FIS | All-rounder Amundsen (NOR) lays down marker with skiathlon win in Lillehammer

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All-rounder Amundsen (NOR) lays down marker with skiathlon win in Lillehammer

Dec 08, 2024 · Cross-Country

Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR) @NordicFocus

Harald Oestberg Amundsen proved his determination to hang on to the Crystal Globe he won last season by claiming the 20km Men’s Skiathlon at the FIS Cross Country World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway on Sunday.

With the skiers racing 10km (four laps) of classic technique before changing skis and skiing 10km (three longer laps) more in freestyle, this is a test of technique as well as tactics, speed combined with stamina. And Amundsen passed with flying colours.

Meanwhile, the winner of last season’s sole skiathlon, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), could only finish down in eighth, after the other competitors worked together to break the sprint king on the penultimate climb, a tactic that had worked at the world championships in Planica, Slovenia in 2023, albeit over 30km, when Klaebo had to settle for silver.

After soft, snowy conditions on Friday and Saturday, a firmer, faster course greeted the athletes for the skiathlon.

On a technically challenging layout with lots of sharp turns and undulations the athletes head out in blanket format according to their positions in the overall World Cup standings.

And for the 12 Norwegians, this was a race within a race as only four of them can compete in the Skiathlon at the world championships on home snow in March. Win here and they could all but punch their ticket to Trondheim.

And the tactics were clear from the start: push the pace to ensure that Klaebo was not left with a downhill sprint to the finish, where his supremacy is clear. Indeed, the one time he did hit the front, he attempted to slow the pace.

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“... [full article continued] commemorates the analysis of the rigorous effort undertaken to distinguish precision skiing techniques by expert manipulation of the race.”

To watch all the action, click here

For the full results from Lillehammer, click here

See also: - Cross-Country - Harald Oestberg AMUNDSEN