Edvin Anger vs. Johannes Klæbo – Millions at stake

Edvin Anger vs. Johannes Klæbo
Swedish men’s cross-country skiing is entering a new era. Edvin Anger has challenged Johannes Høsflot Klæbo’s dominance and created a rivalry that fans haven’t seen since Marcus Hellner and Petter Northug fought for victories. Now, the Swede is hot on Klæbo’s heels in the battle for both prestige and prize money.
Swedish men’s cross-country skiing is entering a new era. Edvin Anger has challenged Johannes Høsflot Klæbo’s dominance and created a rivalry that fans haven’t seen since Marcus Hellner and Petter Northug fought for victories. Now, the Swede is hot on Klæbo’s heels in the battle for both prestige and prize money.

Edvin Anger has had a successful 2025 World Cup season. With three podium finishes in the World Cup, he is now ranked second behind the giant Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. Sure, one could mention that he won two races in Bruksvallarna during the season opener. But let’s be honest—it wasn’t the same level of competition that the Hedemora native has now grown accustomed to in the World Cup.

Climbing the Rankings

NameCountryRankTotal PointsDistance RankDistance PointsSprint RankSprint Points
KLAEBO Johannes HoesflotNOR11,45985721587
ANGER EdvinSWE21,058154012459
LAPALUS HugoFRA39762706
VALNES ErikNOR4969193164437
VERMEULEN MikaAUT59313638918
KRUEGER Simen HegstadNOR68971783
PELLEGRINO FedericoITA7889252606374
MOCH FriedrichGER88405615
AMUNDSEN Harald OestbergNOR9836462815208
OGDEN BenUSA10825213027367

After the races in Engadin, Edvin Anger is now in second place overall. In fact, both Anger and Klæbo hold the same positions in the sprint standings as they do in the overall rankings. Of course, Klæbo is still superior in terms of results.

If Anger manages to hold onto second place, he will earn an additional 45,000 CHF, or approximately 550,000 Swedish kronor (47,980.06€). That’s on top of what he has already earned so far—around 668,000 kronor (58,273.97€) just from the World Cup. These are big sums for a cross-country skier, but still only about half of what the highest-paid player in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) makes.

The highest-paid male cross-country skier is Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who has earned just under 2.4 million kronor (209,306.93 Euro). If he wins the World Cup, he will receive an additional 730,000 Swedish kronor (63,663.10 euros). And that’s not even counting the prize money he will most likely secure. A single individual victory in the World Cup brings in 182,000 kronor (15,872.17 Euro).

Read more about Klæbo’s million-dollar earnings here: Klæbo – The superstar of modern cross-country skiing

Eyes on the World Championships

Both Anger and Klæbo now have their sights set on the World Championships. But before that, an exciting race in Cogne awaits, where Klæbo has chosen to sit out. This opens up new opportunities for Anger to showcase his strength and possibly secure a podium finish—or even a victory.

Also read: Anger after the sprint

Edvin is breathing down Klæbo’s neck. We saw in Engadin that Anger truly gave Klæbo a fight. And let’s not forget when Anger pulled away from Klæbo during the pursuit race in Toblach at the Tour de Ski. If Anger can continue skiing at this level, he can boost his confidence ahead of the World Championships and maybe even challenge Klæbo for medals—both in distance and sprint events.

Despite his success, Anger remains humble. After his victory in Toblach, he downplayed his chances at the World Championships. Perhaps it was a strategic move, or maybe it was a feeling that was 100% genuine at the time.

“Of course, my confidence grows when I achieve good results and reach a new level. At the same time, I am still nowhere near winning a medal at the World Championships yet,” Anger said at a press conference before the final climb in the Tour de Ski.

The question is: how many still agree with him? With his sprint victory in Les Rousses and second place in the sprint in Engadin, he is closing in on his arch-rival.


Edvin Anger vs. Johannes Klæbo
250101 Edvin Anger of Sweden celebrates after competing in the Men’s 15 km Classic Technique Pursuit during day five of Tour de Ski on January 1, 2025 in Toblach. Photo: Carl Sandin / BILDBYRÅN / kod CS / CS0641

With Klæbo absent from the starting line in Cogne, it will be even more exciting to see which other skiers step up and fight for victory. This could be the perfect opportunity for Anger to prove that he has what it takes to become one of the greats in cross-country skiing.

Also Read: Cross-country World Cup: Complete program for Cogne

The Interview with Edvin Anger Is Now Available on SC Play

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