Ingvild flies high at 4th Tour de Ski stage in Toblach
Jan 01, 2020·Cross-Country
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg stunned not only the spectators but mostly herself in what fantastic shape she entered the first distance competition in Classic of this years Coop FIS Cross-Country Tour de Ski performance by Le Gruyère AOP.
Also current Tour de Ski leader Therese Johaug knew her duty and proudly led the walk-in of the athletes to the start in the Nordic Arena of Toblach (ITA).
The two Norwegian front-runners for the the top spots of todays 10km Classic pursuit were clearly Johaug and Flugstad Østberg as they started off with a gap of 11 seconds ahead of Heidi Weng (NOR) and Ebba Andersson (SWE). Prior the race, Ingvild stated that it's going to be a tough race for her as she respects the fantastic shape of Therese Johaug but still hopes to be able to keep up with her for a while. Just on the finish stretch, Ingvild powered ahead, gaining 0.4 sec before Therese crossed the finish line. The two Norwegians were flying over the course of Toblach, extending their gap to the successors to 27 seconds.
The fight for the remaining spot on the podium was dramatically won by Heidi Weng who earned 0.1 sec before Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) in a photo finish. Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (NOR) and Ebba Andersson followed closely, 0.4 behind and take rank 5 and 6.
