Johannes Klaebo dominates the Toblach pursuit and nears a fifth Tour de Ski title

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo started with a 45-second advantage and unsurprisingly dominated the 15 km classic pursuit in Toblach (Italy), the fourth stage of the Tour de Ski, on Thursday. The Norwegian extended his lead early and crossed the line solo, moving closer to a record fifth overall Tour de Ski title — having previously won the event in 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2025.

Klæbo had already won the opening sprint free stage of the Tour and added this Toblach victory to his tally. He left the start of the pursuit with a 45-second gap to his nearest general‑classification rival and increased the margin in the first part of the race before finishing alone.

His compatriot Mattis Stenshagen — who had beaten Klæbo on Monday in the second stage — accelerated on the penultimate lap and took second place, 51.1 seconds behind. The battle for third required a photo finish: Sweden’s Edvin Anger narrowly beat Italy’s Federico Pellegrino (+59.8).

Emil Iversen (NOR) and the previous day’s winner Gus Schumacher (USA) finished in the same time (+1:02) and completed the top‑6. Hugo Lapalus climbed seven places from his 18th start position to finish 11th, just behind Finland’s Iivo Niskanen. Jules Chappaz placed 16th.

With this stage win Klæbo strengthens his grip on the overall standings and appears on course to claim a fifth Tour de Ski title, which would surpass Dario Cologna’s four overall victories.

Results

• 1st Johannes H. Klæbo (NOR)
• 2nd Mattis Stenshagen (NOR) +51.1
• 3rd Edvin Anger (SWE) +59.8
• 4th Federico Pellegrino (ITA) +59.8
• 5th Emil Iversen (NOR) +1:02
• 6th Gus Schumacher (USA) +1:02
• 11th Hugo Lapalus (FRA)
• 16th Jules Chappaz (FRA)

Klæbo's margin and consistency across the early stages make him the clear favourite for the general classification as the Tour de Ski moves on.