Tour de Ski is Johaug’s to lose after skiathlon masterclass in Val di Fiemme
Jan 04, 2025·Cross-Country
Therese Johaug (NOR) stands on the verge of reaffirming her legendary status in cross-country skiing by winning a record-equally fourth FIS Tour de Ski title after a dominant victory in the 20km Skiathlon in Val di Fiemme, Italy on Saturday.
Having gone into her comeback season with a focus on a home world championships in Trondheim in February/March, this was Johaug’s third World Cup win of the season – on top of four other podiums – but first for eight races.
“It was amazing,” she said, after crossing the line with a scream of delight and single punch of the air. “I have been waiting for that. I needed some races in my body but suddenly I can stand on top of the podium again.”
A beautiful sunny day greeted the skiers in the Italian Dolomites but conditions were anything but welcoming.
An undulating, winding course of 3.3 kilometres that will be used in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games hovered around freezing. This meant it was just as tough for the wax technicians as it was for the racers, with some parts of the track remaining firm and others in danger of breaking up.
Too much grip and time would be lost on the downhill sections; too little and the competitors risked running wide on one of the many sharp corners.
Throw in the extra jeopardy of having to change into freestyle skis after 10km of classic racing and the potential for excitement was high.
Johaug had other ideas, though. She started the race eight seconds behind compatriot Astrid Oeyre Slind in what already looked like a two-horse race for the Tour de Ski title.
The two Norwegians were joined in the lead group by Olympic 15km Skiathlon bronze medallist Teresa Stadlober and 15km Skiathlon world champion Ebba Andersson (third) and there was little to choose between the four after 10km of classic racing.
By the end of the first freestyle lap, though, Johaug had opened up a gap of 4.4s on the other three.
“On the classic I tried to focus on my technique and not push so much until my last lap,” she later explained. “Then I changed the skis and felt really good in the skating [freestyle] in the beginning.”
So good, in fact, that her lead had stretched to 25.1 seconds at the end of lap five after making her move on the first big climb. Slind, happy to share the chasing work with Andersson and Stadlober up to that point, was caught sleeping.
The race was all but won by the final lap, with Johaug able to ease off slightly before crossing the line in 54 minutes, 53.3 seconds, 30.6 seconds ahead of Stadlober (second) and Slind (third) who edged Andersson off the podium in a photo finish.
“Oh my god, it was tough at the end,” Johaug said. “I was fighting so hard so get a gap to the others and I had to push myself all the way to the finish line."
By then, there is every chance Johaug will be Tour de Ski champion and, with 300 points on offer for the winner, overall World Cup leader.
During her last Tour triumph in 2020, Johaug won the Final Climb (10km Freestyle) at Val di Fiemme by an enormous 50.3s from Heidi Weng (NOR), also winning the same race at this venue to clinch her other two Tour victories.
The signs are ominous for Slind who is 22 seconds behind going into the Sunday’s race, with reigning champion Jessie Diggins (USA) 1:47 back in third and seemingly out of contention along with everybody else.
“It was a fun race,” Slind said. “It was pretty tough but I felt pretty good, pretty strong. It was a little bit icy and tough on the downhills with a lot of turns there so it’s the kind of course when you want to go fast in the uphills and gather yourself in the uphills. Tactically, it’s hard, but fun.”
“Therese was really strong today so I focused on getting on the podium and I managed to do that so I’m satisfied.”
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