By Angie Kell
On this New Year’s Eve Day, as I watched the women’s interval-start 20km skate, I found myself lamenting that looks can sometimes be deceiving. For starters, Norwegian sensation Therese Johaug looked uncharacteristically tired from the start gun, yet was able to rally for a podium finish. Similarly, I often wondered, with the Ski and Snowboard Live footage, if I was watching a geological analysis of Toblach, Italy, given all the (albeit stunning) footage of the mountainous terrain. Apparently, it was in fact the third stage of the 19th edition of the FIS Tour de Ski. Seriously, the cut-aways from the race between TV time checks for yet another shot of the same mountain range were frustrating — drones, anyone?
In a new 20km racecourse, action was guaranteed in temperatures hovering around freezing. The out-and-back course featured a gradual climb to the halfway point, with a climber prime at 10.6km, then a fast, slightly descending second half. The course was notable for its ability to generate fatigue with little opportunity to rest. Deliberate pacing was a critical element of race strategy, particularly over the first, flat 5.6km, in a race against the clock. Adding to the complexity of pacing was a sprint prime at the first TV time check at the 2.1km mark.
A pre-race analysis could suggest that vast experience with pacing would be advantageous and perhaps favor 36-year-old Norwegian Astrid Øyre Slind, somehow still a relatively novice World Cup skier (62 career starts) after spending a decade-plus on the marathon circuit over the heart of her career.
However, the 20km skate race is well documented to be Jessie Diggins’s bailiwick, particularly in an interval-start race where Diggins is only racing the clock. There is a reason that she is the defending world champion in the 10km skate. Diggins, who is particularly adroit at pacing while sustaining a powerful push, was among the top names put forward for another win at her favorite venue in her 340th career World Cup start. The extended section of working downhill, a Diggins forte, did not harm this conclusion.
When asked if this race placed any extra pressure on her, given the format and venue and her world-leading performance so far this Tour, Diggins told Nordic Insights, “I didn’t actually feel any additional pressure. I’m working hard on only accepting the pressure that I put on myself and that is that I expect a lot of myself in terms of my effort and my preparation.”
“So when I go into a race I expect that I’m going to be gutsy and ready to lay it all out of there so that when I cross the finish line at the end, I have nothing left. That is a VERY high bar, but that’s it. I don’t expect winning, I don’t expect results, I expect full heart and full effort.”
Early on, though, all eyes were on German Victoria Carl, who began the race 23rd overall in the Tour de Ski. Carl set a blistering pace at the first time check in 5:23.4, taking the top sprinter’s bonus points by reaching the landmark 9.7 seconds ahead of Finnish racer Kerttu Niskanen. Norwegian superstar Therese Johaug, looking a bit labored for her style, tied American Jessie Diggins for third at this prime, both 10 seconds behind Carl. Diggins, too, looked slightly fatigued but determined at the start, leaving viewers to wonder if the first two stage wins Diggins had achieved were taking their toll. Finnish Tour de Ski silver sprint jersey leader, Jasmi Joensuu, followed in eighth, 13.7 seconds behind Carl.
Carl kept the pressure on the gas pedal at the 5.6km time check, leading the field in 14:14.7, and Niskanan kept her positioning at 4.3 seconds behind Carl. However, Johaug had gained 5 seconds on Carl already, and Øyre Slind began to appear on the leaderboards, only .1 seconds behind Johaug, in fourth.
Diggins still appeared strained at this point and slipped to fifth, while passing teammate Julia Kern who started 30 seconds ahead, and 12.7 seconds behind Carl. Potential Tour de Ski contender Norwegian Heidi Weng, looking smooth and controlled (as is the Norwegian way), followed Diggins, 19.1 seconds back from the leader.
This second time point seemed to be critical for some pacing alliances that formed. Diggins’s teammate, Sophia Laukli, found an excellent pacer in Carl at this point, and was able to capitalize on the tempo Carl set for the duration of the race. Laukli, with Carl’s pacing, crossed the line with her first top-ten finish of the Tour. Similarly, Kern hopped on Diggins’s heels, which appeared to be a crucial move for both Americans.
Laukli spoke to this moment and how it shaped the race for her, in comments shared with multiple outlets: “Right at the start I already heard Victoria Carl catching me and I was like, Well, here goes another terrible race. And then it actually turned it out to be, I’d ski with her on the up, and I think we both kind of realized that we could both make each other’s races better, and so I was doing a lot of the work on the uphill so that she could do all the work on the downhill. I know I benefitted at least from her. So, it was actually very fun. I normally don’t like skiing with other people in a race and this is probably the first time, but I did, so that was cool.”
In an effort to generate mid-race excitement (in theory, as no TV footage was shown, but hey, mountains!), the climber’s prime was featured at the high point of the course, at 10.6km. It was here that Johaug began to lead the way at 30:01.1, accumulating more points as the climbing leader. Niskanen, Carl, Øyre Slind, and Weng followed to round out the top five. Diggins fell to sixth, 29.6 seconds behind Johaug. But as the remainder of the race featured a descent, Diggins’s renowned descending ability suggested that closing the time gap to the podium was still within reach, particularly with Kern’s help. Ahead of her, Carl’s early efforts appeared to generate fatigue, and her times began to falter.
photo: The 10.6-kilometer time check. Note the fine footage of athletes oh wait. (photo: screenshot from broadcast)
At the last time check before the finish, at 15.6km, only a slight shuffling of the order occurred with Øyre Slind besting Carl for third, behind Johaug and Niskanen. Diggins moved back to fifth by utilizing Kern’s draft, 32.3 seconds behind Johaug, pushing Weng down to sixth.
Entering the stadium with a short climb, Johaug’s rapid tempo appeared to give her the win for the day, and she took a comfortable spot in the leader’s chair. But it was not meant to be permanent, and with a final surge from Øyre Slind at the finish, Johaug was relegated to second. Øyre Slind bested Johaug for her second World Cup win of the season as she finished in 48:54.9, 3.3 seconds ahead of Johaug.
In a post-race interview, Øyre Slind was all smiles and spoke to the experience on the live stream. “I felt amazing,” said Øyre Slind. “I’m really happy. I think this is the most fun race I’ve ever done because we were skiing right together there from the top, and it was good collaboration between Canada, Sweden, and Norway.”
Øyre Slind also spoke to how her experience played a part in the win, stating, “For me, I have done a lot of Ski Classic races, and that’s kind of similar. You never get the rest really, so you need to find your pace and working together like we did in the last part here means a lot, so a little bit lucky, and a little bit smart, and a little bit good shape.”
Kerttu Niskanen rounded out the podium in third place, 20.3 seconds behind the winning time. Katherine Stewart-Jones tied Carl for the fourth position at 27.8 seconds back. It was a huge day for the 29-year-old Canadian and a strong career best; Stewart-Jones was previously tenth in a 15km classic during the 2023 Tour de Ski, just down the road in Val di Fiemme. Diggins ultimately finished sixth, 36.3 seconds behind Øyre Slind.
The Americans placed three women in the top 13, with Diggins in sixth, Laukli in tenth, and Kern finishing 13th (+1:01.1). Rosie Brennan continued to struggle with her form this season and placed 37th with a time of 51:36.8 (+2:41.9). Alayna Sonnesyn (Team Birkie) was 51st in 53:30.3 (4:35.4).
In audio comments to Nordic Insights, Brennan — who was born and raised at altitude in Park City — said that the course’s mountainous setting did not negatively affect her. “I probably wish it were higher,” Brennan noted, “because I love racing at altitude.”
In post-race comments shared with multiple media outlets, the day didn’t appear to affect Diggins’s ever-present positive attitude, despite her admission that the race had been tough.
“First of all,” said Diggins, “it was so cool to do a 20km lap. I’ve never done that in my life so that was really exciting. And the best part was that I got to ski with my teammate Julia, and we’ve trained together all summer so that was really, really awesome and really motivating. Honestly It was really hard. I almost threw up a couple of times. I basically pinned it as hard as I could go and just held it there. And that’s what was cool about it. It was hard because it wasn’t the normal course.”
She also told Nordic Insights of the day: “I’m really proud [of giving full heart and full effort]. It was nice because the past couple of days did give me really good confidence in where my fitness is at and knowing how to pace the race. Knowing that I can go really hard and hold it here because I know my fitness is in a good enough place to do that, so it was valuable information, but it didn’t put any additional pressure on me.”
Diggins continues to lead the Tour de Ski in a cumulative time of 1:33:49. Niskanen follows Diggins closely, 22 seconds behind for second place, and Øyre Slind is 32 seconds behind Diggins for third. Johaug is fourth and Weng fifth. The top five athletes in the Tour de Ski overall standings currently have an average age of 35.
Racing continues tomorrow on New Year’s Day, still in Toblach (Devon has thoughts on this), with the 15km classic pursuit. The women’s start list can be found here. The pursuit format means that the start list mimics today’s finish order and time gaps; Diggins will start in sixth, 37 seconds back of Slind, Laukli in tenth 1:02 back, Kern in 13th 1:09 back, and so on. All five American women remain in the Tour.
Results: 20km skate | Tour de Ski overall
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