Andersen makes the most of Norway absentees with 10km victory in Les Rousses
Jan 17, 2025·Cross-Country)
Iver Tildheim Andersen (NOR) took advantage of an understrength Norway team to win the 10km Freestyle in Les Rousses, France, the second victory of his FIS Cross Country World Cup career.
A former world junior champion, Andersen has only started 22 races in four seasons of World Cup racing, such is the competition within the Norwegian men’s team. But his two other podiums – a victory in Lillehammer, Norway in December 2022 and third place in Gällivare, Sweden a year later – have also come in 10km skate races.
And with big-name compatriots Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, Harald Oestberg Amundsen and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget among those missing in Les Rousses, Anderson couldn’t have picked a better time to stake his claim for a place in the Norway team ahead of the world championships in Trondheim in February and March.
In perfect underfoot conditions near the France-Switzerland border, the Les Rousses course – hosting just its second FIS Cross Country World Cup event – is defined by a brutal first climb that begins just 500 metres out of the stadium section and seems to go on forever.
Attack the hill too much and skiers would be left with too little the tank for the long, winding downhill sections. Don’t go hard enough and you will be left with too much ground to make up.
Andersen didn’t attack the hill as much as early pace setter, Ben Ogden (USA) – the sprint specialist is a notoriously fast starter – but was just 1.9 seconds behind the American after the first of three 3.3km laps.
“My approach at the start was not to go too fast up the first hill and I instantly felt, ‘ok, I managed that’ and now it’s just full gas to the finish,” Andersen said.
Indeed, he seemed to get stronger and stronger as the race progressed. By the halfway mark he was 4.5s faster than Ogden. At the end of lap two the gap had edged out to 6.3s. The Norwegian eventually crossed the line 9.1s faster than Ogden – the two 24-year-olds eventually being split by Paal Golberg (NOR) after a strong final lap from the veteran left him just 5.2s off the top of the podium.
Simen Hegstad Krueger (NOR), many people’s favourite for the race after he won the final climb in the Tour de Ski in his last outing, finished fourth, 18.3s behind Andersen.
The day belonged to Andersen, though, whose previous season’s best was a fourth in Lillehammer, also in the 10km Freestyle. “It feels amazing,” he said. “It has been an ok season so far but today I’m very happy. I’m very satisfied that at least now I have a chance to go to the world championships.
“You’ll see me again on Sunday in the 20K. Maybe I’m not so strong in classic but we’ll see, I’ll try.”
Ogden was equally delighted with just his second World Cup podium.
“Pretty psyched with that,” the effervescent New Englander said. “You gotta have fun. If you're not having fun then what the hell are you doing? You've gotta go and do something else. That's definitely my goal and the American team definitely do a good job of that, but I think everybody here has fun. You race the fastest when you've having fun and loving the life that you live. I've got nothing to complain about, I put it down out there today.”
The FIS Cross Country World Cup continues in Les Rousses on Saturday with the women’s and men’s Sprint Classic races.
For the full results from Les Rousses, click here
Follow FIS Cross-Country on Youtube here.
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