Toblach honours dominant Diggins after 20K triumph

It just had to be Jessie Diggins’ day in Toblach. The American, who will retire at the end of the season, won her first FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup race in 2016 at this venue and it proved to be a good omen. On Thursday, she won her eighth race here, making it her most successful stop on the calendar, dominating from start to finish to win the 20km Pursuit Classic. No wonder they have chosen to name a section of the stadium after her in this corner of Italy.

“We just cut the ribbon on the new Jessie Diggins bridge so I’m beyond honoured, that is a really cool surprise,” explained Diggins after claiming the 28^th individual victory of her World Cup career. “I didn’t know that was going to happen.”

In what will be her final season before retirement, Diggins is on course for a fourth Crystal Globe as winner of the Overall World Cup title, as well as a third Tour de Ski crown.

And with 36 days to go until the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, she will no doubt have one eye on individual Olympic gold, the one major honour that eludes her.

With Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR) – winner of Monday’s 10K Classic – withdrawing from the Tour de Ski with illness before Thursday’s race, Diggins had a minute’s lead in the Overall standings over Moa Ilar (SWE). And there was every indication the American would follow the lead of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) in the men’s race by going out hard and breaking the field’s will before they could gain any ground.

As she proved in winning Wednesday 5km Freestyle, Diggins only races one way: all out. She took a staggering 19 seconds out of Ilar during lap one. The Swede was soon caught by Teresa Stadlober (AUT) but while the two worked together to share the slipstreaming, neither had an answer to Diggins’ attacking approach. By the end of lap three, she held a lead of one minute, 38.6 seconds on the chasing pair, with the next best more than two minutes back as the sun began to bathe the Toblach track.

Like Klaebo in the morning, Diggins could afford to conserve energy over the final two laps. But whereas Klaebo glides round corners, Diggins crashes through them, ponytail swishing in the South Tyrol sunshine. And while Klaebo rarely collapses over the line, Diggins nearly always does, such is the effort she exerts.

Ilar and Stadlober barely made a dent in Diggins’ lead, the Swede eventually edging out the Austrian to finish 1:35.2 behind the 34-year-old from Minnesota.

“It’s really bittersweet. I’m sad that it’s my last race here but I know I’m going to come back some day with my family to ski the Cortina trail as a tourist. I’m really grateful to everyone, this was a really special sunny day to celebrate on. It feels really good.”

Ilar admitted she was “very happy but really tired” after securing her second podium in as many days. “This was a hard race for me so I’m very proud of myself for keeping it going all the way to the finish line.

“I hope I will do well in the Sprint in Val di Fiemme in two days’ time. Right now, it feels nice that it’s a short race so I’m looking forward to it!”

Stadlober also said it was a “tough race”. "My starting position was really good, so my goal was to catch Maja [Dahlqvist, SWE] and Moa [Ilar] and just keep in the podium places. With Moa, I formed a really good team. She was pushing more on the flat, I was pushing more in the uphills. In the end, she had a better finish but I’m really happy with a podium today and I’m in a good position in the Tour de Ski overall.”

Stadlober lies joint second with Ilar, 1 minute, 36 seconds behind Diggins as the Tour moves on to Val di Fiemme, also in Italy, starting with the Men’s and Women’s Sprint Classic on Saturday 3 January.

While not her strongest event, Diggins has shown great improvements in sprinting and in classic technique in recent seasons. Make it through morning qualifying – and avoid injury – and it seems certain the Tour title is hers.

For all the results from Toblach, click here