Tour de Ski pre-competition facts Val di Fiemme (ITA)
Jan 02, 2020·Cross-Country
The 14th Tour de Ski has arrived in Val di Fiemme for the grand finals. Val di Fiemme holds a special place in the heart of the Tour de Ski family as it is the only venue that has hosted at least one stage in all 14 editions of the tour. As the 100st stage of the Tour de Ski, Friday's 10km/15km C events will mark unique milestones in the prestigue history of the tour. Join us on a short time-travel back to the milestones and when the Tour de Ski first got started!
The first stage in the women's Tour de Ski was held on 31 December 2006, when Marit Bjørgen won a sprint freestyle event in Munich ahead of Arianna Follis and Chandra Crawford.
The 50th Tour de Ski stage was held exactly seven years ago, on 3 January 2013 in Toblach. Justyna Kowalczyk claimed the victory in the 15km pursuit freestyle, ahead of Charlotte Kalla and Therese Johaug and on the mens side Petter Northug won the 35km pursuit freestyle in Toblach, ahead of Alexander Legkov and Dario Cologna.
Both Justyna Kowalczyk and Therese Johaug finished on the podium in 28 of the previous 99 stages, more than any other female skier. Heidi Weng follows on 27.
Of the 99 previous stages, Northug won 13. He is the only skier to win at least 10 stages in the Tour de Ski. Sergey Ustiugov follows on nine wins.
Northug finished on the podium of 31 of the 99 Tour de Ski stages, more than any other skier. Dario Cologna (24) and Martin Johnsrud Sundby (18) follow in second and third place.
The oldest female skier to finish on the podium of a Tour de Ski stage is Sabina Valbusa: 35 years and 342 days in the 10km pursuit freestyle in Nové Mesto na Morave on 29 December 2007 (2nd).
The oldest male skier to finish on the podium of a Tour de Ski stage is Christian Zorzi: 36 years and 140 days in the sprint freestyle in Nové Mesto na Morave on 1 January 2009 (3rd).
The youngest female skier to finish on the podium was Johaug: 19 years and 191 days in the 10km classic style in Nové Mesto na Morave on 2 January 2008 (3rd).
The youngest male skier to finish on the podium was Northug: 20 years and 364 days in the sprint freestyle in Asiago on 5 January 2007 (3rd place).
Jean Marc Gaillard (90) is the skier to has made most starts in the Tour de Ski stages, followed by Cologna (84) and Daniel Rickardsson (78).
Friday, 3rd January
10km C women
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won the 10km pursuit (classic style) in Toblach on 1 January. The winner of the first pursuit stage managed to reach the overall Tour de Ski podium in all previous 13 editions. Nine of the 13 winners even went on to claim the overall title.
The last winner of the first pursuit who failed to claim the overall Tour de Ski title was Flugstad Østberg herself in 2017/18 (winner Heidi Weng).
Flugstad Østberg (11) is tied with Marit Bjørgen in third place in the all-time list for most stage wins in the women's Tour de Ski, behind Justyna Kowalczyk (14) and Therese Johaug (13).
Østberg won five of the last eight stages in the Tour de Ski.
Flugstad Østberg could become the first women to win four 10km classic style stages in the Tour the Ski. She currently shares the record of three with Kowalczyk.
Therese Johaug is the leader in the overall standings after four stages in the Tour de Ski. She claimed the overall title in 2013/14 and 2015/16.
Johaug (13) could equal Justyna Kowalczyk (14) as the skier to have won most stages in the Tour de Ski. On the men's side, Petter Northug (13) has won most Tour de Ski stages.
Johaug is tied with Kowalczyk on a record 28 podium finishes in women's Tour de Ski stages. Heidi Weng follows on 27 podium finishes.
sprint freestyle in Lenzerheide. She finished seventh in the 10km pursuit classic style in Toblach on 31 December, her best result in an individual distance World Cup event.
Ebba Andersson finished third in the 10km freestyle in Toblach on 31 December. It was her 12th podium finish in a World Cup race, but she has yet to win for the first time.
Andersson (12) holds the record for most podium finishes in women's World Cup races (including Tour stages and overall Tour wins) without ever winning, alongside Celine Brun-Lie and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen (also 12).
15km C men
Alexander Bolshunov won the 15km pursuit classic style event on 1 January to take the lead in the overall standings. Since 2013/14, the winner of the first pursuit stage also managed to win the overall Tour de Ski title.
Bolshunov has claimed 11 podium finishes in individual distance World Cup events since the start of 2019, at least five more than any other man.
Ustiugov (9) could become the second male skier to win 10 stages in the Tour de Ski, after Petter Northug (13).
Only five different skiers have won more than two stages in a single Tour de Ski. In 2016/17, Ustiugov set the record for most stage wins in a single edition on five victories.
After a second and first place in the opening two stages, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo finished in 17th and 10th place in the two stages in Toblach. Klæbo is in third place in the overall standings and leads the points standings.
Iivo Niskanen could become the second Finnish skier to win a stage in the men's Tour de Ski, after Matti Heikkinen on 3 January 2011: the 2x10km skiathlon in Oberstdorf.
Calle Halfvarsson could become the first Swedish skier to finish on the podium of an individual World Cup event since Halfvarsson himself in the 15km classic style in Ruka on 25 November 2018.
Saturday, 4th January
Sprint C women
Anamarija Lampic won the only sprint stage in the 2019/20 Tour de Ski, the sprint freestyle event in Lenzerheide on 29 December.
Lampic could become the fourth female skier to win consecutive sprint events in the Tour de Ski, after Arianna Follis (2008/09), fellow Slovenian Petra Majdic (2010/11) and Stina Nilsson (2018/19).
Maiken Caspersen Falla finished second in the sprint freestyle sprint event in Lenzerheide on 29 December, her first podium finish in the Tour de Ski since finishing 4 January 2018 (2nd in 10km freestyle).
Falla has won 20 individual sprint World Cup events, joint-second most among women alongside Petra Majdic. Only Marit Bjørgen (40) has won more.
Norway has won five sprint events in the women's Tour de Ski (all in freestyle), joint-most with Sweden.
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg has won one sprint race in the Tour de Ski, in Lenzerheide on 31 December 2013 (freestyle).
Flugstad Østberg has claimed six podium places in sprint events in the Tour de Ski, joint-most alongside Arianna Follis and Marit Bjørgen.
Jonna Sundling won the individual sprint World Cup event in Planica on 21 December 2019. She could become the fourth Swedish skier to win a sprint event in the Tour de Ski, after Stina Nilsson (3, 2016-2019), Hanna Erikson (2013) and Charlotte Kalla (2008).
Sprint C men
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has reached the podium in 21 of his last 22 individual sprint World Cup appearances, with the only exception in that run his 11th place finish in Lillehammer in November 2018.
Klæbo has won 19 career individual sprint World Cup events, at least two more than any other athlete (Emil Jönsson 16).
Klæbo has won seven of the last eight men's individual sprint classic World Cup events, the only exception being Alexander Bolshunov's win in Ruka on 24 November 2018.
Federico Pellegrino finished second in the last two World Cup individual sprint events, in Planica on 21 December and in Lenzerheide on 29 December.
Pellegrino's last individual sprint World Cup win was in Cogne on 16 February 2019 (freestyle).
Only Hattestad (32) and Tor Arne Hetland (30) have claimed more individual sprint podium finishes in the World Cup than Pellegrino (28).
Pellegrino (8) has surpassed Petter Northug (7) as skier to claim most individual sprint podium finishes in the men's Tour de Ski.
THE FINAL CLIMB
Sunday, 5th January 2020
The legendary grand final of the Tour de Ski - the Final Climb up to Alpe Cermis is an absolute highlight of the Tour. Exactly this highlight will see a change in format this year as it will be held as a mass start (and not pursuit as in the past). There will be 2 intermediate sprints for the FIS Tour de Ski Sprint Point Standing (1 in Lago di Tesero and 1 in the bottom section of Alpe Cermis).
Eleven of the 13 leaders ahead of the final stage went on to win the overall Tour de Ski title. Only Dario Cologna in 2012/13 and Petter Northug in 2009/10 failed to maintain their lead in the final stage. Both athletes finished second in the overall.
Just two of the last six leaders ahead of the final stage managed to win the overall Tour de Ski title, Marit Bjørgen in 2014/15 and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in 2018/19.
Last season, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won the women's overall Tour de Ski classification 2 minutes and 42 seconds ahead of runner-up Natalia Nepryaeva, the biggest gap between the overall winner and runner-up in competition's history.
Final Climb - Women
Therese Johaug and Heidi Weng could become the second female skier to win the Tour de Ski three times, after Justina Kowalzcyk (4).
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg is hoping to become the third Norwegian female skier to claim two overall Tour de Ski titles, after Therese Johaug (2013/14, 2015/16) and Heidi Weng (2016/17 and 2017/18).
Norway could win the women's overall classification for the seventh time in a row, after having won none of the first seven editions.
Natalia Nepryaeva is hoping to become the first Russian female skier to claim the overall Tour de Ski title.
Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen can become the fifth Norwegian female skier to claim the Tour de Ski title. She finished second in the overall classification in 2013/14, behind Therese Johaug.
Final Climb - Men
Alexander Bolshunov is hoping to claim his second Tour victory (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) after the 2017/18 World Cup Final. His best result in the Tour de Ski was a fifth-place finish in 2018/19.
Bolshunov can become the third athlete from Russia to win the Tour de Ski after Alexander Legkov in 2012/13 and Sergey Ustiugov in 2016/17.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo can become the second skier to win the Tour de Ski in consecutive seasons, after Dario Cologna in 2010/11 and 2011/12.
Klæbo can become the fourth male athlete to win multiple editions of the Tour de Ski after Cologna (4), Martin Johnsrud Sundby (2) and Lukáš Bauer (2).
Sergey Ustiugov can become the fourth athlete to win multiple editions of the Tour de Ski, after Dario Cologna (4), Martin Johnsrud Sundby (2) and Lukáš Bauer (2). Ustiugov won the Tour de Ski in 2016/17.
