While World Cup leader Pål Golberg has counted the last few stages of the Tour de Ski, Klæbo has won and looked almost untouched in the finish area after 10 kilometers 10 kilometers classic in Val Müstair and Oberstdorf. – I guess we’ve never seen Johannes dive over the finish line completely. There are still more cellars to dig in. He is unapproachable, said Martin Johnsrud Sundby in the Viaplay studio. Klæbo had just gone for stage win number three out of three in the 2022/23 version of the Tour de Ski. The details from the target area have become a topic of discussion. – It is perhaps a mental game. He walks so well and doesn’t look tired, so it feels very demotivating for those going against him, says Viaplay expert Niklas Dyrhaug to news. HEAVY ROOFS: Pål Golberg is helped up by Johannes Høsflot Klæbo after the second stage of the Tour de Ski. Golberg delivered a terrific stage and was completely finished when he reached the finish line. Klæbo remained in a vertical position. Photo: Fredrik Tombra / news The expert: – Psychological warfare Where runners like Petter Northug and Bjørn Dæhlie almost fell over the finish line, Klæbo looks like he has never stumbled. During the sprints, he loosens his pole straps, his ski bindings, looks to the side and apparently slides across the finish line unchallenged. EXPERT: news’s Torgeir Bjørn. Photo: Mikal Aaserud / news – It is certainly important not to use more effort in a Tour, but it does not cost that much more to take two extra pole vaults. But by taking off the poles before the finish line is crossed, looking to the side and showing that he is completely effortless, he signals that he has everything under control, says news expert Torgeir Bjørn. – It is a form of psychological warfare. He says: “Listen here: I have more, that is. I can ask fully if I have to, but I don’t need to,” says Bjørn. Denies power play Viaplay expert Niklas Dyrhaug jokes that it’s a bit about “image”. But most of all, he thinks it’s about the fact that he hasn’t had to go all the way out. – He is so complete. He has so many strings to play. On Tuesday, he knows that he will win many kilometers before the finish line. It’s insanely impressive, says Dyrhaug, who nevertheless leaves Simen Hegstad Krüger a chance at Wednesday’s 20 kilometer chase start. – He probably can’t start taking off his bindings then… VIAPLAY EXPERT: Niklas Dyrhaug shows the results list. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Confronted with the experts’ tricks, Klæbo smiles slyly. But he won’t admit that he’s playing a mental game to psych out his rivals. – The snow is so soft that I don’t bother to lie down, grins Klæbo to news. Rejects tactics: – No reason to do it – I’ve been in the basement myself. It’s a bit like that even if you hang on to the poles. Even if I don’t lie down, I’m tired too, admits Klæbo after the third stage of the Tour de Ski. – Is it a deliberate tactical and psychological action? – In sprints, it’s a little different. Then I have a goal that the oiler should get the best possible time with the skis so that we get the best possible skis. Like here, nothing else happens, but if you don’t have to lie down, there’s no reason to do it, says Klæbo. – I have been in the basement a couple of times. One of my first World Cup victories at Lillehammer in 2017, I lay in the goal area for half a minute, breathing and panting, says Klæbo. A LONG TIME AGO: Just under five years have passed since Johannes Høsflot Klæbo was lying flat in the snow. At least that’s the episode he himself remembers best. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB That time he just beat Viaplay expert Martin Johnsrud Sundby in the sprint.
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Here, news expert Torgeir Bjørn believes that Klæbo is conducting “psychological warfare” – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
