Nepryaeva and Klæbo conquer Oberstdorf sprint
Jan 26, 2020·Cross-Country
The FIS Cross-Country athletes awaited a tough sprint course in the new Cross-Country stadium in Oberstdorf - the venue where next years World Championships will take place.
Natalia Nepryaeva qualified with the fastest time for the womens heats, followed by current Sprint World Cup leader Anamarija Lampic from Slovenia. The mens qualification was clearly won by Johannes Høsflot Klæbo before his team colleagues Erik Valnes and Paal Golberg. The gap to the last qualified athlete in 30th place is +15.62 seconds. A great surprise for the German team was Richard Leupold who qualified for the quarter finals in his only fourth World Cup appearance.
The demanding course required a lot of strength and technical skiing from the athletes. Nepryaeva had to face a strong US double of Sophie Caldwell and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen in the semi finals and was additionally challenged by Anna Svendsen. Nepryaeva managed to keep the lead and ensured herself the spot in the finals together with Sophie Caldwell. Anamarija Lampic clearly took the lead in the second semi final and ensures her deserved spot in the finals together with Ane Appelkvist. Lampic also confirmed her top shape in the finals but could not quite reach Nepryaeva who takes the victory, +0.26 seconds before Lampic and +2.44 seconds before Jessica Diggins.
The pace setters in the mens quarter finals were Paal Golberg and Alexander Bolshunov as well as Haavard Solaas Taugboel and Italian Sprint expert Federico Pellegrino. The Italian faced the semi finals with four Norwegians in the heat - including Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. The decisive point for ensuring a spot in the finals was the final uphill where Klæbo attacked and Valnes and Pellegrino managed to join along. Alexander Bolshunov took his chances in the second semi final around the 1.6km course, facing a battle with Svensson and Retivykh for the remaining spots in the final but did not manage to push through.
The final heat was decided by the Norwegians and driven by Federico Pellegrino. The Norwegian trio managed to claim the podium spots with Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Paal Golberg (+1.99) and Erik Valnes (+2.37).
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