Cross-country skiing: second World Cup podium for Jules Chappaz
Wednesday evening saw the urban sprint of the cross-country skiing world cup in Tallinn (Estonia). Behind Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo, unbeaten in skate sprints since December 2022 in Davos (Switzerland), Jules Chappaz took a magnificent second place, tied with Harald Oestberg Amundsen.
This is Le Cluse’s second individual podium on the circuit after a second place in Toblach (Italy), already in a sprint skate, in December 2023 on the Tour de Ski. The 25-year-old cross-country skier had been on a roll for several weeks with two fourth-place finishes in Falun (Sweden) and another at the Worlds in Trondheim (Norway). He looks back on his day for Nordic Magazine.
- You had been close to this podium for a few weeks. What does it mean to you?
It still means a lot. Since Les Rousses, I’ve been doing well in the sprints and that wasn’t far off. I’ve done two semi-finals and two finals, including the one at the Worlds. I finished fourth twice, so I really wanted to be on the podium. Then, at the end of the season, I told myself that there were still great opportunities to go for it and that made me want to.
- How did you approach the race?
I fell ill last week and had to skip Oslo. I had a few doubts when I came here. The little warm-up we did the day before the race was hard, very hard. In terms of my bronchi, in terms of the effort, I really had a shit [sic]. It was really difficult and I said to myself that we’d see how it would respond. It was double or quits, either it would get me going again and do me good for the race, or it would be my only cartridge of the week and that would be complicated.
- How did you feel during the race on Wednesday?
I was pretty good, but I was really aiming to build race after race. I had to respect qualifying because I knew it was going to be a very expensive qualifier. After that, I wanted to run each race like a final and give it my all every time. Overall, I felt pretty good on the day. I didn’t have a crazy feeling either, but I had a decent feeling. I was really in the right mood. I wanted to give it my all, go out there and play, with the intention of finishing this season well and making the most of the last opportunities we have left. I wanted to be proud of myself. I managed to take part in my quarter and my semi-final and go through.
- Then it was time for the final…
Just before the final, I was feeling pretty tired because I was in the fourth quarter, and the second half gives you less time to recover. I’d seen that the lucky losers were in the first half, so I knew that there were four guys who were a bit fresher than me. That’s why I gave it my all at the start to try and control the first lap a bit and slow the pace. After that, things went well. At the start of the second lap, I was third, fairly well placed, but not perfectly.
- And you’ve made the effort…
It opened up in front of me and that’s when I really started to believe in the podium. And that’s when I managed to overcome my physical fatigue and tell myself that I had to go for it. On the bump on the second lap, nobody was passing me. I told myself that I’d just have to ride to the finish like that and see what happens. At the bottom of the descent, nobody had passed me. I said to myself, this is crazy, this is crazy.
“I kind of thought I was going to win before the last corner, but when I look back at the footage, Klæbo made a tactical move that was quite impressive”.Jules Chappaz at Nordic Magazine
- Were you thinking about winning at the time?
I thought I was going to win before the last bend, but when I see the footage again, Klaebo makes a tactical move that is quite impressive. It’s impressive to put your legs back like that at that point, and to be so precise. He regains speed and then, in the end, there’s not much I can do. He’s on my right as I enter the bend. I’m trying to get to the outside as much as possible so that I can come out with a lot of speed, but he’s even further to the outside and I’m trying to close the door as much as possible, but I can’t play the nasty guy who’s going to try and make him fall, because there’s a good chance that I’ll fall too.
Besides, that’s not how I want to race. I want to run fairly, so I closed the door as best I could, but I didn’t force it or make my trajectory harder to get in his way. I ran on my trajectory. After that, I gave it my all on the straight. I didn’t have much left. I put my foot down and I realised straight away that it was going to be tight with [Harald Oestberg] Amundsen for second place.
- How did you manage the long wait for the official result?
It went well. Of course, between three and four, it’s not the same expectation. But here, we were both assured of a podium finish and we were just waiting to find out who was second and who was third. We were both really happy to be on the podium. We had a laugh. I think it was a good moment for everyone. He said to me: “If worst comes to worst, we’ll share”. And I told him that was fine with me [laughs]. The photo finish was very close and it was hard to decide between us. I don’t think they succeeded. It lasted a good 10, 15 minutes.
- And finally, there’s the outcome, with a tie for second place…
I think it’s great that we’re both second. I thought it was really cool to be able to get a podium with two people on the same step in a sprint. That’s really rare. And it was nice to share it with the guy who won the overall last year [Harald Oestberg Amundsen, editor’s note] and the guy who’s going to win it this year [Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo, editor’s note]. I was so happy to be there!
Read also
- Cross-country skiing | Tallinn: the sprint skate for Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo, Jules Chappaz magnificent runner-up
- Cross-country skiing | Tallinn: Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo wins the sprint skate qualifier, four Frenchmen in the finals
