The ‘strategist’ closes the gap after the Cologna era: this is how tour discovery Klee works

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Until a month and a half ago, Beda Klee had not achieved a single top 10 result at the individual World Cup – in her entire career, of course. And then the Toggenburg resident achieved one top performance after another in the Tour de Ski, so that he eventually wrote Swiss cross-country skiing history with a fifth place overall. The overwhelmed 27-year-old said afterwards that it was “surreal”.

With a top 10 place in the final classification, he achieved what four-time Tour winner Dario Cologna (37) and Curdin Perl (39) had achieved before him. The latter finished the 2011 stage race in fourth place.

“Simply impressive,” says Lars Brönnimann, head of cross-country skiing at Swiss-Ski, about the surprising success of the distance specialist: “We knew he was already in top form, but we couldn’t expect a result of this magnitude. ”

And yet, in a sense, it’s an exploit with an announcement. Brönnimann says: “Beda has great self-confidence. He knows what he is capable of.” Teammate Janik Riebli (25) confirms this and describes Klee as a “strategist with always good ideas.” And then he jokes: “He is the one who can do everything in three months – he often says that with a little work almost everything can be done in three months. However, he has not yet become world champion.” Riebli appreciates Klee’s relaxed nature: “We can pick each other up. It’s a great pleasure to have him in the team.”

Cologne: “He realized he had to change something”

SRF expert Cologna also describes Klee as a “pleasant guy who gets along well with everyone.” For him, the hard analysis that the Toggenburg resident made after missing the 2022 Olympic Games is crucial: “He himself realized that he had to change something.” Klee adjusted his training, relying on altitude training and new strength input. “He has taken a big step. He is now well on his way to the important years ahead.” The Nordic World Championships will take place in Trondheim in 2025, followed by the Winter Games in Northern Italy in 2026.

In that respect, the Tour de Ski is a relief for the Swiss distance team. After Cologna withdrew in the spring of 2022, only the sprinters delivered results in the following season. Now the spacers are also busy closing the gap after the Cologne era. In addition to Klee, Cyril Fähndrich’s third place in Val di Fiemme was also a big exclamation point. Brönnimann is extremely satisfied: “We are on the right track. There is a powerful group coming.”

Source : Blick