Diggins Flawless in Toblach 20 k Pursuit

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.

During her long and illustrious career, Jessie Diggins has won eight World Cup races in Toblach, a record of success that began with her very first World Cup win, a 5 k Freestyle event in 2016. Well, today was the final Toblach race of Diggins’ World Cup journey. She didn’t waist the opportunity.

“Honestly, it’s like the year of dreams coming true,” said Diggins. “I feel like I’m leaving a little piece of my heart here in Toblach.”

There will be even more memories of Diggins preserved in Toblach, as race organizers announced the naming of a bridge in her honor. “This venue is so special to me, and it means so much,” said Diggins. “A place of so many memories since my first Tour in 2012, I think! It special to be honored in that way.”

Diggins capped her Toblach career—and solidified her lead in the 2025-2026 Tour de Ski—with a resounding victory in the 20 k Classic Pursuit. Starting the day with a lead of over a minute, she expanded that advantage to finish the day with a cushion of more than 90 seconds. Behind her in the standings lurk Moa Ilar (SWE) and Teresa Stadlober (AUT). But with only two stages remaining (a Val di fiemme’s Classic Sprint and the final climb up Alpe Cermis), Diggins hold on the Tour de ski title seems secure. But securing that lead was in no way easy: Diggins had to work hard to gain that time on a day when other skiers may have had advantages—and the ability to team up—in their pursuit of Diggins who skied that long distance alone.

“It was a long race, a lonely race,” said Diggins. “But I was thinking of someone special to our team the whole time. Every Tour I’ve ever done, there’s always one day where I feel like this is the day where you have to be so gritty. If you want to win the Tour, you have to make it happen, now, today. I went in with that mindset; sometimes I don’t like how it feels, that much pressure, but I know I will perform well under it.”

Perform well, she has . . . and perform well, she did. Diggins loneliness was the result of her continued dominance throughout the 2025-2026 Tour de Ski. She has led since the second stage, and continued adding to her lead with each passing kilometer of the 20 k Classic Pursuit.

Fast Skis and Perfect Fitness

For many World Cup cross-country skiers, the 20 k Classic Pursuit is the highlight of the Tour de Ski. It’s the one event that feels most like cross-country skiing as they imagine it—measured efforts over a long course in Classic stride and glide. It’s actually a race concealed within the parameters of a Pursuit format. Starting positions are determined by advantages in Tour de Ski standings, so the leader of the Tour starts first.

Diggins anticipated this being a day where her advantage would be 50 seconds over her closest competitor, Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR). But it was announced just before race time that Slind had taken ill and would not start the event. That expanded Diggins’ lead to a minute over Moa Ilar (SWE), 1:11 over Maia Dahlqvist (SWE) and 1:14 over Teresa Stadlober (AUT). A minute is a long time; double the gap that normally exists in an interval start race. Diggins double-poled away from the other starters and disappeared up the trail before anyone else was allowed onto the course. Behind her, narrowly gapped start times suggested that it was quite possible for Stadlober, Ilar, and Dahlqvist to group up in pursuit of Diggins. And 20 kilometers is a long way to defend a lead against three chasers, especially with the variables of waxing that always complicates Classic ski races.

The sixth place starting slot also stood empty, as Emma Ribom (SWE) was a non-starter. Ilar, Dahlqvist, and Stadlober would not be expecting any more help to come up from behind.

The Toblach 20 k Pursuit was contested over five laps of four kilometers each. At the the end of the first four kilometer lap, Diggins showed that she had been wasting no time. Her lead had grown an additional 15+ seconds over all her closest rivals. Ilar, Stadlober, and Dahlqvist were eventually able to work as a group, but they were not proving capable of reducing Diggins’ lead. Behind them, a large chase group formed led by Kerttu Niskanen (FIN), Frida Karlsson (SWE), Ebba Andersson (SWE), and Heidi Weng (NOR). Also present in that group was the Sprint specialist, Jasmi Joensuu (FIN) who showed a tremendous grit and discipline as she fought to hold her position in a chase group comprised of the world’s strongest Distance skiers.

Behind Diggins, the race continued to change with the dynamic makeup of various chasing groups. Stadlober eventually dropped Dahlqvist, and was able to ski forward to Ilar.

Diggins completed the 20 k distance in 52:14.8. That’s just flying, especially when it’s considered that Diggins was all alone all day—no parallel pace makers, and only two splits per four kilometer lap—while all her rivals had help and company in chase groups along the way. Andersson definitely emerged as most in-form of the chasers, regularly leading her group in pursuit of Ilar and Stadlober.

Diggins would cross the line with an advantage of 1:35 seconds over Ilar and Stadlober. They were followed by an ecstatic Joensuu, Weng, Niskanen, and Johanna Matintalo (FIN). Weng steady progression through the Pursuit pack delivered the fastest time of the day, two seconds ahead of Diggins.

Julia Kern (USA) had one of the best days of any skier in the field, moving up from 32nd up to 18th, while continuing to show that her endurance trajectory is both tremendous and timely. She appears primed to team with Diggins in a medal-contending Team Sprint duo when that Olympic event is staged in a few weeks in Val di Fiemme.

“Today was definitely a step in the right direction,” said Kern. “I wanted to make sure going into the Games that have good Sprint and Distance form, especially for the Team Sprint, I think you need both of that. So today was really encouraging. I was in a big pack, and at the end, it really came down to a finishing sprint. And so I was in that moment thinking, ‘This is practice for when I’m really tired in the sprint, and I gotta go.'”

Is it now time to start projecting how current levels of fitness and performance may develop as stories in Milano-Cortina? Like she did in the 10 k interval start a few days earlier, Karlsson spent the second half of today’s 20 k Pursuit going backwards, losing time at all the later checkpoints. Likewise, the other Distance contenders—Andersson, Niskanen, Ilar, Weng—really don’t look all that sharp, not compared to Diggins, anyway. Well, when is that sharpness going to arrive? There’s a break in the racing schedule in the week following the Tour de ski, but it’s only another 40 days before the first Olympic events get started in Val di Fiemme.

And what about Diggins? Is she spending all her best fitness now? Is there a chance that this is the fastest she will go this season and that she might find herself a bit flat when the Olympics begin? Time will tell . . . but when Jessie Diggins is flying this high, and loving racing this much, there’s every reason to believe she can keep it going.

Diggins now holds the lead in the Overall World Cup, the Distance World Cup, and the Tour de Ski. With only two Tour events remaining in Val di Fiemme—a Classic Sprint and the final climb up Alpe Cermis—Diggins looks all but certain to add a third win in the Tour de Ski to her résumé. And she leaves a bridge with her name on it in Toblach, as well.

Women’s 20 k Classic Pursuit RESULTS

Fastest Skiers on the Day – Women (Top 15, Net Time Only)

This ranking removes pursuit start gaps and shows who skied the fastest 20 km classic on Stage 4.

Day Rank	Athlete	Nation	Net Time
1	Heidi Weng	NOR	52:12.8
2	Jessie Diggins	USA	52:14.8
3	Ebba Andersson	SWE	52:23.7
4	Julie Bjervig Drivenes	NOR	52:28.0
5	Johanna Matintalo	FIN	52:28.3
6	Jasmi Joensuu	FIN	52:31.1
7	Kerttu Niskanen	FIN	52:34.1
8	Teresa Stadlober	AUT	52:36.3
9	Moa Ilar	SWE	52:50.0
10	Frida Karlsson	SWE	53:05.3
11	Pia Fink	GER	53:07.4
12	Julia Kern	USA	53:08.1
13	Vilma Nissinen	FIN	53:09.4
14	Caterina Ganz	ITA	53:10.1
15	Nora Sanness	NOR	53:12.6

Net time is calculated as finish time minus the individual pursuit start offset.

Love Stories Like This? Help Keep Them Coming.

Feature stories like this one take time, access, and care to produce. If you value thoughtful storytelling and independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a Voluntary Subscriber. Your support directly fuels the work we do to cover the people, places, and moments that make our sport special.

Join the FasterSkier community!