Two Frenchmen on the podium of a cross-country skiing World Cup stage, this had not happened for three years. And in 2018, it was already them. Haut-alpin Richard Jouve and Haut-Savoyard Lucas Chanavat finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the first stage of the Tour du ski on Tuesday., a free sprint won in Lenzerheide in Switzerland by the untouchable Norwegian Johannes Klaebo, who at the age of 25 won his 43rd victory on the circuit.
Candidates for the Olympic podium
The two French are positioned as serious candidates for the Olympic podium in a little over a month in Beijing. This is Richard Jouve’s 3rd World Cup podium this season with two 3rd places (Lillehammer and Davos), 2nd for Grand-Bornand cross-country skier Lucas Chanavat after a 3rd place in Dresden.
Maurice Manificat, the leader of the France team did not participate in this free sprint. The Haut-Savoyard had to give up the Tour de ski after a fall last weekend in training, causing him severe pain in his ribs.