Norway survive sprint scare to maintain men's dominance at worlds

The moment came in the penultimate climb on the final lap of the men’s team sprint freestyle at the 2023 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia on Sunday: for the first time in a long time, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo looked beatable.

Up until that point, the 26-year-old had seemed anything but. Having won the individual sprint on Thursday with apparent ease, Klaebo took over from silver medallist and Norway teammate Paal Golberg just ahead of Italy and France. With half a lap to go, the gap had grown to more than 10 metres.

That was when Federico Pellegrino, who beat Klaebo in similar circumstances in Davos, Switzerland, in December, made his move, pulling level at the top of the last-but-one climb. “When I was in the middle of the climb, I thought ‘I can try’ and it was good to see the surprise on Klaebo’s face when I pulled level,” the Italian freestyle specialist said. “He had to find a new way to win.”

But according to Klaebo, it was all part of the plan.

“I was in a really good position when I started my final lap,” cross-country’s undisputed sprint king admitted. “So I tried to make sure I had a little bit of energy left for the finish.”

And so it proved. A counter-burst on the final uphill and Klaebo was back in front. One metre became two became five by the finish. “It was amazing,” said Klaebo, who had time to wave to the crowd before he crossed the line – as he did on Thursday.

The Italians, who claimed silver, just ahead of France, were philosophical: “Today was enough,” said Pellegrino’s partner, Francesco De Fabiani, “even more than we could expect to be in the battle for the gold until the end. Of course, the Norwegians are the strongest but we are not so far from them.”

In fact, less than five seconds separated the top eight after three laps; just 2.5 seconds came between the top five after four laps.

“Skiing together in the pack it’s always difficult to try to stay out front, try to stay out of trouble,” Golberg said. “We managed that well.”

Norway have now won gold in all three events at the world championships so far. And for Klaebo, team success is just as sweet as all his individual glory: “I’m really glad to be able to win it together with a good friend and a good teammate.”

The men’s events in the world championships continue on Wednesday with the 15km individual freestyle.

Click here for the full results of the men’s team sprint.