Andreas Nygaard secured the tenth straight Norwegian victory in the Vasaloppet

It was dramatic until the very end before Andreas Nygaard crossed the finish line in Mora as the first striker.

After a sprint duel with the Swedish jumper Emil Persson, it was a new Norwegian victory.

Among the majority of Norwegian skiers, there were five Swedes in the crowd who challenged for the victory before the last mile.

And in the last curve of the riot, Emil Persson and Andreas Nygaard lay side by side.

But the Norwegian was a bit sharper and was able to stretch his arms in a gesture of victory when he finished after just over 3 hours and 28 minutes, four minutes slower than the record time from last year.

- It has been a very hard job, says an emotional Nygaard before he is embraced by teammate Oskar Kardin.

- I have slept more with Oskar last year than I have done with my partner, he is a fantastic nice guy.

There will be more emotions than I thought there would be.

I think it is difficult to top this, he continues.

Spelling drama early

But it was not just sunshine and good gliding for Nygaard.

Earlier in the race, one of the poles went off for the Norwegian, but he was saved by teammate and compatriot Joar Thele who gave him one of his own and made sure that Nygaard did not lose unnecessary time.

This is the second time the 31-year-old has won the Vasaloppet, he was also the winner in 2018. Behind him were the Swedish duo Emil Persson and Axel Jutterström second and third.