Lars Heggen back on the podium in Tour de Ski — new format draws strong criticism: “Silly”

The third stage of the Tour de Ski in Toblach used a new World Cup format — a 5 km free group start raced in four separate heats, with final placings determined by finish times. The change sparked criticism before and after Wednesday's race.

American Gus Schumacher set the leading time and won overall after heat two, ahead of Austria's Benjamin Moser and Norway's rising talent Lars Heggen. The 20-year-old Heggen thus took his second Tour de Ski podium, having been second in Sunday’s sprint.

Emil Iversen won the sprint for the first heat (beating compatriot Andreas Fjorden Ree) but his time was not enough for a top-five overall placing. In the penultimate group Tour leader Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won his heat but posted a time 8.6 seconds slower than Schumacher and finished 12th overall. Iversen was Norway’s second-best at eighth overall and Ree ninth. Klæbo still leads the overall standings by 45 seconds over Heggen.

The format prompted sharp reactions. Simen Hegstad Krüger described it to NRK as “chaos” and “a bit silly,” saying he hoped it would only be tried once on the World Cup. French skier Jules Chappaz — who has tested the format on rollerskis — warned beforehand that differences between heats could be unfair on snow, where conditions (for example sun exposure) can change during the competition.

Others defended the experiment. NRK expert Fredrik Aukland noted that although the format introduces some randomness, the results show broad national representation (seven nations in the top seven), reduced Norwegian dominance and greater excitement, and predicted the distance could remain in use. FIS told the public broadcaster it would respond to the criticism after the race.

The article notes the women will race the same format later the same day and lists upcoming stages in the Tour de Ski week, including a 20 km classic pursuit in Toblach on 1 January and two stages in Val di Fiemme (3–4 January) in the Olympic tracks.

The report includes reaction quotes, results summary and context about how the new heat-based 5 km free stage affected standings and opinions among athletes and experts.