There were perfect conditions with sunshine and below zero temperatures. Nevertheless, the Reistadløpet over 50 kilometres from Setermoen to Bardufoss is considered the toughest race of the VISMA Ski Classics series. Two long climbs challenge the athletes and made sure today that many decided for kick wax. The ladies traditionally went first on the track and first Britta Johansson-Norgren (Lager 157 Ski Team, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) could shine. She won the sprint classification after five kilometres, but had to let her rivals go on the first of the two brutal climbs. In the end, she only finished in ninth place today, but still won the overall ranking of the season for the third time in a row. Anna Svendsen crossed the finish line as an excellent third ahead of Kari Vikhagen Gjeitnes (Team Ragde Eiendom, Fischer skis, bindings and boots).
In the men's event it was Johansson-Norgren's team-mate Anton Karlsson (Lager 157 Ski Team, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) who set the first accent by winning the sprint classification. In the end, the sprint was also decisive when a group of six approached the finish line. The fastest was surprisingly Mikael Gunnulfsen in his third Ski Classics race. “I didn't believe that I had it in me to win! The key was not to burn too much energy too early, I tried to stay calm for the finish and was able to do that better than the rest,” said the surprise winner after the race. Local star Eirik Valnes secured third place just behind Johan Hoel (NOR). Petter Eliassen (Team BN Bank, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) finished fifth ahead of Chris Andre Jespersen (Team Koteng, Fischer Ski and bindings), reducing the gap to the overall leader Andreas Nygaard (Team Ragde Eiendom, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) to just 23 points before the final. So, it will be exciting next Saturday at Ylläs-Levi in Finland.
Photos: VISMA Ski Classics / Magnus Östh
