Tour de Ski opens in Toblach: Joensuu puzzled after semi, Vuorinen’s rare qualifying exit; Klæbo and Skistad win sprints

Tour de Ski opened in Toblach with freestyle sprints and a difficult day overall for the Finnish team. Jasmi Joensuu was the only Finn to reach the semifinals. She set an encouraging tone by qualifying third and said she felt good after the holiday break, recalling that Toblach was the venue of her first individual World Cup podium last season.

In the semifinals, however, Joensuu finished last. She said she was with the leaders over the second climb but suddenly slipped to fifth in the following corner and lost ground on the downhill. Joensuu hinted that her equipment might have held her back and planned constructive talks with the service team, noting the Tour is long and requires everyone to execute for top results. Her 11th place left her disappointed given her expectations for this stage.

Jasmin Kähärä qualified 19th and advanced to the quarterfinals but missed a lucky loser spot to the semifinals by one hundredth of a second. She was frustrated after getting boxed in near the end of her heat but looked ahead to upcoming races, including the classic sprint in Val di Fiemme on the Olympic courses next weekend.

The women’s final featured early drama: qualifying winner Johanna Hagström fell, and Mathilde Myhrvold also crashed and appeared to injure her arm. Kristine Stavås Skistad led onto the finishing straight and claimed the victory—her 13th World Cup win—followed by Coletta Rydzek and Maja Dahlqvist.

Other Finnish women in qualifying: Kerttu Niskanen 40th, Krista Pärmäkoski 43rd, Vilma Nissinen 47th, Johanna Matintalo 60th, and Vilma Ryytty 77th. Niskanen, dealing with health issues, and Matintalo both emphasized that the skate sprint wasn’t a priority but a necessary start to continue the Tour.

In the men’s field, Niilo Moilanen (27th) and Joni Mäki (28th) reached the heats but were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Lauri Vuorinen, last season’s World Championships sprint bronze medalist, had a rare qualifying exit in 31st after losing momentum when another skier cut in ahead on a different lap line; it was his first qualifying miss since March 2024.

Iivo Niskanen finished 91st, 14.07 behind qualifying winner Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, acknowledging that sprinting after illness was always going to be tough and that he’s targeting the upcoming 10 km classic. Petteri Koivisto was 67th, Perttu Hyvärinen 79th, and Ristomatti Hakola 85th.

Klæbo won the men’s race—his 102nd World Cup victory—cruising down the finishing straight. Lars Heggen took his first World Cup podium in second, and Oscar Opstad Vike completed a Norwegian sweep in third.

This year’s Tour de Ski is compressed due to the Olympic season: besides two distance classic stages (10 km interval start and 20 km pursuit), it features two sprints, 5 km free mass-start heats, and the traditional Alpe Cermis final climb. Joensuu views the profile as favorable and is optimistic about the stages ahead.