The 50 km mass start format has been under attack for quite some time.

«Too boring» said some.

«Too tactical» said others.

The organizers of the Nordic World Ski Championships Falun 2015 started even talking about the possibility of going back to the individual 50 km interval start.

Probably, starting from today, they will think twice about this decision, since a Swede has shown the World that even a 50 km mass start can record an exciting race, signing a heroic performance that will be remembered for many years here in Val di Fiemme and in the memory of all cross-country fans.

Johan Olsson has done something incredible considering the mass-start races seen during the last years. «It’s a dream come true! To go solo for more than 35 km and win such a race!» These were the first words of the winner right after crossing the finish line. Undoubtedly, it’s true, and it is amazing even to witness such a feat that left breathless the entire country of Sweden, where the interest for cross-country is even bigger today because of the legendary Vasaloppet, hosted right on this day.

Few seconds behind the hero of the day, Dario Cologna (SUI) conquered a well-deserved silver medal, that could even be more precious if only the Swiss champion hadn’t fallen while on the lead with Olsson. The bronze medal went instead to a very wise and smart Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ), who skied always in the middle of the field and managed his energies at best to win the final sprint for the podium.

The solo masterpiece of Johan Olsson started around the km 12, with an action delivered in collaboration with Dario Cologna, who decided to take the lead in a 50 km unusually exciting already on the first lap, thanks to the attacks of Curdin Perl (SUI), Noah Hoffman (USA) and Anders Soedergren (SWE).

The duo Cologna-Olsson started increasing the gap on the others, reaching a maximum advantage of more than 50’’ on a chasing group led by the Russians. Cologna and Olsson kept collaborating for many kilometers, but then right on the moment when the competition started closing the gap on them, the Swiss champion fell and Olsson was left alone on the lead.

For some minutes, he looked unsure on what to do.

Keep going or wait for the others?

Ski alone in front and spend too many energies or wait for the others and play it smart?

Few minutes later, his decision was clear: keep pushing. Johan Olsson went all-in and decided to try a historic action. In the end, he was right.

Keeping a steady pace of 22’15’’ on each lap, the Swede kept the leadership and a solid advantage on the chasing group, who never got nearer than 20’’. Maybe also because of a lack of collaboration between the components of the group, Legkov, Cologna, Northug and co. were never able to get in touch with Olsson, who enjoyed also perfect skis from the first to the last meter thanks to the amazing work of his service-men.

On the last lap, Eldar Roenning (NOR) tried to attack Olsson, but even the Norwegian seemed unable to get in touch with Olsson that looked really focused and only aiming for gold. Seeing that his advantage wasn’t going down, Olsson gained even more confidence and increased once again the pace, giving everything on the last climbs of the course.

Behind him, Cologna attacked again, getting away from the group with a sudden action and trying to get near the Swede on the last climb of the day. Nevertheless, it was too late: once reached the top of the Zorzi climb in first position, it was clear that the gold medal was already in the hands of Olsson, who stopped at the start of the final straight to thank all the supporters that helped him in achieving this performance.

While he crossed the finish line and started celebrating his incredible feat, Dario Cologna started the sprint for the silver medal, gaining a comfortable second position, while Alexey Poltoranin conquered the bronze after skiing the entire race in «modern-fashion» and keeping an easy pace in the middle of the pack. The sprint of Poltoranin placed Alexander Legkov and Roenning off the podium, leaving Norway without a medal in the final race of these Nordic World Ski Championships.

The Swedish success, highlighted even more the passing of the relay from Fiemme 2013 to Falun 2015, upcoming OC of the next Nordic World Ski Championships.

The words of the winner were the best to comment his amazing race: «It’s a dream come true! To go solo for more than 35 km and win such a race! I had really good skis from the first to the last meter and I had no problems skiing alone. My coaches told me that the others were losing and this helped me a lot. On the last lap I wasn’t afraid of losing and I realized that I didn’t want neither the bronze nor a 20th position and I just started skiing for the gold. In the end, I did it and I’m really satisfied with my performance».

And we must say that we are too, dear Johan. Thank you for this amazing feat and congratulations on this historic gold.

See you all in Falun 2015.