If you haven’t been following the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games, Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has been utterly dominant, winning the first two men’s Nordic skiing gold medals in the 20 km skiathlon and the sprint classic. And there’s plenty more for him still ahead. But for us cycling fans, there’s also possibility he may bike race sooner than later with UNO-X.
The viral moment
On Tuesday, Klæbo produced one of the most jaw-dropping moments of the Games, using a herringbone-style uphill running technique to break away from the field in the men’s sprint classic final. According to NBC Sports, the 29-year-old averaged around 17 km/h (roughly 5:40 per mile pace) up a seven per cent gradient to drop countryman Oskar Vike and American Ben Ogden on his way to his second gold medal of the Games, and his third consecutive Olympic title in the sprint discipline.
In terms of cycling, the comparisons came naturally. The explosive acceleration of Mathieu van der Poel. The relentless engine of Tadej Pogačar. The pure, top-end speed of Jonathan Milan. Klæbo’s uphill charge seemed to blend all three traits into one brutal, short effort.
The sheer power
Honestly, watch it for yourself. The clip is impressive, especially considering Klæbo did it on a pair of classic skis with calculated grip wax. Klæbo’s move, a blend of the traditional herringbone climbing technique and outright running, is usually used by skiers only when the hill is too steep to climb. Klæbo just happens to be the best in the world at it. In cycling terms, it was the equivalent of a rider launching a seated attack on a 15 per cent climb, then somehow increasing cadence halfway up.
📺 ⛰️🎿 Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (🥇) reached avg. speed of 17.3 Kph for 8 seconds in men’s XC skiing sprint final at Olympics.
Now have to move on to the next one and calculate VAM and est. W/kg.pic.twitter.com/844qCrGvJq
— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) February 11, 2026
“An absolute specimen… I couldn’t imagine the training sessions,” American sports commentator Pat McAfee posted on X.
McAfee isn’t wrong. Klæbo is a generational athlete, and by the end of these Games, he may have a legitimate case as the greatest Winter Olympian of all time. Nordic skiing is considered one of the most demanding endurance sports in the world, requiring an exponentially high VO₂ max. While Klæbo’s exact VO₂ max has never been publicly released,…
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