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Alexandr Bolshunov tried to get rid of Erik Valnes along the way, but Valnes did what he could to give Klæbo a good starting point before the final stage.
In the final stage, Klæbo was a few seconds ahead of Russia, but the Norwegian was strong and smart when he picked up Gleb Retivykh.
He drove the whole stage to the right on the road where it was still pretty solid. The Russian chose to go in the ideal line and there he did not respond so well.
This surprised both Klæbo and the director of the national team, Arild Monsen.
– I tried to get up from the back as quickly as possible. There were strange choices from some of them. I came straight out to the right, because there it was crisp and nice, says Klæbo on the gold tactics.
– I was surprised that everyone was on the ideal line, because he rushed. It’s crazy to go so far to the left where all the stages had gone. Then we serve it, says Monsen.
– We had people on the way, so we knew. But we really don’t need to say that to Klæbo, because he’s so smart that he sees it for himself, Monsen continues.
Klæbo idiot
He then gave up another notch and parked both Retivykh and Finn Joni Maki on the last hill.
– They look like extras! NRK expert Torgeir Bjørn yelled when Klæbo decided the final.
– The paddle jerk is one of the best I’ve seen from Klæbo, the expert continued.
GOLD: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo applauds as he enters Norway for gold.
Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
At the finish line was a tense and nervous Valnes who could finally see that Klæbo decided in favor of Norway, thus securing Valnes’ first gold in a championship.
– It’s huge. A beautiful day and the body worked well. Johannes is super fit as always, he is wonderful, says Valnes.
– Were you afraid of the hatch you could give?
– Yes, it was in the border area. But I got what I had and it was terribly stiff on top.
Drama in the semifinals
Norway apparently made good progress since their semi-final earlier in the day, but things could have gone wrong for Klæbo in the last stage.
Right in front of him he hooked Joni Maki on his own ski. Both Klæbo and the Swede Oskar Svensson were right behind the Finn.
Fortunately, Klæbo passed gracefully and also asked Norway for victory in the semi-finals.
