Cross-country skiing: Mathias Holbæk boss of the World Championships
Mathias Holbæk only took part in two individual races at the Junior and U23 World Cross-Country Skiing Championships held in Italy, in Lombardy and Schilpario to be precise. But that didn’t stop the Norwegian from shining.
Already victorious in the 20-kilometre mass-start classic two days earlier, the 21-year-old cross-country skier repeated his feat by winning the 10-kilometre individual skate race on Saturday morning. In snowy conditions that made sliding difficult, the young Scandinavian managed to come out on top.
By accelerating from the halfway point, he opened up a gap that none of his rivals were able to close. At the finish line, the Vindbjart Il rider was more than 25 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. That first rival was none other than his team-mate Thomas Linnebo Mollestad.
Surprisingly third in the mass-start a few days earlier, the 22-year-old Norwegian put in another solid performance. This time, it was in silver rather than bronze that he finished ahead of Italy’s Martino Carollo.
Victor Cullet Calderini invites himself to the table of the best
Victor Cullet Calderini , always well placed throughout the intermediate stages of the transalpine course, also stood out. Thanks to a fine finish, the Savoyard clawed back some precious places to take sixth place. A superb performance for the cross-country skier from Les Menuires (Savoie), who rounded off the individual events of this global event in style.
Behind him, Mathieu Blanc finished sixteenth, just a handful of seconds behind Italy’s Andrea Zorzi. His compatriot Milhan Laissus also missed out on a place in the top 20 , taking twenty-first place less than 4 seconds behind twentieth-placed Gabriel Gledhill. It was a more difficult day for Luc Primet, who finished fifty-first.
Full results
Read also
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- Junior World Championships in Schilpario: more gold for Lars Heggen, crowned individual free skater, Gaspard Cottaz eighth
- Schilpario: Norway’s Mathias Holbæk crowned world U23 mass-start classic champion, Luc Primet a solid ninth
- Schilpario: after the classic sprint, Maerta Rosenberg again takes gold in the classic mass-start, with Julie Pierrel in the top 10
- “It was my goal for the year and I knew that a medal was within my grasp”: the frustration of Ivan Essonnier, sixth in the classic sprint final at the U23 World Championships in Schilpario.
- “It’s incredible”: Forézienne Annette Coupat’s satisfaction after her fourth place in the mass-start classic at the Junior Worlds
- Schilpario: Lars Heggen Junior World Champion in the Mass Start Classic, Romain Vaxelaire eleventh
- Schilpario Junior Worlds: Milla Grosberghaugen Andreassen takes gold in the mass start classic, Annette Coupat fourth, Margot Tirloy eighth
- Schilpario: Anton Grahn takes the U23 world title in the classic sprint, Ivan Essonnier sixth in the final
- Schilpario: Maerta Rosenberg becomes U23 world champion in the classic sprint, while France remain stuck in the quarter-finals
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- Cross-country skiing | Schilpario: Malin Hoelsveen takes the world title in the junior classic sprint ahead of two other Norwegians, Annette Coupat stops in the semi-finals
