Cross-country skiing: Harald Oestberg Amundsen does not miss his return to business
It was in ideal conditions and under a beautiful blue sky that the cross-country skiers in the World Cup rounded off their weekend on Sunday with the10-kilometre individual skate race on the slopes of Cogne ( Italy), in the Valle d’Aosta.
Harald Oestberg Amundsen , who had been absent for a few weeks after retiring from the Tour de Ski, was back on the circuit for the eighth stage of the season. Already at the start of the classic sprint the day before, the Norwegian quickly got back to his best.
Quick to pick up the pace, the outgoing world number one made the difference in the final hectometres of the Transalpine course. As comfortable as ever in a sport that suits him so well, the Scandinavian managed to cross the line as winner. A solid performance that is reassuring and sends out a strong signal to the whole peloton.
Behind him, Iver Tildheim Andersen long believed he was on the verge of his second victory of the season after his recent success in the individual skate race at Les Rousses (Jura). But this time, the diminutive Norwegian came up against a stronger opponent. Nevertheless, he followed this up with another top 3 finish just a week after having already tasted victory in the mass-start skating event in Engadin (Switzerland).
After a strong finish, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget also made a successful return to competition. Third on the day after a fine effort in the final kilometres, the 32-year-old cross-country skier gave Norway another hat-trick less than 24 hours after the classic sprint led by Erik Valnes.
Edvin Anger , who was still solid over distance, put an end to the red hegemony by finishing fourth, less than 4 seconds behind the box. The Swede continues to impress and further strengthens his second place in the overall World Cup standings . Janosch Brugger and Gustaf Berglund, both tied for seventh place, also put in good performances, as did Davide Graz, who finished ninth on home soil.
Les Bleus finish in groups
On the French side, Hugo Lapalus was just a few seconds short of the top 10. The Haut-Savoyard, who lost a place in the overall standings, finished a strong 11th, but unfortunately it wasn’ t enough to dislodge American Gus Schumacher from tenth place. At the finish line, the two men were separated by just one second and two tenths.
Behind Le Cluse, Mathis Desloges is still not out of the top fifteen. Twelfth, the Isérois rider was ahead of another rider from Dauphiné who is also continuing to make his mark among the best. By finishing thirteenth, Victor Lovera confirmed the fine form he showed in Les Rousses (Jura) and the Engadine (Switzerland) last weekend.
The fourth and final Frenchman in the race, Clément Parisse, did not enjoy the same success as his team-mates. In the top 10 in Switzerland a few days ago, the cross-country skier from Megève (Haute-Savoie) didn’t repeat his solid performance, finishing in thirty-ninth place in Sunday’s rankings.
The full rankings
The overall distance ranking
The overall World Cup standings
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- Cogne: Kerttu Niskanen and Jasmi Joensuu make no bones about winning the classic sprint team, Mélissa Gal and Léna Quintin finish twelfth
- Cogne: after the disqualification of Iivo Niskanen and Lauri Vuorinen, Rémi Bourdin and Renaud Jay are drafted into the finals
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- Cogne: Kerttu Niskanen and Jasmi Joensuu win the classic sprint team qualifier, Mélissa Gal and Léna Quintin finish tenth
