The Tour de Ski caravan has reached Val di Fiemme! Starting tomorrow, it will be a scuffle among the world's best cross-country skiers competing for the prestigious tournament, the highlight of the Cross-Country World Cup. The athletes will also have the pleasure of testing the tracks of the Lago di Tesero Cross-Country Stadium, renovated and ready for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Milano Cortina.
The leaders of the general ranking of the Tour de Ski after the 4 stages of Toblach are the Norwegian Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Astrid Øyre Slind. The former has won the first and second stages in Pustertal, Sprint and Mass Start, while the latter excelled in the demanding 20 km Individual and the following Pursuit. The Tour holder Harald Østberg Amundsen unfortunately forfeited, putting an early end to the event due to flu. Also leaving the Tour de Ski earlier than expected was compatriot Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget (NOR), who was underwhelming throughout the competition. After these defections, the leader of the ‘Climb’ classification reserved for climbers is Britain's Andrew Musgrave, who is on par with Hugo Lapalus. In the women's ranking, Johaug is the best climber of the Tour de Ski, a race that will see its epilogue during the iconic Final Climb of the Alpe Cermis in Val di Fiemme. In the ‘Sprint’ ranking, however, Klæbo leads in the men's and Jasmi Joenssu (FIN) in the women's. The Norwegian is also the leader and favourite of the Sprint World Cup, while the Finn (308 points) could become one tomorrow, as she will need 11 points between qualification and the final stage to leave Val di Fiemme with the red bib in her dowry.
The race starts tomorrow on the redesigned tracks at the Cross-Country Stadium of Lago di Tesero with the Sprint in classic technique, from 12.15 pm the qualifications and from 2.45 pm the finals. On Saturday, there will be the Skiathlon (10 km TC + 10 km TL), both races are test-event in view of the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Milano Cortina. Concluding the Tour on Sunday will be the ‘traditional’ Final Climb with the 10 km TL along the ramps of the Olimpia III track of the Cermis, at the end of which we will know who will triumph in the 19th edition of the Tour de Ski.
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