Kris Freeman

“Sometimes you get to the first split and you’re ten seconds up, and sometimes you’re ten seconds down. Today I was 30 seconds down.” It was a bad day. 15K Classic in Lahti, and Kris was 42nd place, 3:10 out of the lead. If the 50K at worlds was slushy, then this was a “new level of slush”. Kris says his skis didn’t feel bad - maybe a little slow but plenty of kick. He raced very hard - completely blew up at one point, and recovered to finish hard. But on the whole he had nothing to give. He’s impressed - astounded in fact - at the guys who were able to fight it out at the front of a tough 50K in Japan a week ago, and then show up here and look fresh.

Kris doesn’t sound terribly bothered by this result. He’s confident in his fitness, and doesn’t see a need to adjust the plan based on today’s experience. He felt terrible today, but knows he’s got good racing left in him. Holmenkollen next week. The Oslo weather forecast does not show below freezing temps until next Saturday night. It’s going to be another wet, sloppy slog. Kris knows he has to deal with these conditions, and he knows he’s got good 50K fitness. We’ll see how it all plays out.