Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo is on the cusp of becoming the winningest Winter Olympian of all time, as the men’s cross-country skiing 4x7.5km relay is set to begin Sunday, Feb. 15, at the Milan Cortina Games.

Klaebo has captured gold at all three men's cross country events so far — skiathlon, sprint classic, and the 10km free — and tied the record for the most Winter Olympic gold medals. With a Team Norway gold, he would break the current record of eight Winter Olympics gold medals. Klaebo is currently even with three fellow Norwegians — Marit Bjorgen (cross-country skiing), Ole Einar Bjorndalen (biathlon) and Bjorn Daehlie (cross-country skiing).

And the odds look good for Norway, which lost to the ROC in a shocking upset four years ago at the Beijing Olympics. That ROC team is not in Italy, and Norway’s lineup is stacked with Emil Iversen (classic), Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (classic), Einar Hedegart (free), and "King Klaebo" as freestyle anchor.

Leading the race for Team USA is Ben Ogden (classic), the silver medalist from the men’s classic sprint. He’ll be followed by Gus Schumacher (classic), John Steel Hagenbuch (free), and anchor Zak Ketterson (free). As Ogden recently pointed out, the team has momentum, camaraderie, and a collective goal.

Italy will aim to use home-field advantage with Davide Graz (classic), Elia Barp (classic), Martino Carollo (free), and Federico Pellegrino (free). Competing at home has worked for Italy in the past; the last time the nation won an Olympic team medal in cross-country skiing was a bronze at Torino 2006.

The race for silver and bronze could also involve Team France, the bronze medalist in the relay at Beijing 2022. There are 10 countries racing, with Czechia, Germany, Finland, Canada, Sweden, and Switzerland joining the aforementioned countries.

For Milan Cortina 2026, the distance of the men's race was shortened for gender parity and is expected to last between 70 and 80 minutes. The 18.6 miles of the race will be split, with each team member skiing two laps (7.5km) before tagging the next teammate. The first two skiers will use classic technique, while the final two will use freestyle.