Amundsen Claims 20 km Triumph - Klaebo’s 100th World Cup Win Delayed

Sunday saw Harald Amundsen take the win with an impressive performance. The biggest surprise was provided by Norway’s promising 24-year-old Einar Hedegart, who finished second just 1.9 seconds behind Amundsen, who clocked 44:42.5. 

In the mass start race, the main group gradually began to break apart, and Sweden’s Edvin Anger and Austria’s Mika Vermeulen worked together as the duo escaped off the front. The gap remained good for the pair for a long time, but in the final kilometer they were caught, and in the end Amundsen surged to the front and took the victory. Things could have turned out differently without Anger and Vermeulen, as the race might have been more dull. Now the Finnish crowd saw a very entertaining race on the last day of the Ruka World Cup.

Third place on the podium went to Sweden’s just mentioned Edwin Anger, who had finished ninth in Friday’s 10 km race. Mika Vermeulen, the other half of the breakaway duo, ended up in fifth place. 

Johannes Klaebo, who is chasing his 100th World Cup victory, surprisingly ended up 18.3 seconds behind the lead in the 20 km race. The hundredth win will have to wait until next weekend when the competitions continue in Trondheim.

To the disappointment of the home crowd, Iivo Niskanen didn’t even start the 20 km race, as he didn’t feel good during his warm-up before the competition. The best Finn was Joni Mäki, who struggled in Saturday’s sprints, finishing in 26th place.

The top 10

1. Harald Amundsen (NOR)
2. Einar Hedegart (NOR)
3. Edvin Anger (SWE)
4. Martin Nyenget (NOR)
5. Mika Vermeulen (AUT)
6. Mathis Desloges (FRA)
7. Mattis Stenshagen (NOR)
8. Martino Carollo (ITA)
9. Zak Ketterson (USA)
10. Elia Barp (ITA)

The first World Cup weekend is now behind and heading into Trondheim the top 3 looks like this:

1. Johannes Klaebo – 275 points
2. Harald Amundsen – 254 points
3. Edvin Anger – 221 points

Text: Väinö Helenius
Photo: Noora Luukkanen