second and not fourth is a really big difference. Amazing feeling. And I really enjoyed the moment.”
Mika Vermeulen of Austria, 13th, on his view during the race:
“I saw the ski tips of Friedrich, which I was trying to follow. That’s about it, yeah, that’s very much about it.”
Bentley Walker-Broose, friendly Australian who finished 79th, on some confusion for the back of the pack:
“Well, actually, we got stopped at the last minute there by one staff member, where he made us wait a minute while the leaders came through the finish straight thinking we were gonna get lapped out. But yeah, we just ended up not getting left. He just told us we could keep going. So a bit of an in-race distraction. But like, you know, I’m just happy to have been able to finish in the end.
And on the crowd:
“Oh, mate, it’s just unreal, yeah. Like, the crowd here is just so amazing. Like you go through the forest on those outer loops and everyone’s just screaming, and you’re just hearing cheers for Australia and Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oy, oy, oy. Yeah, it’s pretty incredible.”
William Poromaa of Sweden, eighth on the day, on the race being too short:
“I also have to be honest and say for myself that I think 30km would have been a much better fit. It feels a little hopeless when you’re in a group where there’s a handful of sprint specialists.”
And on the proliferation of shorter races more generally:
“Yes, I think it’s boring, to be completely honest, that’s what I think. Cross-country skiing for me is when it’s really tough and long. That’s what we’ve grown up with. And now I think a lot of people who watch it think [the sport] is just watching the five-kilometer race. I think we’re going a bit in the wrong direction, to be completely honest, but then I’m not going to stand here and be angry like that.”
Nyenget on the significance of his silver medal:
“It’s my second World Championship start. Winning a medal here today, getting a World Championship podium, is something I’ve really wanted to do during my career. I feel relieved and proud that I’ve made it happen today, and I’m really going to enjoy the moment.”
Simen Hegstad Krüger, 12th, on Norwegian dominance and competitive balance:
“We have a really strong team, and we are just pushing as hard as we can to be the best and to be on the top. So for our team, it’s our goal, and of course we’re satisfied with the team effort today. But in the long term, I think it’s better if there’s some change on the podium. We have to focus on doing our best, and that is trying to take all the podiums. So we are doing what you can do to keep it that way. But of course, at the same time, we want our competitors to be strong and to give us good fights as well.”
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Amundsen hit his face on the tail of Jenssen’s skis. trust The Index for your post finish details.
There are few things on this green earth that I trust more.