Cross-country skiing: the king of Trondheim is Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo
The men’s competitions at the world cross-country skiing championships in Trondheim (Norway) drew to a close under sunny skies on Saturday with the legendary 50-kilometre skate. In this terribly demanding event, there were many who wanted to win gold and go down in the history of the discipline.
But this most sought-after of medals could not escape the local star of this edition. In front of more than 100,000 spectators who had eyes only for him, Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo succeeded in his formidable challenge. Specially prepared for this global event, which he considered to be the most important of his career, the Norwegian did not tremble.
With titles in the sprint skate, skiathlon, individual classic, team sprint and the men’s relay contested two days earlier, the 28-year-old cross-country skier came to the start of Sunday’s race with his sights set on an unprecedented grand slam.
And whileno one had ever achieved this before, the Scandinavian fought hard to believe in his chances of a sixth title. The world number one was always in the warmth of the leading group, but lost contact a few times on the uphill sections of the course. Courageously, he closed the gap each time despite the attempts of his rivals.
Ideally placed at the start of the final lap, the man with fourteen world titles to his name then used his sprinting skills to outrun his rivals. Simply too strong, he went into the final straight ahead and was able to savour the final moments.
It was a major feat that should write Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo into the history books of his sport for many years to come. Behind him, William Poromaa showed great courage to hang on to the local hero in the final denouement.
Already a medallist for the first time in his career in Planica (Slovenia) in 2023 in the 50km classic, the Swede once again proved his appreciation of this competition format. The Scandinavian came to play spoilsport in the midst of the Norwegian horde and held on to claim a remarkable silver medal in the finish area.
And just when you thought Martin Loewstroem Nyenget was in a position to win another medal, something happened in the final kilometres of the race. Already unfortunate in the individual classic, the Norwegian crashed again on a bend. This mishap prevented him from joining the fight for the top 3. Nothing could stop Simen Hegstad Krueger from taking bronze.
The French make a clean sweep of the top 20
After clinging on to the leading group until halfway through the race, Hugo Lapalus then lost ground until the finish. In spring-like conditions and mixed snow, the Frenchman limited the damage at the end of the competition to finish sixteenth, more than 7 minutes behind the new world champion.
A few seconds behind him, his compatriots Jules Lapierre and Victor Lovera finished the race together. Respectively twentieth and twenty-first on the line, the two Chartrousins hung on until the end after a gruelling effort.
Mathis Desloges, on the other hand, didn’t have the same day as his team-mates. The rider from the Isère region put his foot down before the halfway mark in this final battle of the 2025 world championships.
Read also
- Trondheim: Hugo Lapalus, Mathis Desloges, Victor Lovera and Jules Lapierre at the start of the 50-kilometre skate race at the Worlds this Saturday
- “We wanted to cheer up the whole group”: Rémi Bourdin and Jules Lapierre feel the pinch after the relay at the Trondheim Worlds
- “We missed out on a lot of our objectives”: another frustrating result for Hugo Lapalus in the World Championships relay
