Today it is ready for the 17th edition of the Tour de Ski. Former national team rider Finn-Hågen Krogh believes the tension is gone before it starts this time.
Krogh took the podium in Ski touring in 2016, behind Martin Johnsrud Sundby, but ahead of Sergej Ustyugov.
The Tour de Ski offered thrills and duels, and it took eight more Tours de Ski before there was a Norwegian winner. Now Krogh thinks there will be a tour with a battle between Norwegian men’s riders.
– Unfortunately, it relieves some tension. Voltage matters, so it’s clearly an issue. It’s moving towards massive Norwegian dominance, says Krogh.
He has he has struggled in top form in recent years and must watch the tour on TV.
– I think the biggest challenger is Calle Halfvarsson. He has a very high level which is the podium. But it’s within the Norwegian team that there will be the biggest battle. (Johannes Høsflot) Klæbo is joint favorite with (Pål) Golberg. They master absolutely everything, sprint and long, classic and skating. Federico Pellegrino lacks the distance to fight at the top, says Krogh.
At the Davos sprint there was an intense final sprint between Pellegrino and Klæbo, it ended like this:
Pekka Holopainen has been writing about cross-country skiing in the leading Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat for years. He believes Finland has little to offer this time around.
– None of the men can challenge Norway, so it won’t be exciting. Since Russia is gone and since Iivo (Niskanen) had the crown, the level has dropped dramatically from before, unfortunately, Holopainen tells VG.
Niskanen contracted the crown in November and is riding his first World Cup race this season as the Tour de Ski kicks off with a sprint on New Year’s Eve.
The FIS had to modify the sprint course according to the requirements of Norway, because it was dangerous:
And 2014 pcs Teresa Johaug and Martin Johnsrud Sundby up the monster hill first and achieved Norway’s first victories on the tour.
– Among the women it can be exciting, since Johaug has given up and the Swedish girls are nowhere near their best, says Holopainen.
Will you be watching the Tour de Ski on TV?
Finn-Hågen Krogh also thinks girls can provide an exciting tour.
– They’re the ones keeping the interest up now. There are no obvious favourites, but Frida Karlsson must have a little stamp favourite. She has the highest level cap, but she struggles a bit to be consistent, Krogh tells VG.
American Jessie Diggins is one of the favorites going into the Tour de Ski. After the World Cup race in Davos, she needed help:
There are four Norwegians in the top six in the men’s World Cup: Golberg leads ahead of Klæbo, Pellegrino is number three, Hans Christer Holund is number four, while Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget is number six.
Among women, there are six nations in the top six: Tiril Udnes Weng Leading ahead of American Jessie Diggins, Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski is third, Sweden’s Firda Karlsson is next, while Switzerland’s Nadine Fähndrich follows in fifth place, Germany’s Katharina Hennig is sixth.
NRK pundit Fredrik Aukland was the former Swiss national team manager, who was able to enjoy four combined triumphs for Dario Cologna. He gave up, and the best Swiss in the men’s World Cup is Valerio Grond in 38th place.
Aukland looks forward to the Tour de Ski and believes it is an important concept for cross-country skiing.
– Among women it is more open and exciting with many nations battling for victory in the individual races. I think Frida Karlsson is the biggest favourite, says Aukland.
He too is skeptical that there will be tension between the men.
– I fear Norwegian dominance with Klæbo and Golberg as favourites. I’m looking forward to Niskanen in some races, but we have to expect the biggest competition from France, Sweden and Pellegino, says Aukland.
Many consider Frida Karlsson to be the favorite of the Swedes as the favorite ahead of the Tour de Ski:
Kristoffer Bergström in the Swedish Aftonbladet refuses to let the Norwegians win before the start.
– Who can challenge Calle? Upfront it will be difficult for their men, but if Golberg has a fair amount of luck, he maybe he will be able to keep up, says Bergström with a smile.
He believes in tension to the core.
– From three or four stages, I think we can count on big changes and surprises, says Bergström.
