Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen led a Norwegian parade of four men in the top five in this afternoon’s Annecy Le Grand Bornand Men’s 10 Km sprint. Christiansen shot deliberately in prone, did the same in standing, skiing a brilliantly fast last loop in the soft deep snow around the village circuit for a 25:00.6 victory. Christiansen’s win was his second at this venue, the previous in the Pursuit, exactly two years and two days ago and his first victory since taking the February 2024 Antholz Mass Start.

“Digging deeper than I thought I could”

Christiansen called his victory, “a perfectly done race. I started quite easy; the conditions were quite tough for me. I am a bit heavy for these soft conditions. Going out on the last loop, hearing five-six seconds behind Emilien with a tough last lap and fighting against Dale-Skjevdal, maybe the best at a final loop in these kind of conditions. I was digging deeper than I thought I could, so I threw up a bit after the race, but it was worth it!”

Podium Singing Encore?

Always the showman, Christiansen did some singing in Hochfilzen but was reluctant about an encore in French. Instead Jacquelin joined the crowd singing “La Marseillaise.” “I am better in German than French. I took German for five years in school. We have a French coach; he taught me some French but I don’t think it is polite for singing in a microphone. We will see what happens.”

Christiansen’s teammate Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, leading for much of the afternoon despite a penalty in each stage, finished second, 3.5 seconds back. Local fan favourite Emilien Jacquelin of France had a single penalty in third, 5 seconds back.

Yellow Bib Johan-Olav Botn and Sivert Guttorm Bakken also shot clean giving Norway four in the top five, 6 and 8.6 seconds back, respectively. Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson, with two penalties rounded out the top 6, 8.8 seconds back, making this the tightest bunched men's top 6 in World Cup history.

Warm Afternoon, Soft Snow

The men had another almost spring-like, partly cloudy day with virtually no wind but very soft snow on the tracks. Early starter Dale-Skjevdal picked up a prone penalty, putting him well out of the lead. Jacquelin shot very fast, taking top spot with Samuelsson 10 seconds back Yellow Bib Christiansen and Botn also cleaned, trailing the best time by 24 and 28 seconds.

Jacquelin flew around the second loop, shot typically fast in standing, missing the first shot but closing the next four, giving him the lead with Dale-Skjevdal 17 seconds back. Christiansen’s second perfect stage moved him to third, 10 seconds behind Jacquelin.

Christiansen Prevails in Last Loop

Dale-Skjevdal, despite two penalties held the early lead after three fast loops, challenging the field to top him. Christiansen, although trailing after standing, pulled off a spectacular last loop, taking the win over his teammate by 3.5 seconds, pushing Jacquelin to third.

Photos: IBU/Mobuchon, Manzoni, Nordic Focus