January 4, 2026 - Jessie Diggins capped off a historic week by taking second place in the final climb and winning the overall title at the 2025-26 Tour de Ski, marking the third time in her career that the Stifel U.S. Ski Team star has claimed victory in cross country’s most prestigious stage race.

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo set a new record in the men’s race as the Norwegian champion won the 20th edition, adding a fifth Tour de Ski trophy to his cabinet.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” echoed across Alpe Cermis in Val di Fiemme as the American anthem marked the conclusion of the 20th Tour de Ski. On the iconic and traditional Final Climb, Diggins made a remarkable comeback to finish second and secure the overall Tour de Ski title in Val di Fiemme.

It is the third overall Tour de Ski triumph for the American champion, who refused to simply manage the comfortable lead she had built in the general ranking heading into the final day. Instead, Diggins lit up the final section of the Olimpia III slope, moving from fifth to second place in the last metres. “It’s truly incredible,” Diggins said. “It’s great to see how all the training and hard work have paid off. This Tour de Ski was anything but easy; it’s always difficult to stay focused day after day, but everything went the right way.”

Victory in the 10 km mass start freestyle race, starting from Lago di Tesero, went to an outstanding Karoline Simpson-Larsen. As the gradients steepened, the Norwegian imposed her rhythm and never relinquished the lead through to the finish. It marked her second career World Cup victory. “It was a really tough race, but my physical condition was good, and I’m truly happy,” said Simpson-Larsen.

Completing the podium was her compatriot Heidi Weng, who spent much of the race tucked in behind Simpson-Larsen but was overtaken by Diggins in the final metres. Nevertheless, it was an excellent result for the 1991-born Weng, who finished third in the overall Tour standings, behind the Austrian Teresa Stadlober. Stadlober placed fourth in the Final Climb and claimed the purple bib awarded to the best climber of the Tour. The silver bib for the best sprinter went to the Swedish Maja Dahlqvist.

Italy was represented in the Final Climb by Caterina Ganz and Martina Di Centa, who finished 22nd and 38th, respectively.

As tradition dictates, the decisive day of the Tour de Ski was once again marked by the iconic Final Climb of the Alpe Cermis. The 10 km mass start in freestyle technique, beginning in Lago di Tesero, crowned the Norwegian Mattis Stenshagen, who opted for a bold, no-frills approach, setting the pace on the steepest sections while keeping the French Jules Lapierre under control.

With today’s victory, added to his individual win in Toblach, Stenshagen secures second place overall behind Klæbo, who finished 12th on the Cermis stage, calmly managing his advantage. Harald Østberg Amundsen completes an all-Norwegian overall podium in third place, just ahead of Italy’s Pellegrino. It was, in short, a predictably all-Norwegian podium.

Stenshagen imposed a relentless tempo as soon as the climb on the Olimpia III slope began, at one point even seeming capable of putting Klæbo under pressure, coming within 35 seconds of the top of the provisional overall ranking. On the steepest ramps, with gradients reaching up to 28%, Stenshagen and Lapierre, who would go on to finish second, broke clear of the field, with Emil Iversen and Savelii Korostelev in pursuit, the latter securing a top-10 finish in the overall standings. Fifth place on the day went to another Norwegian, Harald Østberg Amundsen, who confirmed his place on the overall Tour podium.

The USA’s Gus Schumacher delivered a breakthrough performance for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, finishing 16th on the day and securing seventh overall in the Tour de Ski. Schumacher’s result stands as the best ever overall finish by an American man in the history of the event, surpassing the previous mark of 13th set by Ben Ogden at the 2022–23 Tour de Ski.

This season’s edition of the Tour de Ski saw a total of 122 athletes take the start at the opening round in Toblach, a number that dropped to 69 by the decisive Final Climb, due to fatigue and illness.

In a world of Norwegian dominance at the top of the overall standings, Italy’s sole beacon is Federico Pellegrino. With a strong seventh-place finish in the Final Climb, consistently skiing among the leaders, he battled until the final metres for a place on the overall podium, but once again had to settle for fourth. “I’m definitely very proud of how today went,” Pellegrino said. “Thinking that I was there fighting until the last 200 metres makes me proud. There’s no point dwelling on all the places where I might have lost a handful of seconds. I prefer to look at the glass half full.”

The 20th edition of the Tour de Ski thus comes to a successful close, with Val di Fiemme once again confirming its status as a leading venue on the international cross-country skiing stage. Satisfaction was expressed by the Nordic Ski Val di Fiemme Organising Committee, led by President Pietro De Godenz: “The Tour de Ski is a success for the entire valley and the territory, thanks to the media, the volunteers, and all the local groups. The final thanks, perhaps the most important, go to those who invented this Tour twenty years ago, Jürg Capol and Vegard Ulvang.”

Val di Fiemme now turns its focus to hosting the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games for Nordic skiing: the gateway to the Dolomites is open.

Men’s Overall results here.
Women’s Overall results here.