Richard Jouve´s first World Cup victory for the season
Dec 09, 2022·Cross-Country
France’s Richard Jouve won the Men’s Sprint Classic final in the Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup at Beitostølen, Norway, on Friday, claiming his first World Cup triumph this season.
The 28-year-old took an early lead in the final and managed to keep his opponents behind for the remainder of the race, sprinting to his career-third World Cup win, all of which have come in the same event. Italy’s Simone Mocellini finished second and Calle Halfvarsson from Sweden claimed the last podium spot.
”It was a long and cold day,” Jouve said after his triumph in -13 degrees.
”The final was good for me. I took the lead in the first uphill and I was in shape so (it was) very good.
Several first podium
It was however Mocellini’s team who celebrated the loudest as the 24-year-old reached the first World Cup podium of his career.
”I hope that this is the start of a career,” he said.
In the absence of Italy’s twice Olympic silver medallist Federico Pellegrino, who is about to become a father, Mocellini showed that the future of Italian cross-country sprint is in safe hands, admitting that he had not expected a top-three finish before Friday’s races.
”When I started the qualification, no,” he said.
”But then I saw the timing of the qualification and saw that I was fast in the last uphill so I had to try to do it.”
Lucky loser
Halfvarsson had harrowingly made it to the final as a lucky loser but managed to grab his spot at the podium before overall World Cup leader Pål Golberg from Norway, who finished fourth.
”I went for the first place but I’m happy that I got on the podium,” Halfvarsson said.
”I feel good. The skis were really good, the prologue (qualification) was a little bit slow but I made it to the final so it feels good.”
The 33-year-old Swede hoped that his first podium position this season could boost him coming into Saturday’s individual Classic race.
”The feeling is really good for tomorrow so I hope it will be the same for tomorrow,” he said.
Five nations in the final
Norway’s five-time Olympic champion Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who had won this season’s two previous sprint competitions, was out of action on Friday due to illness. In a final featuring six skiers from five nations, the overall World Cup No.1 Pål Golberg was the home nation’s only hope but the 32-year-old had to settle for a fourth-place, having caught up with the rest after suffering a fall mid-way through the race. Joni Maki from Finland got the fifth-place before Jouve’s compatriot Lucas Chanavat, who finished sixth.
Click here for the results of the Men’s Sprint Classic final.
