Neuvième à 24sec après le concours de saut, les Français Jason Lamy-Chappuis et François Braud n'ont pas réussi à attraper le bon wagon lors de l'épreuve en ski de fond.
Battus pour le podium et les places d'honneur, le duo a préféré terminer tranquillement ce premier Team Sprint de la saison afin de garder du jus et des forces pour dimanche lors du concours individuel.
Résultat : Ils terminent au 9e rang à plus d'une minute des vainqueurs. Ceci juste devant la seconde paire Française composée de Sébastien Lacroix et de Maxime Laheurte.
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Devant huit équipes se sont assez vite regroupées avec des Norvégiens de nouveaux dominateurs. Cette année les Rouges montrent de très belles choses et s'annoncent comme la nation à battre. La doublette Mikko Kokslien - Joergen Graabak a fait la différence en fin de parcours.
Ces excellents fondeurs ont faussé compagnie au peloton avant de l'emporter devant leurs coéquipiers Klemetsen et Krog, vainqueur au sprint des Italiens Costa et Pittin.
On trouve ensuite les USA, l'Allemagne et l'Autriche.
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Les réactions :
Mikko Kokslien (NOR): " I was quite sure we were going to catch the front today and that it was going to be a group but I didn't know how it was going to be. It was a lot of teams and it's always a bit nerve-wercking to see how it ends up. Myself I had a decent feeling today, not perfect. Jørgen got a gap which was very good for the outcome of the sprint in the end. It was an amazing day and it it amazing to be on this team right now. We are having so much fun."
Haavard Klemetsen (NOR): "I usually prefer a big hill but Ramsau is a good place for these tight races. I hope it was an exciting race today. For sure we are really really happy with first and second place. We were only talking about it yesterday that it would be a dream and now we are sitting here. We are still going in the right direction. It's a fantastic feeling to be a part of this team."
Samuel Costa (ITA) - " We jumped very well today. I have crossed the K-point for the first time which was very good for me and also Alessandro has made his best jump. Then we started 40 seconds of time behind and in the second or third lap we were already together with the big group of teams. It was quite chaotic but at the end we were able to ski in front and it was enough for a podium. Perfetto!
Photo : Nordic Focus