Tour de Ski: Stadlober takes 2nd on stage 2 in Toblach

Teresa Stadlober delivered a standout performance on stage two of the Tour de Ski, taking second place in the women’s 10 km classic individual start in Toblach. The Salzburg native narrowly missed her first World Cup victory by seven seconds, finishing behind Norway’s Astrid Øyre Slind. After a difficult opening sprint, Stadlober rose to fourth in the overall Tour standings.

The result marks Stadlober’s first World Cup podium since early January, when she was also second at the Tour de Ski skiathlon in Val di Fiemme. It is the sixth World Cup podium of her career. Olympic bronze medallist Stadlober now trails Tour leader Jessie Diggins by 52 seconds; Diggins placed third on the stage, 1.8 seconds behind Stadlober.

Looking ahead, Wednesday’s program features a new 5 km “heat mass start,” an addition—along with the Tour’s sprint-heavy format and large time bonuses—that distance specialists like Stadlober view critically but that could suit sprinters.

In the men’s 10 km classic, Austrian sprinter Benjamin Moser impressed with 11th place—his best distance result—moving up two positions overall. “I’m overjoyed. The course suits me and I had a great finish,” said Moser, thanking the service team for fast skis. He finished 43.3 seconds behind Norwegian winner Mattis Stenshagen.

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo was second, 8.9 seconds behind Stenshagen, and continues to lead the overall Tour comfortably thanks to sprint time bonuses from his opening-day win. Klæbo is 53 seconds ahead of teammate Lars Heggen, with Harald Østberg Amundsen third at +57 seconds. Benefitting from sprint bonuses, Moser sits at +1:08 overall.

Magdalena Scherz and Lukas Mrkonjic did not start on Monday. Scherz injured her hand the previous day and withdrew from the remaining stages as a precaution, while Mrkonjic is slightly under the weather.