"Did you know" Tour de Ski stage 6

World Cup – Tour de Ski Stage 6 – Val di Fiemme – 7 January

LADIES - 10 km C mass start

Weng leading in tightest ever Tour de Ski

• The sixth stage of the Tour de Ski is a 10km classic race mass start in Val di Fiemme.

• Heidi Weng is leading overall, 11.1 seconds ahead of Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and 16.3 seconds ahead of Stina Nilsson in third. Krista Pärmäkoski in fourth 36.8 seconds behind the leader.

• Never before has the gap between the top three in the women’s competition been smaller ahead of the last two stages in Val di Fiemme, with only 16 seconds separating the top three. In 2008 and 2010 it was 23 seconds separating the best three ahead of the last two stages.

• Heidi Weng is leading the Tour de Ski for the first time in her career. She has arguably her best two stages left in this Tour. Weng won this stage in last year’s Tour de Ski, ahead of Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Therese Johaug.

• This stage-win is still Weng’s only win in the Tour de Ski. Weng has a total of 20 podium finishes in the Tour (1-10-9). Only three athletes have more stage podiums than Weng: Justyna Kowalczyk (28), Marit Bjørgen (25) and Therese Johaug (25).

• Norwegian women failed to finish on the podium in the fifth stage. This was the first time in 33 Tour de Ski-stages. The last stage without Norwegian women on the podium was was 29 December 2012, when Kikkan Randall won the 3km free prologue stage, ahead of Charlotte Kalla and Justyna Kowalczyk.

• A total of 20 Tour-stages have been held in Val di Fiemme. Therese Johaug has the most wins with nine, ahead of Virpi Kuitunen has four wins and Justyna Kowalczyk has three.

• Johaug also has the most stage podiums here with 11, ahead of Bjørgen’s six and Weng’s five.

• Krista Pärmäkoski is currently fourth in the overall standings. Pärmäkoski had the best time on the 10km classic pursuit in both the Ski Tour Canada in March 2016 and the 3-Days Tour in Lillehammer in December 2016, her only two World Cup victories.

• In regular 10km classic style races (individual and mass start) Norwegian athletes have won the last nine World Cup races, since Justyna Kowalczyk won in Szklarska Poreba in January 2014.

• Pärmäkoski is the only non-Norwegian to finish on the podium in any of the last four 10km classic World Cup races.

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MEN - 15 km C mass start

Ustiugov with biggest gap ever ahead of Val di Fiemme-weekend

• The sixth stage of the Tour de Ski is a 15km classic race mass start in Val di Fiemme.

• Sergey Ustiugov is leading the Tour, 1:34.1 seconds ahead of Martin Johnsrud Sundby after five stages. Dario Cologna is third, 2:07.5 behind the leader.

• Ustiugov’s gap is the biggest lead in Tour ever prior to the final two stages in Val di Fiemme. Last year, Martin Johnsrud Sundby was leading with 1:28 ahead of Petter Northug- the biggest lead ahead of the final two stages until now.

• In the 2016 edition Martin Johnsrud Sundby was 1:31 ahead of Sergey Ustiugov ahead of the final two stages. In the finish at Alpe Cermis Sundby was 3:43 ahead of Ustiugov, beating the Russian with 1:25 (including bonus seconds) on the second last stage and 47 seconds on the last stage.

• Ustiugov has won the first five stages of the Tour, becoming the first man to win five consecutive stages in a Tour de Ski, surpassing Martin Johnsrud Sundby’s four victories in the 2016-edition.

• Ustiugov has equalled Marit Bjørgen, who also won the first five stages in the 2015-edition, and could become the first ever athlete with six stage wins in a Tour if he wins one of the last two stages.

• A total of 20 Tour de Ski stages have been held in Val di Fiemme. Lukas Bauer has most wins here (3) Eldar Rønning, Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Petter Northug all have two wins.

• Eight athletes have a record three stage podium finishes here, including Dario Cologna, Marcus Hellner and Martin Johnsrud Sundby of this year’s Tour-athletes.

• The 15km classic mass start was also held in Val di Fiemme last season as the penultimate stage of the Tour. Martin Johnsrud Sundby won the stage, ahead of Niklas Dyrhaug and Alexey Poltoranin.

• The 15km classic has been held 13 times in the Tour de Ski (excluding pursuit stages). Alexey Poltoranin has the most wins with three, Cologna and Northug have two each.

• Cologna has claimed most podium finishes with five, together with Poltoranin.