Tour de Ski: Klæbo’s snow “line” draws attention: ‘It was strange’

A short Instagram clip from the Davos World Cup sprint prologue has become a talking point across the cross‑country skiing community: as Johannes Høsflot Klæbo powered up the steepest climb, he left a distinctive, almost straight line etched in the snow.

Teammate Emil Iversen reacted with a laugh when shown the video: “That was strange. Maybe it’s a new Klæbo technical thing we need to study with a magnifying glass.” He referenced how Klæbo earlier popularized the now‑famous “Klæbo step.”

Reigning overall World Cup contender Harald Østberg Amundsen said he had noticed the clip as well. He suggested fans at mountain cabins try to recreate the single line in a truly steep uphill using double‑dance (V2) skating, calling the track pattern “fascinating.”

Asked to explain, Klæbo said simply: “That’s me doubling up the hill. It’s just how I ski.” What the line shows, he noted, is that the ski not used for the push is pointing straight forward—in the direction of travel. “You try to move as fast as possible, so you go the shortest way, and straight ahead is the shortest,” he said. Amundsen agreed that getting the skis pointed straight is a useful tip at home, adding that while such a style might be heavy in distance races, in sprint “the answer is how Klæbo skis.”

Iversen doesn’t believe it’s accidental that Klæbo’s track aligns with the direction of travel: “Nothing is random with Johannes… I don’t think anything is left to chance.” Klæbo himself insisted this isn’t new: “If you looked ten years ago, it wouldn’t be far from the same.”

Attention now turns to the Tour de Ski opener in Toblach, where Sunday’s freestyle sprint features a steep approach to the stadium roof—perfect terrain, the Norwegians joked, to see who can draw a similar line in the snow.