Cross-country skiing: Lucas Chanavat’s unexpected victory as seen by our neighbours
It will soon be two years since he tasted the joys of success on the world circuit. Lucas Chanavat surprised everyone in Davos on Saturday 13 December. In the skate sprint of the Swiss World Cup , after what Iltalehti (Finland) described as“a thrilling final”, he “withstood the pressure” and achieved a “convincing victory”, as Yle (Finland) put it.
In the final straight, he led a “neck-and-neck duel” (NRK, Norway) with Italy’s Federico Pellegrino, andwon the photo finish by throwing his foot better. ” Pellegrino, who immediately congratulated Chanavat, showed great fair play,” insists Fondo Italia. While Yle notes that “like Sundling [winner] in the women’s race, Chanavat won all his races”. After the qualifiers, the Bornandin also finished top of his quarter-final and his semi-final.
“Back from injury in record time
Our confrères were particularly insistent on the story surrounding the Frenchman, whose preparation was interrupted by a stress fracture. ” He has made lightning progress in a very short space of time,” summarises Italehti. Viaplay (Norway) adds: “His comeback is incredible. He came back from injury in record time. Just a few weeks ago, he was wondering whether he’d have an off-season. Today, he’s back at the top… as is often the case in sprint skateboarding when Klæbo is away.
Abroad, Lucas Chanavat’s success was overshadowed by the Norwegian’s surprise elimination in the quarter-finals. A first since his World Cup debut in 2016, it overshadowed the outcome of the final. VG (Norway) described the Frenchman as a “close friend of Klæbo”. The overall leader had previously won the last 23 sprints in which he had competed, including 18 in the World Cup.
- Lucas Chanavat wins the sprint skating race in Davos ahead of Federico Pellegrino
- Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo out in the quarter-finals of the Davos sprint
- Jonna Sundling dominates the Davos sprint skate, the French advance to the quarters
