The World Championships 2025 continues this Wednesday in Trondheim, Norway, with the Team Sprint for men. Who will win gold?

Trondheim World Championships – Team Sprint Classic

With Johannes Høsflot Klæbo as the superstar to anchor, Team Norway is mega favorite to win the team sprint. They will also benefit from classic style, because most of the other European teams are best at skating.

Note that there is a new format with different qualifications than before in team sprints.

About the Team Sprint

The team sprint is a quite new distance at the World Championships. It came on the program in 2005 when Norway won the first time. They have six gold in team sprint and with Klæbo as the anchor, they are favorites to take their fourth straight gold.

The format is different this time. Before, they had semifinals run like the final, but they were often quite boring, and now they race individually in the qualification. There are two athletes in each team and the times are added together. The 15 best times qualify for the final.

The final starts with a mass start for the first athlete in each of the 15 teams. After one lap, they change to the second in the team. Both are racing three times in the final.

You need both endurance and speed in this event. It’s tricky with the breaks when you often see the athletes sitting on a bike to keep their bodies in action. And it is hard to do three sprints after each other’s in a final.

FORMER WORLD CHAMPIONS

• 2005     Norway, (Tore Ruud Hofstad, Tor Arne Hetland)
• 2007     Italy, (Renato Pasini, Cristian Zorzi)
• 2009     Norway, (Ola Vigen Hattestad, Johan Kjølstad)
• 2011     Canada, (Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey)
• 2013     Russia, (Alexei Petukhov, Nikita Kriukov)
• 2015     Norway, (Finn Hågen Krogh, Petter Northug jr)
• 2017     Russia, (Nikita Kriukov, Sergei Ustiugov)
• 2019     Norway, (Emil Iversen, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo)
• 2021     Norway, (Erik Valnes, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo)
• 2023     Norway, (Pål Golberg, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo)

FAVORITES

NORWAY

It is one of the biggest favorites of the championships again. With classic style, they are even bigger favorites. It’s been a tough fight for the last place together with Klæbo. And with Erik Valnes getting back problems, there were doubts in the Norwegian team. But only an accident can take the gold away.

FRANCE

They could have been a threat to Norway in skating, but it will be much tougher for them in classic. A medal is within reach, and France is one of the teams to watch out for.

SWEDEN

It’s one of the few teams that is good at classic and freestyle. Edvin Anger has not shown its absolute best form so far in Trondheim. The Swedes need him on top to take a medal here. Maybe one of their best chances of a medal on the men’s side in the championships.

OUTSIDERS

ITALY

Federico Pellegrino has shown great form in Trondheim. Unfortunately, his usual partner, Francesco De Fabiani, has been a shadow of himself throughout Winter, and Davide Graz will race instead. Italy won in 2007; this time, they must be satisfied that they can fight for the medals.

FINLAND

Can maybe lift themselves after Lauri Vuorinen’s bronze in the individual sprint. Iivo Niskanen in top form would have lifted the team, but with some extra Finnish sisu and Ristomatti Hakola starting, they should at least be in the final.

USA

Have enough fast and strong athletes to put up a strong team. But the Americans are like the French and Italians, a team with better sprinters in skating. The USA has had a bad championship so far.

SWITZERLAND

Valerio Grond and Janik Riebli are both very fast and can also be fast in classic. The Swiss team is better than expected and might challenge for a medal.

STARTLIST

The start list can be found HERE

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

Wednesday, March 5 (More information HERE)

• 11:00 CET: Team Sprint Qualification Classic, Women
• 11:29 CET: Team Sprint Qualification Classic, Men
• 14:30 CET: Team Sprint Classic, Women
• 15:02 CET: Team Sprint Classic, Men

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
• 11:29 CET: Team Sprint Qualification Classic, Men
• 14:30 CET: Team Sprint Classic, Women
• 15:02 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.