Klaebo dominates Ruka Sprint and Vuorinen claims podium
On Saturday, the sprint competition took place at Ruka. In sunny conditions, seven Finnish athletes advanced to the next round after the qualification. The best Finnish finisher in the qualification was Niilo Moilanen, who placed third, behind Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and the surprising Benjamin Moser. We saw the biggest surprises of the day in the qualification rounds, with only Jules Chappaz from France making it to the heats.
From the quarterfinals, Lauri Vuorinen and Lauri Moilanen made it into the top 12. After exciting semifinals, both reached the final. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino narrowly missed out on a final spot, finishing third in a tight semifinal.
There were no surprises in the final, as the field included, alongside the Finnish athletes, Norway’s top stars Klaebo, Erik Valnes, and Even Northug. The Swedish skier Marcus Grate completed the six-man final.
In the final, sprint king Klaebo was in a class of his own, and the gaps between competitors grew significantly. Valnes, who had had a strong season start and competed in Olos as well, finished 2 seconds behind Klaebo, taking second place.
Vuorinen was strong throughout the day, and in the final climb, he passed Northug to secure third place, finishing 3.7 seconds behind the winner. This was Vuorinen’s second career podium in the World Cup.
Junior World Champion in sprint, Niilo Moilanen, rounded off a great day for Finland by finishing in fifth place. This marks Moilanen’s best result at the World Cup level.
Text: Sanja Karhunen
Photo: Jenny Yliselä