By Inge Scheve
Madshus racers fight to the bitter end on the biggest stage, capping off the season with a statement. What a ride they’ve treated us to, we’re beyond impressed.
At the FIS cross-country World Cup final in Falun (SWE), Harald Østberg Amundsen (NOR) kicks off the weekend with third place in the classics sprint on Friday. And it’s not “just another World Cup podium,” but his first individual classic sprint podium. And more importantly: the 25-year-old just about secured his overall World Cup victory.
On Saturday, Amundsen secures another top-10 finish and pads his overall World Cup score with another 69 points in the 10-kilometer.
On Sunday, Amundsen seals the deal. After wearing the yellow bib literally from the first to the last weekend of the season, the 25-year-old Norwegian steps up to the start line of the very last World Cup race of the season with a 112-point lead. 130 points are up for grabs including sprint bonuses.
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Photo by: Nordic Focus
Cool as a cucumber, Amundsen decides to cut agony early, snags 2 x 12 points from the intermediate sprints and cruises into 17th place, well ahead of the minimum required to secure the big crystal globe. That said, the big crystal ball doesn’t come easy, Amundsen admits.
“I knew that I needed at least 19 points to win overall, and 12 points + 12 points makes 24 points in my head. I spent the last 24 hours calculating this. I spent a lot of time thinking about it. I was sweating from the time I got up. It’s uncomfortable to have the best skier in the world chasing you for the overall victory,” says Amundsen, and continues:
“It feels unreal. I think I need some time for it to really sink in. Of course, it wasn’t my best ever race today, but I get the job done and collect the points I need.”
Amundsen wins the overall World Cup by 54 points. He also takes home the small crystal ball in the overall distance World Cup, winning that competition by 182 points.
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Photo by: Nordic Focus
Additionally, Edvin Anger (SWE) wins the overall U23 World Cup by a landslide. The 21-year-old bags a total of four World Cup podiums and is nearly 300 points ahead of the next racer.
Speaking of crystal globes, Vilde Nilsen (NOR) wraps up her World Cup season in a grand way. The 23-year-old from Tromsø arrives undefeated in Saint George (CAN), puts three more victories on her resume and leaves Canada with yet another overall World Cup title. Nilsen sweeps all of the three races, and leaves Canada the way she arrived: undefeated for the entire season and the overall World Cup winner of the 2023/24 season.
Additionally, Madshus turbo junior Alvar Myhlback (SWE) returned to the World Cup for the first time since December. The 17-year-old comes into the race weekend on home turf with 37th place as his best result at the World Cup, and leaves the World Cup final in Falun with a 19th place in the 10-kilometer classic race on his resume.
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Finally, at the IBU World Cup final in Canmore (CAN), Johan-Olav Botn (NOR) caps his season with a pair of solid performances: In his fifth-ever World Cup, the 24-year-old national development team rookie hauls into fifth place in the sprint on Friday and seventh place in the pursuit on Saturday.
Photo by: Nordic Focus