The World Championships 2025 continues this Thursday in Trondheim, Norway, with the sprint in freestyle technique for both women and men. Who will win gold?

Trondheim World Championships – Sprint Men

Not in any other race in Trondheim – except the relays – there will be a bigger favorite than in today’s sprint for men.

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is racing for his fourth consecutive gold in the sprint event. Who will have a chance against him in his own training tracks?

About the Sprint

The sprint is divided into two. First a prologue – or qualification – with the athletes starting one by one. The starting interval is only 15 seconds, with the best-ranked racers first.

The course is the same as in the heats later in the day. The 30 best times from the prologue move on to the quarterfinals.

After the prologue, the skiers choose their quarter-final. The number 11 in the prologue is choosing first. Then they continue down to number 1 and after that from the 12th up to the 30th.

There are five quarterfinals, with six athletes in each. The two best in each heat go automatically to the semifinals. Added to that are two “lucky losers,” the two best times of the skiers not finishing in the top 2 in their quarterfinals.

The semifinals are run the same way. The two best go on, plus the two best times outside that. We will then end up with six athletes in the final. The first one to cross the line here is the winner of the gold medal, the second takes silver, and the third is bronze.

FORMER WORLD CHAMPIONS IN SPRINT

• 2001    Tor Arne Hetland, Norway
• 2003    Thobias Fredriksson, Sweden
• 2005    Vassili Rotchev, Russia
• 2007    Jens Arne Svartedal, Norway
• 2009    Ola Vigen Hattestad, Norway
• 2011    Marcus Hellner, Sweden
• 2013    Nikita Kriukov, Russia
• 2015    Petter Northug jr, Norway
• 2017    Federico Pellegrino, Italy
• 2019    Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway
• 2021    Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway
• 2023    Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway

FAVORITES

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway

May be the biggest favorite of the championships. Klæbo has dominated the World Championships sprint with three straight golds. This time he is on his very home ground, and he is also a master in avoiding accidents in the sprints. The sprint is his biggest chance of gold in Trondheim.

Edvin Anger, Sweden

The powerful Swede has really had a breakthrough this year. He has no respect for the Norwegians, but the question is if he has the power to challenge in a final after three hard races on the way. But he has won on the World Cup this Winter and he knows that he can beat everybody.

OUTSIDERS

Lucas Chanavat, France

The French sprint star has trained with Klæbo on the tracks at Granåsen and he is also very fast. His results this Winter have been a little up and down and there are some question marks. Chanavat is best at skating and a medal can be within reach.

Even Northug, Norway

He has a special ability to find the way to the finals. But so far, he hasn’t managed to win any of them. Northug is under pressure in his hometown and knowing that both his brothers were in the sprint final at the WCH in Falun 2015. Will probably only get one start in Trondheim, so it will be maximum focus here.

Ansgar Evensen, Norway

He might be a surprise here. The skier from Gjøvik is a man for the big occasions. He has already won the Norwegian sprint championships, Junior and U23 Worlds. Evensen is fast all the way to the finish. His biggest obstacle will be to make it to the final. If he is there everything can happen.

Valerio Grond, Switzerland

Another who can surprise. Was warming up by winning the Norwegian cup at Gjøvik last weekend. Grond from Davos is one of the quickest, but he hasn’t won at this level yet. Anyway, a man to watch out for.

Federico Pellegrino, Italy

The World champion from 2017 is doing his last World Championships. He will retire after the Olympics on home snow next Winter. Pellegrino has more experience than most of the athletes and he is very good at finding his place in the heats and to be there at the crucial moments.

START LIST

The start list can be found HERE

The 2025 World Championships continues this Thursday in Trondheim, Norway. Here is the complete competition program, with the start lists and start times for the sprint in freestyle technique.

Thursday, February 27 (More information HERE)

• 10:00 CET: Sprint Qualification Freestyle, Women
• 10:52 CET: Sprint Qualification Freestyle, Men
• 12:30 CET: Sprint Finals Freestyle, Women
• 12:30 CET: Sprint Finals Freestyle, Men

The start lists can be found HERE

See below the complete program for the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway.

FACTS 2025 Nordic World Ski Championships

• When: Wednesday, February 26, to Sunday, March 9, 2025
• Who: Elite national skiers – women and men
• Where: Trondheim, Norway
• What: FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2025

Wednesday, February 26 (More information HERE)

• 13:30 CET: Qualification, 7.5km Classic, Women
• 15:30 CET: Qualification, 7.5km Classic, Men

Thursday, February 27 (More information HERE)

• 10:00 CET: Sprint Qualification Freestyle, Women
• 10:52 CET: Sprint Qualification Freestyle, Men
• 12:30 CET: Sprint Finals Freestyle, Women
• 12:30 CET: Sprint Finals Freestyle, Men

Saturday, March 1 (More information HERE)

• 14:00 CET: 20km Skiathlon Classic/Freestyle, Men

Sunday, March 2 (More information HERE)

• 14:00 CET: 20km Skiathlon Classic/Freestyle, Women

Tuesday, March 4 (More information HERE)

• 13:00 CET: 10km Interval Start Classic, Men
• 15:30 CET: 10km Interval Start Classic – Women

Wednesday, March 5 (More information HERE)

• 11:00 CET: Team Sprint Qualification Classic, Women
• 11:00 CET: Team Sprint Qualification Classic, Men
• 14:30 CET: Team Sprint Classic, Women
• 14:30 CET: Team Sprint Classic, Men

Thursday, March 6 (More information HERE)

• 12:30 CET: 4×7.5km Relay Classic/Freestyle, Men

Friday, March 7 (More information HERE)

• 14:00 CET: 4×7.5km Relay Classic/Freestyle, Women

Saturday, March 8 (More information HERE)

• 11:30 CET: 50km Mass Start Freestyle, Men

Sunday, March 9 (More information HERE)

• 11:30 CET: 50km Mass Start Freestyle, Women

PROGRAM (traditional cross-country skiing program) 

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

The Nordic World Ski Championships is taking place in Trondheim, Norway, from February 26 to March 9, 2025. It promises to be the largest sporting event in Norway in 15 years, with more than 300.000 spectators expected to attend. 

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.