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Returning to the kick and glide after a long hiatus, the second stage of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski featured a 10 k classic individual start for the women. With the exception of those who raced the classic legs of the relay in Lillehammer on December 5th, the last classic race was over a month ago, taking place at the season opener in Ruka. To keep things interesting, for the athletes, for the technicians and for the viewers, the temperature in Lenzerheide, Switzerland hovered around 34°F and snow fell heavily. Wax and ski preparation is always incredibly important but not always as evident as it was today as the women completed the 10 kilometer course.
After all 81 skiers had crossed the finish line, it was Kerttu Niskanen of Finland who stood at the top of the podium, having completed the course in 27:04.0.
To rewind, with Therese Johaug not taking part in the Tour, it is fair to say that Frida Karlsson of Sweden was a strong favorite to win this race. Karlsson has finished on the podium in all four distance events of the season so far, taking first place in the only classic distance event of the season up to this point in Ruka. With her main rival not in competition, Karlsson might have been hoping to ski away with another title.
From the start, it was clear that Ebba Andersson (SWE) wasn’t going to make things easy for her teammate. Andersson, who started in bib 29- one place ahead of Karlsson in bib 30, shot out of the gate with a tempo and ferocity that conveyed she meant business. At the 2.4 k checkpoint, there was an opportunity for bonus points in the Tour standings, and Andersson took the lead out of the first 29 starters, only to be quickly bettered by Karlsson by 0.9 seconds.
However, Karlsson’s advantage would not last and already at the 3.7k mark, she was +5.2 seconds behind Andersson. From there, the gap continued to widen. At 5.8 k Andersson was +13.7 seconds ahead of Karlsson, at 7.4 k she was +21.8 ahead and when both Swedes had crossed the finish, Andersson had put 26.4 seconds on Karlsson.
At this point, it appeared that the day’s victor had been decided. But, as the snowflakes lessened and grew smaller, another contender was showing herself out on the course.
Niskanen (FIN) started in bib 50 and was clearly skiing well. As was Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia in bib 54. Nepryaeva was the second fastest through 2.4 k, slotting between Karlsson and Andersson. Niskanen was +7.8 down to Karlsson at that point in fourth position. Moving forward to 3.7k, Niskanen skied up to third, +5.2 to Andersson, while Nepryaeva had dropped to +8.5. Through 5.8k, Niskanen had overtaken Karlsson’s time and was sitting in second, just +4.8 behind Andersson. Between 7.4 and 8.7k, the Finn turned on the burners, gaining 12.6 seconds on Andersson over that distance. Accompanied by the excited shouts of her coach, Niskanen took the lead and continued to grow the margin. When she crossed the finish line she was +18.2 seconds ahead of Andersson and +44.6 ahead of Karlsson.
Nepryeava (RUS), who dropped to fifth place at 7.4 k (+24 to Andersson) and was 4th (+32.9 to Niskanen) at 8.7k, gained significant ground over the final 1.3 kilometers. Between the 8.7 and 10k mark, she overtook Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) to finish on the podium in third, +30.5 behind Niskanen.
This win was Niskanen’s third victory, having more than 230 World Cup starts. All three have come in 10k classic events, two taking place in Lenzerheide (today’s race being one, the other in 2014 when she won the stage).
“Today was a really good day,” Niskanen told FIS after the race. “I felt good and my skis were working well. I usually enjoy high altitude so today was good.” In response to a question about the conditions she said, “we have really good waxing men, they have done really good work yesterday and today.”
Jessie Diggins was the first finisher for the American contingent in 16th position (+1:07.9). Whether it was the four rounds of sprinting yesterday, the skis and conditions today, or some combination of both, Diggins appeared to be lacking in her usual pep, though she fought hard to the line, as always.
