Special Cross-Country sprint day on Åre's alpine slope
Feb 18, 2020·Cross-Country
On the schedule of the third stage of the Ski Tour 2020 was a very special competition. The sprint course in the alpine ski stadium in Åre led around the outrun of the alpine ski slope and climbed 67 vertical meters to the finish line.
Therese Johaug, the current leader of the Ski Tour 2020 and who is all up for uphill racing as an athlete took the win on the womens competition before Heidi Weng and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen complete the all-Norwegian podium. The final heat also included Swedens sprint starts Jonna Sundling (4th) and Linn Svahn (6th) as well as Swiss Nadine Fähndrich (5th) but the trio had to give way to the Norwegian opponents along the steep uphill.
On the mens side, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo reported back in shape for the podium. The uphill stretch was the game changer for the final heat as Klæbo set away from the group, followed by Italian sprinter Federico Pellegrino and Renaud Jay from France, who had to leave his team colleague Lucas Chanavat behind. Chanavat and Erik Valnes (NOR) fought hard to come into the finals which had also cost them a lot of strength and thus they take tank 5 and 6. Also Paal Golberg had to switch down the gear after letting the front runners climb away and was still rewarded with the 4th rank – and remains the current Overall Ski Tour 2020 leader. Federico Pellegrino remains the point standing leader of the Tour with todays 2nd rank.
For Renaud Jay, it was the first individual World Cup podium – quite a memorable one.
