After the final shooting, Martin Ponsiluoma and Sebastian Samuelsson went out first, with Johannes Thingnes Bö barely seven seconds behind after a penalty round.
And early on, already on the killer hill Birxsteig, Sebastian Samuelsson made the golden move and stepped past Ponsiluoma, who was still trying to keep up.
The duo kept their distance from the otherwise wind-fast skier Thingnes Bö, who finally gave up the chase.
- It is such an incredible final round.
That they dare to go for it so early, it was impressive.
It takes quite a lot of brains to go full speed in Birxsteig because there is a lot left after the top, says Björn Ferry.
Cross-country skiing expert Mathias Fredriksson was surprised that Samuelsson made his move on that very slope.
- There was no small setback and it was successful.
But right there and then you thought why is he in such a hurry?
He is the best in the sprint.
He completely cracked Bö there who was sure he was going to race.
But after that he was as if completely paralyzed, says Fredriksson.
"There were keys to the gold"
Helena Ekholm highlights Samuelsson's flawless shooting.
- Four zeros make room for all this.
But his tactics, coolness and his strength on this sprint lap were keys to this gold.
Magdalena Forsberg continues with the tribute to Samuelsson:
- He has had a tough time in the mass start and we wanted to see him hold it together in the final shootout, which he has had the chance to do a few times before.
You could see that he had to struggle, but he managed it.
It was a tactically perfect race.