Cross-country skiing: Harald Östberg Amundsen crushes Kläbo – lead shrinks: “Insanely tough”

Harald Östberg Amundsen claimed victory in his first stage of this year's Tour de Ski with a dominating performance. In today's 20 km individual start race in freestyle, Amundsen started eighth, trailing Johannes Hösflot Kläbo by 1:02 minutes, who had won the first two stages.

Amundsen executed a controlled race, aiming for consistent speed and ultimately achieving a remarkable victory, beating Kläbo by 46 seconds.

"It was just as hard as I expected; I tried to start steadily and maintain an even pace, and it felt okay," Kläbo said post-race.

Despite the intense competition, Kläbo managed to finish fifth overall. Amundsen now stands 16 seconds behind Kläbo in the total standings.

The race featured a challenging uphill climb during the first ten kilometers, with a steep elevation gain of 200 meters before descending the remaining half.

Edvin Anger finished as the best Swedish skier, placing 14th overall. He expressed satisfaction with his performance despite being a little fatigued from the grueling course.

The result from this stage sets the stage for tomorrow's pursuit race over 15 km in classic style, where Amundsen will start first due to his impressive performance today.