Cross-Country Skiing - Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo clinches cross-country title with victory in Canada

BySportsbeat

Updated 24/03/2019 at 16:55 GMT

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo defended his title with a brilliant 15km time at the World Cup Final in Quebec to edge out the rest of the field.

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo celebrates after winning the men's FIS World Cup Pursuit 15km (free technique) on March 24, 2019, during the third day of the FIS cross-country world cup finals in Quebec City.

Image credit: Eurosport

Only needing to beat Russia's Alexander Bolshunov to secure the win, the Norwegian got off to a sublime start before the Russian and Canadian Alex Harvey caught up to him.

But Klaebo successfully held them off to finish the race with a 29:05.4m time - three seconds faster than his two rivals.

Despite the scare, the champion insisted that he wasn't phased by Bolshunov or Harvey.

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"If the difference was 25 seconds, I thought I'd wait for them," he said.

"It was not fun to drive alone with the big wind, so I was happy when they captured me."

The title is his 11th World Cup stage triumph this season and adds to his three gold medals at the World Championships earlier this month.

Fellow countryman Sjur Roethe took third place overall despite finishing 10th in Quebec, while veteran Alex Harvey climbed to 13th place in the standings in what may be his final World Cup.

Bolshunov’s second place, meanwhile, ensured he convincingly took the distance title.

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