Nyenget conquers Klaebo to start season with a bang

"Does it bother you when you don't win?" It was an understandable question to ask Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR).

Such has been his dominance over men's cross-country skiing in recent years - especially after a record-breaking 2024/25 season in which he won 13 individual FIS World Cup races to go with six out of six world championship titles - that it was something of a shock when he came second in the 10km Interval Classic in the 2025/26 season opener in Ruka, Finland.

As night fell and snow started falling, it seemed inevitable that the 29-year-old, heading out in bib 67, would edge ever closer to the barely believable benchmark of 100 World Cup race wins when he crossed the line 2.1 seconds ahead of Mika Vermeulen (AUT).

The Austrian grimaced as he watched the trackside monitor so see Klaebo, who has eight individual wins and six other podiums in Ruka, deny him a first World Cup win.

In fact, Vermeulen would have to settle for third place. Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR), who won this race in 2023, was tracking well out on the course, opening up a lead of 7.7s on Klaebo at the end of the first loop, the halfway stage. By the final checkpoint, 8.1km, that was down to 1.9s.

But the Norwegian held on for his sixth individual World Cup victory. "It feels so good," said Nyenget, who didn't win his first race until 2022, just before his 30th birthday. "You're training over the summer and just hoping you're in good shape. I thought I was but it's really good to get to win and see that the training has paid off."

"Whenever you're chasing Johannes, it's really hard - he can be a beast at the finish. I tried to just focus on myself. The skis were fast but really difficult on the steep uphills, especially on the last loop. But you realise it's a big fight and are pushing with everything you have. To see that you're ahead when you cross the finishing line is so good.

Vermeulen described the third podium of his career as "insane" and "ridiculous". "I trained like a horse all summer," he said. "I was a little bit insecure after the season started in Norway last week and a little bit sick from altitude, so you don't really know what to expect. "You start to get the split times from the second lap and you're like 'wait, maybe this actually working; maybe this is going somewhere'.

"I was a Nordic combined athlete who didn't manage to qualify on this hill three days in a row in 2017. Now, eight years later, I'm on the podium in one of the most demanding classic races of the season."

But we will finish as we started, with King Klaebo: "It was an ok race. I didn't feel really really good out there. It was hard to get grip. I think we all struggled a little bit in the uphills. On the other hand, we had pretty fast skis on the downhills and the flatter parts. I'm satisfied, I think it's a good start and it feels good that the season has finally started."

So, will a 'rare' second place give him extra motivation for the weekend?

"Yeah, I would say so. I just like to be on top of the podium. But Martin was stronger today and we had a fair fight, which is cool. He's strong when it comes to classic racing. This is one of his favourite tracks and also his favourite discipline. It's always cool to have these tight duels but on the other hand I would prefer to be on the top. You can't win them all."

The action continues in Ruka on Saturday with the Sprint Classic.

For the full results from Ruka click here.