Slind tames tricky Toblach track to win 10km Classic
Dec 29, 2025·Cross-Country
The 10km Interval Start Classic was a strange race in Toblach on Monday but Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR) won’t mind one bit.
The Norwegian, a month or so shy of her 38th birthday, was head and shoulders above the rest of the field, taking advantage of the absence of Jonna Sundling (SWE) and last season’s Tour de Ski winner Therese Johaug (NOR) to claim the fourth victory of her FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup career – little over a year after her first.
As the mid-winter sun began to set and temperatures started to plummet on near Italy’s border with Austria, a challenging, undulating Toblach course became even more difficult as the tracked turned icy, causing headaches for competitors and ski technicians alike.
Very few seemed to get their tactics and waxing just right. Frida Karlsson (SWE), winner of the first 10km Classic of the season in Ruka, Finland was the 28th skier to start and flew out of the gate. The 26-year-old 50km world champion was 8.1 seconds faster than anybody else to the first bonus-point marker at 2.1km, but blew up badly. By the 3km mark, at the top of two gruelling climbs in the middle of the course, that lead had all but disappeared; by the halfway stage, she was 12.7s off the pace.
That was now being set by Slind, who began more steadily than Karlsson but managed to maintain her speed. The only other woman who seemed to have the balance between grip and glide on her skis just right was Teresa Stadlober (AUT), who is carrying Austria’s hopes in the Tour de Ski after Mika Vermeulen was forced to withdraw from the men’s Tour with a cold.
But Stadlober took to the track four places ahead of Slind, giving the Norwegian an advantage of knowing what she needed to do to stay in front. From 2.1km onwards, she was never less than four seconds faster than Stadlober, eventually crossing the line for her 17th career podium – all since 2023 – and first victory since January with a seven-second buffer.
“I’m really happy,” said Slind, who looks set to compete in her first Olympic Winter Games at Milano Cortina 2026 at the age of 38. “I think the course suits me well and conditions are perfect for double poling and for my stride.”
Stadlober, who will be 33 by the time the Olympics come around, is enjoying something of a resurgence. This is her third podium of 2025 after a five-year break since her second and third of five career podiums. Two have come in Val di Fiemme, Italy the next stop on the Tour di Ski, where the Olympic cross-country skiing events will take place.
“I’m really excited about my result and really satisfied with my performance,” she said. “I was really looking forward to a Classic race again because we had a lot of skating [Freestyle] races in recent weeks. I did good trainings at home and I think I have good shape now. So yeah, crazy, crazy.
“I think it’s too early to say something about the overall Tour de Ski standings, there are two shorter races coming up that let’s just say are not my favourite or I’m not that good at, so I will concentrate on the longer races like the 20K and the Final Climb. I hope I can qualify for the Sprint finals in Val di Fiemme because it’s Classic. For now, I am enjoying today and let’s see what the next days will bring.”
World Cup leader Jessie Diggins, seeking her fourth overall title and third Tour de Ski crown in her final season before retirement, was the only other competitor to get close to Slind but lacked speed on the downhills and finished 8.8s back. Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) finished fourth, more than half a minute off the pace, ahead of a host of other big names who struggled with the course and conditions.
Diggins, who leads the Overall World Cup standings and the Tour de Ski, said: “I love interval start distance races because it’s just you and the course and you’re just trying to leave it all out there. That’s what I did. I was just pushing myself super hard and it’s a good feeling when you’re lying in the snow at the finish line. I guess that’s what I’m chasing.”
The action continues in Toblach on Wednesday with a new event, the Men’s and Women’s 5km Heat Mass Start Freestyle.
For all the results from Toblach, click here
