Cross-country skiing : Harald Oestberg Amundsen on top at home
The first skiathlon of the season offered a real thriller this Sunday morning at the Lillehammer (Norway) cross-country skiing world cup. In idyllic conditions, it was the men who were the first to make their mark on the 20-kilometre course.
Always well placed in the classic section, Harald Oestberg Amundsen flexed his muscles in the skating section to crack his rivals. On the offensive on the final lap of the day, the world number one assumed his status by taking the lead to head into the final straight of the race in the best possible shape.
A very good sprinter, the Norwegian was the strongest to claim his second success of the season after winning the mass-start skate in Ruka (Finland) just a week ago. Behind him, three more of his team-mates competed for places on the podium.
And while he battled for a long time during the pre-season races to secure his place in the world cup, Jan Thomas Jenssen confirmed that he does indeed have the level to compete on this circuit. Once again in second place, a position in which he finished in Finland last Sunday, the Scandinavian is competing with the very best this winter.
Martin Loewstroem Nyenget , who has also been in fine form at the start of the season, was once again on the podium. Third in this Sunday’s individual race, he climbed onto the podium for the fourth time in a row. The 32-year-old cross-country skier simply hasn’ t been off the podium since the season kicked off in Ruka.
Just outside the top 3 was Simen Hegstad Krueger, who beat American Gus Schumacher. In fifth place, the young man continues to make progress and to establish himself among the big names in his sport. Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave is back in form in sixth place, ahead of the impressive Andreas Fjorden Ree and Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo, only eighth and who crashed out on the final bump of the course.
Hugo Lapalus let the lead slip at the end of the course
Just behind the Norwegian, it was Hugo Lapalus who fought his way into the top 10. The Frenchman was at the front for a long time, but paid for his efforts in the previous laps in the final hectometres of the race. Dropped on the final climb, the Haut-Savoyard nevertheless finished ninth and is reassuring after a difficult individual skate.
Behind him, Mathis Desloges further confirmed the hopes placed in him. The Dauphinois was in contact before losing ground towards the end of the competition, and finished twelfth in the final rankings. A solid performance from the man competing in his first World Cup skiathlon. At the same time, he picked up the green bib of best U23 on the circuit from Edvin Anger the day before.
Jules Lapierre struggled in the classic section, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to close the gap in his favourite discipline. The Chatrousin placed thirty-third, just ahead of his compatriot Théo Schely, thirty-fourth on the line. Rémi Bourdin rounded off the Blues’ ranking in forty-seventh place.
The full rankings
The overall distance ranking
The overall World Cup standings
Read also
- After his fifth place in the Lillehammer skate sprint, Lucas Chanavat wants to improve: “I feel I need to have a bit more impact”.
- Lillehammer: Lucas Chanavat finishes fifth in the skateboard sprint won by Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo
- Lillehammer: Jonna Sundling wins the skateboard sprint ahead of Johanna Hagstroem
- Lillehammer: Ben Ogden wins the sprint skateboard qualification, only Lucas Chanavat and Rémi Bourdin make it through to the quarters
- Lillehammer: Jonna Sundling makes her mark in the skateboard sprint qualifier, finishing eleventh, while Léna Quintin moves on to the next round.
- After her victory in Lillehammer, Therese Johaug gave journalist Tomas Petterson the perfect response
- Biathlete Einar Hedegart’s crazy day: vomiting on waking, then top 10 in the Lillehammer World Cup
- Lillehammer: in the individual skate, Therese Johaug scores her first success since her return, Flora Dolci still close to the top 10
- After the Lillehammer individual skate, Mathis Desloges keeps his green bib
- Lillehammer: led by Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, the Norwegians scored a six-peat in the individual skateboard event, with Jules Lapierre in the top 20.
