Klæbo gets first 50km triumph at last as Norway rule Holmenkollen
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo beat four Norwegian team-mates as he finally won a 50 kilometres cross country ski race on Sunday, at the best possible location in the form of Oslo's Holmenkollen.
The host nation also delighted in victories for ski jumper Johann Andre Forfang and Nordic combined skier Jarl Magnus Riiber.
Klæbo powered home in 2 hours 6 minutes 50.4 seconds in the classic style race, beating Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget by four tenths of a second at the finish line.
Pål Golberg completed the podium in third, ahead of two further Norwegians, World Cup leader Harald Østberg Amundsen and Didrik Tønseth.
Federico Pellegrino of Italy, like Klæbo originally a sprint specialist, was the best non-Norwegian in sixth.
It was the 80th World Cup win for Klæbo, but the winner of five Olympic golds and nine world titles had previously never won a race over the 50km distance in the World Cup, Olympics or world championships.
His best result was second at last year's worlds and he was seventh in Oslo 12 months ago. He came first at the 2021 worlds but was disqualified for obstruction.
"Finally I won a 50k, which is something I've been waiting for for a bit," Klæbo said. "It feels amazing."
French veteran Maurice Manificat, who has eight medals from worlds and Olympics, came 47th, more than nine minutes off the pace in his final career race and was doused in champagne by his team-mates at the finish.
Forfang soared 133.5 and 128 metres on the Holmenkollen large hill to garner 261 points and won by one point from Japan's Four Hills champion Ryoyu Kobayashi, who in second rebounded from a poor 38th place on Saturday.
World Cup leader Stefan Kraft of Austria was third and he also tops the standings after the first two events of the Norwegian Raw Air Tour, which continues on Tuesday and Wednesday in Trondheim and is completed next weekend on the Vikersund flying hill.
In a windy women's event, Eirin Maria Kvandal from Norway prevailed after Germany's Katharina Schmid let her lead after the first jump slip and finished sixth.
"Too bad, too bad," said Schmid, who formerly went by the name of Althaus.
Overall leader Nika Prevc of Slovenia was second and Austria's Eva Pinkelnig third.
Riiber meanwhile completed his total dominance in the men's Nordic combined with a 16th season win from 19 events he has competed in, finishing second in the other three.
Long assured of the World Cup title, Riiber beat Austrian Johannes Lamparter by more than a minute from a morning ski jump and afternoon 10km cross country pursuit for his 73rd career success. Estonian Kristjan Ilves was third.
