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The 2024-2025 Tour de Ski has already been a long, challenging adventure, and the end of the tour (tomorrow atop Alpe Cermis) offers a unique and daunting set of challenges. While Stage 6 of the Tour offered a glimpse of what will be the venue for the 2026 Olympic Skiathlon, today’s race in Val di Fiemme bore little direct comparison to the action likely to take place a year from now. Today’s race was complicated by the exhaustion of five prior days of racing, the absence of numerous contenders who dropped out earlier in the event, ongoing competitions in the Sprint and Climber’s jerseys, and the need to conserve energy for tomorrow’s climb. Next year’s Olympic event will be a no-holds-barred free-for-all. Today’s Skiathlon in Stage 6 of the Tour de Ski was a decidedly more measured and conservative affair.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) entered the day enjoying a lead of 1:35 over Edvin Anger (SWE), and 2:11 over Erik Valnes (NOR), neither of whom appeared likely to pose a truly menacing threat on tomorrow’s climb of the the Alpe Cermis. In preparing for today’s Skiathlon, it seemed Klaebo’s task would be to monitor his rivals, limit his losses, and conserve energy for Sunday’s final climb (which is known to be one of his least favorite racing tests of each World Cup season).
Today in Val di Fiemme, Klaebo would control the race from the front throughout the final laps, sprinting up the last hill to establish a gap he would carry across the finish line comfortably ahead of Federico Pellegrino (ITA) in second and Jan Thomas Jensen (NOR) in third. Antoine Cyr (CAN) would finish 16th, just ahead of Zanden McMullen in 17th.
Other North American finishers included Ben Ogden 21st, Olivier Leveille 24th, and Jack Young 53rd.
20 k Skiathlon
Jannik Riebli (wearing the U23 jersey) and Britain’s Andrew Musgrave (wearing the climber’s jersey) would join the leaders in the front row at the starting line of the Skiathlon. American Ben Ogden would begin the day in 14th, a disappointing position when compared to his high-water mark of third place a few days ago, but otherwise a bright spot in his career as a distance skier and all-around threat. Canadian, Antoine Cyr, would begin the day in 22nd.
Snow temperatures of -10.5 degrees celsius made for fair waxing conditions in this early morning start, allowing the 61-man field to remain together through the first of six 3.3 kilometer laps.Mika Vermeulen (AUT) moved to the front at the end of Lap 2, followed by Valnes. They would provide much of the pace-setting in the Classic laps.
The ski exchange at the halfway point saw few changes to the overall standings, though Hugo Lapalus (FRA) had surged to overtake Musgrave for the lead in the Climber’s jersey. Klaebo and Valnes led the field into the exchange, while Friederich Moch (GER) was the fastest in the equipment swap, exiting the exchange zone just ahead of Vermeulen and Klaebo.
The Freestyle course was identical to the Classic course, though the positioning of a lane of Classic tracks rendered the skate course rather narrow. Some racers attempted to make progress by passing in the Classic lanes, but for the most part the narrowed lane allowed Klaebo to sit at the front where he controlled the pace through the early part of the Freestyle laps.
Nineteen racers comprised the final selection, though that group continued to string out behind the pace making of Vermeulen. McMullen and Cyr held on gamely to the tail end of the group as Vermeulen (determined to take time out of Anger who continued to fade) continued to push the pace.
Klaebo, Lapalus, and Moch led the field through the beginning of the final lap as a resurgent Musgrave pressed the pace. In the end, Klaebo would surge up the final hill, followed by Pellegrino and Jensen. Coasting across the finish line well clear of his rivals, Klaebo extended his lead in the overall Tour standings. Valnes now trails by 2:18, followed by Haavard Moseby and Vermeulen tied at 2:29 back, and Lapalus at 2:44. Anger dropped to 10th overall, followed by Musgrave in 11th.
Men’s 20 k Skiathlon RESULTS
John Teaford
John Teaford—the Managing Editor of FasterSkier — has been the coach of Olympians, World Champions, and World Record Holders in six sports: Nordic skiing, speedskating, road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, triathlon. In his long career as a writer/filmmaker, he spent many seasons as Director of Warren Miller’s annual feature film, and Producer of adventure documentary films for Discovery, ESPN, Disney, National Geographic, and NBC Sports.
