Ski trip – Tordner:

VAL DI FIEMME (Dagbladet): Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won Friday’s sprint in Italy, ahead of Calle Halfvarsson and Simone Mocellini.

With that, Klæbo has a solid lead ahead of the last two legs of the tour.

A classic joint start of 15 kilometers awaits on Saturday. Klæbo is sure to be attacked from all sides, but Russian sports commentator Andrej Shitikhin is disappointed that the slackers on the pitch didn’t attack him more and sooner.

Russia reacts

In a comment for Championship places particular emphasis on the 20km in Oberstdorf, and points out that Russian athletes would never have accepted such a race:

– 20 kilometers is enough to break the field. But no one took the opportunity. They said it was not possible on the trail, but look what Frida Karlsson and Krista Pärmäkoski did, writes Shitikhin.

He continues:

– Yes, Klæbo was prepared, and it is not said that it would have been possible to go against him. But the fact that there are no tests gives Klæbo a trump card. When you do this, not only do they dishonor themselves, but you dishonor the sport as well. Without the Russians, it’s totally uninteresting.

It has been discussed

What was possible on the trail in Oberstdorf was heatedly discussed earlier in the week. Sjur Røthe was among the athletes who tried, while an athlete of ability like Hans Christer Holund made it clear to Dagbladet that he saw no reason to try.

The Italian Pellegrino thanked for the pace maintained:

– I was waiting for them to snap, but it never happened. When I saw 10 red jerseys in front of me going into the last hill, I thought ‘now it’s happening again’, but they haven’t gotten fast enough, Pellegrino told Dagbladet in Oberstdorf.

Swedish duo Calle Halfvarsson and William Poromaa have both been clear that it was not possible to withdraw under existing conditions and disagree with Russia’s criticism.

Hard fight

Saturday is expected to be a difficult stage. Klæbo has 58 seconds on Calle Halfvarsson, and just behind are both Federico Pellegrino, Pål Golberg and Sindre Bjørnestad Skar.

In the positions behind follow the four slackers Simen Hegstad Krüger, Didrik Tønseth, Hans Christer Holund and Sjur Røthe. Everyone has a good reason to get high speed.

– It’s not decided yet. 58 seconds fly fast on the last hill if you make it. I think tomorrow will be an important race, and historically we’ve seen that it’s one of the toughest races we’ve ridden during the year, says Klæbo.

Simen Hegstad Krüger, who made it to the quarterfinals in Friday’s sprint, also expects pace:

– I assume it will be a slightly different race. I already wasted time on that stage. It’s a busy day. You’re almost at the finish line, but you need to focus on that stage. It will be a really tough ski race, Krüger tells Dagbladet.

– I expect there will be speed and there will be air between the riders. I hope I’m strong enough to be there, Golberg tells Dagbladet.

Didrik Tønseth says he wants to speed up the field and can take Emil Iversen with him:

– If I have good skis, I think it will be very exciting. It’s an incredibly difficult course, so it’s going to be 15 difficult kilometres. There are a lot of Norwegians who are having a bit of a bad time today, who have to put seconds in the bank against each other. I think it will be a race, Iversen tells Dagbladet.