Jessie Diggins took the lead quickly in its candidacy for a third Ski touring title by winning the sprint of the first stage in Toblach, Italy, Saturday December 28.
United States cross country ski The heroine won her first World Cup sprint race in three years, a perfect start to her quest for a third Tour de Ski title, just shy of the record four held by Justyna Kowalczyk.
Diggins, a three-time Olympic medalist, led much of the final with Jasmi Joensuu very present after the Sweden match Maja Dahlqvist suffered an early setback when she lost one of her ski poles.
Joensuu took the lead on the final descent, but Diggins timed her finish perfectly to take the lead just meters from the line and beat her Finnish rival by three-tenths of a second. Nadine Faehndrich from Switzerland comes in just third.
The victory means Diggins will have a seven-second lead over Joensuu in Sunday’s 15km classic mass start.
“It was a huge surprise. I am so grateful to our wax techs, they worked so hard and really nailed it today. It was so much fun to be here,” Diggins told FIS afterward.
“Toblach is so special. It’s here that I won my first podium, a long time ago, during the Tour de Ski. I kind of thought I was getting old and wasn’t ready to have another sprint win in my life, so it was an incredible surprise.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won the men’s sprint on his return to the Tour de Ski after missing last year’s edition. Victory would see him match Dario CologneThe record of four victories in the general classification.
The Norwegian star showed his class by taking the lead in the six-man final on the first climb and maintaining pole position until the very end.
He won the race by just over four tenths of a second over the Frenchman. Lucas Chanavat with Janik Riebli of Switzerland in third position.
“It’s been two years since I last did a Tour, so it’s good to see her again in Toblach,” Klæbo said afterwards. “In the end, I’m really satisfied and it’s the perfect way to start the Tour.”
Klæbo will take an eight-second lead over Chanavat in Sunday’s classic mass start.
