The mens's 4x10km relay - the marquee event of every World Championships and Olympic Games - played out tactically as virtually every recent big-event relay has, with a big field hanging together through the scramble leg - essentially, everyone trying to avoid losing the race onthe first leg - and the real action erupting in the next leg, run in the classical techniqe.
The decisive break came midway through the second leg, when Norway's Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset surged and blew up the pack. 10 teams had been within as many seconds of first when Hjelmeset began skiing; after his attack only two others - Sweden and Russia - were within ten seconds of Norway's lead. Over the third leg, the first in freestyle technique, 15km gold medalist Lars Berger jockeyed with Russia's Alexander Legkov and Sweden's surprising Johan Olsson. As they cruised into the third and final exchange, exactly one second covered the trio. Germany and France were more than 25 seconds back and well out of it (as were other favorites like Italy).
The three anchor-leg racers were a mixed bag: Sweden's Anders Sødergren is renowned for his endurance and ability to attack on hills, but notorious for a lack of sprint speed. Conversely, Russia's Eugeni Dementiev is well-known for his killer finish, which delivered a gold and a silver at the Torino Olympics. The Norwegian boy-wonder Petter Northug loves to talk an enormously big game, but had yet to win a big-time race and had already missed out on two medals at Sapporo. Sødergren led the descent toward the stadium, with Northug carefully drafting the whole way and stealing little glances at Dementiev, about five meters off the back. At the low point of the descent, as they passed beneath a bridge and then climbed a short rise, Northug erupted with a powerful skating stride, blasting around Sødergren. In the space of 100 meters, he opened up a massive gap, going as fast as anyone ever has on cross-country skis. Rounding the last corner, he saluted the Norwegian fans and slowed to soak up the triumph. Behind him, Dementiev slipped past Sødergren for the silver. Germany, France, and Italy - all possibilities for any medal in the event - finished far, far back.
Though the two long-distance events are still to come on Saturday and Sunday (see Fasterskier.com's preview), Northug's unbelievable acceleration was really the moment of the games. His brutal attack should lay to rest any worry that he wouldn't show up at these championships, or that he isn't the next big thing in cross-country ski racing.
The women race for the last time at these championships on Saturday in the 30km mass-start event, run in the classical style. Given Virpi Kuitunen's devastating start to the women's relay on Thursday, the race should be hers to lose. But bad weather (it's expected to be partly clouded, but warm, and thus hard to wax) or too many bad downhill corners over those 18.6 miles could open the race up to the dozen or more racers with the classical technique and stamina to win. A well-timed breakaway - probably on the penultimate lap as the pack approaches the high point of the course - will probably be the key to victory. My picks:
women's 30km classical technique mass-start
1) Virpi Kuitunen (Finland), 2) Aino Kaisa Saarinen (Finland), 3) Petra Majdic (Slovenia)