Cross-country skier Friedrich Moch secured the next German top result at the Tour de Ski, but national coach Peter Schlickenrieder’s selection will have to wait for the first podium place of the season.
In the Val di Fiemme skiathlon, last year’s surprise runner-up came in sixth place on Saturday and only missed the podium by 1.3 seconds. For Friedrich Moch it was still the best result of the season.
“He did a really great job,” said Schlickenrieder on “ARD”: “He got the most out of it, it was really well done, you can only praise that. That’s the step you need.”
After 10 km in both classic and free style, the 24-year-old from Allgäu was 5.2 seconds behind Norway’s top star Johannes Hösflot Kläbo on the 2026 Olympic course.
In his 91st World Cup victory, Kläbo made the decisive attack on the last climb and won with a lead of 2.4 seconds over the Italian Federico Pellegrino. Jan Thomas Jenssen came third (+3.9).
“He is an artist on skis and has a tactical understanding like no other,” said Schlickenrieder about Kläbo: “He adapts his tactics to win the race, which is great.”
In the overall standings, three-time tour winner Kläbo leads with a 2:18 minute lead over his compatriot Erik Valnes. Moch (+3:36) is twelfth, but could still be in the top 10 on the last stage on Sunday – the brutally hard final climb on Alpe Cermis suits him.