Jules Lapierre delighted after second place in Val di Fiemme mass start: "It's a highlight of the season I always tick off"

After third in 2023 and his victory in 2024, Isère native Jules Lapierre, 30, climbed back onto the podium on Sunday in the Val di Fiemme mass-start, confirming he is perfectly at ease on the legendary Alpe Cermis climb.

Lapierre took second place, six seconds behind Norwegian Mattis Stenshagen — the only spot that had eluded him on that course. “I would have preferred to win, but I'm still very happy to finish second. The podium is complete, so I'll take it,” the Frenchman said by phone on Sunday evening.

Following the opening Tour de Ski stages that he felt didn’t suit him because of the many classic formats and a Toblach track that lacked climbing, Lapierre had been looking forward to the final race. “This is a highlight of the season that I tick off every time,” he said. Although his results earlier in the Tour hadn’t shown it (best was 36th in the new 5 km heat mass-start format), he felt calm about his form heading into Val di Fiemme.

Alexandre Rousselet, head of France's World Cup group, noted that Lapierre’s smaller build (1.69 m, 63 kg) is ideal on very steep pitches: “On sprints he sometimes lacks power, but in pure-climb formats like this he is stronger because he's a bit lighter than others — and above all he has a huge heart!”

Lapierre, 24th in the Tour de Ski general classification, now awaits confirmation of the French Olympic selection to be announced in the coming days. He also praised Val di Fiemme as an Olympic venue, even if the Alpe Cermis climb itself will not be on the Olympic programme: “It’s a site with very hard tracks. There will be plenty to do there.”