Northug breaks pole, pulls Houdini act

WHISTLER (Reuters) - Norway's Petter Northug, like a modern-day Houdini, performed another disappearing act on Saturday after fading to 11th in the men's cross country 30km pursuit he had been heavily expected to win.

The world champion had been perfectly poised to challenge for the title in a sprint finish before breaking one of his poles after colliding with Swede Marcus Hellner on an uphill stretch with 1.5 kilometers to go.

Hellner went on to clinch the gold medal by 2.1 seconds after he burst clear of the leading pack while Northug, frustrated by his own misfortune, evaded reporters gathered around the finish line.

The 24-year-old Norwegian, always in demand by the media in his homeland where cross-country skiing is a revered sport, has mastered the art of keeping a low profile when required.

Earlier this week at Whistler Olympic Park, Northug changed his bib number at the end of a race and managed to brush past reporters expecting him to be wearing a different number.

Efforts by media to locate the race favorite proved fruitless after Saturday's 30km pursuit, and Norwegian's team spokesman Rolf Nereng said the skier was too upset to talk.

"He was not at all happy," Nereng told Reuters. "When his pole was broken, his competition (in the race) was over. He thought he was so close (to winning) when they clashed.

"Hellner was behind Petter and Petter was not happy with what happened. He thought he had good control of the race the whole way."

Hellner, who won his first Olympic medal after covering the twisting eight-loop course in one hour, 15 minutes 11.4 seconds, spoke about the collision after the race.

"I think I was on the left side of the track," the 24-year-old Swede told reporters. "He went before me a little bit too tight and I couldn't go anywhere. We, how do you say, mashed up a little bit.

"I saw his pole was out and it's bad for him. It's nobody's wish to get that but I saw he got a new pole. It didn't take so long and the pace wasn't so hard when he was out with the pole. I don't know how he feels but I think it was an accident."

Perhaps the biggest problem for Northug, a winner of three gold meals at last year's world championships in Liberec, Czech Republic, has been the huge level of expectation heaped upon him since he arrived in Whistler.

He had planned to compete in all six men's events on the cross-country program in his Winter Games debut and most of his fans would have banked on a haul of at least three Olympic golds.

So far, however, Northug has placed 41st in the men's 15km freestyle, won bronze in the individual sprint and finished 11th in the 30km pursuit.

"He has a lot of pressure, more than what we used to have," former Norwegian cross country skier Vegard Ulvang, a winner of three gold medals at the 1992 Albertville Games, told Reuters.

"He also is very free spoken. I think he was born quite shy and he is not a man of many words but the few words he says are really strong. Sometimes that creates him a little trouble."

(Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)