It was a fantastic day for Norway at the Men’s Winter Duathlon World Championships held in Cogne, Italy, as Jorgen Baklid delivered a masterclass on the snow, excelling in both running and skiing to claim the world title for the first time in his young career. His teammate Hans Christian Tungesvik crossed the finish line in third place, with another Norwegian rounding out the top 5 and three more finishing in the top 15. Only Oleg Chestikov (AIN) managed to cross the finish line between the Norwegians, claiming the silver medal.

The picturesque town of Cogne, located in the Aosta Valley, hosted the first day of competition for the World Triathlon Winter Championships, where Junior, U23, and Elite athletes vied for the Winter Duathlon world titles under perfect conditions at the cross-country ski resort.

Local hero and last year’s World Champion, Franco Pesavento, pushed the race hard from the very beginning, achieving the fastest run split of the day with a time of 7:02 for a challenging 2 km run in slippery snow. However, it was not enough to keep some of the top skiers at bay.

During the first leg on skis, Viorel Palici from Romania moved into first place, followed by a strong group of Norwegians, all of whom have impressive backgrounds as cross-country ski athletes. However, it was the second transition where significant differences began to emerge. Chestikov and Ivan Zalavtsev (AIN) opted to leave their boots on their skis, allowing them to complete the third transition almost 15 seconds faster than the Norwegian and Italian athletes.

By the time they all reached the final run segment, Baklid had a small 10-second lead that proved sufficient to maintain his position, ultimately crossing the finish line first. Chestikov held onto second place, while Hans Christian Tungesvik made a strong final push to clinch the bronze medal, passing Palici and his teammate Jon Sæverås Breivold on the last lap.

In the U23 category, only two local athletes competed: Guglielmo Giuliano (ITA) finished with a time of 41:58 seconds, while his teammate Sebastian Davare secured the silver medal.

The Junior men’s category was more competitive, with Neutral athlete Savelii Anisimov claiming the world title after delivering superb ski segments. The silver medal went to Jacopo Fanton, while Enrico Bucci, the youngest athlete in competition today in Cogne, took home the bronze medal.