Laukli (USA) aims for new heights as Climber bib makes Tour de Ski debut
Dec 26, 2024·Cross-Country
When Sophia Laukli won the final stage of last year’s Tour de Ski, she became the youngest USA skier to finish first in a FIS Coop Cross-Country World Cup race.
"It meant so much for me," the 24-year-old said.
"Seeing that I've been able to come this far, in just a few years of committing to skiing, makes me excited because I feel there's so much more I can do.
As a new edition of the tour kicks off in Toblach, Italy, on Saturday 28 December, Laukli hopes to improve on her overall results from last year.
"Winning at Alps Cermis was obviously a huge confidence boost but I think I had some other races – not only a hill climb – that I still was able to do pretty well in," Laukli said.
"Those races really showed that I have made a lot of progress, but there's so much more I can do."
The all-Italian 2024/2025 Tour, in which four days of action in Toblach are followed by three days in Val di Fiemme, features a new element that could suit Laukli well; a Climber competition where the first skiers up certain hills in the distance races get bonus points.
The leader of the Climber standings will wear a purple bib and – just like the Sprint leader – have the advantage of starting in the front row. The skier crowned Best Climber of the Tour will win a prize of CHF 6,000, which is the same amount the Sprint champion gets.
Laukli has trained to be stronger in other races than the gruesome final climb, but welcomes the new addition to the competition.
"In previous years there's been very few focuses because I’m very specialized. It’s always been the Tour de Ski final climb and maybe a handful of other races," Laukli said.
"For other skiers there's always the sprint bonuses and little things like that, that I've never put any attention on because I know it's not where I excel, so having this new climbing bib is super cool.
"I don't know if it'll be my focus for the tour but it is actually cool to have a focus beyond just the end result, so I will definitely be thinking about it in all the races. There are many good climbers but I'm hoping I'm one of them so it's definitely cool to work towards that this year.
Johaug among four main rivals
As main competitors for the new purple bib, Laukli mentions Norway’s returning superstar Therese Johaug and her teammate Heidi Weng, who won the final climb in 2022 and has finished second in the event in the past two years, as well as Ebba Andersson (SWE) and Delphine Claudel (FRA).
"I think it's going to be a very, very deep field, which is good and it'll probably lead to it being very stressful in the last days," Laukli said.
"You obviously have Johaug, Heidi, Ebba and Delphine – a lot of strong climbers. When I'm on a good day I can try to keep up with them up the hills but they’re very, very good.
As Laukli triumphed in the last day of the Tour in January, finishing more than 17 seconds before runner-up Weng as Claudel clinched the third place 37.7 seconds later, there was more to celebrate for the USA team as Jessie Diggins won her second overall Tour de Ski title.
Usually the one to break Cross-Country records for USA, Diggins, who claimed a second overall World Cup title last season, is a contender for the trophy in the Italian tracks this winter as well. After three stages of the World Cup, the 33-year-old tops the overall women’s standings, 83 points before Victoria Carl (GER) in second place.
"Jessie might have to be a favorite because she’s always been so good at the Tour," Laukli said on the overall competition.
"Then you have Johaug and Heidi who have always been very good at distance. I’m trying to be like them so that the sprint days don't actually have to ruin the overall."
Johaug has won the overall Tour three times, Weng twice.
Norway move
Last year, Laukli moved to Norway in a bid to increase her chances in other races than at the exhausting Tour de Ski climbs.
"I'm obviously still specializing a bit in skate skiing and able to do better in more and more skate races now," she said.
"Then I'm trying to get a little bit better at classic too, so that it's not just super steep climbs and super tough races. I am just excited to see where I can take it, It's definitely been motivating."
A lot of her focus has been on technique and Laukli, who has a background as a world elite trail runner, has started to see the results.
"We work on technique in the US too but the approach was very different coming to Norway, doing a lot of skiing on the treadmill and having much more direct feedback," Laukli said.
"Skiing with other Norwegian skiers has also helped a lot, so that has probably been the biggest change in why I've improved."
New fish and bread diet
Despite having family from Norway, Laukli said there was an element of "culture shock" in the beginning, where the food was the biggest thing to get used to in her new home country.
"It was it was definitely a bit of a shock. Norway is probably one of the most different countries from the US that there are so there was a lot to get used to and I do miss some of that (food) from the US," she said.
"Now I feel like I've adapted. When I first moved here, I was just searching for all the things that I ate in the US. Then realized that 'it is exhausting, I will just have to learn how to do it here' and it's good but like any country, it's quite different.
The new diet is heavier on fish and bread.
"In general there's obviously much better fish here so I'm getting much more of that than I used to, and the bread – there are a lot of things that are better here."
Laukli has started the new season with results such as a 10th place in the Women’s 20km Mass Start Free in Ruka, Finland, and an 11th place in the Skiathlon in Lillehammer, Norway.
"It’s definitely been a good start," she said.
"I'm not feeling like I'm in peak form but that was the intention as I have some more important races later in the year and I definitely want to focus on the World Champs (the 2025 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway) and the Tour de Ski."
At the 2024/2025 Tour de Ski, she hopes to be among the top skiers from the beginning and a contender for the purple bib.
"This is the first year where I'm not only waiting for the last race. I think there's going to be some other good races for me," Laukli said.
"It's definitely a tour of distance races, which is good, so I think about the skiathlon and the 20k skate in Toblach."
Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) claimed the third place in the overall TdS standings last season. The 36-year-old, who finished second in the 20km Classic in Davos, Switzerland, two weeks ago, will also be a contender for the top spots in Italy.
Norway's men battle for victory
In the men’s Tour de Ski, Norway’s Harald Østberg Amundsen will look to defend his title as three-time Tour winner Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), who did not compete last year, is set to give his teammate a run for the money.
Norway are likely to be heavily present in the tight battle for the top spots, as Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, Simen Hegstad Krueger and Erik Valnes, who complete the men’s World Cup overall standings after leader Amundsen and runner-up Klaebo, also look in good shape.
Finland’s Iivo Niskanen and Italy’s Federico Pellegrino will hope to surprise.
"I feel good, the shape is good, I’ve managed to be back on the podium again," said 33-year-old Pellegrino, who claimed a third-place in the sprint in Lillehammer.
"I was not expecting to be at this level now so I know now that I can enjoy one more World Cup season and for sure the Italian Tour de Ski 2024/2025.
"The goal is to be good enough in the first part of the Tour de Ski in Toblach so that I can go to Val di Fiemme and use the time there as best as possible as a pre-event for the (Milano/Cortina 2026 Winter) Olympic Games next year.”
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Facts & Figures
Two-time Tour de Ski champions Jessie Diggins and Heidi Weng can equal Therese Johaug on three Tour titles. Johaug chases the record of four overall wins, held by Justyna Kowalczyk (POL).
One victory in the 2024/2025 Tour would make Johaug the all-time best in terms of stage wins. She and Kowalczyk are currently on par on 14 stage wins each.
Heidi Weng has won three World Cup events in her career; Val di Fiemme’s final climb in 2016, 2018 and 2022.
After missing the competition last season, three-time champion Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo makes a new attempt at equalling Dario Cologna’s (SUI) record of four overall Tour de Ski victories.
It is the first time one single nation hosts all races in an edition of Tour de Ski.
