Edvin Anger and Calle Halfvarsson saw themselves after Drammen
DRAMMEN/STOCKHOLM. It became dramatic in the men’s sprint quarter several times.
In both the second and third heats, half the starting field crashed – and for the Swedes the day ended already in the quarter-finals.
– It’s a bit embarrassing that I’m going out, says Edvin Anger.
It was already a pass in the quarter-finals for all the Swedish men in Drammen.
Edvin Anger and Calle Halfvarsson were third and fourth in their heat, but in the end the time was not enough. Marcus Grate was fifth in the same heat.
– It’s too bad. Both me and Edvin will be in the final here today. We should really be with the form we have. No, that’s boring. We are going away today, says Halfvarsson.
– With hindsight, I could have just as easily stayed at home, he says.
“Deplorable”
Edvin Anger was also disappointed afterwards and believes that he was responsible for some tactical mistakes.
– It’s boring as hell. It’s really sad. It’s a bit embarrassing that I’m going out. I’m hungry and having a good day but I don’t really give myself the chance. It’s just to release it as soon as possible, he says.
Anger himself talked about how he could have driven faster at the top to be able to move on in time. Norwegians Johannes Hösflot Kläbo and Erik Valnes, who came first and second, agree with that.
– What made the time too bad was that he Edvin went fast up the hill and then stopped at the top. It was probably stupid. For two or three Swedes to have progressed, speed would probably have been the best tactic, says Valnes.
“Butt in the snow”
It was otherwise dramatic quarter-finals for the men with several mass crashes.
The men’s sprint was in the second quarter-final heat and the riders were just about to turn in for the race.
Then Sindre Björnestad Skar fell and dragged Ludek Seller and Jules Chappaz with him in what turned out to be a serious crash.
– Suddenly I was lying there with my butt in the snow. It was very tight and suddenly the skis disappeared from under me. It was stupid, says Björnestad Skar.
What were you thinking when that happened?
– Fuck, I thought. It was that day. But that can be the case in sprints.
Oskar Svensson was the only Swede in the heat and avoided the crash. However, he came in third, which was not enough to advance.
– It was really noisy when we came downhill. You could see early on that things were starting to clump together and that they were starting to wobble to the left. Then it was just to stay away, says Svensson.
It was also eventful in the third heat when Sivert Wiig fell in the same place as Skar in the heat before. When the riders then came up the ramp, Renaud Jay and Zak Ketterson fell.
The winner in Drammen was Johannes Hösflot Kläbo in superior style. Second place went to Erik Valnes and Frenchman Richard Jouve took third place.
