March 03, 2013 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Sweden’s Johan Olsson delivered an astounding historic win on Sunday in the men’s 50km CL, the final race of the Nordic World Championships in Val di Fiemme.

Olsson soloed across the line after doing the unthinkable – he skied alone for a good 35km staying ahead of the chasing pack to claim the final title of these championships. Dario Cologna (SUI) came in 12.9s later for the silver while Alexey Poltoranin landed on the final step of the podium.

Johan Olsson (SWE) knows he's done it and celebrates... © Nordic Focus

The top North Americans were Noah Hoffman (USA) in 27th followed by Canada’s Alex Harvey in 28th. The USA’s Kris Freeman finished 37th and teammate Tad Elliott was 40th. Canada’s Graham Nishikawa placed 48th while Ivan Babikov did not finish. Canadian stud Devon Kershaw was not on the start line today suffering from fatigue.

Olsson leading Cologna on their early break...

Olsson and Cologna escaped at the 12km mark while the pack seems uncertain how to react. As the speed picked up Cologna crashed suddenly on a twisty downhill and was soon absorbed leaving Olsson on his own.

The veteran Swede was already committed to the task at hand and kept the pressure on as the Russians came to the front of the chasers to push the pace. Defending champ Petter Northug (NOR) floated surprisingly around 15-20th for most of the race and was not a factor in the outcome which shocked most on-lookers.

Final podium (l-r) Cologna 2nd, Olsson 1st, Poltoranin 3rd, © Nordic Focus

Olsson’s teammates in pack behind, Daniel Richardsson and Anders Soedergren, did their part to slow the pack and thereby give Olsson more time to maintain or advance his lead, as the big guns chasing lacked collective will to reel in the Swedish escapee.

A final bid by Cologna netted him the silver as Olsson was unstoppable taking home one of the biggest wins of his career, and leaving fans with a memorable victory as the championships came to close – full report and more photos to follow.

This is old news – but if you somehow missed the 50km today – you missed the best men’s xc ski race ever. Johan Olsson? He’s the man. – Devon Kershaw

There’s a new definition of bad ass in the dictionary and it’s Johan Olsson – AndyNewellskier

Full results HERE.
Full results detail HERE.