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The Tour de Ski concludes this weekend with three events remaining: today’s classic sprint, tomorrow’s 20 kilometer skiathlon, and the famous (or infamous…) “Loppunousu” hill climb on Sunday. After the first four grueling days of racing, athletes are battling soreness, exhaustion, and the mental fatigue that accompanies competing in so many events back-to-back. As the final stretch of the Tour approaches, Slind and Johaug remain locked in a tight battle for the overall title.
Because athletes must complete every event in the Tour, Stage 5’s sprint heats are scattered with distance specialists who have leveraged their endurance to outperform fatigued sprint specialists. Slind and Johaug, leading the overall standings, are not known for their sprinting abilities but managed to qualify in 17th and 21st, respectively, for today’s heats. With Slind holding a slim six-second lead over Johaug after Stage 4 in the overall standings, today’s sprint might leave room for someone like Jessie Diggins (USA)–a strong sprinter currently in 4th place overall–to chip away at her one-minute deficit to the leaders. Meanwhile, Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) and Heidi Weng (NOR), both ranked in the top five overall, remain key contenders going into today’s competition.
Among the top five in the overall Tour rankings, Heidi Weng (NOR) was the only athlete to advance past the quarterfinals. She secured third place in the sprint, finishing behind Linn Svahn (SWE) in second and Nadine Faehndrich (SUI), who claimed the top spot on the podium.
“I think it’s a very nice classic track. Maybe it wasn’t the best for me, but I really worked on this diagonal technique, and I am very happy that I now see very good progress,” Faehndrich shared following her victory.
Meanwhile, Diggins is working through a foot injury, and is currently being treated for plantar fasciitis, which developed shortly before the Tour de Ski. Classic skiing is more painful for her, though she plans to continue competing for the time being. “I’m really grateful for my team and grateful to be able to race, and just excited to keep taking it day by day and giving it my all,” Diggins shared after finishing 14th in today’s results.
Julia Kern (USA) finished 18th today after having been tripped and cut off during her quarterfinal, eliminating her from advancement. “I’m feeling it all,” Kern reports in reference to the week of racing behind her. “Moments of tiredness, then overtired bursts of energy and giggles. I felt great in the quarterfinal today, and my skis felt awesome so that has me excited for tomorrow! Tomorrow my goal is to ski with good technique and race smart,” Kern shared this afternoon.
American Sophia Laukli finished 42nd, and Canadians Liliane Gagnon and Katherine Stewart-Jones finished 33rd and 36th, respectively. Rosie Brennan (USA) did not start today’s sprint and has officially withdrawn from the Tour.
Women’s Sprint Quarterfinals
Temperatures lingered above freezing today, but the classic tracks remained firm–the perfect conditions for a classic sprint competition. This year’s event in Val di Fiemme debuted a new sprint course, designed for the 2026 Olympics, which will take place next February. The updated course features two major climbs, making it more challenging than the previous sprint layout at this venue.
The final climb culminates in a gradual turn into the final descent and finish line at the bottom. Due to the wide and gradual nature of the turn, no specific track or position offers a clear advantage, enabling athletes to compete head-to-head, often spread five across on the final ascent. Tactics proved crucial on the final descent—not in terms of position heading up the hill but rather who emerged first into the downhill stretch.
Throughout the heats, many skiers hesitated in the corner before the final descent, reluctant to take the lead. This hesitation stemmed from the “slingshot effect,” where drafting skiers gained momentum to surge past the leader. Time and time again, skiers who led into the descent would cross the finish line seconds after the leader at the back of the pack.
With so many sprint specialists having dropped out of the Tour, worn down from the previous three days of distance racing, the heats were open to new names. The first women’s quarterfinal brought Therese Johaug (NOR) to the line, a dominant distance skier with few sprint successes to her name. Nicole Monsorno (ITA) and Jasmi Joensuu (FIN) traded the lead throughout the course, with Diggins struggling to keep pace in third. Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes (NOR) also challenged around the outside early in the race, but dropped back after running out of steam. Johaug, while slow out of the start, leveraged her strength on the hills, challenging Diggins for the third position over the final climb. With this being the second-slowest heat, no lucky losers advanced, sending only Monsorno and Joensuu to the semifinals.
In the second heat, Linn Svahn (SWE) and Johanna Matintalo (FIN) skied side-by-side out of the start to attain an early lead. Caterina Ganz (ITA) settled in comfortably behind them, and the order remained largely unchanged throughout the short race. As the athletes entered the stadium, Svahn sped by Matinalo with fast skis to finish first. Ganz crossed just behind, earning a spot in the semifinals as a lucky loser. With this heat being significantly faster than the first, Diggins was eliminated from further contention.
Julie Myhre (NOR) and Laura Gimmler (GER) rose to an early lead in quarterfinal three. Katherine Sauerbrey (GER) accelerated around the outside of the first climb, cutting off Kern around the hairpin turn into the first descent. Kern managed to recover and emerged in front on the second climb, competing for a strong position into the finishing stretch. That’s when chaos ensued as Melissa Gal (FRA), who had been running outside the laid tracks on the inside of the trail, collided with the V-boards and was forced to merge into Kern. This brought Kern to a near stop, with others continuing around the tangled duo to a clear path to the finish line. Julie Myhre easily claimed first, followed by Gimmler and Marina Kaelin (SUI), who advanced behind her.
Julia Kern recounted the drama during her heat in a message to FasterSkier. “My heat went out and it immediately felt tactical, so I settled in and played the game, putting myself in the position I wanted to be, in front and in control. Unfortunately, another skier obstructed me and in the moment it felt quite blatant and unwarranted. I tried to save my pole from being broken, which I did, but then also was stepped on and grabbed and pushed. I always try to stay on my feet, and equipment intact no matter the incident, because going down guarantees you don’t have a fighting chance. My original strategy was not to lead the downhill but slot into second, but after the incident I just hammered over the top to try to get as much speed in the downhill, but at that point I got pushed up against the V-boards and had nowhere to go but check speed and try to find any fighting chance to move on.”
Kerttu Niskanen and Heidi Weng would compete against each other in the 4th heat, two athletes sitting in the top five overall positions for the Tour. With Johaug and Diggins already eliminated, advancing to the semifinals would present an excellent opportunity for either skier to significantly boost their overall standings.
Out of the start, Nadine Faehndrich (SUI) and Jasmin Kahara (FIN) took an early lead, maintaining their position out front for most of the race. Heidi Weng attempted a move on the first hill but lacked the energy to sustain it, settling alongside Pia Fink (GER) to trail the leaders. On the final descent, Kahara’s slower skis allowed Weng to close the gap significantly, while Faehndrich extended her lead to finish more than a second ahead of the field. Kahara narrowly held onto second place, edging out Weng, who earned the second lucky loser position and advanced to the semifinals.
In heat five, Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR) took it out fast in this heat, setting the pace alongside Anja Weber (SUI) and Krista Parmakoski (FIN). Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR), the overall Tour de Ski leader, positioned herself right behind Parmakoski in the middle of the pack. Finland’s skis struggled to match the speed of Norway and Switzerland, forcing Parmakoski to work harder to maintain her lead into the second ascent. As the heat approached the final climb, skiers raced head-to-head in a highly contested battle into the descent. Federica Cassol (ITA) accelerated over the top to take the lead into the final descent, but her slower skis combined with the drafting advantage of her competitors caused her to fall to the back of the pack. Weber and Weng skied to first and second, advancing to the semifinals, while Slind finished in fourth, missing the cut for advancement.
Women’s Sprint Semifinals
Heidi Weng was the only skier in the top five of the overall Tour de Ski standings to advance to the semifinals. Aware of this advantage, Weng skied a tactical race. Svahn took an early lead alongside Myhre, with Joensuu holding the third position. In an effort to avoid being the first down the final descent—a stretch that had repeatedly proven decisive in earlier rounds—the pack slowed over the final climb. As they entered the finishing stretch, all five skiers were battling to be at the front. Joensuu sat on her skis to achieve a more aerodynamic position, though it wasn’t enough to overtake Weng and Svahn, who maintained their lead across the finish line. Joensuu, the current sprint leader of the Tour, would need to advance as a lucky loser, though the slow pace of the heat made her chances slim.
In the second semifinal, Kahara and Gimmler set the pace from the start, with Ganz pushing hard from third. Kahara extended her lead into the second climb, as racers spread out across all five lanes in a fierce battle for position heading into the final descent. Ganz led the charge alongside Kahara down the hill, though the slow Italian skis yet again sent Ganz flying to the back of the pack. With Gimmler stuck behind Kahara, Faehndrich used the speed she carried from the descent to overtake Kahara on the right. Meanwhile, Weng effectively blocked Gimmler’s attempts to change lanes on the left, securing her place in the final.
Women’s Sprint Final
Today’s women’s final featured several new names and crowned a fresh face atop the podium for this season. With that, the heat was fairly well matched, with the top three positions open for any combination of the final competitors. Svahn took a confident early lead, though was unable to pull away from Faehndrich or Gimmler, sitting closely behind. This order held through the first climb, but the final ascent brought challenges from Weng and Kahara. Weng, skiing on the far right, avoided the jostling closer to the inside lanes, and skiing hard into the final descent was able to pass her competitors to finish third in today’s sprint competition. Faehndrich, first down the hill, just barely maintained her position, and outsprinted Svahn to the line by just 0.04 seconds.
While delighted with her performance, even Faehndrich admits the final descent left a lot to be decided among competitors. “I’m very happy and at the end, a little bit lucky,” Faehndrich reported following her race, knowing that the combination of fast skis and perfect tactical position down the final descent had won her the race.
The overall standings for the top five positions remained largely unchanged. Diggins sits in 4th, one minute behind Slind. Niskanen holds in 3rd, 29 seconds back while Johaug stays in 2nd, just 8 seconds behind the leader. Weng managed to gain 30 seconds on Slind with her performance today, but remains 1:27 back and in the 5th position in the overall standings.
Top Ten Women Stage 5 Classic Sprint
- Nadine Fähndrich (SUI)
- Linn Svahn (SWE)
- Heidi Weng (NOR)
- Jasmin Kähärä (FIN)
- Laura Gimmler (GER)
- Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR)
- Jasmi Joensuu (FIN)
- Nicole Monsorno (ITA)
- Julie Myhre (NOR)
- Anja Weber (SUI)
Women’s Classic Sprint Results
Top Ten Women Overall After Stage 5
- Astrid Øyre Slind (NOR) 2:15:59
- Therese Johaug (NOR) +0:08
- Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) +0:29
- Jessie Diggins (USA) +1:00
- Heidi Weng (NOR) +1:27
- Jasmi Joensuu (FIN) +2:42
- Victoria Carl (GER) +3:04
- Silje Theodorsen (NOR) +3:15
- Teresa Stadlober (AUT) +3:23
- Linn Svahn (SWE) +3:24
Women’s Tour de Ski Overall Standings
