Hedegart completes dream year by winning iconic Holmenkollen 50K in Oslo

What a 12 months it has been for Einar Hedegart (NOR). Almost a year ago to the day, he claimed his first FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup podium in Oslo, Norway, in just his second World Cup race, at a time when he was still wondering whether to still compete in biathlon as well.

In the off season, having turned 24, he decided to focus fully on cross-country, and has never looked back.

He claimed three more individual World Cup podiums, including his first two victories – both 10km Freestyles – in consecutive weeks in December, in Trondheim, Norway and Davos, Switzerland.

A stellar debut Olympic Winter Games followed, with two team gold medals in the team events plus bronze in his favourite 10km Free at Milano Cortina 2026.

Back in Oslo on Saturday, Hedegart put the seal on his near-perfect year with victory in the iconic Holmenkollen 50km Mass Start. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) may have been missing after suffering a head injury in a fall in Drammen on Thursday, but the thousands of Norwegians who turned out in force have a new hero in Hedegart.

A week after winning a marathon race in Engadin, Switzerland, Hedegart was many experts’ favourite to win in Oslo in the absence of Klaebo, especially racing his favourite freestyle technique.

But this was his first 50km at World Cup level and just his second mass start event, and for a long time it looked like that inexperience would count against him.

First, Hedegart was caught languishing in the pack during the early attempted breakaways, then compatriot Iver Tildheim Andersen (NOR) looked to have performed a masterstroke as the only competitor to change skis at the end of the third lap (of six). As most of his rivals opted for a changeover a lap later, the 25-year-old made a break for it, opening up a gap 15.6 seconds on the chasing pack with just one lap to go.

But as Andersen’s skis, slightly more worn than his rivals’, began to lose glide, those behind him were able to work together to close the gap. By the 43.8km mark, it was down to 9.4s. At 44.6km, it had disappeared completely as Andersen was joined by six teammates, including two previous winners of this race, Simen Hegstad Krueger and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, 2023-24 Overall World Cup winner Harald Oestberg Amundsen, and that man Hedegart.

Just 1.1s separated these four with 0.8km to go. Amundsen led coming up the final climb but Hedegart, the most accomplished sprinter of the quartet, moved alongside his compatriot and turned on the afterburners, holding off Amundsen to win by 0.4s. Nyenget, the Olympic 50km silver medallist, was 1.1s back in third.

Kasper Andersson Herland, six months older to the day than Hedegart and making his World Cup debut, finished fifth, pointing gleefully at his friend as he crossed the finish line.

For the full results from Oslo, click here.

The FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup season concludes in Lake Placid, USA, 20-22 March with 10km Interval Start Classic, Sprint Free and 20km Mass Start Free races for men and women.