Cross-Country Skiing 2018/Men's mass start

Men's mass start
General information
Sport	Cross-Country Skiing 2018
Date	24 February 2018
Competitors	71 athletes
Venue	Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre
Previous medalists
Gold	Alexander Legkov
Silver	Maxim Vylegzhanin
Bronze	Ilia Chernousov
Conditions
Temperature	-7°C / 19.4°F
Length	50580 metres
Height	58 metres
Medalists
	Iivo Niskanen
	Alexander Bolshunov
	Andrey Larkov

The men's mass start of Cross-Country Skiing 2018 during the 2018 Winter Olympics was held on 24 February 2018 in the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre. With 71 athletes competing, the event was won by Iivo Niskanen from Finland, with Alexander Bolshunov from Olympic Athletes from Russia taking the silver medal and Andrey Larkov from Olympic Athletes from Russia taking bronze.

Format

The competition exists out of four rounds of 8.33 kilometres in the classic technique, with the athletes starting simultaneously. The competitor with the fastest time after 50 kilometres is the winner.

Preview

Seventy-one athletes qualified for the last men's cross-country event in Pyeongchang. The Norwegian athletes had been dominating the cross-country events, winning four out of five events, but the longest endurance event had plenty of other big challengers. The top seed was Dario Cologna, who had won the 15 kilometres the previous week, but Alex Harvey was the world champion in the freestyle version of this event. The first Norwegian medal contender was Martin Johnsrud Sundby, who had won three medals in Pyeongchang already, and finished just behind the podium in 2014. Hans Christer Holund and Alexey Poltoranin were also within the top seeds, but the Olympic Athletes from Russia had no fewer than four seeded athletes, with Alexander Bolshunov, Alexey Chervotkin, Denis Spitsov, and Andrey Larkov all in contention. The Russians had also sweeped the previous edition of this event, and once again had big chances on a medal. Iivo Niskanen had also proven to be strong in the classical technique during the skiathln, when he was leading the charge in that event. Other potential seeded contenders included Andrew Musgrave, Daniel Rickardsson, and Emil Iversen.

Results

Right from the start, the world champion Alex Harvey took the lead, but a few athletes arose from the back, like Niklas Dyrhaug, Ristomatti Hakola, Irineu Esteve Altimiras, and Yevgeniy Velichko, most of which dropped back quickly. Veselin Tsinsov tumbled with no real consequences, but the complete group was spread out over a long distance. With the Norwegian team taking control at the head of the race halfway through the first lap, Martin Johnsrud Sundby passed the finish line for the first of twelve times, right in front of Iivo Niskanen, Emil Iversen, Alexey Poltoranin, and Alex Harvey. The first group still consisted of 64 athletes, with only 7 others losing connection with the large group.

Not much changed in front of the group during the second half of the first lap, with only Sundby leaving the lead to Niskanen and Poltoranin. However, at this point, the first small gaps were created in the group, with most of the pre-race favorites among the leading few. Coming back to finish the first lap, Andreas Katz was caught wide, but still remained in the leading group, while Iversen completed his lap as the leader of the race. Behind him, Harvey, Niskanen, and Sundby remained in the front four, now followed by Jens Burman, Francesco De Fabiani, and Poltoranin. However, this group still consisted of 37 athletes, with Candide Pralong trailing by just a few seconds.

As the first opportunity to change skis, Matti Heikkinen and Calle Halfvarsson took the opportunity to do so, though with the former losing his balance and time. Meanwhile, the four Norwegians in the first group all took their turn in front, and were later joined by Alexey Chervotkin and Maicol Rastelli. Despite the leading group becoming smaller and smaller, most of the seeded athletes remained in a hopeful position for a medal, with Lucas Boegl and Thomas Bing just dropping back, and Andrew Musgrave even farther behind. Coming back into the stadium to complete the first quarter of the race, Chervotkin passed the time check first, just in front of Rastelli, Sundby, Poltoranin, and Holund, but the first 25 athletes remained within 10 seconds. Yevgeniy Velichko and Esteve Altimiras were the first chasers on 20 seconds of the leaders, with Graeme Killick and Bing following on another 10 seconds.

Rastelli put on a tough pace at front of the race, still followed by the Norwegians and Chervotkin, while Katz tumbled for the second time. After 15 kilometres into the race, another two athletes were dropped from the leading group, with the German Katz just hanging on. Completing the second of six laps, Sundby passed the finish line first, but followed by Chervotkin, Dyrhaug, Holund, and Rastelli, similar to the previous time check. The group still consisted of almost a third of the original start list with 20 athletes, with Martin Jaks, Giandomenico Salvadori, and Katz a few seconds behind.

Many of the leaders made their first ski exchange, which left Rastelli, Chervotkin, and Niskanen in front, but the Fin quickly took control, and took some distance from the group. He was followed by Poltoranin, with a small group of 11 athletes, lead by Dyrhaug and Sundby, 5 seconds behind. Denis Spitsov and Rastelli already lost over 20 seconds on Niskanen, with the rest of the field on over half a minute. Dyrhaug tried to bridge the gap to the two leaders, with Dario Cologna now trying to pull the chasing group, as well. Coming up to the halfway point of the third lap, the three leaders Niskanen, Poltoranin, and Dyrhaug had a 5-second lead over a small group of 7, with Chervotkin and Larkov already losing almost 20 seconds as the first competitors behind that group. Jean Marc Gaillard was already 35 seconds behind the leaders.

Cologna tried to join the leaders in front, but the four skiers behind him did not want to let him go, making it a difficult chase for the Swiss. While Cologna was caught by his compatriots, Dyrhaug started to lose contact with the other two in the leading group, dropping back and losing almost 15 seconds in a short amount of time. Using the Norwegian as target, Alexander Bolshunov tried to escape from the small group, and opened up a small gap. Completing the first half of the race, Poltoranin and Niskanen had a lead of over 10 seconds to Bolshunov, and over 15 seconds to Sundby and Harvey. The rest of that chasing group Dyrhaug, Holund, and Cologna already lost almost 20 seconds, with the next chasers coming up at almost 45 seconds.

With Chervotkin exchanging skis, he rejoined the first chasing group at the start of the second half, but quickly escaped again. At the first time check of the lap, he was already 25 seconds behind the two leaders, with Harvey, Sundby, and Holund following on another 5 seconds. In front, Niskanen tried to accelerate again, but the gap to the Russian chaser was getting smaller and smaller. The Fin in front was eventually able to shake off the Kazakh, taking a lead of 7 seconds at the halfway point of the fourth lap, with the gap to Bolshunov having decreased to less than 20 seconds. Behind the Russian, the chasing trio of Harvey, Holund, and Sundby were already almost a minute behind, losing over 30 seconds in half a lap. Cologna and Dyrhaug followed on another 20 seconds, having to seriously catch up to win a medal.

Soon, Bolshunov caught up with Poltoranin, taking the second place in the race, and continuing his rise to the front. At the next time check, the time difference between the two in front had decreased to only 12 seconds, with Poltoranin losing another 5 seconds. These small shifts continued throughout the rest of the fourth lap, with Niskanen still leading after two-thirds of the race. His lead to Bolshunov remained around 13 seconds, with Poltoranin already losing almost half a minute on the Fin. A group of five athletes with Sundby, Harvey, Holund, Andrey Larkov, and Chervotkin followed on almost two minutes from the sole leader.

Starting the last third of the race, Poltoranin, Sundby, Harvey, and Holund all changed on new skis, in the hope to gain some time on the medal positions. Bolshunov had his sights on the leading Fin, and after 90 minutes of racing, the difference between the leading two was only 9 seconds. The first chaser behind them remained Poltoranin, who was almost 45 seconds behind the leader, having lost another 15 seconds since the last lap passage. Coming up to the halfway point of the penultimate lap, Niskanen's ski slipped, but the Fin was able to keep his balance, with the Russian joining Niskanen in the lead. Poltoranin lost another few seconds and was now 50 seconds behind the two leaders, with the first chasing group of five over a minute behind him.

With Niskanen and Bolshunov forming a group of two, the Fin was able to give away the lead for the first time in over 20 kilometres, after he accelerated from the leading group over two laps ago. With the little slips of the Fin, it already looked certain that Niskanen would change his skis for the last time, picking a strategy that was different from his compatriot. New skis meant new wax, but it also allowed the Russian to win some time while the Fin would need to change his skis. Before that happened, however, the two in front lapped Kim Eun-ho, while the gap to the chasers increased with another few seconds. Completing the penultimate lap, the two in front would hopefully see for an exciting finish, with Bolshunov and Niskanen passing the line for the penultimate time. Poltoranin was 1:10 minute behind the two leaders, with the chasing group of Larkov, Harvey, Holund, and Sundby on 2:20 minutes, after Chervotkin was dropped.

While Niskanen exchanged skis, the Russian was able to accelerate, as had been expected. Bolshunov took a small lead of around 10 seconds to the Fin, but the gap was quickly down to 7 seconds, and less than 2 kilometres from the exchange point, Niskanen rejoined the Russian in front, and remained in his tracks while Mark Chanloung was lapped as the second athlete. Meanwhile, Poltoranin already lost almost 2 minutes on the leaders, and now only 40 seconds in front of the chasing group. With only half a lap remaining, Bolshunov and Niskanen still remained together, with the Fin having the fresher gear, while Poltoranin was caught by the four chasers after suffering from mental fatigue. Sundby, Larkov, Harvey, Holund, and Poltoranin followed the leaders on over 2:30 minutes, but the battle for bronze was still very close.

With two hours of racing completed, both leaders started to make small mistakes, while Poltoranin was dropped from the chasing group. The rest of the final lap followed the same pattern, and even at the final intermediate time check, the two at the front remained together. However, with just over a kilometre from the finish, Niskanen made an ultimate attempt to escape, and quickly won a few seconds over Bolshunov. With the Russian out of energy, he wasn't able to close the gap, and Niskanen had 19 seconds left at the finish line, over Bolshunov, who finished second. In a close race for third place, Larkov and Sundby took a small gap over the other two, but the Russian made a decisive break on the final climb. Larkov finished third on over 2,5 minutes, and in a final sprint between Harvey and Sundby, the Canadian drew the short straw by only a tenth of a second, while Holund finished another 6 seconds behind. The first finisher behind them was Daniel Rickardsson, who finished another minute behind, with Martin Jaks, Dario Cologna, and Emil Iversen completing the top 10. Poltoranin, who was third for so long, finished fifteenth on over 5 minutes of Niskanen. Mantas Strolia was the third athlete who was lapped in the last stages of the race.

Iivo Niskanen was the first Fin to win the mass start since 1998. He won his second Olympic gold medal, after winning the team sprint in 2014, and he remained the only gold medalist (together with his team mate Sami Jauhojaervi) to win a Finnish gold medal in cross-country skiing since 1998. Alexander Bolshunov won his fourth medal in Pyeongchang, and his third silver medal, after the sprint, the team sprint, and the relay. Andrey Larkov won his second Olympic medal, after winning the silver medal in the relay. With this podium, it was the first and only event on the men's side to not feature a Norwegian medalist, with the best Norwegians finishing fifth and sixth, behind Alex Harvey of Canada.

Result	Athlete	Nationality	Time
	Iivo Niskanen	Finland	2:08:22.1
	Alexander Bolshunov	Olympic Athletes from Russia	2:08:40.8
	Andrey Larkov	Olympic Athletes from Russia	2:10:59.6
4	Alex Harvey	Canada	2:11:05.7
5	Martin Johnsrud Sundby	Norway	2:11:05.8
6	Hans Christer Holund	Norway	2:11:12.2
7	Daniel Rickardsson	Sweden	2:12:12.5
8	Martin Jaks	Czech Republic	2:12:32.6
9	Dario Cologna	Switzerland	2:12:43.2
10	Emil Iversen	Norway	2:12:59.0
11	Scott Patterson	United States	2:13:14.2
12	Alexey Chervotkin	Olympic Athletes from Russia	2:13:19.0
13	Niklas Dyrhaug	Norway	2:13:20.5
14	Andreas Katz	Germany	2:13:32.3
15	Giandomenico Salvadori	Italy	2:13:45.4
16	Algo Karp	Estonia	2:13:45.7
17	Jean Marc Gaillard	France	2:14:31.4
18	Maicol Rastelli	Italy	2:15:10.0
19	Denis Spitsov	Olympic Athletes from Russia	2:16:24.6
20	Dietmar Noeckler	Italy	2:16:29.2
21	Francesco De Fabiani	Italy	2:17:14.3
22	Keishin Yoshida	Japan	2:17:21.9
23	Clement Parisse	France	2:17:25.4
24	Matti Heikkinen	Finland	2:17:34.8
25	Devon Kershaw	Canada	2:17:49.4
26	Graeme Killick	Canada	2:18:28.8
27	Jens Burman	Sweden	2:18:34.5
28	Perttu Hyvarinen	Finland	2:18:38.5
29	Thomas Bing	Germany	2:18:41.1
30	Candide Pralong	Switzerland	2:18:41.5
31	Paul Constantin Pepene	Romania	2:18:44.0
32	Noah Hoffman	United States	2:19:04.1
33	Irineu Esteve Altimiras	Andorra	2:19:08.3
34	Imanol Rojo	Spain	2:19:10.1
35	Andrew Musgrave	Great Britain	2:20:57.9
36	Yevgeniy Velichko	Kazakhstan	2:21:43.2
37	Viktor Thorn	Sweden	2:21:53.8
38	Ales Razym	Czech Republic	2:22:06.8
39	Bernhard Tritscher	Austria	2:22:47.7
40	Ristomatti Hakola	Finland	2:22:50.1
41	Michail Semenov	Belarus	2:22:51.2
42	Ueli Schnider	Switzerland	2:23:17.3
43	Lucas Boegl	Germany	2:23:42.8
44	Kim Magnus	South Korea	2:24:14.0
45	Tyler Kornfield	United States	2:24:36.5
46	Russell Kennedy	Canada	2:25:16.6
47	Oleksii Krasovskyi	Ukraine	2:25:36.4
48	Peter Mlynar	Slovakia	2:26:14.7
49	Vitaliy Pukhkalo	Kazakhstan	2:27:10.6
50	Andrej Segec	Slovakia	2:27:44.3
51	Callum Smith	Great Britain	2:27:56.3
52	Petr Knop	Czech Republic	2:29:20.9
53	Phillip Bellingham	Australia	2:30:39.7
54	Indulis Bikse	Latvia	2:31:07.5
55	Callum Watson	Australia	2:33:28.6
56	Wang Qiang	China	2:34:43.0
57	Martin Moeller	Denmark	2:36:10.8
58	Mantas Strolia	Lithuania	LAP
59	Mark Chanloung	Lithuania	LAP
60	Kim Eun-ho	South Korea	LAP
-	Jonas Dobler	Germany	DNF
-	Miroslav Rypl	Czech Republic	DNF
-	Veselin Tsinzov	Bulgaria	DNF
-	Miroslav Sulek	Slovakia	DNF
-	Calle Halfvarsson	Sweden	DNF
-	Snorri Eythor Einarsson	Iceland	DNF
-	Alexey Poltoranin	Kazakhstan	DQ
-	Max Hauke	Austria	DQ
-	Andreas Veerpalu	Estonia	DQ
-	Denis Volotka	Kazakhstan	DNS
-	Thomas Maloney Westgaard	Ireland	DNS