Cross-Country Skiing World Championships

Andrew Musgrave discusses Nordic World Ski Championships medal chances and ‘ridiculous’ Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo

Published 22/02/2023 at 15:39 GMT

British skier Andrew Musgrave discussed his medal chances for the upcoming Nordic World Ski Championships and the ‘ridiculous’ Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who is expected to win multiple gold medals in Planica. The 43rd World Championships take place from February 21 to March 5, with the first medal decision on Thursday, which can be watched live on Eurosport and discovery+.

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Cross-country skiing has never been a sport Great Britain have shined in, but for over a decade, Andrew Musgrave has been mixing it with the very best skiers and he is hoping to be at his best at the Nordic Ski World Championships.

Should that happen, there is no reason why Musgrave can’t fight for a medal in the distance races, having previously finished fourth in the 50km at the 2017 World Championships and having logged multiple top 10s over his career.

He will compete in the men’s skiathlon (February 24), 15km individual freestyle (March 1), the relay (March 3) and the blue-ribboned event the 50km mass start classic (March 5).

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“My plan is to try and be in good form for all four races,” Musgrave told Eurosport. “On paper, what I'm best at is the individual starts.

“At the championships I've tended to have good mass start races. But in general, it's the individual starts I'm better at and in skate. So 15k skate, individual start, at the World Championships, on paper is definitely my best race.

“But I like to think I'm going to do well in all three. If you're in good form, it doesn't matter what the format is, you race well.”

In the past, Musgrave was significantly better in freestyle than classic but that has changed in recent years, particularly this season where he had a podium in Beitostølen in the 10km classic in December.

The 32-year-old revealed a small change in his technique has made the difference over the last six months.

“I feel like especially this season I've had a guy in Trondheim, who's been helping me a lot with technical work,” he explained. “That's been a really, really big thing.

“But I have improved over the last few years and I think it's just a little bit better fitness and learning a wee bit more about technique every season.

“Cross-country skiing looks like it's an easy sport, people think it's all about VO2 max, it's all about endurance.

“But it's actually quite a lot of technique and things like that. If you're not efficient at gliding on the skis, then over the space of 50k, you end up losing a lot more energy than the other guy.

“If I'm on good form then my classic is as good as my freestyle. If I'm in not amazing form then I'm better at skate than classic but my plan is now to be in very good form so then they should both be good.

“It depends a little bit on the conditions as well because sometimes classic is a bit tricky if the conditions are a bit difficult, with the snow and ice, things like that.”

The World Championships course in Planica has been on and off the World Cup circuit in recent years.

After the high altitude of last years Winter Olympics in Beijing, Musgrave is happy that the Ratece Planica venue in Slovenia is only at around 900m sea level.

“If you ask me and I didn't know what my favourite sort of track is, I would have told you short, steep hills - a lot of work, really hard, and then get a break,” he said.

“But at the same time, technically, the way I've been skiing this year, I think longer gradual hills might suit me in the way I've been racing this year.

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“Other people prioritise the World Cup races beforehand and if you're doing that and trying to be in form for the World Championships, it's a little bit difficult.

“Whereas for me, I don't have any problem not prioritising the [World Cup] races beforehand or skipping some races so that I am in really good form for the World Championships.

“I think that's been one of the one of the key successes for me is that I've never been afraid to skip some races, just put in a big block of training.”

Can Klaebo be beaten in Planica?

The skier to beat on the men’s circuit is, without doubt, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. Despite injuries during the summer, Klaebo has continued his status as the number one in the world.

He has won three gold medals at each of the last World Championships, although was controversially disqualified in the 50km after colliding with Alexander Bolshunov as the pair began their final sprint.

Asked what Klaebo is like outside of racing, Musgrave said: “I don't know him that well but he's always super friendly when you speak to him.

“We both live in Trondheim but I barely ever see him out training. He kind of does his own thing.

“I train with some of the other guys whilst he's off doing his own thing, starting at four in the morning or whatever he's doing!”

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway takes first place during the Mass Start at the FIS World Cup Cross-Country Les Rousses on January 29, 2023 in Les Rousses, France.

Image credit: Getty Images

In the recent Biathlon World Championships, another Norwegian, Johannes Thingnes Boe won five golds, a silver and a bronze.

Klaebo will have six medal chances in Planica and Musgrave, who says the 26-year-old is the best skier he has raced against, thinks only the 15km freestyle could be where he and the others can push the World Cup leader off the podium.

“This season has been absolutely ridiculous,” added Musgrave. “He has been a league above everybody else.

“His weakness is individual skate start races. But, he showed in Toblach when he was on the podium there, he's good on a good day and I don't think that he was in peak form either.

“I think he's saving his best for championships. So I think he's going to be good in the 15k but he's definitely beatable in the 15k individual skate, whereas some of the other races, it just doesn't look like, at least this season, it’s been possible to beat him at all.

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“He's the favourite for the sprint, his team is going to be favourite for the team sprint and relay. He’s going to be favourite for the skiathlon and 50k.

“He probably won't be the favourite for the 15k so he's got a lot of medal chances but I hope some of us can make it difficult for him along the way.”

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Stream the 2023 Nordic World Ski Championships live on Eurosport and discovery+

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