Jessie Diggins dominates the heat mass-start at the Tour de Ski and extends her overall lead

Jessie Diggins dominated the heat mass-start at Toblach (Italy), the third stage of the Tour de Ski, on Wednesday, extending her lead in the overall standings. A few hours after compatriot Gus Schumacher’s surprise win in the men’s competition, Diggins—racing in the third of four series in the new format—controlled her heat to take the victory. It was her second win of the season following her skiathlon triumph in Trondheim.

Diggins started the day already leading the Tour after finishing third in the 10 km classic earlier in the week, and she increased that advantage with this performance. She finished more than five seconds ahead of Sweden’s Emma Ribom (+5.5) and Moa Ilar (+6.9) in the series that grouped the eight fastest skiers from the event.

French interest was led by Léonie Perry, who finished fourth (+7.5) — a follow-up to her sixth place in the Davos individual skate two weeks earlier — and the only French athlete inside the top 10; Mélissa Gal was 30th and Margot Tirloy 38th in slower heats. Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist, who had looked strong in the second heat, ultimately finished ninth (+9.8), while Austria’s Teresa Stadlober won the fourth heat but ended 17th overall (+22.4).

The result moves Diggins further ahead in the Tour de Ski general classification and also impacts the World Cup standings as the stage carries World Cup points.