Winter sports news blog
Tour de Ski: German achieves respectable success
Updated 01/01/2025 – 11:36 amReading time: 20 minutes
The winter sports season has begun. In our news ticker you will find all the important news about ski jumping, biathlon, alpine skiing and cross-country skiing.
Friedrich Moch is slowly getting going in the Tour de Ski for cross-country skiers. After a weak start to the stage race, last year’s runner-up finished ninth in the 15-kilometer classic-style pursuit in Toblach on New Year’s Day, thus achieving his first place in the top ten.
At the finish, the 24-year-old was 22.1 seconds behind winner Harald Oestberg Amundsen from Norway, who, like on New Year’s Day, won over 20 kilometers in free style after 35:18.9 minutes. Moch is 14th in the overall ranking after four stages. The Norwegian Johannes Klaebo continues to lead.
Moch quickly caught up with a strong group in the pursuit, but in the end he was no longer able to keep up with the pace and thus missed out on an even better placing. Janosch Brugger came 16th and is still chasing a partial standard for the World Championships in Trondheim. These are available from rank 15. The fifth part of the day is a sprint in Val di Fiemme on Friday.
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Agnes Reisch took fourth place as the best German ski jumper at the start of the Two Nights Tour in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The 25-year-old jumped 130.5 and 126 meters on New Year’s Eve, achieving her best career result in the World Cup. The Slovenian Nika Prevc secured victory ahead of the Norwegian Eirin Maria Kvandal and Eva Pinkelnig from Austria. For the first time this season, no German jumper was on the podium.
Reisch was still happy. “I really like the jump. I still had a few unfinished business with the jump,” she said after her first jump. “I’m glad it worked out that way.”
Katharina Schmid, who leads the overall World Cup, jumped to fifth place. In the previous World Cups this winter, the 28-year-old had either won or come second. The Two Nights Tour, which continues on New Year’s Day in Schmid’s hometown of Oberstdorf (4:15 p.m./ARD and Eurosport), is a kind of half Four Hills Tournament. The jumpers hope that the missing tour stops in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen will soon be added.
Victoria Carl narrowly missed the first podium place for the German team at the 19th Tour de Ski for cross-country skiers. On the third stage, a 20-kilometer freestyle race in Dobbiaco, the Thuringian came fourth. Carl was 7.5 seconds behind third-placed Finn Kerttu Niskanen. The winner was Astrid Ore Slind from Norway. Jessie Diggins from the USA, who placed sixth this time, kept the lead in the overall ranking.
Carl held the lead until halfway through the race after mastering the uphill section brilliantly. After that, the experienced runners got going better. Nevertheless, no one was disappointed: “Everything was perfect, both in terms of body and material,” said Carl on ARD. “It’s the wooden medal again – but Vici has what it takes to be at the top. Maybe we’ll just save that for the World Championships,” added team boss Peter Schlickenrieder. Pia Fink took 15th place, the young Helen Hoffmann came a strong 20th.
Friedrich Moch gained a few places in the overall ranking with a good 20 kilometer freestyle race at the Tour de Ski. Last year’s runner-up finished the third stage in Toblach in twelfth place. Moch was 1:07.3 minutes behind winner Harald Oestberg Amundsen. The Norwegian won the freestyle race in 44:05.3 minutes and moved within 16 seconds of his compatriot Johannes Klaebo in the overall standings, who came fifth this time after two stage wins at the start.