"Did you know" Tour de Ski stage 5

**World Cup – Tour de Ski Stage 5 – Toblach – 6 January
**

MEN - 10 km F interval start

Ustiugov looking to break more records

• The fifth stage of the Tour de Ski is a 10km freestyle race with individual start in Toblach.

• Sergey Ustiugov is leading the Tour, 42.2 seconds ahead of Martin Johnsrud Sundby after four stages. Alex Harvey is third, 1:18.8 behind the leader.

• Ustiugov has won the first four stages of the Tour, becoming the first man to win four consecutive stages in a Tour de Ski.

• The only male athlete to win more than two Tour-stages in the same edition is Martin Johnsrud Sundby, who won four stages in 2016. Ustiugov will set a new record if he wins this stage.

• Ustiugov has never won a World Cup race with an individual time trial start. He finished third in the 15km freestyle race in Nove Mesto in January 2016 and also third in the 10km freestyle stage in the Lillehammer 3-Days Tour in December 2016.

• In 2016, Ustiugov raced six times in 10 or 15km freestyle races (mass start and individual start). He finished in the top-5 in five of the six races - he finished 12th in the 15km freestyle race in the Ski Tour Canada in March.

• This will be the 14th Tour de Ski held in Toblach. Petter Northug (3) has won most stages here, while. Alexey Poltoranin and Dario Cologna have two wins each. Six athletes have won once (Alexander Legkov, Daniel Richardsson, Devon Kershaw, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Finn Hågen Krogh and Nikolay Morilov).

• The 10km freestyle individual start was also held in the Tour last season, with Finn Hågen Krogh winning ahead of Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Maurice Manificat. Ustiugov finished fourth in that stage, losing 11 seconds to Sundby.

• Dario Cologna has finished on the podium in eight of the 13 Tour de Ski stages held in Toblach, but has not reached the podium in any of the last four stages here (Cologna did not participate in 2014). Only Petter Northug (10) has more stage podium finishes in Toblach. Martin Johnsrud Sundby is third with four stage podium finishes here.

__________________

LADIES - 5 km F interval start

Diggins chasing 5km hat-trick

• The fifth stage of the Tour de Ski is a 5km freestyle race with individual start in Toblach.

• Stina Nilsson is leading the overall Tour, 6.7 seconds ahead of Heidi Weng, and 11.8 seconds ahead of Ingvild Flugstad Østberg.

• Nilsson has won three stages in this Tour, joining Charlotte Kalla for most wins by a Swede in the Tour. Kalla won all her three stages in 07/08, when she also won overall.

• Only two athletes have won more than two stages in a Tour de Ski without winning overall: Marit Bjørgen (4) in 2012 and Petra Majdic (3) in 2010.

• Nilsson won her first two distance events in this Tour, after winning her first five World Cup races in sprint competitions.

• Nilsson has never finished in the top-6 in a World Cup distance race with individual start. Nilsson finished seventh in Ruka in November in 10km classic. In freestyle races Nilsson finished ninth in the 3-Days Tour in November 2015 in 5km free.

• This will be Tour de Ski stage number 14 in Toblach. Marit Bjørgen has five stage wins here, Justyna Kowalczyk four. Arianna Follis, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen and Petra Majdic have one win each, leaving only last season’s winner here, Jessica Diggins, as the only female athlete participating in this season’s Tour with a stage win in Toblach.

• Diggins won the 5km freestyle individual start last season in Toblach, finishing ahead of Heidi Weng and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg. Stina Nilsson finished in 40th position, 1:22.5 behind Diggins.

• Diggins also won the 5km freestyle race in the 3-Days Tour in Lillehammer in December 2016 and could win her third consecutive 5km freestyle competition. The only athlete to previously win three consecutive 5km freestyle events is Elena Välbe in 1990-1991, and in 1994-1997 (4 consecutive wins).

• Diggins, Therese Johaug and Marit Bjørgen all have two stage wins in World Cup Tours in 5km freestyle, the only winners in the six events held since 2003.

• United States has won 16 women's World Cup races. Thirteen of these were sprint races. The remaining three wins came in races of 5km and shorter, with Kikkan Randall winning 3km freestyle in Tour de Ski in December 2012 and Jessica Diggins in 5km freestyle in Tour de Ski in January 2016 and in Lillehammer in December 2016.

Information provided by gracenote

Follow us on Twitter: International Ski Federation @FISCrossCountry, Gracenote Sports @GracenoteGold