Eight hundredths of a second.
Eight cruel hundredths of a second... This Saturday, after having dominated the whole day, Lucas Chanavat was beaten by his great rival, the Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, in the final of the free sprint in Goms, Switzerland, in cross-country skiing .
However, the Frenchman took the lead from the start, before breaking down in the final straight and being beaten by the Norwegian by less than a tenth of a second.
Also qualified for the final, Richard Jouve was in more difficulty and had to settle for 6th and last place.
The two big favorites for this event, and more generally for the general sprint classification, faced each other in the quarter-finals this Saturday.
The Frenchman first dominated his opponent for the first time, before repeating this performance in the semi-final by just a hundredth of a second, confirming that the duel in the final promised to be epic.
And it was the case.
More powerful, Lucas Chanavat, as usual, took control from the start.
Perfectly installed in third position, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo nevertheless remained at a reasonable distance, offering himself the possibility of overtaking the Frenchman at the slightest mistake.
But it didn't come.
Imperial in his trajectories and solid on the climbs, the Haut-Savoyard presented himself in the lead at the entrance to the final straight.
🇫🇷 𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑳 𝑫𝑼𝑬𝑳!
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In great form, Lucas Chanavat took 2nd place in the final of the Goms sprint against Johannes Klaebo.
🔥🇫🇷
Richard Jouve is 6th.
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📸Nordic Focus Archive pic.twitter.com/igcI0nIizN
— FFS - French Ski Federation (@FedFranceSki) January 27, 2024
The sprint was particularly intense.
Visibly fresher than his opponent, the Norwegian caught up, centimeter by centimeter, before taking the advantage.
Despite a final desperate ski throw to try to pocket victory, Lucas Chanavat had to settle for second place, his second this season after obtaining the silver medal in Trondheim, already behind Klaebo.
The rest of the Frenchman's season was happier, with two victories during the Tour de Ski, in Toblach (Italy) then Davos (Switzerland), in the absence of his great rival, who was ill.
He now has three free sprints left this season to achieve a prestigious victory against the Norwegian and confirm, once again, his status as a world sprint leader.