Klæbo is probably the biggest gold favorite in the entire World Championship. His compatriot Erik Valnes – who is forced to miss the sprint due to back problems – has previously jokingly said that it would take a natural disaster or a meteorite impact for Klæbo not to take his sixth consecutive championship gold in the discipline.
But that the world's best cross-country skier would also get help on the way, the 28-year-old himself waves off as nonsense.
Norwegian conspiracy?
It was otherwise a theory that Ville Nousianien, a former Finnish national team skier and now an expert for the TV channel Yle, put forward after Tuesday's training chaos. Then, among other things, Sweden was forced to move its planned pass from the World Championship arena Granåsen due to the icy surface, and Nousianien wondered if the Norwegians had deliberately sabotaged the tracks.
It's maybe the dumbest thing I've heard. You can mess with a lot of things, but not the weather. He should have checked that up. In Trondheim, we can have sun, rain, snow, summer, and winter during one and the same training session. So it will probably be during the championship too.
Welcome to Trondheim, says Klæbo, born in the region.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has already won almost everything you can win. Nervousness usually doesn't affect him.
More nervous than usual
Yet, you notice at Wednesday's press conference in the Lerkendal football stadium's catacombs that the world star, who has won the last 14 World Cup sprints he has participated in, is fidgeting in his body.
Klæbo rocks back and forth on his chair up on the podium, and states:
It's clear that I get more nervous about competing here. It means a lot to most of us, we've worked so long towards this for many years. Just getting to the start of the World Championship here is a dream come true, with family and friends in place, says Klæbo.
With nine World Championship golds and five Olympic Games golds, he is already one of the most successful cross-country skiers of all time. However, there is one thing he still lacks: a gold in an individual distance event.
I think about it, of course, I won't try to hide it. I've been close a few times. But it has never really worked out, says Klæbo, who is ready for a long and grueling championship:
But I'm prepared to dig deep. I've brought my excavator, shovel, and everything.
