Norway starts into Ski Tour 2020 with a full podium sweep
Feb 15, 2020·Cross-Country
Therese Johaug had a dream start into the 9 days FIS Ski Tour 2020. The current Overall World Cup leader crossed the finish line +45 seconds ahead of her team colleague Heidi Weng. Johaug led at all intermediate times and remained untouchable for her successors.
The first competition day of the FIS Ski Tour 2020 began with the 10km F in the skistadium of Östersund (SWE).
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg completed the Norwegian triple podium, finishing 1.7 seconds behind Weng and 5.8 seconds before Ebba Andersson from Sweden. Young Andersson placed herself in between the Norwegian podium and their team colleagues Ragnhild Haga (5th) and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (6th). With Krista Pärmäkoski on the 7th rank, a third nation comes in the ranking. Jessica Diggins and Rosie Diggins from the US and Natalia Nepryaeva from Russia bring the final diversity into the top 10.
The point standing bib as well as the Overall Ski Tour 2020 bib also goes to Therese Johaug.
Therese Johaug (NOR)
„I know that the girls behind me they are going together and I am in the front and have to fight for myself so this is quite hard. I have decided that in this tour I will take day by day. My goal is to fight for the first place in Trondheim. There are two Sprint races so I have to fight for the points there."
Heidi Weng (NOR)
"It was a hard course with not many possibilities to rest and you had to try to keep the speed all the time. But it was fun with the many people who cheered on us. I feel better in skating so I dont know how to set my expectations for tomorrow’s classic race. The Tour waits with long races and so I decided to take day by day.“
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (NOR)
„It was for sure a really good start for Norway with a triple podium and that is an incredible feeling. I feel really good myself. Of course Therese is in her own class but I am satisfied with my own race. Of course it was brutal to come up to 5km and to hear that you are 17 seconds behind.“
Also on the mens side, the Norwegian team celebrates a successful start into the Ski Tour 2020. With Sjur Roethe, Simen Hegstad Krüger and Finn Haagen Krogh the first mens podium of the tour was set and so the top starting positions for tomorrows puruit race in Classic style.
Sjur Roethe, the winner of the mens race had to make up quite some time during his competition. With a super slow start at the beginning of the race and rank 33 in the first intermediate, Roethe climbed up to the third rank after 10km and performed a fantastic final lap which successor Simen Hegstad Krüger missed by only 1.7 seconds. For third placed Finn Haagen Krogh, the courses of Östersund seem to be the tracks to success. The last time the FIS Cross-Country World Cup took place, Krogh took home two victories.
Up for the chase in tomorrows 15km C is also Martin Johnsrud Sundby who follows right after Krogh’s start and with Alexander Bolshunov heading into the chase only 4.5 seconds later, before Hans Christer Holund. Roethe and Krüger therefore can expect to be chased by a strong group of great distance experts. A great result was also skied by Adrien Backscheider from France, for whom his 7th place was the best result ever in the World Cup.
Up for the points was also Italian Sprint expert Federico Pellegrino who was setting the time of the first intermediate. Pellegrino therefore takes over the point standing ranking. Overall leader of the tour of course goes to Sjur Roethe.
