Madshus Marathon Team racer Oeystein Pettersen (NOR) won his first Ski Classics event on Saturday, but donates his prize money to the 84th finisher in the race.
Pettersen bagged his first and unexpected Ski Classics victory after winning the sprint finish with Christoffer Callesen (NOR), while fellow Madshus racer John Kristian Dahl (NOR) snagging the last spot on the podium in the 43km La Diagonela in Switzerland.
However, a young Swede caused the biggest drama in the race. Bill Impola put the race into action when he broke away from the field after 14 kilometers. He put a gap on the chasing group, and had a 1 minute and 30 second lead at the most.
Impola looked like he had it all made, but with only 1.5 k to go, Impola went down the wrong track instead of the track towards the finish. When he realized the mistake, it was too late and the 8-skier chase group came first to he finish in Zuoz. At the end of the day, Pettersen had the strongest sprint, and beat Callesen by 3 seconds, while Dahl snagged the last spot on the podium from Morten Eide Pedersen (NOR) by less than half a second.
“I thought I was fighting for second place until there was 600 meters to the finish. Then I heard that Bill (Impola) had taken a wrong turn. That was of course really sad for Bill. He was really strong. But when he makes a mistake, I feel like a million,” Pettersen said to Norwegian TV2 after the race.
That said, Pettersen, who races for the long-distance team United Bakeries, admits that the victory comes with a ting of a sour taste.
“Of course. I feel bad for Bill. He was so strong today,” Pettersen said, letting Impola take care of spilling the champagne on the podium.
Later in the day, Pettersen announced that he’ll give half of the prize money from the race to Impola.
“In Team United Bakeries, we feel bad for Bill Impola, the moral winner of the day, and we’ll give him the prize money from La Diagonela. We hope to get a Christmas card next year,” Pettersen said Saturday night.
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With the victory in La Diagonela, Pettersen is now leading the overall Ski Classics, and will wear the yellow bib in Marcialonga next weekend.
Complete results La Diagonela, men and women
Drama on several levels
Ski Classics CEO David Nilsson organized a jury meeting after Impola lost the victory due to skiing the wrong track. The jury determined they would not overturn the winning order.
“Bill Impola showed impressive strength today, however the race is decided on the finish line, and it is the skiers’ responsibility to know the track. From Ski Classics, we will of course also discuss with the organizers how to make sure the track is clearly marked, so mistakes will not happen in the future. In addition, we have two disqualifications for skating in the elite men, so this was a dramatic Saturday,” Nilsson said in a press release, noting that there was plenty of drama off the race course as well.
Earlier this week, the organizers were struggling to cover the racecourse with enough snow to hold the race. Then on Friday, heavy snowfall created additional problems for the organizers.
“It began in the morning when due to last night heavy snowfall, the risk for avalanches forced the organizers to change the already remade course, and it is of course sad that a mistake should decide the race. La Diagonela is a fantastic race and the organizers have done a great work last week securing the event,” Nilsson said.
On raceday morning, the racers were treated to a 43-kilometer course that also included two sprint preems for both men and women. La Diagonela was the fourth event in the 2015 Ski Classics.
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SKI CLASSICS STANDINGS AFTER LA DIAGONELA
Ski Classics Champion
Men
1. Oeystein Pettersen, United Bakeries, 445 points
2. Morten Eide Pedersen, Team COOP, 435 points
3. Anders Aukland, Team Santander, 430 points
4. Petter Eliassen, Team LeasePlanGO, 380 points
5. Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Team Santander, 235 points
Women
1. Kateřina Smutná, Team Madshus Silvana, 560 points
2. Seraina Boner, Team COOP, 500 points
3. Masako Ishida, Team United Bakeries, 370 points
4. Britta Johansson Norgren, Team SkiProAm, 340 points
5. Laila Kveli, Team Santander, 220 points
Ski Classics Sprint
1. Petter Eliassen, Team LeasePlanGO, 110 points
2. Oeystein Pettersen, Team United Bakeries, 70 points
3. Andreas Nygaard, Team Santander, 50 points
4. Anders Aukland, Team Santander, 40 points
4. Bill Impola, Team COOP, 40 points
Ski Classics Youth
Men
1. Anders Hoest, LYN, 183 points
2. Bill Impola, Team COOP, 180 points
3. Stian Hoelgaard, Team LeasePlanGo, 125 points
4. Andreas Nygaard, Team Santander, 99 points
5. Vetle Thyli, United Bakeries, 80 points
Women
1. Tuva Toftdahl Staver, Team LeasePlanGo, 90 points
2. Hilde Losgaard Landheim, Team COOP, 62 points
2. Tone Sundvor, Team Synnfjell, 62 points
Ski Classics Team Competition
1. Team United Bakeries, 1490 points
2. Team Coop, 1354 points
3. Team Santander, 1246 points
4. Team LeasePlanGo, 920 points
5. Silvini Madshus team, 839 points