By Angie Kell
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The final day of racing in Trondheim, featuring the men’s 10km individual start freestyle, could only be described as somewhat predictable and mostly anticlimactic. Given that the top seven spots for the day were secured by the Norwegian team on a weekend famously earmarked for elucidating who would make Norway’s roster for the Milan–Cortina Olympics in February, fairweather fans outside of the birthplace of cross-country skiing might not see so much excitement in the results, at first glance.
The notable stories from the day, however, in a nutshell, were that Johannes Høsflot Klæbo did not win his 102nd World Cup. A (reformed) biathlete did. And bib number 67 (6-7; say it with me if you’re under 18 years old) was anything but meaningless claptrap.
The racecourse featured two 5km loops, with a demanding and hard track, ensuring fast times with little rest. Only those athletes who had some gas left in the tank after the previous two days, and possessed the ability to race tactically, would reign on the podium.
After a fast start, Andreas Fjorden Ree of Norway, who started 65th, led at the 2km mark at 5:06.1, followed by Austrian Mika Vermeulen (bib 75) at one second behind. Harald Østberg Amundsen (#49), with his picture-perfect skate form, was third in 5:09.2.
Ree kept his aggressive pacing through the halfway mark of the course, and after the first lap, remained ahead of the field in 11:31.5. At this point, former biathlete and 24-year-old rising star Einar Hedegart, in this fourth career World Cup start and wearing bib #28, retained a spot on the leaderboard and the second-best time at 11:36.5. Vermeulen was almost seven seconds behind Ree in the third spot and was looking strong with his signature high-tempo style.
But it was the second lap where the race was determined, as fatigue from the previous two days and an aggressive first lap sat in. The gap between the two Norwegian frontrunners Ree and Hedegart remained stable until the 6.9km checkpoint, wherein a five-second gap turned into less than three. By the 9.2km mark, this gap was 0.3 seconds, with Ree barely hanging onto the lead.
The young Hedegart sat nervously in the leader’s chair after finishing in a time of 20:12.9, as he watched Ree’s progress on the course and the final sprint into the stadium.
Uncertainty turned to glee as Ree appeared to fade ever so slightly in the final sprint to the finish and ultimately finished just 0.4s behind Hedegart, with a time of 20:13.2. Hedegart secured his third ever World Cup podium and first World Cup win. His joy was apparent on the live stream, but he demonstrated restraint as he congratulated Ree upon his finish. The youngster has previously proven his place amongst the top Norwegians and overall World Cup field, as he was second in the same discipline in Oslo last year.
Bib 67 (6-7!) was worn by veteran Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, 33, whose race appeared smart and measured. Nyenget defied the terrible American moniker of 6-7 and used the bib to prove that irrelevance isn’t assured with age — his third-place podium finish in a time of 20:21.2 demonstrated as much.
Emil Iversen, following a third-place finish in the skiathlon yesterday, become the fourth placed finisher for the day in a time of 23:13.5. Iversen, who infamously missed making the Norwegian national team this year, assured fans of his place at the start line with his weekend’s results. Amundsen finished in fifth (23:16.9), and 25-year-old Iver Tildheim Andersen, who won the 10km interval-start skate last year in Les Rousses, was three seconds behind in sixth place, with a time of 23:19.5.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo finished the day in 7th place (20:26.0) and was the final Norwegian in the top ten, no doubt feeling some fatigue after two wins in the classic sprint and skiathlon this weekend. It was only the second time in fourteen career starts in Trondheim, at the World Cup or World Championships level, that Klæbo did not win on his home course.
The U.S. Ski Team started seven men, led by Gus Schumacher who started in bib 11, which was ultimately adumbrative. After a slower start, Schumacher systematically approached the course with intent and edged his way up the leaderboards with each time check. Schumacher finished just barely outside the top ten, in eleventh, with a time of 23:37.5.
Schumacher spoke of his intention to Nordic Insights: “My plan was to not start too hard, just staying smooth for the first climbs, then turning it on for the transitions that work the way down to the low point of the course. From there,” he continued, “I needed to pour on some energy to make it up the first part of the second lap well and push hard over the top of that and use the rest spots to recharge for an explosive last few kilometers.”
After a less-than-optimal weekend, Schumacher was happy with the effort today. “I definitely felt good,” he said. “I felt like I was moving well, taking my time to ski big and collected. I was able to push hard to the end and keep the technique together. Mostly just nice to have a clean, solid day where my skis felt good and body felt good and nothing crazy happened. I knew I had it, but it’s nice to execute fully. Going up!”
Americans Zak Ketterson finished a respectable 23rd (23:58.4), and Kevin Bolger was 33rd in a time of 24:08.1.
Bolger, like Schumacher, was pleased with the day. “I felt like I have all the other races — it just was nice to finally put it together with good skis and the body starting to tune up.”
Ever the veteran with perspective, Bolger told us, “[33rd] in Norway is a great result and I’m happy. The times are so tight [that] every margin counts. I’m excited to head south (races continue in Davos next weekend) and see some sun!”
Zanden McMullen and John Steel Hagenbuch were the next American finishers, in 43rd and 44th (24:26.8, 24:28.2, respectively) places. Ben Ogden crept into the top 50, in 49th, with a time of 24:31.2.
Ogden too, much like Andersen, has previously shown promise in this format, as he finished on the podium in third place in this race in Les Rousses last season. He expressed discontent about the day, telling us, “I’m not thrilled with my performance today and pretty disappointed with how my body responded to the previous hard days, but that’s life!”
The Vermonter continued, “I am psyched to get some more time on skate skis in this coming week and prioritize that after what has felt like a very classic-heavy start to the season.”
Teammate Luke Jager rounded out Team USA’s day in 61st place in a time of 24:41.9. After a great deal of Sturm und Drang over the previous week, ultimately no Russian athletes raced in Trondheim this weekend.
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