'I needed this one' – Klaebo confirms greatness with Skiathlon world title in Trondheim

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) said it was “by far the coolest day of my life” after he won the Sprint Classic at the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships on Thursday in his hometown of Trondheim in front of more than 25,000 adoring fans.

So how do you top that?

By winning the 20km Skiathlon two days later in front of an even bigger crowd – estimated to be in excess of 45,000 – to take the first distance gold medal of your career.

“It’s up there – and probably higher to be honest,” Klaebo admitted. “I really needed this one and it’s something I’ve been chasing for a long time. Finally, we can say I’m a distance skier as well.”

The undisputed sprint king of cross-country skiing for the best part of a decade, Klaebo’s maiden title at a major championships over a longer format did, indeed, underline his all-round greatness. This was a test of technique, tactics and temperament – and Klaebo passed all three with flying colours.

And the challenge for the 28-year-old couldn’t have been greater: three laps of Classic skiing followed by three of Freestyle in difficult underfoot conditions – albeit on a course that Klaebo knows better than anybody.

He also had to contend with the pressure of the crowd not to mention a stacked field of contenders, including his own teammates, who knew that if they had any chance of winning, they had to avoid making it a sprint to the finish.

With this in mind, the race started at a blistering pace in an attempt to break Klaebo, with Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR), a two-time winner on the World Cup circuit this season, leading the charge. He said: “My tactics were to make it a hard race and I hoped that somebody else thought the same. I think my pace was quite strong.”

This meant that only the very best distance racers could keep up. By the time they had changed into their freestyle skies, the leading pack was down to 14, with fellow Norwegians Harald Oestberg Amundsen, Jan Thomas Jenssen and reigning world skiathlon champion Simen Hegstad Krueger among those in contention along with French climbing specialist Hugo Lapalus and veteran star Federico Pellegrino (ITA).

But Klaebo always seemed to be in prime position to make sure any attempt at a breakaway was short lived.

Even with one 3.3km lap to go, 13 skiers were in contention, all within two seconds of the lead, which had been taken up by another Trondheim resident, Andrew Musgrave (GBR).

Sensing this was Klaebo’s race to lose unless they could leave him behind before the home straight, the rest of the pack upped the pace on the final climb. But as they hit speeds in excess of 60km/h heading downhill into the stadium, it was Klaebo who hit the front.

He glided round the final corner with his trademark smoothness and in one short burst of double poling he was gone. Having been under pressure seconds earlier, he now had time to look over his shoulder, glance at the crowd and, finally, gaze to the heavens with his arms aloft, before collapsing on his back.

“It was about time, I guess,” Klaebo said of this career-defining victory. “I’ve been working quite hard for this and I’ve been close a few times, and finally I am able to stand on top of the podium in a distance race. It’s probably more emotional for me, this one, than the sprint – this tastes good.

He also admitted feeling more pressure to win the skiathlon than Thursday’s sprint. “Yeah, for sure. I feel like people have been speaking more about it than I have and being able to do it here in front of the home crowd, couldn’t be a better. I’m just super satisfied and happy.”

Nyenget, who finished 1.4s back, described his second place as “a dream come true” after he edged a four-way photo finish. Amundsen was third in exactly the same time. Agonisingly, Jenssen was just 0.1s off a medal with Pellegrino another 0.1s back in fifth.

Nyenget said: “Johannes is a supreme skier and with his sprinting abilities it feels almost like a gold – my second start in a world championship and to make it onto the podium in front of this crowd.

“I think my chances for gold are even higher in the 10K [on Monday] and maybe even the 50K [on Saturday 8 March].

Amundsen, the 2023-24 overall World Cup champion, who hit his face on the snow as he lunged for the line, was also satisfied with bronze. “I think that’s how it’s supposed to be when you reach a medal,” he said of the cut on his chin. “I felt quite tired during the race so I had to save energy for the last sprint. It was a really, really close finish there, so happy to reach a medal.

“It feels incredible to be up on the podium. I think maybe I need to let it sink in because the surroundings today were just incredible. I can’t understand what it means to be skiing around here in front of 40 or 50,000 people.”

The FIS Nordic Ski World Championships continue on Sunday with the Women’s 20km Skiathlon race.

For the full results from Trondheim, click here.