Norway’s nightmare start to 2026: leave Tour de Ski with illness and back problems

Originally published in NRK on January 01, 2026

We report from Toblach, Italy.

Astrid Øyre Slind woke up sick on New Year’s Day and travelled home before Thursday’s race. NRK’s cross‑country expert calls it critical for Norway’s Tour de Ski hopes.

Slind had been second in the Tour de Ski overall standings but is going home from Italy because she fell ill. She told NRK she noticed the first symptoms Wednesday evening and that they worsened before midnight.

“I had full focus for the Tour. This is really annoying, plain and simple,” Slind said on the way to the airport. She said she believed she could have put pressure on the leader Jessie Diggins had she raced that day.

Last year Slind finished second in the Tour de Ski behind Therese Johaug; she was the only Norwegian woman in the top ten overall. Slind was 50 seconds behind the leader Jessie Diggins when she withdrew.

“She had the chance of a lifetime to win her first Tour de Ski,” coach Chris Jespersen told NRK.

NRK expert Fredrik Aukland said the withdrawal weakens Norway’s chances in this year’s Tour.

Aukland added that this is a big setback for Slind, who has targeted the Tour as an important step toward the Olympics. Slind has also been managing a persistent Achilles problem in the build‑up to the season, and coaches have had to adjust her training.

The plan is for Slind to recover and return to altitude training around 12 January if she recovers in time, but first she must get healthy.

Home with back pain

Sprinter Oskar Opstad Vike also left the Tour and returned home with back pain. Team doctors decided not to risk further racing given his history: Vike suffered stress fractures in his back in September.

Vike finished third in the first sprint of the Tour de Ski and is a likely candidate for Norway’s Olympic sprint squad, so the decision to withdraw is a blow ahead of Milano–Cortina.

“We agreed it’s smartest to skip further races in the Tour and go home to rest,” team doctor Feragen told NRK.

Both withdrawals come with just weeks remaining before the Winter Olympics in February. The team will monitor recovery and adjust preparations accordingly.

Published: 2026-01-01 09:36 CET. Updated later same day.