Klebo lost on the first day of the World Cup. And with the Russians he wouldn’t even enter the awards!

Klebo lost on the first day of the World Cup. And with the Russians he wouldn’t even enter the awards!

Andrey Shitikhin November 24, 2023, 23:50 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

It would be much more interesting with Terentyev, Ustyugov and Bolshunov.

In Ruka, Finland, the cross-country skiing World Cup has begun. Johannes Klebo, who had a contract dispute with the national federation during the offseason, battled injuries and the coronavirus, finished third in the classic sprint. And the female favorite didn’t even qualify.

Klebo is the favorite to win the World Cup:

The Norwegian is hunting again! Can anyone even stop Johannes Klebo?

In any case, the basis of international sports competitions is ours and not ours. And the start of the World Cup was not a great event. Maybe these are just my personal feelings. Well, we ran and ran. Not even the defeat suffered by Johannes Klebo has caused a sensation. Furthermore, he already lost in the first sprint of the season. Twice: ours. Alexander Terentyev two years ago and Alexander Bolshunov, gaping at the finish line, in 2018.

And now there were reasons why the active skier with the most titles in the world did not win. If he had been better prepared, even the not so successful tactics in the final would hardly have stopped him, and when Klebo also makes mistakes and his compatriot Valnes is simply brutally hungry for victories, there is no doubt.

“I’m rusty. I ruined everything on the last climb,” said Klebo after the end of the race. Well, that’s right, I’ve already lost the habit of competing, although last season I got punched more than once in the nose. With Ours, the sprint, and not only the sprint, but the World Championship in general, would simply be much more interesting. The Norwegians do not hide it.

The Norwegians admitted that they miss the Russians on the ski slope:

“We hope the Russians come back.” Are Norwegian skiers waiting for their main competitors on the slopes?

The three finalists are Eric Valnes, Richard Jouve and Johannes Klebo. Among the six there are also the Italian veteran Federico Pellegrino, who for some reason gave his best in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and the Norwegians Ansgar Evensen and Mats Jenssen. It is worth noting that the winner of the classification, the Swede Markus Grate, fell in the race and somehow managed to reach the finish line, and another Swede, Edwin Anger, who last season forced Klebo himself to try himself, simply seemed uncompetitive.

The female victory, as in the previous season, was obtained by the Swede Emma Ridom. Her compatriot and main favorite Jonna Sundling came second and Norwegian Kristine Schistad, who at the end of last season had no competitors in the sprint, came in third. One of the favorites, the Swede Maja Dahlqvist, did not even qualify, having raced surprisingly poorly.

The World Championship stage will continue with the classic 10 km events.

And in Russia the season started with victories for the favorites:

“Okay, we have arrived.” Bolshunov feared the limit of his opponent’s luck, but still won