Cross-country skiing

Klaebo looks like he’s cruising at half speed and still grabs the first sprint (C), leaving a Norwegian front four in his wake.

The women's race featured a much more intense sprint. Dalqvist entered that final turn in the lead, but I suspect
her teammate accidentally bumped her right as she hit the snow.
In the end, instead of a clean Swedish sweep, we saw a double victory led by Fish.

Klaebo is definitely playing it cool when he claims he isn't in peak condition. Imagine what happens when he actually hits his stride! Plus,
these shorter distances seem to be working perfectly in his favor. I mean, seeing six Norwegians land in the Top 10 Ski during the 10km is quite something. 😁

When looking at 6.2 miles C, the situation is totally different since there aren't any Norwegian women on the podium, but it’s honestly great to see
Oestberg back out there racing. After all those health issues and being forced to sit out,
seeing her compete again is just wonderful.

Klaebo pulls off a hat trick to open the season! It was his signature move again—letting everyone catch up first, waiting for the perfect moment, and then setting a pace so punishing that nobody even wants to attempt a counterattack. He just cruises
to another easy victory.
That marks his 51st career win in the World Cup, but honestly, he has accumulated far too many sprint wins compared to
other eras. For instance, if you ask me, the Greatest of All Time, Dahlie, had
46 victories, but 45 of those were in distance races with only one single sprint win.
The prestige of the World Cup has been somewhat diluted by this inflation of sprint racing.

Looking at the Swedish weekend, we saw Ebba and Frida simply swap places in today's pursuit compared
to yesterday. In my book, those two remain the absolute favorites heading into the VKG.

Does anyone happen to know why Klaebo wasn't at the starting line today? And what on earth went down in the women's race—how did Karlsson end up sitting in 8th place? I haven't had a chance to watch the races yet...

Gary Ward20 said:Does anyone happen to know why Klaebo wasn't at the start today? Also, what on earth happened in the women's race—how did Karlsson end up in 8th place? I haven't had a chance to catch any of the races yet.

Klaebo is dealing with a sore throat, so he’s sitting this one out. It's a shame, really, since this race was essentially just the Norwegian National Championships.
As expected, Musgrave has settled right into the rhythm of the Norwegian flag.😁
Iver Andersen just secured his very first career win in CC! It happened during only his second race of the World Cup 2022/2023 season. What an incredible way to kick things off!

I didn't catch that race myself, but honestly, it's not like Karlsson finishing 8th is some kind of disaster. They are still performing at a high level regardless.
The margins are actually quite slim.

Klaebo showed up and just had a typical day at the office during the sprint, following right on the heels of the Fish
which wasn't really what I was expecting. On top of that, the Swedish women are missing two of their heavy hitters, Sundling and Svanh.

Jouve and Faehndrich pulled off a Great sprint in Beitostolen, while Klaebo didn't even take the start.

With no Swedish women in the finals, it looks like Sundling isn't quite ready yet. There was no Fish in the mix either, but after an eighteen-month hiatus from racing, Lisa Svahn finally made her comeback in a smaller event.

Pellegrini finally took down Klaebo in the sprint! Someone actually did it!🙏

That was a great sprint where Pellegrini really showed her strength in the final stretch. Faehndrich managed to pull off a win in front of
the home crowd, who always bring such incredible energy to Davos.
Since there were only 39 racers in this women's start, Ten Hadžić managed to secure some points in CC, and
I'm pretty sure this marks the very first time an American woman has scored points in the women's CC circuit!

We’re halfway through the Tour de Ski, and honestly, Klaebo is just on another level. He’s swept all three races so far, and
following today's individual race, he holds a massive 38-second lead over Golberg. Even more impressive? Both Kruger and Toenseth are still trailing by less than a minute.
It's a tight race, but Klaebo is clearly the one to beat.
The women's side is where things get really interesting, though! With her win today, Karlsson has surged into the overall lead,
pulling ahead of T. u Weng and Kalvaa, who are currently sitting 20 seconds back. Meanwhile, Niskanen is hovering at
+40 seconds. It’s such a shame about Diggins falling out of the running, and we're missing Ebba entirely since she’s stuck home with the flu.
Tomorrow is the pursuit, which should be thrilling! 12 milesWe'll see if the course can even hold up, though. It’s getting incredibly
warm here in Oberstdorf and there’s just a noticeable lack of snow.

Klaebo has basically turned the Tour de Ski into his own private party—five races, five wins. He's back at it again tomorrow.
It’s a mass start, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he sweeps that one too. Not to mention, the final climb up to Cermis the day after is also a mass start 🤦
.

What a fantastic race during this 9.3 miles Swedish weekend! Hennig just secured her very first CC victory 👍

Karlsson took second place, but honestly, the real story here is how she managed to widen the gap over Weng
ahead of tomorrow's climb. It really looks like the battle for the overall title is all but decided at this point.

Klaebo 6/6, absolutely incredible!🙏

Klaebo and Karlsson took the wins at TDS! This marks Klaebo's third overall victory at TDS
and the first one for Frida. Klaebo really just went out there and did his job on that iconic climb, while Kruger
finally managed to snap his streak of stage wins. It looked like things might go similarly for the women
but during that final 1.5km stretch, Frida completely hit a wall and lost her steam. Luckily for her, she had
built up such a massive cushion heading into this last stage that she still pulled off the win, finishing with a +33s
lead over Niskanen.
The win at Cermisa went to Claudel from France, which is a huge milestone for her in the SK, though
I suspect this might actually be the first win for a French athlete in the SK—or perhaps I'm mistaken? Either way, an excellent
result for the young American Laukli, who secured a spot on the podium today.

Now the racers get a nice little two to three-week break. Since TDS offers so many points,
the current standings in the SK are looking much clearer for VKG.

-Men-
1.Klaebo 1282
2.Golberg 1228
3.Pellegrino 982

-Women-
1.Tiril Udnes Weng 1447
2.Karlsson 1160
3.Niskanen 1019
4.Diggins 1004

Paul White62 said:Klaebo and Karlsson took the TDS wins. This marks Klaebo's third overall victory at the TDS
and the first for Frida. Klaebo basically just clocked in and did his job on that legendary climb, while Kruger
finally managed to snap his winning streak on the stage. It looked like things might go similarly for the women
but during that final 1.5km stretch, Frida completely hit the wall and lost her steam. Luckily for her, she had
built up enough of a buffer from the previous stage to hang on, eventually taking the win with a 33-second lead
over Niskanen.
The win at Cermisa went to Claudel from France, which is a massive statement for her in the SK, but
I suspect this might actually be the first time a Frenchwoman has stood atop the podium in SK history—correct me if I'm wrong. Also, an impressive
result for the young American Laukli, who secured a spot on today's podium.

The athletes get a brief two or three-week break now. Since the TDS hands out so many points,
the current standings in the SK look much clearer for the VKG.

-Men-
1.Klaebo 1282
2.Golberg 1228
3.Pellegrino 982

-Women-
1.Tiril Udnes Weng 1447
2.Karlsson 1160
3.Niskanen 1019
4.Diggins 1004

I went to double-check that stat because it sounded too good to be true, but it’s legit: the first win for a Frenchwoman in history. Philippot had a second and a third place back in 2005 and 2007, but those were her only top-three finishes until now. Incredible.

While they’ve never really been considered a powerhouse in cross-country skiing, it’s actually quite surprising because they've consistently produced
really talented and reliable racers, ranging from Manificat and Vittozi all the way to Jouve and Chanavet today..
I was watching the World Championships and the Olympics recently, and it sounds absolutely wild that out of all the major races held throughout
history at those two events, France has managed to snag only one single gold medal across both disciplines, and that was
Vittoz winning the skiathlon at the 2005 World Championships.

I didn't catch that part yesterday because I switched channels immediately after Ž's race, but I’m reading today
that the TDS winner wasn't even present for the podium ceremony because she was completely "half-dead." She even mentioned
that she barely remembers crossing the finish line.

It’s really great to see Linn Svahn back in action with SK after her second year, and it looks like she's finally back to 100% health
. Plus, we've got another world-class sprinter returning to the fold—Sundling is back after missing out on almost the entire
first half of the season.

It feels great to see the US back in France after about a decade, and honestly, we should be making these trips much more often!
The energy at Les Rousses today was absolutely electric, and the absolute highlight of the day
was watching Jouve take down Klaeb in the C sprint.
On the women's side, Skistad pulled off a bit of a shocker by grabbing her very first career win,
beating out a pack of Swedish women and an American, Kern. Interestingly enough, Sundling didn't quite make it through to the finals.
It’s going to be a real headache for the Swedish team when they try to narrow down their roster for the upcoming World Championships.

Meanwhile, over in Canada, the Nordic junior sport and U23 World Championships have kicked off. Tonight, the action started with the CCu events, and I have to say, both the junior sprints were incredibly intense and hard to call.
I also want to give a quick shout-out to the commentators on the FIS YouTube channel; they are significantly better than the crews we usually get on the European networks.
Tena Hadžić also competed in the sprint, though she unfortunately didn't advance past the qualifying round.

Milla Andreassen is looking seriously dangerous right now. After grabbing that silver in the sprint (C), she went out today and absolutely crushed the gold on
the longest leg of 12 miles C. It was a dominant performance, too—she took down Eriksson, who’s actually two years older than
her. Honestly, seeing her compete feels like watching a perfect blend of Bjørgen and Johaug 😁

The Norwegian Championship at Aspen on 31 miles, featuring the top ten finishers🤣

At Tomorrowland, 31 miles will be competing in SK for the very first time.

The Hague took the win in the first SK race at 31 miles, clinching it after an absolute nail-biter of a sprint against Slind and Diggins.
Diggins clearly struggled with her second pair of skis, which didn't perform well, and she ended up burning through way too much energy trying to chase down
those bonus points—though she did manage to narrow the gap between herself and TUW in the SK standings.

With only 32 women at the starting line, even the men's field wouldn't have seen much higher turnout, which suggests
that FIS scheduled this race far too close to the World Championships, just two 31 miles weeks apart.😵

And can we talk about Astrid Slind? She competed at the World Championships in 19 miles, then hit the Vasaloppet 56 miles immediately
followed by tomorrow and just one week later 31 miles at Aspen, where she just secured a 2nd place finish.