Klæbo defends Sprint World Champions title
Feb 25, 2021·Cross-Country
The mens Sprint in Classic style concludes with a triple Norwegian podium. Johannes Høslot Klæbo, Erik Valnes and Haavard Solaas Taugboel take the first Cross-Country World Championships medals of 2021. Due to warm weather and resulting soft snow conditions, the Sprint competitions had been re-scheduled to an earlier starting time and the course was salted to conserve the snow. Those changes added up on the difficult and exhausting Sprint course of Oberstdorf. The power had to be saved on the first uphill and recharged in the last, before heading into the downhill onto the long finish stretch.
Second placed Erik Valnes did not want to give his secret tactics away in the interview before the heats but ended up doing strong leading work and pace setting, which ensured him a top-spot in the finals. The 24 year-old gets rewarded with a silver medal in his first ever FIS Nordic World Ski Championships start! “I am happy that today worked out well for me. It is great to be in this team and we all trained a lot together for the same goal, exchanged a lot and learned from each other. I have only seen the course on tv before but I really like it and the finish stretch really makes sure that the best will win in the end."
For third placed Haavard Solaas Taugboel, a dream came true with his bronze medal: "It feels amazing. We are a really strong squad. We have been training together the whole year. I have been lucky to train with Valnes and Klaebo and could learn from the best. Participating at World Championships has been a childhood dream, especially when you live in Norway. Because since I was a little kid I watchend all the Nordic World Ski Championships on TV and dreamt to be a part of it. So to finally be here with a medal is just unbelievable. I am proud of myself and the team behind me. It feels emotional to have a medal and there is a lot of people I want to thank. Its been a long journey and now its feels worth the job."
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