Coach weighs Norway’s Olympic team sprint choice after Davos dominance: “A lot can happen”

Norway’s first team of Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Erik Valnes lived up to favourite status by winning the men’s team sprint at the Davos World Cup on Friday evening. While Harald Østberg Amundsen drove the pace hard on the penultimate leg for Norway 2, Valnes stayed glued, and Klæbo pulled away decisively on the final leg to seal a comfortable victory.

Italy’s Federico Pellegrino and Elia Barp took second, with Sweden’s Johan Häggström and Edvin Anger third. Oskar Opstad Vike anchored Norway 2 to seventh.

Because this was the only team sprint before the Olympics later this winter, attention immediately turned to who will partner Klæbo in the Milano–Cortina 2026 team sprint. Asked whether the current pecking order points to Valnes–Klæbo, Norway sprint coach Arild Monsen kept his cards close:

“That can happen, but we’re not naming an Olympic team here. We can see we have a strong squad and many good skiers. I figure 50% of the team is Johannes, then we’ll see who the partner is. We have several good options,” Monsen told Viaplay. Pressed on whether anyone can dislodge Valnes right now, he added: “Yes, but Harald (Østberg Amundsen) isn’t far behind. A lot can happen—I hope the guys keep their form and we’ll hope for the best.”

The Davos weekend continues with an individual freestyle sprint on Saturday and a 10 km individual freestyle on Sunday. At the Milano–Cortina Olympics, which begin on 4 February, the team sprint is scheduled for Wednesday, 18 February. The piece also references an interview with Emil Iversen about his bid to earn an Olympic spot.