Norway’s cross-country skiing superstar Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo has won the Tour de Ski for the fifth time and is now the sole record winner. The victory at the Final Climb went to a fellow countryman. The German runners didn’t play a big role in the final.
On the 3.5 kilometer long climb to the Alpe Cermis at the end of the 20th Tour de Ski, Klaebo, after three previous stage victories, let other athletes go first, but controlled the overall ranking with a slight gap – thanks to his lead before the final stage, he was able to use this tactical device.
The day’s victory on Sunday (January 4th, 2026) and the mountain classification of the Tour de Ski went to Klaebo’s compatriot Mattis Stenshagen, who prevailed against the Frenchman Jules Lapierre in the last meters. Another Norwegian, Emil Iversen, came third. Klaebo crossed the finish line in twelfth place, just under a minute behind, saving 30 seconds of his lead to take his fifth overall victory.
Notz makes it to the top 20
The best German on the last day was Florian Notz in 18th position. Janosch Brugger ended up in 33rd place. The Moch brothers Jakob Elias and Friedrich were 42nd and 46th respectively. Jan Stölben only made it to 51st position one day after his surprising final in the classic sprint.
With a view to the upcoming Olympic Games in February, the organizers decided on a “mini tour”. At just around 56 kilometers over six days, it was the shortest edition in its 20-year history.
Klaebo controls the action for a long time
Klaebo started the final stage with a lead of 1:23 minutes over Lars Heggen and 1:29 minutes over Stenshagen. On the first flat kilometers, the 29-year-old set the pace from the front and led the field into the climb to Alpe Cermis. There we had to overcome 420 meters in altitude. Stenshagen and Lapierre quickly broke away at the front and ultimately decided the race between themselves.
Klaebo, a little behind, finally secured his fifth overall Tour de Ski success after 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2025 and now has one more to his name than the Swiss Dario Cologna (2009, 2011, 2012 and 2018). The Norwegian also secured the sprint classification. Second place in the final tally went to Stenshagen (+30.1 seconds) ahead of Harald Östberg Amundsen (+1:08.2 minutes).
The best German in the overall ranking was Notz, who came in 26th but was 4:42 minutes behind the winner. Brugger finished two positions behind (+5:04.7 min.). Friedrich Moch, who finished sixth overall last year thanks to a strong third place on the final climb, disappointed this time in 47th place overall. over seven and a half minutes behind.