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Today’s sprint marks Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski, one of the final stages leading to the Tour’s culmination this weekend. What sets the Tour apart from any other competition is its strict rule that once athletes withdraw, they cannot re-enter the competition. This format forces distance specialists to compete in sprints and challenges sprinters to tackle the longer races. As a result, the overall leader’s position is contested by a small group of athletes who can perform well in both disciplines.
The sprint qualification list for today looks quite different than what we might expect during a regular race weekend. With endurance being pushed to its limits, many sprint specialists may find themselves too fatigued to hit their usual higher gears. Instead, today’s results are likely to favor athletes with solid sprinting abilities who can also rely on their endurance to deliver maximum effort, despite the lingering soreness and tired legs from the first four stages of the Tour.
With the physical demands of back-to-back races, fatigue and illness have taken their toll, leaving several notable names absent from today’s start list. Racing through illness risks significantly prolonged recovery, and in a World Championships year, athletes are understandably avoiding anything that could jeopardize the rest of their season. Notably Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR), who won Stages 3 and 4 and was sitting in third place overall in the Tour, has withdrawn due to a sore throat and headache. Gus Schumacher (USA), who was ranked 10th in the Overall Tour de Ski standings, has also withdrawn with a sore throat.
One name we can confidently expect to see at the top is Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR). A dominant force in both sprint and distance racing, Klaebo has consistently led the field, making his claim to the overall Tour de Ski title appear almost uncontested this year. Without his usual rival Lucas Chanavat (FRA)—who withdrew after just a few stages—does anyone have the ability to challenge Klaebo for the win today?
One potential contender is Edvin Anger, a young Swedish racer who has proven to be strong in both distance and sprint disciplines. While Anger has earned top-10 finishes through the Tour, he only conquered Klaebo in one – Stage 4’s 15 kilometer classic pursuit. Another name to watch is Klaebo’s teammate Erik Valnes, a well-rounded athlete with strong results in both formats. Valnes finished just behind Klaebo in the classic sprint in Ruka and the skate sprint in Davos earlier this season, and proved his endurance by finishing second, only 0.6 seconds behind Klaebo in the 15 kilometer classic competition during Stage 2 of the Tour. Despite these strong competitors, Klaebo’s sprint dominance this season leaves little room for contention, making him the clear favorite for today’s race.
In the end, Klaebo claimed an effortless victory, navigating the course with his signature tactical finesse. He was joined on the podium by teammate Even Northug in second place and Marcus Grate (SWE) in third.
Ben Ogden (USA) qualified in 4th position for the heats but was eliminated during the quarterfinal round. After the race, he reported feeling “decently tired and decently frustrated.” Reflecting on his performance, Ogden shared, “Given everything, I am happy with my overall position, but two of the hardest races to come have me nervous.” As the Tour comes to a close, he added, “I’ll just try to eat and sleep as much as I can before them and see what I have in the tank!” Ogden finished the day in 17th.
Among other Americans, Zanden McMullen and Jack Young placed 22nd and 32nd, respectively. On the Canadian side, Olivier Leveille finished 54th, and Antoine Cyr skied to 29th.
Men’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.
Athletes tackle the final climb which culminates in a gradual turn down 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 climb. 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.
Klaebo approached the first heat conservatively from the start, allowing Elia Barp (ITA), to take the lead. Teammate Erik Valnes (NOR) also tucked in behind Klaebo, a tactical position knowing Klaebo would likely make his move over the final climb and create an opportunity for Valnes to follow. True to form, Klaebo accelerated into the final descent, pulling Valnes with him.
In the second heat, Ben Ogden (USA) hoped to use his strength in sprinting to come back from his nose-drive in ranking from 3rd to 17th in the Tour’s overall standings. Knowing this, Ogden took an early lead beside Niilo Moilanen (FIN), positioning himself in second to draft and conserve energy. He maintained that position through the race until the finishing stretch, where an extra push at the top of the final descent may have helped Ogden maintain his position. Instead, Oskar Svensson (SWE) and Giacomo Gabrielli (ITA) slingshotted around the pack to finish ahead of Ogden, who finished fourth in his heat.
“Today I was just going too slow compared to the people around me,” Ogden shared. “I think in future efforts on this course I will try to really push hard at the top of the hill and hope that gives me a little more momentum going into the finish.”
The third heat featured Giovanni Ticco (ITA), a strong sprinter, who opened a substantial lead over the first ascent. Marcus Grate (SWE) quickly closed the gap, sitting behind Ticco as Even Northug (NOR) and Valerio Grond (SUI) took an outside line to accelerate into the lead. The race concluded with a thrilling three-way photo finish between Northug, Grate, and Grond, with Grond missing advancement by just 0.01 seconds. Canadian Antoine Cyr finished last in the heat but was less than a second behind Northug.
The fourth quarterfinal heat boasted a strong lineup of sprinters. Edvin Anger (SWE), aiming to narrow his time deficit to Klaebo in the overall standings, faced an early setback when his pole snapped against the start gate at the gun. Without a replacement pole nearby, it seemed Anger was out of contention as the pack surged ahead. However, chaos struck atop the first hill when China’s Qiang Wang slipped and fell, halting much of the field. This allowed Anger to close much of the gap. Despite Wang’s fall, he retained second position through the final climb, while Italy’s Federico Pellegrino and Simone Dapra crossed the line together well ahead of the field, advancing to the semifinals. Notably, Richard Jouve (FRA) did not start the heat.
Finally, the fifth heat was the fastest of the day, producing both lucky loser qualifiers. Janik Riebli (SUI) and Zanden McMullen (USA) set an early pace, with McMullen creating a small gap between himself and the field. On the final climb, Michael Hellweger (ITA) caught McMullen, but the rest of the pack allowed McMullen to lead into the descent—aware that this position was precarious. Emil Danielsson (SWE), Riebli, Haavard Moseby (NOR), and Hellweger slingshotted around McMullen on the final stretch. Although McMullen’s time would have been fast enough to qualify him as a lucky loser, his fifth-place finish ultimately ended his run.
Men’s Sprint Semifinals
The semifinals began with another dominant performance by Klaebo in the first heat. Klaebo and Valnes took an early lead, but allowed Moilanen to control the pace through the first descent. On the second climb, Klaebo opted for an outside line, skiing with a smooth and relaxed stride instead of his usual fast-tempo style. In a tactical masterstroke, Klaebo accelerated into the lead down the descent as others jostled to avoid that position. This move gave him a significant advantage, putting meters between himself and the pack. With fast skis, Klaebo is one of the only racers today able to maintain his lead down the final descent. Northug joined Klaebo in advancing to the finals.
In the second semifinal heat, Swedish skiers Marcus Grate and Emil Danielsson worked together to establish an early lead, with Simone Dapra (ITA) and Janik Riebli (SUI) tucked comfortably behind. These positions continued through much of the race, before Dapra accelerated into the final descent. However, his slower skis caused him to lose momentum, dropping to the back of the pack as accelerated ahead. Riebli took the opportunity to take the lead, followed closely by Moseby. Grate and Pellegrino would advance to the finals as lucky losers.
Men’s Sprint Finals
In the men’s sprint finals, the question still lingered: is there anyone capable of challenging Klaebo for the title? The answer was a definitive no. Klaebo positioned himself in front of the pack from the start, maintaining his lead throughout the competition. Head-to-head, Klaebo sprinted alongside Northug and Pellegrino up the final ascent, Pellegrino using his high tempo to get in front for a small moment of glory before Klaebo shot around Pellegrino on the final descent to take the title. Klaebo was joined on the podium by Northug in second, and Grate in third. Pellegrino finished fourth with slow skis on the final descent despite his overall strong performance.
Top Ten Men Stage 5 Classic Sprint
- Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR)
- Even Northug (NOR)
- Marcus Grate (SWE)
- Federico Pellegrino (ITA)
- Håvard Moseby (NOR)
- Janik Riebli (SUI)
- Oskar Svensson (SWE)
- Erik Valnes (NOR)
- Niilo Moilanen (FIN)
- Emil Danielsson (SWE)
Men’s Classic Sprint Results
Top Ten Men Overall After Stage 5
- Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) 2:00:55
- Edvin Anger (SWE) +1:35
- Erik Valnes (NOR) +2:11
- Mika Vermeulen (AUT) +2:24
- Håvard Moseby (NOR) +2:25
- Hugo Lapalus (FRA) +2:36
- Simen Hegstad Krüger (NOR) +2:41
- Federico Pellegrino (ITA) +2:54
- Andreas Fjorden Ree (NOR) +2:56
- Jan Thomas Jenssen (NOR) +2:56
Men’s Tour de Ski Overall Standings
