‘Lucky’ Lars: Heggen sprints to first World Cup win in Oberhof

The FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup returned to Germany on Saturday after a two-year absence but there was an unfamiliar face on top of the podium in Oberhof after the Men’s Sprint Freestyle.

With the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games on the horizon, many of the leading names chose to skip this weekend. This included sprint king Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who rested while many of his Norwegian compatriots chose to compete in the national championships in order to secure selection for the Olympics.

In the absence of sprint starts from several other countries too, Lars Heggen (NOR) took full advantage, claiming his first World Cup victory and completing the set of podium places in just his first season on the tour. Aged just 20, and with a confident demeanor on and off the track, Heggen looks set to be the sport’s next superstar.

To secure his first win at this level, Heggen would need to overcome a challenging course and, in Federico Pellegrino (ITA), a skier at the other end of the experience spectrum.

Unlike many tracks, the Oberhof layout takes competitors downhill out of the stadium before the first of two long climbs. Sandwiched in between them are plenty of tricky corners and narrow sections where the athletes need to be wary of coming together, especially with the snow getting icier as night falls.

The second climb, in particular, is crucial as it proceeds a sharp right-hand corner into the finishing straight. Get too far out of position here and you may leave yourself too much to do in the sprint for home.

But get out of position is exactly what Heggen did in the semi-final. After making a flying start, he ran wide on the final corner, allowing Pellegrino to take the inside line. The Italian was followed by Lauri Vuorinen (FIN), who edged out Heggen in a photo finish for second, leaving the young Norwegian needing a lucky loser’s spot to reach the final.

This time it was Pellegrino who hit the front but, having reeled in Valerio Grond’s attempted breakaway, Heggen was in prime position as he entered the finishing straight. Pellegrino was hot on his heels but couldn’t find the finishing power to overtake his young rival, who won by 0.32 seconds. Even Northug was a distant third, 1.56s off the pace.

That most of Norway’s sprint stars were at home didn’t matter one bit to Heggen, who roared with delight at the finishing line.

“It’s been a great week so far,” he admitted, having won the Norway sprint title just three days earlier. “It was amazing. A nice prologue [qualification] followed by a good quarter-final but the semi-final, I was only a lucky loser so I got a bit lucky. Fortunately our heat went pretty fast. In the final I was ready to give it my all from the bottom of the last hill to the finish line, so it was a great day.

“I don’t know if I’ve played my name into the Olympic selection but it’s nice to win ski races.”

Pellegrino will be disappointed not to win his 18^th individual World Cup race but the 35-year-old will be content with his first podium of the season – and 48^th of his career – ahead of his Olympic swansong on home snow in Val di Fiemme.

Vuorinen, meanwhile, seemed delighted with just third individual podium at the age of 31, his previous two both coming in 2024.

The action continues in Oberhof on Sunday with the Women's and Men's 10km Interval Start Classic races.

For all the results from Oberhof, click here