Picture perfect victory for Krüger at Davos (SUI)
Dec 12, 2021·Cross-Country
FIS Cross-Country World Cup race day number two in the Swiss Alps started off with a clear sky and sunny weather. For the picture-perfect race day, a 15km (Men) and 10km (Women) Interval start in Free technique was on schedule for the world’s Cross-Country elite.
The traditional “Flüela” 5km course loop set the stage for exciting competitions. Simen Hegstad Krüger, the winner of Lillehammer’s 15km F was ready to confirm his top shape in this Olympic season. With a clear margin of 22 seconds, the Norwegian made a statement to his contenders and took the victory of todays distance competition.
The Sprint winner of yesterday, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo had his hopes up for a top spot but was still surprised that he managed to get a second place with this strong field of competitors on the start line. “This was definitely my best 15km in Free technique today. It was pretty tough, but I tried to be cool today and with my top skis and my shape getting better and better this second place feels like a victory.” The Norwegian managed to pull out precious seconds in the final lap and managed to displace Hans Christer Holund off the podium who had pulled through a fantastic race with an incredible pace right from the start as well.
With the Russian Sergey Ustiugov, the podium was completed. The 29 year-old stated that he was eyeing with the times of Krüger, Holund and Harald Oestberg Amundsen but did not have Klæbo on the radar. With a 3rd place, he is still content as his stable performance strengthen his chances for a final ticket to the Olympics. He defendes his top spot by 1.7 seconds to the 23 year-old Norwegian Amundsen.
For Dario Cologna, the current Olympic Champion in 15km Free technique, it was a very special edition of the Davos Nordic. In autumn, the 35 year-old had announced to retire after this season and thus, this Sunday’s race was his last one on the home course where he lives and trains all year round. With a strong start, the Swiss Champion headed into the race but lost pace along the track, finishing in 24th position.
