By Angie Kell
The seventh and decisive stage of the Tour de Ski needs little introduction. It is a legendary, storied ending to the Tour, and a brutal one at that by climbing UP the Alpe Cermis alpine ski run in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
It’s a masochistic “reward” for those few athletes who have remained healthy, avoiding injury and illness throughout all seven stages — just 58 competitors started in the men’s race. Their biggest battles today would be combating fatigue and just…surviving to the top. After crossing the finish line, athletes were free to splay horizontally in the snow, without judgment, basking in the accomplishment (while also scoring valuable points for the Diggins Collapse Index).
For those unfamiliar with the Alpe Cermis stage, the first 6km of the day feature a slight flat/false flat through the Marcialonga Valley after a rolling lap in the stadium. The actual climb itself begins after this pivotal 6km mark. It averages a 12 percent gradient, but reaches a maximum pitch of 28 percent, for a total of 495 meters of climbing (translating to roughly 1624 feet for the metric system–challenged Americans).
While the climb has been part of the Tour de Ski since 2007, it was only the 2020 edition that brought the mass start, which is arguably more entertaining for spectators and more helpful for the athletes looking for heels to stare at for proper pacing and indications that the end is neigh.
Adding to the drama of Alpe Cermis, in this year’s new format, were the races within a race for the sprinter’s jersey and the climber’s jersey. Points for each were accumulated over the seven stages; today was a culmination of all of these. The last of the sprinter’s points was claimed at the 6km mark, just prior to the climb, and final climber’s points for the inaugural Tour de Ski Climber’s Jersey were claimed at the 9.5km mark.
The race began with the overall Tour de Ski leader, Norwegian skiing sensation Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, leading the field with his signature measured and calculated pace. Klæbo, not necessarily known for his climbing prowess, was likely looking both to conserve precious energy for the climb, and to minimize overall time loss to retain the gold jersey by remaining at the front while he could. The pack — which featured the three remaining American men of Ben Ogden, Zanden McMullen, and Jack Young — remained closely together for the first few kilometers owing to this conservative pace setting.
Close behind Klæbo at every time point were last year’s Alpe Cermis podium placer, Frenchman Hugo Lapalus, and Austrian podcaster Mika Vermeulen, who were surely going to attack the climb ferociously to secure climber’s points and the coveted overall Best Climber’s standing. With a great day, an overall podium spot was even potentially on offer.
Klaebo’s teammate, 28-year-old Erik Valnes, who started the day in second place in the overall Tour standings 2:18 back from Klaebo, also positioned himself near Klæbo in hope of finalizing a podium spot.
Simen Hegstad Krüger, arguably the best climber in the field, was also visible mid-pack on the livestream for the first 6km, but was likely to seek redemption on the climb from a bad race the day prior owing to a broken pole. Krüger, a veteran of this climb, also has the course record in a time of 30:33.3 from 2019. He last won the stage in 2023 with a time of 31:20.4.
At the base of the climb, at the sprint prime, it was Klæbo who took the top sprint points for the day, followed by Edvin Anger of Sweden in second and Valnes in third. At this point, the overall sprint podium was decided once and for all.
But the real race was yet to start. As the climb began, Klæbo was still in front of the pack at the 7.5km time point alongside Andrew Musgrave of Great Britain. The steep incline began shortly thereafter, and Vermeulen began aggressive pace setting with a powerful V1 stroke. Krüger and Lapalus followed this pacing, and it wasn’t long before Krüger took charge in front. The field quickly began to separate.
At the 9.2 km time check, it was only Krüger and Vermeulen skiing together, as Lapalus fell back by 9.4 seconds. But the climber’s prime was within sniffing distance, and Krüger increased his tempo to cross this line first to secure the top climber’s points, followed by Vermeulen and Lapalus.
Krüger never stepped off the gas pedal and won the stage with a time of 32:39.6. Vermeulen crossed the line in second, with a final time of 32:47.4. German Friedrich Moch passed Lapalus in the final few meters to secure third for the day in 32:50.3.
The supreme efforts by Vermeulen and Lapalus on the climb also secured their overall Tour de Ski podium placement, in second and third. Lapalus simultaneously clinched the overall climber’s bib with 69 points. Kruger was second here with 65 points, and Vermeulen was third with 64 points.
After the race, Krüger was sanguine in an interview on the live stream, stating, “I’m really happy to take the victory today even though the overall wasn’t good. But a victory is still a victory.”
“It’s steep,” Krüger said of the course. “And tough when you have to keep fighting. So, I tried to find my limit and just push my own speed and try to use the corners. I’ve skied this hill a couple of time now, so I know how to do it, and I know those sections with the corners are important, so I tried to ski well there. When I came to the bit flatter part at the end, I had to just push all the way to the finish line.”
Klæbo finished the day in 18th, 1:13.7 behind Kruger in a time of 33:53.3. Just behind him, in 19th and 20th, were U.S. teammates McMullen and Ogden with times of 33:56.2 and 33:57.5, respectively. Fellow American Young finished the day, completing his first Tour de Ski, in 53rd place, in a time of 37:06.05.
With today’s effort, Klæbo won both the overall Tour de Ski, his fourth, in a cumulative time of 3:24:17.3. The victory moves him into a tie with Dario Cologna, Justyna Kowalczyk, and today’s women’s winner, Therese Johaug, for the most Tour de Ski wins by an individual.
Klæbo also won the silver sprinter’s bib. He claimed this going away, with 94 points. Swede Edvin Anger was second in this category, with 48 points, and Swiss skier Janik Riebli took third with 45 points.
Ogden had the best overall Tour de Ski finish for the U.S. men, placing 15th (his second-best Tour de Ski performance after 13th in 2023), and was 7th in the sprint standings.
In audio sent to multiple media outlets, Ogden spoke to the teamwork that occurred with McMullen on the day. When Ogden was asked how he felt about skiing together with McMullen, he stated, “That was so nice. It was actually the best we got to go together. I feel like at the beginning we were able to lay each other into the terrain a little bit and keep people from doing anything crazy and the whole way up the hill we just got to go stride for stride.”
Adding to the interview the color and humor that he is lovingly known for, Ogden added, “I almost outsprinted him at the end. If it had been 100 yards fucking less long, I would have beat him.”
McMullen spoke about his individual experience, a positive one, to Nordic Insights. “Last year was waaaay harder for me [McMullen placed 36th last year]. I think it was a combination of total fatigue and conditions, but I was already so gassed before the climb ever started last year.”
He continued, “I went into the race with low expectations (mostly because of last year’s result) and definitely surprised myself!
“I made sure to set a controlled pace as soon as the climbing began, and I think that paid off. Even though I’ve done the climb twice, I barely remember what the course looked like. Most of that climb is just hanging on for dear life and looking at the heels of the person in front of you.”
22-year-old Jack Young also reflected on the day, and the overall experience of his first Tour de Ski, in an email to Nordic Insights. “I felt pretty good considering being at the end of the tour,” he wrote. “My only real strategy for today was to not get dropped by the pack until the climb started. The first 7km were pretty chill, so that didn’t end up being that difficult.”
“This whole experience has been like nothing I have done before,” Young lamented. “It was really unique, very, and and at least somewhat rewarding.”
So what lies next for the trio of American skiers during a twelve-day pause in World Cup racing?
Ogden said he’s “looking forward to chilling.” McMullen told Nordic Insights, “I’m heading to Livigno, Italy for a nice little recovery camp before Period 3 starts.” And Young told us, “I’m not heading back to Maine [where he attends school at Colby] until the beginning of February, but I am very excited to do so. I’m going to stay on the World Cup through Les Rousses and Engadin. I’m excited to eventually go home and do some distance racing that is not against a World Cup field.”
World Cup racing continues on Friday, January 17 in Les Rousses, France, with the 10km skate. Nordic Insights will have in-person reporting from the venue.
Results: Stage 7 | overall Tour de Ski | World Cup Standings
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