Madshus racers are up and at’em again, claiming nearly a dozen podiums on the World Cups and beyond.
At the opening weekend of the COC Scandinavian Cup, comeback kid Helene Marie Fossesholm (NOR)dominated the weekend. The 23-year-old, who is battling her way back from several tough seasons and a brutal knee injury in September, bagged one victory and a second place in two days.
“I’m so happy with the weekend! And I’m particularly excited that I’m doing so well in classic. That has been an Achilles heel for me for years. But this season, I’ve worked really hard on technique,” says Fossesholm, giving a huge shout-out to the Madshus race support.
“I had amazing skis! I know how hard those guys work. So, for me to be able to just show up at the Madshus wax cabin, grab two pairs, test and head off to the starting line, it’s such a luxury.”
The COC races this weekend are arguably even more important than the World Cup events for non-national team skiers who are hoping to qualify for the World Championships in Trondheim later this winter. On the line are tickets to the upcoming Tour de Ski, with seven World Cup races in nine days from December 28 to January 5.
Accordingly, with two podiums this weekend Fossesholm is now leading the overall Scandinavian Cup and has submitted a solid application for one of the spots on the Norwegian team to Tour de Ski. The 9-day stage, which is a part of the FIS World Cup, race starts on December 28.
Also at the COC races in Lillehammer, Madshus racer Sivdert Wiig (NOR) snags third place in the classic sprint on Friday.
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Photo by: Henning Wiig
On the FIS World Cup, Mathilde Myhrvold (NOR) bagged her first podium of the season, finishing second in the skate sprint in Davos (SUI) on Saturday evening. A few minutes later, Harald Østberg Amundsen (NOR) and Ben Ogden (USA) stepped up to the line in the men’s sprint final, taking home a fourth and a sixth place, respectively.
On Sunday, Amundsen caps off the weekend with sixth place in the 20-kilometer classic race, and leaves Switzerland the way he arrived: in yellow as the overall World Cup leader.
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Photo by: Nordic Focus
At the IBU World Cup, Madshus racers made headlines throughout the weekend: Sturla Holm Lægreid snagged three new podiums in Hochfilzen (AUT). The 27-year-old Norwegian opened his weekend in Hochfilzen (AUT) with second place in the sprint on Friday and third place in the pursuit on Saturday. On Sunday, he capped off the weekend racing the first leg in the relay where development team racer Vebjørn Sørum anchored Norway to second place
Fellow Madshus racer Emilien Jacquelin (FRA) also claimed two podiums in Hochfilzen: On Saturday, the 29-year-old from Grenoble was second in the pursuit after posting the hands-down fastest race of the day. Starting in 14th place and nearly a minute behind, Jacquelin was only 3.5 seconds from winning despite taking a solid crash on the last hill before the finish line. On Sunday, he anchored France to first place in the relay
Lægreid and Jacquelin are now sitting in second and third place, respectively, in the overall World Cup.
Photo by: Nordic Focus