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The Tour de Ski operates on two parallel narrative arcs. Day-to-day, stage-to-stage, it highlights the singularity of great ski performances, while over the course of a week it points to the dynamism that makes great skiers great. On Stage 2 of this year’s Tour, those arcs were one and the same.
No one skis classic technique quite like Kerttu Niskanen (FIN). And no one can close a race like Jessie Diggins (USA). Through the undulating ups and downs of the Toblach course, those two declarative statements were translated to the result sheet with only Victoria Carl (GER) skiing into second place to split Niskanen and Diggins. Niskanen won her sixth career World Cup race, taking a seven second victory over the resurgent Carl. Diggins, meanwhile, closed a five-second gap on teammate Rosie Brennan in the final two kilometers to take her second career individual classic podium. In doing so, Diggins took control in this year’s Tour de Ski.
Brennan would finish fourth, only 15 seconds behind the winner, a performance that moved Brennan from 26th place in the Tour de Ski standings to sixth place.
Other American finishers included Novie McCabe 29th, Sophia Laukli 39th, Sammy Smith 52nd, Julia Kern 59th. Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones did not start Stage 2, leaving Canada absent from this year’s Tour de Ski Women’s Overall standings.
Niskanen not only stood atop the field today, but also stood out as the veteran among veterans who competed for the win. The Finnish skier, Now age 35, the Finn expressed her satisfaction in post-race interviews. “I’m really happy . . . I’m back,” she beamed. “The beginning of the season has been difficult for me, so to see it come together was nice.” Niskanen’s six career World Cup wins have all come in the 10 k Classic (including one victory during the peak of Therese Johaug’s (NOR) great career).
Meanwhile, Diggins continues to tread relatively new tracks in her own storied career: This was her second-ever outright distance classic podium (after placing third place on Stage 2 of the 2021 Tour de Ski in Val Mustair). After taking third in Stage 2 of 2021’s Tour de Ski, Diggins went on to wear the Yellow Bib at the top of the Alpe Cermis as the Tour champion. After today, she again wears the Yellow Bib. After that 2021 podium, Diggins spoke to FasterSkier:“My goals for today were to ski smooth and really work the downhills,” she said then. “When I felt good on the last half of the last lap I just decided to push it!” She compared that earlier success in Toblach with her efforts today: “I tried to make sure I was racing the downhills and the flats just as hard as the uphills.” Two years after her first success in Toblach, not only was the result the same, but the way in which Diggins achieved the result was the same, too.
10 k Classic Individual Start
The dynamics of this Tour de Ski 10 k Classic Individual Start were just slightly different than what the World Cup is used to, as the method for determining the start list turned not towards the Overall World Cup Standings, but to the Tour de Ski standings after a sprint race on Stage 1. With the perennial Distance contenders spread throughout yesterday’s results, they would be spread throughout the field today. Serendipity did set up some structure, though; a pack of top distance racers including Brennan (bib 28) starting back-to-back starting with bib 20, Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR), and stretching to bib 29, Niskanen, and bib 30 Ebba Andersson (SWE). A second, looser pack of top racers started later on based on their strong sprints yesterday, with Diggins in bib 42 and Carl in bib 48.
The back-to-back pair of Brennan and Niskanen would set the leading times throughout the course. In the first half of the race, they were splitting seconds with Brennan ahead of Niskanen by 1.8 seconds through the 5 k mark, and Niskanen ahead of Brennan by the same margin a kilometer later at the 6.7 k mark. On a course that followed a rolling, punchy set of downhills, Niskanen was able to put in a finishing burst. Brennan crossed the line in first—but for only a few moments before the full extent of Niskanen’s closing speed became evident at the finish line. The Finn crossed the line 15 seconds ahead of Brennan in what would turn out to be the definitive result of the day.
“Today was better than [yesterday’s sprint race],” Brennan said. “I can’t say I felt ‘bad,’ per se. Yesterday, I just felt like I wasn’t skiing tactically that well. This distance course was definitely better than me, and while I wouldn’t say I felt great today, I was happy I made it work.”
Back on course, there were indications that Diggins was having an extraordinarily good day on classic skis. As Niskanen crossed the finish, Diggins was nearing the 5 k half-way mark less than ten seconds off the lead. By 8 k, she was still within 15 seconds of Niskanen’s top time, but five seconds off Brennan in fourth. Like Niskanen, Diggins would make up time with a brilliant final push, shooting to the podium with a five second advantage over Brennan at the finish. Carl would come in moments later to split the slim difference between Niskanen and Diggins. The German finished three seconds ahead of Diggins, and seven seconds off the lead in second place.
Tour de Ski Standings After Stage 2
Stage 2 begins to bring clarity to this year’s race for the Tour de Ski Overall, but any conclusions are still taken with a view towards the races to come, rather than the end of the Tour. After time bonuses, Diggins holds the Yellow Bib by seven seconds over Carl going into Stage 3, a 20 k pursuit race. After a strong ninth place finish, Stage 1 winner Linn Svahn (SWE) remains within striking distance in third place at 11 seconds back.
Diggins noted in post-race comments that she’s feeling more relaxed than in the past with the Yellow Bib, and pointed towards a particular source of comfort as a reason why: “I got a chance to hear my family cheer for me out on course,” she said. “Just having the support of our family over here is a big deal because we realize we don’t get it all that often. It’s a mental break, and a physical break when they’re here over the holidays, and it put me in a great place for the Tour.”
Svahn’s resilient performance proved a silver lining on a day that saw struggles from Sweden’s top distance skiers. Andersson, who won this season’s opening 10 k Classic race in Ruka, finished Stage 2 in 13th place, and sits 18th in the Overall at +1:28 back. Last year’s Tour de Ski champion, Frida Karlsson (SWE) finished Stage 2 in 11th place, and is also 11th in the Overall at +1:11 minutes back.
Brennan moved herself into sixth place in the TDS Overall standings with her Stage 2 race, and sits amid a top ten that is still tightly packed. With a 20 k Pursuit next on the schedule, Brennan remains poised to challenge for the Tour de Ski Overall. McCabe sits in 32nd Overall, with Laukli in 45th, Smith in 52nd and Kern in 56th rounding out the American Women in the standings.
In a tightly packed top 10, Rosie Brennan is already looking forward to all that is to come. “[I’m looking forward to] Davos,” she said. “It’s my favorite place to race, and while I haven’t done the course that is prepared, I like to think that ‘all things Davos suit me,’ so I’m optimistic for the races to come after tomorrow.”
Tour de Ski Stage 2 RESULTS
Tour de Ski Overall STANDINGS
Ben Theyerl
Ben Theyerl was born into a family now three-generations into nordic ski racing in the US. He grew up skiing for Chippewa Valley Nordic in his native Eau Claire, Wisconsin, before spending four years racing for Colby College in Maine. He currently mixes writing and skiing while based out of Crested Butte, CO, where he coaches the best group of high schoolers one could hope to find.
