Olympians, World Champions and World Cup winners were in awe as the talented 25-year-old boldly cruised onto the podium in the sprint at the Norwegian season opener in Sjusjøen on Saturday afternoon. In the first showdown on snow since March, Vebjørn Sørum was second, but oh-so-close to snag the victory from Norwegian national team veteran Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen.
Nobody would be surprised if Sørum is named to the Norwegian team for the World Cup opener in the end of November - and stays there for the rest of the season. Which was exactly what Madshus racer Endre Strømsheim (NOR) did last winter, and how he landed a permanent spot on the elite team this season.
Story continues below
Photo by: Nordic Focus
Speaking of Strømsheim, he was on fire in the mass start on Sunday: The 27-year-old, who is infamous for his deadly finishes, outskied Saturday’s sprint winner by nearly half a minute on the last lap and bagged his first victory of the season.
Five seconds later, Johan-Olav Botn (NOR) rounded out the podium with fellow Madshus racers Sturla Holm Lægreid (NOR) in fourth, Sverre Dahlen Aspenes (NOR) in fifth, Emilien Jacquelin (FRA) in sixth and Vetle Rype Paulsen (NOR) in eighth place.
Up next: the World Cup season opener, which takes place in Kontiolahti (FIN) starting November 30.
Fun fact: 5 of the top 8 in the mass start were skiing on the new Madshus Skate X boot!
Read more:
Confirmed: Athletes are several seconds faster with the Skate-X system
Story continues below
Photo by: Nordic Focus
Additionally, Sivert Guttorm Bakken (NOR) made a spectacular comeback.
Sidelined for two and a half years due to illness and 32 months after his last race, the 26-year-old first posted a rock-solid 13th place in the sprint on Saturday. Then he hauled into 16th place in the mass start, outperforming the reigning king of biathlon Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR) and a number of World Cup stars. Both days, Bakken was only seconds from a top 10 finish.
But really, the double-header on home turf was nothing more than a test race. Bakken has his eyes set on much bigger things down the line.
Read more:
Launching a spectacular comeback: “Make Sivert Great Again”
Photo by: Nordic Focus