The course slated for the 10-kilometer event at the Trondheim World Championships next winter is an old favourite. It was precisely on this course that Bjørn Dæhlie delivered “the perfect race.” It was in the 10-kilometer classic with individual start during the 1997 World Championships. Exactly the same event is on the program for the 2025 World Championships, in nearly the same course.

Also Read: Cross-country skiing program for the Trondheim World Championships

The description of the gold-winning race and the Granåsen course is on the first page of the first chapter of Bjørn Dæhlie’s autobiography “The Hunt for Gold.”

Monday, February 24, 1997. The clock has just passed eight, I have just woken up, and I look forward to the day ahead of me. What if today, here, in the World Championships on home ground, I could achieve the perfect race! The perfect race that all top athletes dream of and strive for, but which can go years between each time we experience it.

At nine kilometres, Dæhlie was told he was leading. The result was World Championship gold. But not just any World Championship gold.

“I have won my first World Championship gold on Norwegian soil. The joy of victory that I feel, I cannot describe. It must be experienced. So tired and so happy. And I know that this was not just gold. It was the perfect race.”

Read More: Bjorn Daehlie

The day after, Bjørn Dæhlie also secured his second World Championship gold on home soil, in the 25-kilometer pursuit.

Now, almost 30 years later, Norway’s World Championship hope has the opportunity to experience the same as the legend: to win their first World Championship gold on home soil. In nearly the same course.

The story continues below.

Dreaming of World Championships gold in 2025

This winter, Henrik Dønnestad achieved his major international breakthrough precisely in Dæhlie’s gold-winning course. He secured third place in the 10-kilometer classic on the last day of the test World Championships.

The 27-year-old, now competing for the private team Team Swix, delivered a perfectly paced race. At the finish, only Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Pål Golberg were faster.

And like Dæhlie, Dønnestad believes the course is one of the world’s best.

“I would say this is one of my favorite courses, especially the tough uphill sections in the first two kilometers, which I feel suit me well, but the whole course is very nice” says Dønnestad to Langrenn.com.

“The course is very tough, and it’s a course that separates well, especially with an individual start. It has both long continuous, tough sections and lighter terrain where it’s important to maintain maximum speed” he says, elaborating:

“To win on this course, you have to be good at everything. Capacity is, as it often is, one of the most important factors for skiing fast there. The hills in the first two kilometres of each lap will likely make a difference, especially on the second lap. But you also have to be good in the lighter terrain in the second half of the lap.”

Now, Dønnestad hopes to follow in the footsteps of the ski legend at the 2025 World Championships.

“It is definitely a goal and a dream to compete (at least) in the 10-kilometer event at the World Championships this winter.”

The story continues below.

This is the World Championship Course

The 10-kilometer in Granåsen was recently officially approved for use during the 2025 World Championships. This was decided during the FIS meetings earlier in June. And World Championship Chief Åge Skinstad confirms that it will largely be the gold-winning course of the ski legend that will be used.

“It’s not very different. At that time, two slightly different 5-kilometer laps were used. Now, it’s two laps in the same course. The start is exactly the same, but the finish is a bit different” says Skinstad to Langrenn.com, adding:

“I believe the 10-kilometer in 1997 was perhaps Bjørn’s best race of his career.”

To call it a “10-kilometer” course is an understatement. The skiers will complete two laps of 5.5 kilometres each, totalling 11 kilometres. In what many consider the toughest course of the championship.

“It’s the 10-kilometer and the 50-kilometer that are the toughest courses in Granåsen” says Eirik Myhr Nossum to Langrenn.com.

“It’s probably also one of the tougher courses out there in total World Cup context. In skiathlon, it’s a bit less brutal because there are fewer altitude meters in the freestyle course. In addition, it’s an individual start for the 10-kilometer at the World Championships. That makes it immediately tougher than a mass start” he says.

What makes this course so tough?

“It’s how the uphill sections are distributed. There is a lot of climbing right at the start of each lap. You basically head straight into a longer section of continuous uphill to the top of the course. Then it’s relatively easy down to the bottom of the course, followed by a flatter section from the bottom through the stadium. And then you head straight into a new climb back up to the top again. It’s brutal.”

What type of skier does that course and profile favour?

“It’s definitely a course for athletes with great endurance. But an individual start is an individual start. It’s brutal regardless of whether it’s flat or hilly.”

Who will get to compete in the dream course of Bjørn Dæhlie at the World Championships this winter?

“It will be a fight for those spots. Simen (Hegstad Krüger, reigning world champion) has a free pass. Based on this winter’s results, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is perhaps the world’s best skier on the 10 kilometres classic right now, but no one has secured their name on the four regular spots.”

One who wants to put his name on that start list is Henrik Dønnestad.

This is the course for the 10km classic during the 2025 World Championships