Harald Østberg Amundsen wins Ruka mass start; France’s Mathis Desloges 6th

The first mass-start race of the World Cup season delivered drama on Sunday morning in Ruka, Finland. After a controlled opening, Edvin Anger attacked midway and went clear with Austria’s Mika Vermeulen and France’s Hugo Lapalus. Their gap hovered around eight to nine seconds through the third of five laps before Lapalus faded back to the pack.

Sensing danger, the Norwegian block went to the front—even without their usual ace, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who lacked his best legs a day after winning the sprint. Harald Østberg Amundsen, Martin Nyenget and Einar Hedegart powered over one of the late climbs to bridge to the leaders, while France’s Mathis Desloges narrowly missed the move but stayed prominent throughout.

On the decisive final climb, Amundsen—already last year’s winner in Ruka—forced the pace and dropped his companions to secure victory. Hedegart took second at 1.9 seconds and Anger third at 2.3 seconds. Desloges finished sixth, the best World Cup result of his young career; he noted he was "two or three quick pushes" short of catching the winning move and is optimistic for next week’s skiathlon in Trondheim, where he placed sixth at last season’s World Championships.

Further back, Lapalus ended up 19th at 23.1 seconds. Klæbo placed 15th at 18.3 seconds despite leading the overall standings after the first two days in Ruka. France’s Victor Lovera delivered a strong 13th at 16.8 seconds.

This mass start followed Friday’s 10 km classic, won by Martin Nyenget over Klæbo, and Saturday’s classic sprint, won by Klæbo, to open the 2025–26 World Cup season in Ruka.