Mattis Stenshagen, who will be making his Olympic debut and sits at the top of the World Cup standings with fellow Norwegians Klaebo and Harald Oestberg Amundsen, also knows that it may not necessarily be his team-mate’s day in the Skiathlon and it is all to play for.
“Sport isn’t mathematics, even though it has looked like that with Johannes. He is one of a kind,” Stenshagen said.
“He also needs to have a good day to be able to win, but of course, his statistics look good.”
Federico Pellegrino will be hoping his home Olympics will spur him on to go one better than his previous two attempts, having won silvers behind Klaebo in the sprint events at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.
He sits behind the all three Norwegians in fourth in the current World Cup standings but is realistic of the challenge ahead when facing Klaebo.
“He is really strong and perfect for what we do in every distance, so the only way to beat him is to put him in a situation where he can’t manage things like usual,” Pellegrino said. “At the moment, I don’t know how.”
Another competitor keen to be the one to upset Klaebo’s record-breaking ambitions is Sweden’s 23-year-old Edvin Anger, who also finished second behind him in last season’s overall World Cup.
For the full Cross-Country schedule for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games click here.
