Klaebo cruises Ruka sprint to make it 99 World Cup victories

After nine sprint wins out of nine last season, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) moved on to 99 FIS World Cup race wins overall on Saturday after winning the Sprint Classic in Ruka, the first over the sport's shortest distance in the 2025/26 Cross-Country Skiing season.

The writing was on the wall after qualifying, with Finland's Emil Liekari the only skier to come within a second of Klaebo's time.

As the greatest men's cross-country skier of all time, and by far the most successful sprinter, Klaebo seemingly only needed to stay on his feet to win on a Ruka course that is a little different to most on the World Cup circuit, with a steep uphill out of the stadium, an even steeper uphill back into the stadium and just a short home straight.

With double Olympic silver medallist Federico Pellegrino failing to make it through qualifying and rising star Edvin Anger (SWE) unable to get past the quarter-finals, Klaebo's main challenge was always likely to come from his fellow Norwegians as well Jules Chappaz (FRA), who finished the 2024/25 season strongly.

And so it proved. Valnes, who has four World Cup sprint victories to his name and finished second behind Klaebo in the sprint standings last season, followed his compatriot through from quarter-final 1 and semi-final 1.

In the final, Klaebo again hit the front with Valnes tucked in behind. But they were soon joined by teammate Ansgar Evensen (NOR), who claimed two silver medals in World Cup sprint classics last season.

But with seemingly effortless power, Klaebo moved away from the field up the final hill using his distinctive classic running style and victory was inevitable by the time he rounded the final corner. While we have been used to seeing Klaebo look over his shoulder before celebrating with his arms spread wide, this time he added a bow of appreciation towards the Finnish crowd, who cheered for the legend as if he were one of their own. With eight victories in Ruka and counting, it's little wonder.

He finished 1.21 seconds ahead of Valnes with Evensen making use of his longer legs to beat Chappaz to the podium in a photo finish.

"Ruka is always fun and the last uphill is where you really need to be fast," Klaebo said. "I feel like we had really good skis today. I was quite motivated after finishing second yesterday [in the 10km Classic] so it feels good to be on the top of the podium again.

Valnes declared himself "happy in the end", despite never really being in a position to challenge Klaebo. "Qualification was really tough and I was struggling, I felt bad," he said. "So I was just just hoping for better legs in the quarter-finals. It was not so good but it got a little bit better. It was a real fight to get the podium today."

Chappaz was also pleased, despite just missing out on bronze. "The feeling is good for sure because I had a lot of pressure on my shoulders before the first race of the season, because I had a really good end to last season and I wanted to prove that it was not only a few weeks but I can have this level the whole season.

"Today was good for confidence, to be fourth, but of course I am a little bit disappointed that I was third at the bottom of the last hill and that I finished five centimetres from him. It was really close but I gave it all today, so I have no regrets.

"Every day you have to be at your best to compete with these guys. I hope next week I will be able fight a little bit more and reach the podium."

As for Klaebo, he will try to make it 100 World Cup wins on Sunday when he lines up for the 20km Mass Start. "I am going to do everything I can tomorrow," he said,

Valnes meanwhile, is in awe of his teammate's achievements: "It's crazy numbers. I don't think we will ever see that again - and he's not 30 yet."

The action continues in Ruka on Sunday with the 20km Mass Start Freestyle.

For the full results from Ruka click here.