Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo secured victory in the 10-kilometer classic style interval start event at the final stage of the Cross-Country World Cup in Lake Placid, USA.
Klæbo completed the course in 26 minutes and 44.5 seconds. His compatriot, Andreas Nygaard, recorded the second-fastest time (trailing by +14.7 seconds), with another Norwegian, Håvard Solbakken, rounding out the top trio (+24). The Norwegian national team swept the top five positions in the race results.
The eleven-time Olympic champion Klæbo was competing for the first time since suffering a concussion. On March 12th, the Norwegian fell during the classic sprint semi-final at the World Cup stage in Drammen, Norway. During a descent, American Ben Ogden stepped on Klæbo’s ski, causing both to fall, and taking down two other competitors with them. Klæbo struck the back of his head during the crash and struggled to get up for some time. Both Klæbo and Ogden did not finish that race. As he left the course, escorted by organizers, Klæbo held the back of his head. The Norwegian was later diagnosed with a mild concussion and a minor head injury.
The Lake Placid stage is scheduled to conclude on March 22nd. Earlier, the senior coach of the Russian national team, Egor Sorin, informed RIA Novosti that Saveliy Korostelev and Daria Nepryaeva will not participate in the US events as they intend to concentrate on preparations for the Russian Cup Final in Kirovsk.
In December, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the decision by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) to exclude Russian athletes from international competitions was unlawful. FIS accepted the CAS verdict and permitted Russian athletes to submit individual applications for neutral status.
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