Simen Hegstad Krüger surprises everyone in the Nordic Arena

In the Dobbiaco cross-country skiing center, the name Simen Hegstad Krüger appeared as the winner on the big screen. This has never happened before. The 24-year-old from Oslo celebrated his first World Cup victory in the 15-kilometer freestyle race around the Nordic Arena. Of all places, where he was third on the podium for the only time in January 2017. Krüger gave an almost perfect performance and took an enormous amount of time off the competition, especially in the last few kilometers. Even the recently extremely strong Maurice Manificat and the Norwegian overall World Cup leader Johannes Høsflot Klæbo couldn't keep up. The Frenchman ended up in second place, 10,6 seconds behind, while Klæbo had to make do with tenth place.

The podium was completed by someone who had probably not been on the list before: the Scot Andrew Musgrave, who finished in the top three for the first time in his career. He pushed Alex Harvey and Sergey Ustiugov, who were otherwise extremely strong in Toblach, into fourth and fifth place.

Nöckler with a big deficit

The Italian cross-country skiers were denied such a top result. Francesco De Fabiani was the only one to convince with 15th place. Giandomenico Salvadori took 27th place, while Dietmar Nöckler didn't get past 47th place. The local hero from Puster goes into tomorrow's pursuit 1:46,8 minutes behind. This will take place from 13.30 p.m. At 11.30:XNUMX a.m. it is the women's turn.

The votes for the race:

Simen Hegstad Krüger (NOR): “It's a great day for me, just fabulous. I will never forget this race. It was really strenuous and exhausting for over 15 kilometers. But I had excellent material. Now I will enjoy this moment to the fullest and then tomorrow I will do everything I can to stay in the top field. I’m already looking forward to the pursuit.”

Maurice Manificat (FRA): “I congratulate Krüger on his victory, what he delivered today was simply amazing. I am very happy with second place. For me it is confirmation of the good form I have maintained since the start of the season. Things can continue at this rate for a longer period of time.”

Andrew Musgrave (GBR): “The knot has finally broken! Everything was just right, my form on the day, the skis, the feeling on the trail. I've been waiting for this day for a long time. It's a great feeling to be on the podium with the best. I'll just enjoy tomorrow's race. I know that I’m in a good mood and can use this position to achieve another top result.”

Dietmar Nöckler (ITA/Brunico): “I cannot be satisfied with this performance. From halfway through the race I had very heavy feet and had to drag myself to the finish at the end. The result somehow fits in with my mediocre start to the season. Now it’s time to get closer to being at our best, step by step – starting with tomorrow’s classic pursuit, which is certainly more suited to me in terms of style.”

Results of the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup in Dobbiaco:

15 km freestyle, men 1. Simen Hegstad Krüger (NOR) 29:58,8 minutes 2. Maurice Manificat (FRA) +10,6 3. Andrew Musgrave (GBR) +11,5 4. Alex Harvey (CAN) +14,0 5. Sergey Ustiugov (RUS) +18,9 6. Finn Haagen Krogh (NOR) +23,8 7. Hans Christer Holund (NOR) +25,9 8. Matti Heikkinen (FIN) +27,3 9. Toni Livers (SUI) +35,0 10. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) +35,2 ... 15. Francesco De Fabiani (ITA) +50,4 27. Matteo Salvadori (ITA) +1:06,6 47. Dietmar Nöckler (ITA/Bruneck) +1:46,8 57. Fabio Pasini (ITA) +2:06,5 66. Paolo Fanton (ITA) +2:30,9 68. Mirco Bertolina (ITA) +2:34,2 71. Stefano Gardener (ITA) +2:40,1 75. Maicol Rastelli (ITA) +2:49,6 77. Sergio Rigoni (ITA) +2:59,0 80. Claudio Muller (ITA) +3:03,6

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Simen Hegstad Krüger surprises everyone in the Nordic Arena

Just a few hours after the women kicked off, it was the men's turn at the World Cup in Toblach. Here two cross-country skiers caused a small sensation. Dietmar Nöckler was denied one of these at his home race.

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