Cross-country skiing: Jules Chappaz on the brink of another feat
Two years after his fantastic third place in the classic sprint at the World Cross-Country Skiing Championships in Planica (Slovenia), Jules Chappaz came close to repeating his feat this Thursday at the 2025 event in Trondheim ( Norway). Back in form after a few difficult weeks at the start of the winter, the Frenchman battled hard throughout the tournament.
In the top 10 in the morning qualifying round, the Haut-Savoyard mastered his subject in the quarter-finals. Winner of his group, Le Cluse worked hard in his semi-final to secure a place as lucky loser. Once in the final, the 25-year-old cross-country skier played his cards right to finish strongly.
Starting from a position of ambush, the young man gradually clawed back precious places to the point where he was back in the fight for the podium with Finland’s Lauri Vuorinen. However, the Frenchman eventually lost out by two tenths at the finish line. It was a reassuring performance, however, just a few days ahead of a classic sprint team where he and Richard Jouve will be battling it out for a medal.
King Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo did not tremble
At the front of the race, Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo left no room for doubt. Having come here with the firm intention of winning as many medals as possible in his own backyard, the Norwegian had an ideal day. Never troubled, the Scandinavian was able to take advantage of his excellent glide and his formidable knowledge of the race to run away with the gold.
This latest success adds to the trophy cabinet of the 28-year-old cross-country skier, who now has ten world titles to his name. In winning, he also claimed top spot on the podium for the fourth time in a row in a sprint at this event. The local of the stage has not been dethroned in this format since his coronation on the slopes of Seefeld (Austria) in 2019.
Behind him, the inexhaustible Federico Pellegrino put in another top-class performance. Having been on the box twice since the start of the World Cup season, the Italian chose the right day to shine once again. Always well placed and in form, the Transalpine climbed to second place in the rankings to take silver. By finishing in the top 3 again, the experienced 34-year-old won his seventh world medal.
In a duel with Jules Chappaz until the very end, Lauri Vuorinen also experienced great emotions. Powerful in the quarter-final and then the semi-final, the Finn once again came up trumps in the final to beat the Frenchman to the foot. The 30-year-old cross-country skier, who was eliminated after qualifying for the 2023 event in Slovenia, opened his record of achievements with his very first world title.
Lucas Chanavat fails to reach the final
On the French side, behind the solid fourth place of Jules Chappaz, Lucas Chanavat also had high hopes for this competition. A regular on the podium in this format in recent years, the Haut-Savoyard once again got his final off to a good start by playing up front.
However, halfway through the race, the Bornandin seemed to lose his footing and was never again able to hold on to the top 3. Detached from the leading group, the French cross-country skier eased off and finished sixth on the final lap. It was a real blow for the man who had been described as the “biggest outsider” by new world champion Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo.
Richard Jouve also suffered a minor disappointment when he was eliminated in the semi-finals. A lucky loser waiting for the second group, the Haut-Alpin was finally eliminated at this stage of the event. It was an early end to the adventure for the Frenchman, who had shown great promise in the final straight of the Norwegian course.
Rémi Bourdin , who was also in contact throughout his quarter-final, crossed the finish line frustrated. However, for his first appearance at a senior World Championships, the rider from Doubs has nothing to be ashamed of in terms of his performance. Having qualified for the finals after an impressive eleventh place in the prologue, the member of theFrasne-Drugeon ski club unfortunately missed out on his ticket for the rest of the tournament by just 6 hundredths of a second.
The full rankings
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- “I’ve been thinking about it all summer during my preparation”: Rémi Bourdin sets his sights on his first senior World Championships
- The full programme for the 2025 World Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships in Trondheim
