JOHANNES HØSFLOT KLÆBO - WHO ELSE? THE TOUR DE SKI DOMINATED BY NORWEGIANS

At the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo makes it five. The Norwegian champion is the winner of the 20^th edition, adding a fifth Tour de Ski trophy to his cabinet and setting a new record. Outstanding performances also came from Federico Pellegrino, who finished seventh on the day and narrowly missed the overall podium, ending fourth for the third time in the past four years.

As tradition dictates, the decisive day of the Tour de Ski was once again marked by the iconic Final Climb of the Alpe Cermis. The 10 km mass start in freestyle technique, beginning in Lago di Tesero, crowned the Norwegian Mattis Stenshagen, who opted for a bold, no-frills approach, setting the pace on the steepest sections while keeping the French Jules Lapierre under control. With today’s victory, added to his individual win in Toblach, Stenshagen secures second place overall behind Klæbo, who finished 12^th on the Cermis stage, calmly managing his advantage. Harald Østberg Amundsen completes an all-Norwegian overall podium in third place, just ahead of Italy’s Pellegrino. It was, in short, a predictably all-Norwegian podium. Stenshagen imposed a relentless tempo as soon as the climb on the Olimpia III slope began, at one point even seeming capable of putting Klæbo under pressure, coming within 35 seconds of the top of the provisional overall ranking. On the steepest ramps, with gradients reaching up to 28%, Stenshagen and Lapierre, who would go on to finish second, broke clear of the field, with Emil Iversen and Savelii Korostelev in pursuit, the latter securing a top-10 finish in the overall standings. Fifth place on the day went to another Norwegian, Harald Østberg Amundsen, who confirmed his place on the overall Tour podium.

This season’s edition of the Tour de Ski saw a total of 122 athletes take the start at the opening round in Toblach, a number that dropped to 69 by the decisive Final Climb, due to fatigue and illness.

In a world of Norwegian dominance at the top of the overall standings, Italy’s sole beacon is Federico Pellegrino. With a strong seventh-place finish in the Final Climb, consistently skiing among the leaders, he battled until the final metres for a place on the overall podium, but once again had to settle for fourth. “I’m definitely very proud of how today went,” Pellegrino said. “Thinking that I was there fighting until the last 200 metres makes me proud. There’s no point dwelling on all the places where I might have lost a handful of seconds. I prefer to look at the glass half full.”

At 15:30, the 20^th Tour de Ski drew to a close with the women’s race. As always, the Final Climb up Alpe Cermis delivered spectacular scenes, with images broadcast around the world thanks to a major television production featuring no fewer than 34 cameras, including a helicopter and two drones.

FINAL RESULT TOUR DE SKI:

1 KLAEBO Johannes Hoesflot (NOR) 1.56.12“; 2 STENSHAGEN Matthis (NOR) +30.1; 3 AMUNDSEN Harald Oestberg (NOR) +1.08.4;

RESULT 10 Km FT – Final Climb

1 STENSHAGEN Mattis NOR 33:25.5; 2 LAPIERRE Jules FRA +6.6; 3 IVERSEN Emil NOR +20.4; 4 KOROSTELEV Savelii AIN +25.4; 5 AMUNDSEN Harald Oestberg NOR +30.1; 6 DAVIES Joe GBR +39.0; 7 PELLEGRINO Federico ITA +46.5; 8 MUSGRAVE Andrew GBR +49.6; 9 LAPALUS Hugo FRA +52.7; 10 PARISSE Clement FRA +56.4

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