Most Decorated Winter Olympian Absent From Season Opener
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo will not compete at the 2026 Blink Festival in Sandnes, Norway. The Norwegian Ski Federation confirmed on August 4 that the 29-year-old had "been unwell for the past few days" and would withdraw from all rollerski events to protect his preparation for the coming winter season. The festival opened on Wednesday, August 5, with the Lysebotn Opp hill climb.
Klæbo is the most decorated Winter Olympian in history. At the Milano-Cortina 2026 Games in February, he won six gold medals — one for every event he entered — bringing his career Olympic gold tally to eleven. That total surpasses every previous Winter Games athlete and places him second only to swimmer Michael Phelps in the all-time Olympic gold ranking across Summer and Winter editions combined. His absence from Blink, Norway's biggest off-season Nordic showcase, is the most prominent name withdrawal from the festival's start lists.
A Festival That Still Delivers Stars
Despite Klæbo's withdrawal, the Blink Festival fields a competitive programme across four days. Wednesday's Lysebotn Opp is a gruelling uphill race: 7.5 kilometres of asphalt road with an average gradient of around ten per cent. The women's skate race starts at 11:45 local time, a double-push category follows at 13:30, and the men's skate race gets underway at 15:00 — all under a forecast of rain in the Lysefjord area.
Thursday brings the long-distance Blink Classics, while Friday and Saturday in Sandnes are dedicated to elite cross-country mass-start races and biathlon. Friday's biathlon Supersprint qualifiers and finals, combined with Saturday's mass-start shooting competition, form the centrepiece of the weekend for the shooting-range crowd.
Other Notable Absences on the Rollerski Circuit
Klæbo is not alone in missing the week. French rollerski specialists Victor Lovera and Lucas Chanavat both fell ill and confirmed their withdrawal from all Blink events, depriving the men's competition of two more high-profile names. Their absence compounds a thin start list in the men's classical and skate disciplines and opens the door for less-fancied nations to challenge on the Lysebotn ascent.
Three French biathletes, however, remain in Sandnes and confirmed their participation in Wednesday's Lysebotn Opp women's race: Julia Simon, Jeanne Richard, and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet are on the start list alongside the Scandinavian specialists. Simon, a former biathlon world champion, is the highest-profile biathlon name competing this week and will also line up for the Supersprint and mass-start events on Friday and Saturday.
What to Watch the Rest of the Week
With the sprint disciplines in Sandnes on Saturday still to come, the overall Blink standings will take shape across multiple event formats. The biathlon Supersprint on Friday — a tight, fast-paced format with penalty loops replacing missed targets — typically produces dramatic racing and is the event most likely to put a biathlete at the top of the Blink scoreboard.
For Klæbo, the Norwegian Ski Federation's statement pointed clearly toward a conservative, health-first approach. The man who went six-for-six in individual events at the 2026 Winter Games will have his first opportunity to compete again at the traditional World Cup opener in Ruka, Finland, scheduled for late November.